{"id":1822864,"date":"2026-03-12T19:33:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1822864"},"modified":"2026-03-12T19:33:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:33:38","slug":"what-exactly-happened-to-skateline-an-interview-with-gary-rogers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1822864","title":{"rendered":"WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TO SKATELINE? AN INTERVIEW WITH GARY ROGERS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/p>\n


\nIf you pulled the pin on a grenade and forgot to throw it, there\u2019s a chance you\u2019d still be able to count the people who have been in a Thrasher<\/em> video over 600 times on your charred fingers. Because there\u2019s only one, and it\u2019s not even a pro skateboarder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Gary Rogers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Host of Skateline NBD<\/a>, Gary\u2019s face appeared on Thrasher\u2019s<\/em> YouTube every week for 12 years. Part comedian, part news anchor, he\u2019d round up a week of skateboarding and serve it to you in his patented boisterous, opinionated, and at-times raunchy manner.<\/p>\n

People praised it, people hated it, but at the end of the day it felt like a corner of skateboarding that would endure. That is until almost two years ago when an erratic, open-ended announcement<\/a> was made that Skateline was taking a break.<\/p>\n

Gary promised to come back bigger and better, but so far we haven\u2019t received the faintest hint of a return. Instead, he has taken to Instagram, repurposing typical Skateline jokes into semi-serious rap snippets<\/a> while also pursuing his own path in skateboarding.<\/p>\n

If that leaves you scratching your head, don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not alone. And if it leaves you wanting an explanation, don\u2019t worry, we tried to get one.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been almost two years since there was a Skateline episode. Is Skateline officially done? <\/strong>
\nSkateline isn\u2019t over, we\u2019re just not doing it right now. My bro I did it with, Joel [Jutagir]<\/a>, we did it every week for 12 years. We made that last episode, and we had a date for the show to come back [from a break], but stuff started happening for both of us. <\/p>\n

I started doing my own projects, like my clothing company Ichpig<\/a>, my griptape company Black Gold<\/a> and my skate shop Everyday Skate Shop<\/a>. I talk all this shit about how everybody else should do it, and I got to this point where people trust me, so I was like, \u201cLet me try.\u201d So I got busy. <\/p>\n

So you wanted to try and make stuff instead of just criticizing or making fun of it? <\/strong>
\nYeah, I realized that I wasn\u2019t drawn to drama, you feel me? And skateboarding never really had that. We always had our insider drama or whatever, but we never had public drama. When you think of Big Brother<\/em> and shit, back then we could laugh. When it became, \u201cI can destroy your whole shit with a video,\u201d or, \u201cFuck you, fuck this.\u201d I was like, \u201cDamn, this sucks.\u201d I wanted to go into the industry and see what I can do to make it fun again. Being around Jake [Phelps] for so long, all I want to do is love skateboarding as much as that fucking crazy ass n**ga did. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I see some creepy, dangerous shit first hand, I\u2019m going to handle it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think there are some people who deserve to get their shit destroyed? <\/strong>
\nBut that\u2019s for certain people who\u2019re in the field to do that. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a skateboarder\u2019s responsibility, a pedestrian or civilian responsibility. Those are legal matters. Obviously if people have insight they should speak about it to get legalities to pay attention to it, but that stuff is legal and I don\u2019t want nothing to do with exposing people. <\/p>\n

People without the knowledge, like people making assumptions, getting stories without 100% of the information, I\u2019m not with that. If you\u2019re a reporter and you report on something without actually seeing it yourself, I\u2019m not with that. If I see some creepy, dangerous shit first hand, I\u2019m going to handle it myself. Some people aren\u2019t like me though, ready to handle things, so they have to use their platform to talk about it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Was there an aspect of falling out of love with the show that played a role in its hiatus too? <\/strong>
\nHell no. They [Thrasher<\/em>] let us do what we wanted, bro. That\u2019s the most enjoyable thing, especially today. Whether views were weird, it didn\u2019t matter. We had our cult audience, you know what I\u2019m saying? We had like a hundred thousand people that really wanted to see this every week. So I never once thought, \u201cWhy am I doing this?\u201d I\u2019ve just been doing it for so long, I wanted to try something else for a little bit. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty rare. Many people who work in skating in any capacity after a couple years can get burnt out. <\/strong>
\nThe thing that always picked me back up was somebody being like, \u201cBro, you had me cracking up this week. This was fire.\u201d I felt like I offered something to so many skateboarders, keeping them updated and having a good time. Sometimes there were hard episodes where it was hard to be funny or hard to be on schedule, but we still made a good product. Joel would edit it and save it and make it sick. Even on the days that seemed like we weren\u2019t doing that well we still had a good time. <\/p>\n

