Greg Lutzka interview
HUCK talks to the high profile skater about leaving Almost, his involvement with K-Swiss and getting his own iPhone app!
More like this...
Milwaukee, Wisconsin native Greg Lutzka is an all-terrain beast that’s been consistently killing it since the early part of the last decade. Through the years, Lutzka has risen through the pro skating ranks, accumulating contest winnings, serious sponsors and a sizeable amount of mainstream attention. Recently, Lutzka made some big sponsor change-ups while simultaneously spearheading some major industry projects.
Greg took some time to kick it with HUCK and talk about contests, his departure from Almost, his hefty K-Swiss project, and his new signature iPhone S.K.A.T.E. app.
Have yourself a read.
HUCK: What’s new in life of Greg Lutzka?
Greg Lutzka: Always a good time, getting together with the other skaters, hanging out and just having fun. The contests will start in March with the Tampa Pro.
Before a contest do you tend to skate more parks than street?
I don’t really train or anything like that. I have a backyard ramp but I don’t hide out at a secret training facility or have a regime to follow. I’m not a contest skater or a street skater, I just skate. With me and skating, I usually know within the first couple of minutes if I’m going to have a good day or not. That’s why at contests you either see me at the top or down at the bottom. Contests are cool, but skateboarding isn’t football. The best skaters don’t necessarily win and there’s a lot more to skating than putting together a contest run. We don’t beat ourselves up over who wins and loses. We get bummed if we skate bad, but that’s different. It’s similar to why I stopped playing hockey as a kid. I loved hockey but hated the win-lose, all-or-nothing mentality.
What’s your typical spot to work on new tricks?
I don’t really have one. I learn them as they pop into my head. The first time I learned 270-to-noseblunt-slides I did that at the Maloof Money Cup. I wasn’t working on that in secret and holding onto it until the right time. It came into my head, the spot seemed right and I went for it. Most skaters can relate to that.
I’ve seen footage of you skating with your headphones in? How do you feel about skating in headphones?
You either love it or hate it. I go back and forth on skating with headphones. Music is a part of my life for sure and definitely gets me in the zone. It can really help motivate you but if you’re having issues with your iPod or keep getting some strange songs coming through on random, that’ll throw you off.
It’s been rumoured that you’re no longer riding for Almost. Do you have a new board sponsor in the works?
That’s true, I’m no longer with Almost. They’re great guys but we didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything and an opportunity came up for me to be a part of something where I have some real creative control in a big way. Having more control of what I’m involved in is something I’m really trying to make happen more and more. I can’t tell you who I’m working with but you’ll probably hear it in the next month or so.
You recently switched shoe sponsor to K-Swiss. What made you choose a shoe brand that’s so new to the skate market?
It comes back to me having more creative control. Not just of my own model, but of the brand itself. The Globe guys are awesome, but I had some other ideas that didn’t work for them. With K-Swiss, I’m going to have a much bigger part in the marketing and design. They’re so new to skate, it’s almost like starting a new brand, except they’ve been making solid shoes since the 1960s. I know I’m not going to be able to be a pro forever. I still have a lot of time left in my career, but I want to look ahead and learn as much as I can about other things as well. With K-Swiss, I’m learning so much that’s going to help me out when I retire from being pro.
What’s up with your new iPhone S.K.A.T.E. app?
The app is called dizm S.K.A.T.E. dizm Enterprises is a relatively new company but those guys have collectively worked in skate and snow for years at other brands we all know, so they get the culture. Basically, the new app is a game of S.K.A.T.E. where you get to play against me…or a videogame version of me. There’s a bunch of tricks I’ll be tossing out and whoever is playing against me has to memorise and then repeat them using their fingers instead of feet. There’s three levels of difficulty and it’s pretty addictive. You have to pay attention for sure.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a full video part from you. Any parts you’re working on at the moment?
I’m always filming and I definitely want to get a part together for my new board sponsor, so watch for that news to drop soon. I try to film a lot, so you’ll see things pop up here and there online at the mags’ sites or on my own website.
Where did the idea behind your website come from?
I’m pretty stoked on my fans and that site is a way that I can give them something to be a part of besides just buying one of my boards or something else. People can contribute to it and connect with each other on. It’s not just about me, it’s about skateboarding. It’s bigger than me, but I do get stoked on what a lot of the people on there write and their love for skating.
Subscribe to HUCK for six issues
Only £20 (UK) / £43 (EU) / £58 (Rest of the World).
Greg Lutzka interview (text) by Jay Riggio is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Comments (1)
Please note: Your comment may be held in moderation for approval by an administrator to prevent spamming. This usually doesn't take long, please be patient.