I’m always on time. And today would be no different. At 11 a.m. sharp I approached the storefront and was quickly ushered in by Dan Roberts, co-founder of Rukus Board Shop in Downtown Lafayette. Rukus is one of my favorite spots in the city. Although I don’t skate, as a fan of street-wear I always enjoy checking out what’s new on the scene. Scanning my surroundings, I quickly notice the fresh assortment of hats and collection of groovy socks and footwear dominating the store. There’s also a sweet display of graphic and basic tees that could work for anyone who wants to add some heat to their style. For the skaters, this place holds strong to its roots with a mesmerizing wall lined with skate decks from some of the top skate companies. For those of you who want to get around the city or around campus, there are some nice long boards and cruisers to choose from as well. Rukus is one of those places that could accommodate anyone. As Dan played some jazzy instrumentals from “Metal Fingers Presents: Special Herbs Volume 1 & 2”.
Nous avons commence.
Tell me something unique about your store?
This store was built entirely by the skateboarders in this community and myself. I feel like that’s unique because there’s not really anyone else that’s doing that. We keep it culturally relative, all the wood that we have is reclaimed lumber from old barns and old houses in Acadiana. Some of [the wood] was used in the early 1900s.
When was your store founded?
In 2000. It was founded here in 2003. There were a handful of people that ran it before me, but when I was running [the original store] in 2003, it was like giving an 18 year old keys to a skateboard shop, who’s a skateboarder, and be like “Take care of this for me” [laughter] so you can only imagine the hijinks that went down on a daily basis. That was kinda my first taste of the industry.
What inspires your store to keep moving forward?
The sole reason I’m still into this skateboarding is because I wanna be able to give to other people the feeling that I got from skateboarding, which has been a great amount of joy and passion. If I can confer that to other people and make them feel the positivity that I felt coming up in the skate world, that’s pretty much a win.
To inspire others..
Yea man, skateboarding has given me so much in the past 10 or 12 years. I was involved with it, I wanted to thank the people above me and in skateboarding in general by flipping it around… I was like, Imma be the dude that shows the love, so I can show people how great this thing is.
What is the difference between skate wear and street wear?
Durability. Essentially it’s the same thing because street wear and skateboarding both started off in urban environments; they both started off in the streets. That’s where the main inspiration comes from. So in that way they’re very much alike… The difference is skate wear tends to be a lot more functional, as street wear takes a more fashionable approach.
How do you feel about the bridge that street wear has made into fashion? Think of a brand like HBA (hood by air), which is like a street wear brand but sells hoodies for 450 dollars.
Man I got mixed emotions about it… I say to whoever got it like that, Congratulations. [laughter] But on the other side, coming from the lower end of the monetary spectrum, I get it, but I’m not with it. I would never buy a 450-dollar hoodie, but hey look…
Whatever floats your boat…
Yea, exactly
How important is confidence in style?
I think confidence is an intricate part of style and being yourself and being comfortable in your own skin.. I think it’s a huge part of individualistic style. Because [for example] if I’m comfortable wearing a pink tutu but if I’m not confident enough to go out in public in [it] I’ll never represent my own style until I’m comfortable enough to do it.
Do you think that a person’s style should reflect current trends or should it be original to their own sense of style?
I think originality wins any day over current fashion, because the thing with current fashion is that all trends are fleeting. It’s up to the one singular person to decide what they wear and how they want to dress.
What inspires you?
The constant strive to be happy, be positive and be good at what I do. One of the guys that I look up to is Ronnie, he’s the main dude at Rukus. He’s always has been super positive, he’s great with people, he’s a great businessman, he’s just got it… You know how you meet those people in life and they just got it, he’s that dude in my eyes. It’s not like Babe Ruth is my hero, no it’s like this dude I talk to on a weekly basis.
What is your favorite song to listen to right now? If somebody handed you the aux plug what would you play?
Aw man, right now… It’s track 7 on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, It’s “Any Color You Like”.. Its super groovy, super chill… It’s an in-between song on the album, but I think it’s got the most flavor.
What do you think of when you wake up in the morning?
Coffee [laughter] I don’t know, whatever I have to go do.
They say the first thing you think of when you wake up is the most important thing in your life…
Wow, I really need to think about some more important stuff then.
If you were stuck on an island and you could only take 3 of your belongings what would you bring?
Is it cool if I bring my phone, so I can call someone?
You can bring it but you wont get service
Oh, well I guess I’ll take my ipod for sure, a skateboard just in case, and probably a good cane knife
What advice would you give someone who has given up on life?
I would say that you could look at life like a bow and arrow, in the way that at life’s lowest, it would be when the bow and arrow is fully pulled back and you’re just tapped out, ready to give up. That’s just life pulling you back to shoot you forward … So, get ready to fly.
Right on man…
Freetown Press 