\u201cI called myself G Diddy putting baby oil on a ledge. I\u2019m just being an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has your brain switched gears now that you\u2019re not hunting for things to talk about on Skateline weekly?<\/strong>
\nWell, I still live that now, but it\u2019s with my new character G Code<\/a>. I\u2019m still in search of clever lines about skating. It\u2019s bringing back Skateline through a shorter rap song. Gary Rogers was the fake newscaster, even though it\u2019s my name he\u2019s the fake news parody guy, right? So this G Code character that I\u2019m building now is a fake rap artist. I\u2019m spitting that shit, and I\u2019m just fucking around. <\/p>\n

So you\u2019re fucking around but taking the craft seriously?<\/strong>
\nThat shit just comes to my mind because I think of it like Skateline jokes. I write these songs in like ten minutes. I did one where I called myself G Diddy putting baby oil on a ledge. I\u2019m just being an idiot. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How does IRL Gary Rogers differ from Skateline Gary Rogers? <\/strong>
\nDefinitely the energy. Obviously I have high energy moments, but that consistent energy is just the character. I\u2019m not that serious outside of it, I\u2019m a fucking goofball, but I\u2019m a little more reserved than that n**ga. That n**ga\u2019s crazy. <\/p>\n

Are you less concerned about other people IRL too? <\/strong>
\nYeah, bro. But the thing is, I was never really in anybody\u2019s business. I only spoke about things that were out in the open. It has to be something everybody knows about for us to talk about it. We\u2019d never do something investigational or in the background. No breaking news, unless it was something people were already talking about or it\u2019s known knowledge. I\u2019m not here to get into your life, I\u2019m here to make a joke so that we can laugh together. <\/p>\n

So you\u2019ve never used insider information for breaking news? <\/strong>
\nOne time I got an inside tip, about some [Stefan] Janoski shit, and we made an episode and it led to me and him having a bad falling out. Tim O\u2019Connor helped me and Stefan squash our beef in Copenhagen like ten years later, but I remember I got close to him, and I dropped my board, and he was like, \u201cWhy are you looking at me like that?\u201d and I was like, \u201cBecause I don\u2019t like you.\u201d He was like, \u201cWait, what?\u201d He took his glasses off and we had a man to man. <\/p>\n

But that\u2019s a good ass dude. He\u2019s one of the realest people out there. And I held that in for so many years. Like if anyone asked about people being mad about Skateline, I\u2019d lie. There were so many pros and so many problems in the background that nobody will ever know because me and the person squashed it like men every time. Why do so many skateboarders love me? Because if someone goes, \u201cWhen I see this guy, blah blah,\u201d I will go to the event, go to the premier, to look them eye to eye like a man and squash it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never apologize for anything I said on Skateline.\u201d<\/p>\n

So if someone misunderstood or was bummed out, you\u2019d try your best to seek them out and figure it out? <\/strong>
\nHell yeah. But I\u2019ll never apologize for anything I said on Skateline. The one time somebody got an apology from me was when I found out the homie had cancer. And it wasn\u2019t an apology for what I said, because the joke wasn\u2019t off, you feel me? I apologized because I didn\u2019t know he had cancer. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s so bad about apologizing though?<\/strong>
\nNothing. As a man, you\u2019re supposed to apologize. If you\u2019re wrong, apologize. But for me, Skateline was this bit of fun. Except for some of the shit I said about Nike [laughs]. <\/p>\n

