1. Name / Instagram Account?
My full name is Daniel Robinson. No middle name. I have a couple IGs.
@dtotherob is my main personal account.
@axled_out is my art project account.
@thediyyc is the DIY spot/build account.
@hoodooboardshop is my skateshop account.
2. Age?
I am going to say 47 since I’ll be 47 this month.
3. Where are you from?
I am originally from Brampton Ontario Canada, Nov, 1975. A few years later my family migrated west for work, and ended up in Sherwood Park, a small town outside Edmonton. My parents divorced around 84/85. My dad worked in Calgary, and we moved there for logistical reasons. It’s basically what I consider my home town as I’ve spent most of my life there. Last year, my family moved to a small town called Drumheller, just north of Calgary.
4. What’s your history with skateboarding?
I was introduced to skateboarding in 1983 in Sherwood Park. We lived in a sloped cul de sac and would line up wheeled things to race down the hill with. Bike, trike, big wheel, green machine, skateboard, wagon. Pick one and race. Eventually I always picked the skateboard. I was 7 years old. We moved while waiting for the divorce, and our eventual move to Calgary. I met some other kids who skated. I had a banana board left from the old hood I guess was packed. There I was introduced to the bigger word of skateboarding by some older kid. We moved to Calgary over the winter and come spring, I was 8, and everyone skated near me. We had no money and my parents, despite being divorced, both hated skateboarding. I received no support from them. But fuck that. It was on. Everything I skated was junk the other kids threw away. Fast forward, I got sponsored by a shop as a teenager. I moved to Vancouver island in 1995 and tried the pro route, cause that’s where you went in Canada, if you wanted to get “noticed/turn pro”. Didn’t happen but I had a few sponsors along the way, and met some rad dudes. I moved back to Calgary early naughts and reunited with an old shop sponsor. Grandfathered in hahaha!! I had another dip in the sponsorship game with some local companies but eventually quit all that. This brings us to today and the second part of this question……What role does it serve in your life today? I skate all the time. It’s plays the same role as it did decades ago. Only now I like to do it all. I opened a skateshop called HooDoo Boardshop. I do tons of DIY stuff, film and make videos, and basically live and breathe it 24/7. My family accepts this lol.
5. What’s your set-up, including shoes?
I ride an 8.25 with Ace AF1 55 and 54mm Spitfire F4 99a classics, MOB grip, Krux gold hardware and some mini logo bearings cause I was lazy swapping my old Swiss over. I also have some rails on my board. Shoes. I skate Vans. I’m size 9, so sample size. It means I’m fortunate to fit sample shoes companies give reps to check out. Local Vans rep sells em and I buy them cheap. Like $20/pair. So that’s been my shoe deal for the last decade. I like Vans but honestly, if it was a Nike, or Etnies hook up, I would be that shoe guy lol
6. What terrain do you like to skate?
Crust. DIY spots. Janky spots. Curbs. Transition. Miniramps. Street. Barriers. I like the challenge of a difficult spot. If I can’t get my fix on those, I’ll go to a skatepark. Some days it’s nice to work less hard for tricks.
7. What stokes you out in skating?
The skating.
8. You are pretty involved with DIY stuff. How did you get started in that? Favorite builds?
I have always liked building shit. Ledge boxes, launch ramps, coping rails, all wooden stuff as a teenager. Maybe a dozen years ago I helped some guys with a concrete QP and it was fun. Then I got into building mini ramps and added some concrete to one I had. I built Fonda Slab in Calgary with some friends. I found a flat slab and pitched the idea to a couple dudes. That was 9 years ago and it’s now a “city park” with a dozen obstacles that skaters maintain. I built the Bridgespot DIY with some friends in Calgary also. That’s my favorite one. Good times with everyone down there. Me and my friends have a good crew that work on it when we can. They’re some of my best homies. That spot is 6 years old. I’ve also built a few small spots around town. A bag here, couple bags there. Good times. I built my whole skateshop from recycled wood, poured a concrete counter, built a tee shirt screen printing rack, make DWAX! Tee shirts and hopefully boards soon. It’s all super fun. There’s nothing more satisfying than skating something you’ve built.
9. What could be better in skateboarding?
Hahaha, more rules and gatekeeping? In my world of skateboarding, nothing. Because I make it what it is. Yea you can gripe about the olympics, or Andy Anderson or whatever you don’t like, but none of that affects you and your friends skating together. It’s just industry stuff to bullshit about in between grinds.
10. What inspires you, in skateboarding, and life?
Seeing stuff my family and friends do. Watching IG clips lol Just folks getting it.
