Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did fingerboarding come into your life?
My name is Rufus but I prefer strawhat or bustercall. Im 32 from Florida and a father. I started fingerboarding in middle school. Nothing to serious but I liked skateboarding so tech decks were just natural. I came back to fingerboarding like 3 months ago and fell in love all over again.
Is skateboarding part of your life at all, and how does it relate to fingerboarding for you?
Skateboarding isn’t a major part of my life like it used to be but I still love it. I roller skate and scooter as well. I just learned to include all my hobbies. I feel like fingerboarding is a great outlet because I can do all the stuff that I never could do on a real skateboard. If anything, I feel like fingerboarding is a bridge to keep you connected to the skate world.
Who were some of your earliest inspirations in skating or fingerboarding, and how did they influence your style?
Since I’m new into the fingerboard scene, I don’t know too many well-known finger borders but a lot of my inspiration comes from early 2000 skating. I love Baker and Terry Kennedy. Stevie Williams with DGK. Of course we got Andy Anderson and Rodney Mullen.
What was your first setup like, and what companies or riders stood out to you at the time?
To be honest, my first setup was a ATM cruiser tech deck. then my homie that got me into fingerboarding gave me a pro board from p rep. Of course all the companies like Black River, and teak stood out but the first pro board I bought was a hell pig cruiser from HellPig boards out of Florida.
What keeps you motivated and coming back to it?
Learning all the tricks that I wanted to learn on a real board. Building parks that I wanted to visit in real life. The cool people that you meet online and in real life. I just started my fingerboarding journey and I already have crazy memories. Can’t wait for more
Tell us about your current setup and your favorite tricks to do.
My main setup is a 36 mm hell pig cruiser with 36mm Rasco trucks and f1 pipsqueak wheels with teak board rails.
Favorite tricks are front side salad to tail back to Salad. Heel flips and kicks
How would you describe the fingerboarding community from your own experience?
The community seems cool asf. So far only met awesome people. I know there’s bad in every community but I honestly only had good things so far and hopefully it stays that way
How do you feel about the cost of fingerboarding products today?
I do agree that some things are expensive but there’s also ways to jerry-rig anything. I also love that there’s cheaper alternatives. Leefai comes in clutch and there’s a lot of people with their own companies that are willing to work with you. You don’t gotta get the most expensive things to have fun and I love that
Feel free to share a photo of your current setup or anything else you’d like to show off!