The people personally though, I was always just playing. Sometimes playing around can be too much, but I\u2019m not going to apologize for nothing on Skateline. There\u2019s never been a like, \u201cOh, our shop closed down because of something you said.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Do you believe in karma? Like do you think making a career of talking shit came back to bite you? <\/strong>
\nOne hundred percent. First of all, I\u2019m lucky that I\u2019m even here. I\u2019m not the best skateboarder on planet earth, I\u2019m just a guy who wants to do shit. I talked a lot of shit and n**gas talked back, it is what it is [laughs]. But damn, I never set out to ruin motherfuckers. You dish out the energy of joking around, and I guess somebody can joke back at you and ruin your whole shit. I accept that shit tenfold. I love taking accountability. Who else am I supposed to blame? <\/p>\n

Is that something you had to learn, taking accountability? <\/strong>
\nYou not only have to learn it, you have to accept it. For years I thought I was so important to skateboarding. I thought I was doing this thing that nobody else was doing, but I\u2019m not that important. If I don\u2019t deliver a certain product, people don\u2019t care about me. I accept all of that. I\u2019m a grown ass man, I\u2019m not salty, I\u2019m not mad. I\u2019m happy. <\/p>\n

\u201cSix n**gas are going to carry your casket and you\u2019re worried about a hundred thousand likes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you do anything to keep that mindset intact? <\/strong>
\nI\u2019m not on Instagram. I haven\u2019t been on for I want to say eight years now. My team helps me do it. I try to think on my own as much as possible. There are kids that are destroyed right now because of what somebody said in the comments. Sally Nobody comments some negativity and it messes up their dopamine. But it doesn\u2019t even matter what they said. Six n**gas are going to carry your casket and you\u2019re worried about a hundred thousand likes? Damn.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m not ignorant to the fact that likes will get you more business, but when you look at life and where you want to go, everyone famous is a piece of shit apparently. They all suck. I don\u2019t want to hang out with none of them. I wanted to go to a P Diddy party my entire life, and then all the shit came out. Now I don\u2019t [laughs]. That\u2019s what put me off Instagram, it\u2019s super weird and I just don\u2019t care about it. We should all just be homies and live. <\/p>\n

How often did you look at comments on YouTube? <\/strong>
\nThe comments used to be popping, all these negative, \u201cMonkey. Big lips.\u201d You know how YouTube used to be. But I read them every week for Gary Responds<\/a>. But I would just read \u2018em, and go by \u2018em until people were like, \u201cDamn, he doesn\u2019t even care.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Does skateboarding in 2026 need a show like Skateline?<\/strong>
\nI think skateboarding has enough. I just need people to realize that we control skateboarding. If we\u2019re saying it\u2019s dead, we\u2019re dead. If it\u2019s not cool, we\u2019re not cool. It\u2019s all ours. If you have a platform and you go, \u201cOh, skateboarding is dead,\u201d then you are a part of why it is dying. <\/p>\n

I was part of the problem. We made fun of kids, and then they felt like they weren\u2019t good enough. That they didn\u2019t dress right. We did all these things that made skateboarding not tight. So we got to be like, hey, skateboarding is what you make of it. Do your shit. We wonder where the youth has gone, but we attacked the youth. <\/p>\n

So you see your show as part of the problem of alienating new skaters now? <\/strong>
\nHundred percent. Looking back, it was a part of the problem, talking about the corporate things, not liking contests, all these things that could make people money, all these things that could upgrade lives.
\nI think I got to a point where I was like, \u201cWhat am I doing?\u201d If something is wrong with skateboarding, go fix it. That\u2019s what I\u2019m living out now. I don\u2019t like X, Y, Z, I\u2019m gonna go do something. Since I want to talk all this shit, I\u2019ll put my shit on the line and do it myself. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love all the kids people talk about. Jagger Eaton. Switch back smith Hollywood 16 for a part nobody saw [laughs].\u201d<\/p>\n

Does skateboarding need some shit talk though? Like when you see someone like Ginwoo [Onodera]<\/a>, does he need some tough love? <\/strong>
\nBut that\u2019s his look. Why does he have to fit in? We see him, and I see where you\u2019re coming from and wanting to curate skateboarding in the right way, but he\u2019s an individual. And he\u2019s a little ass kid, so when people are talking crazy about these kids, I look at them like, \u201cY\u2019all weird as fuck.\u201d He\u2019s doing his shit, happy. I love when he punches the air when he\u2019s excited. It\u2019s like, n**ga I\u2019m raw. That\u2019s what skateboarding is all about. I love all the kids people talk about. Jagger Eaton<\/a>. Switch back smith Hollywood 16 for a part nobody saw [laughs]. You feel me? I fuck with that. <\/p>\n