11. What bands/music do you like?
This is a weird one cause I don’t really get pumped or inspired by music much. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it, or not get pumped anymore. There’s lots I love. But after spending 25+ years in a shop listening to the radio all day, it’s kind of numbed me. My family laughs cause I know every song on the radio hahaha!! That said, I love 80’s, especially female lead, hair and heavy metal, punk rock for go to genres. Music from skate videos fills the rest. I don’t know much hip hop but I also do. I really only like old stuff and don’t go out of my way to look for new music. I’ll have a listen if it’s recommended to me though and I’ll download if I like it. I do like to make up songs around the house and fake lyrics to radio songs. Like Weird Al.
12. What makes you laugh?
My family. Especially my kid. The internet as well. Sarcasm, dark humor also make the list.
13. Favorite books/movies/tabloids?
I don’t read books at all. They bore me. I know I’m missing out but I don’t care. My wife likes bad reality shows and I watch them with her so we can joke, laugh, and judge together lol! The Deer Hunter is the best movie ever made. I’ll watch movies instead of TV. Even on repeat. I don’t care. Even bad ones.
14. Major injuries?
Both feet in a cast 3 times each. Multiple ankle rolls I never bothered having looked at. Broke a few toes on each foot. Both hands, all fingers (some multiple times), both thumbs and wrists a few times, got a steel plate and screws in my forearm that I’ve also broken again next to the steel. Both elbows, one twice, many chips in those reoccurring swellbows. AC joint separation in shoulder, 5-6 different ribs at various times over again through the years. Couple concussions , my nose, and cracked my sternum/breast plate. Plenty of soft tissue injuries including bruised kidney from wrapping myself around a pole jam. Peed blood for weeks.
15. You have some pretty, well, wild shirts. How do you pick them out?
Haha! I don’t know. I started getting all sorts of coloured sample shoes and it kind or took off from there. I like a good matching kit. And it’s fun.
16. Outside of skating, any other passions/interests?
Even though I’m Canadian, I don’t do winter sports/snowboarding. I’m into old boxy European cars. I’m a journeyman mechanic by trade and specialized in BMW, VW, Audi, Porsche for 25 years. I’ve worked on everything though. Domestic, import, trucks, Benz, Ferrari, Alfa Romero, vintage and new. I used to do track tech for the BMW club. That’s basically prepping cars for track day. I have been into formula 1 racing my whole life. I’ve got to see 6 world champions race, and I even changed a tire on a McLaren F1 car. I am into filming skateboarding and making videos too. That’s fairly self explanatory. I use a Canon 60D and Final Cut Pro to edit.
17. Skating as a kid vs. skating as an adult over 40…talk about the differences and similarities.
This is another strange one cause I don’t find it much different. Age, injuries definitely play a part but as weird as this sounds (maybe not) I feel like skateboarding was something I was meant to do, so I just do it without much thought. I skate almost as much as I did decades ago. Granted not all day, but daily isn’t a challenge, save for life. But I can make time, and always have. I like to do tricks from all the eras I skated in. I describe it as decade skating. I keep track of when I skate now too. It’s the little things now that I like, that I didn’t care about as a teenager. Stats if you will. I think it’s more fun older though. I like having the experience to draw from. Plus it’s easier to just be yourself.
18. Personally, my favorite part of your IG feed is the cat stories you post. Are you cats as really awesome as they seem on the internet?
Yea they get all the stories hahaha!!! They are brother and sister. Well same litter. We got them shortly after our dog died. They were just little and we brought them home as soon as they were off the teat. So they’ve kinda grown with us and they have quite the personalities. Their names are Smoky and Peach, AKA Buns and Beast lol they’re almost 2.
19. Favorite skate videos? Questionable. Misled Youth. Rolling Thunder. 411VM.
20. Favorite skaters?
My friends Jonah, Franz, Adam and the other bridge/curb homies. Cardiel, Penny, Rick Howard, Julien Stranger, Oyola. I’m really into the euro scene lately. Lots of great skaters earning spots on the list the last few years.
21. Favorite skate graphics? Worst skate graphics?
I don’t give a shit about graphics. What a genius dumb way to market boards. Something you never see, and destroy. I mean there’s been some great iconic graphics over the years, and some trash, that I like but what’s the point. I like grip art. That’s what you see. Not that printed thrasher or weed grip, but a cut design. But the graphic for my shop boards is my favourite graphic right now.
22. Who should we interview for the next episode of the Zero Club?
Rick Bailey.
23. Last words?
Be real.