I think skateboarding lacks individuality now. That needs to come back to skateboarding. When we were coming up it was like music, everyone was different, now everyone has all black fits. <\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t you make fun of Ginwoo at first? <\/strong>
\nI said, imagine losing to him and that\u2019s the fit. Look at those socks. I wasn\u2019t saying, \u201cOh, look at him, he looks trash.\u201d I like him as an individual. I like Burberry Erry<\/a>. I like anybody that doesn\u2019t look like anybody else and can skate their ass off. <\/p>\n

So you\u2019re saying the comment was more out of love? <\/strong>
\nYeah, that\u2019s what I\u2019m saying. It\u2019s out of actual love. I\u2019m not trying to say I love something so I don\u2019t look bad. Bro, you\u2019re mad because someone doesn\u2019t like what you like, everybody is different. I don\u2019t eat fish [laughs] and there are hella pescatarians out there. Everyone lives a different life. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What do you think changed about the skate-commentary landscape over the years? <\/strong>
\nThere are a bunch of people who do petty shit to try and get views. I\u2019m not mad at them, they are just feeding their families, but sometimes real shit is happening behind the scenes, you know? It\u2019s like damn, homie is in rehab. Homie is struggling. And it\u2019s all happening in the background. The people online don\u2019t even know what they just did. Then people move on like it\u2019s nothing. <\/p>\n

Can you tell me about the last Skateline episode<\/a>? <\/strong>
\nI wore glasses, had the hair, you can connect the dots yourself. But it was like, this is what y\u2019all like now. This is what YouTube and skateboarding likes now. That episode was just us laughing at that. <\/p>\n

\u201cI lowkey don\u2019t talk as much shit as you think.\u201d<\/p>\n

People thought you were crashing out. <\/strong>
\nNot even close. We just wanted to get people talking. That was it. It was a parody on like longer form content, no profanity, or whatever the fuck. I\u2019d never switch up and then tell y\u2019all I\u2019m switching up. I\u2019m just going to just do it. <\/p>\n

[laughs] Listen, Gifted Hater<\/a> has this really good formula and it\u2019s super impressive how he can keep people engaged for those 20, 30 minute episodes. When you think about skaters, those aren\u2019t the type of people to sit there like that, so he did that. That\u2019s crazy. Usually people would be like, \u201cWrap this shit up.\u201d <\/p>\n

You\u2019re surprised that people like the long format? <\/strong>
\nHow the fuck do skateboarders watch a 45 minute episode on people beefing. What the fuck? But it worked, and he found success. So we\u2019re like, let\u2019s make fun of that. We\u2019re the three minute show, he\u2019s the 45 minute show. There\u2019s no real hatred or feeling that he took over. I know some people are like, \u201cDamn, Gary couldn\u2019t keep up.\u201d But that ain\u2019t my shit. I\u2019m not going to be mad at anyone who\u2019s winning in it. I\u2019m not a hater ass motherfucker. And I know that for a long time people were like, \u201cYou talk so much shit.\u201d But have y\u2019all been listening? I lowkey don\u2019t talk as much shit as you think. I\u2019m trying to give advice, I\u2019m trying to make sure people have fun.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What happened with your X-Games commentator gig you had? I heard a rumor you got fired, but I\u2019m sure there\u2019s more to the story than that? <\/strong>
\nSomething happened at an X-Games with security and I didn\u2019t like how they went about it, and a lot of things were changing as a business, so they went one way and I went the other. Shout out to them, I didn\u2019t like how certain things went, and as things were changing everyone that I worked with internally had left, so I started working with new people, but after a while all the changes add up. <\/p>\n

I experienced it, I was on television, people heard me and saw me. I\u2019d rather have people think I got fired, that\u2019s a nice touch. That\u2019s way more viral, people thinking they were like, \u201cYou gone n**ga [laughs].\u201d<\/p>\n

[laughs] I thought you said something crazy and they were like, \u201cYo, take him off the air.\u201d <\/strong>
\nHell no, bro. Something happened late night after one of the events with a security guard. We didn\u2019t see eye to eye and he was just like me, being a man, and some stuff happened. No physical altercation, it was just words. But people saw me acting in a way they\u2019d never seen before. That security guard can\u2019t just let you walk by because you got gold teeth. He\u2019s just doing his job. <\/p>\n

Did your ego got the best of you at the moment?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m pretty sure it did. I\u2019m going to go with that. Take accountability and say in that moment with that security guard, my ego got the best of me. He didn\u2019t know I was supposed to be in the fucking VIP section. Just because I\u2019m with all the pros and y\u2019all trying to walk in, he doesn\u2019t know that. He\u2019s here to work from six to ten o\u2019clock and guard Wiz Khalifa. That\u2019s it. Earlier that day I had stolen a golf cart from production and was riding around the whole stadium. They saw me take it, but again, they were like, \u201cWhy does he think he can just do whatever he wants here?\u201d But bro, that\u2019s my energy. That\u2019s the useful shit. That\u2019s what the kids like to see. It\u2019s like if y\u2019all don\u2019t get that, I need to leave. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Did you make a full-time living off of Skateline when it was running? <\/strong>
\nSkateline was a good base point, working four times a month, and making a good salary. And every five years I upgraded in life. X-Games, Illegal Civ, Black Gold, Thrasher Boys, I\u2019ve always been doing stuff to make a living because I have my name through Skateline. But it was weird, because all the movies and opportunities that I could have done, I didn\u2019t because I wanted to make sure I was doing Skateline. It was never in the way, it was just there. When someone would be like, \u201cThis project takes six weeks.\u201d I couldn\u2019t do it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need to be the face of nothing.
\nI don\u2019t need people walking up on me and trying to talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you kick yourself because you feel like you missed some earlier opportunities for yourself?<\/strong>
\nHell no. Because if I were to have taken those other opportunities I would have been this hella popular person who can\u2019t just go to Target and shop. I love my life, bro. I did it right. I got blessed at every turn, you know what I\u2019m saying? Even now, I\u2019m working on this thing called the SBA right now, the Skateboard Association<\/a> with these people. I\u2019m getting all these opportunities to build myself. I don\u2019t need to be some super famous person. I need to grow as a business so that I can fund ideas and give back to the youth. <\/p>\n

Why not be famous? <\/strong>
\nWhat does that do for anybody? That shit ain\u2019t worked for nobody yet. I mean I guess Steph Curry feels like he has a pretty good life right now. But I don\u2019t know bruh, it just doesn\u2019t work. I guess the best story is Frank Ocean. He made his money and then dipped. I\u2019m on my dip off. I don\u2019t need to be the face of nothing. I don\u2019t need people walking up on me and trying to talk to me. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Did it become harder to joke about skaters as you became close friends with them? <\/strong>
\nHell no. It became way easier. That was my favorite part. My thing was always, \u201cIf you know me, you know I\u2019m playing.\u201d So if you\u2019re taking it seriously, then we were probably never really cool, like you lowkey didn\u2019t like me already. Companies too, you feel me? I\u2019ll make fun of anybody. I don\u2019t care. It\u2019s a joke, bro. If you did some goofy shit, I\u2019m going to say some goofy shit.<\/p>\n

Do you think you created a new lane in skateboarding with Skateline? <\/strong>
\nI love that we opened the door for people to speak about skateboarding in a way that other people wanted to watch for entertainment. There are people that did this shit before us, but we opened the door for people that may not be the best skateboarder in the world to get to be in the industry and give ideas. That is sick no matter what. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s your biggest learning from doing Skateline for 12 years?<\/strong>
\nStay consistent. Keep going, make sure you give it your all while you can. <\/p>\n

Interview by: Ian Michna<\/a>
\nIntro and editorial assists: Ben Komins<\/a>
\nPhotos courtesy of: Admando Soria-Ortega
\nTalk yo shit on Facebook<\/a>
\nScroll to the bone on Instagram<\/a> and Twitter<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you pulled the pin on a grenade and forgot to throw it, there\u2019s a chance you\u2019d still be able to count the people who have been in a Thrasher video over 600 times on your charred fingers. Because there\u2019s only one, and it\u2019s not even a pro skateboarder. It\u2019s Gary Rogers. Host of Skateline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,282],"class_list":["post-1822864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-jenkemmag-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1822864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822864\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1822864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1822864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1822864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}