RONNIE CREAGER — Chrome Ball Interview 112
Eric Swisher’s Chrome Ball Incident has a fantastic catalog of interviews. Its latest with Ronnie Creager is one of the best yet. Ronnie is a hall-of-fame-worthy skater with a legacy that spans several decades. So buckle up for a lengthy ride as you prepare to dive into this chronicle of Creager’s career.
One key point that this interview touches on is why Ronnie left Blind in 2014 after a 20-year relationship. You can view that excerpt below.
“I mean, there’s a part of me that wants to put the blame on other people. It’s tough but it kinda boils down to the fact that after 20 years… well, really the last 10 years, the decade prior with Rodney and Steve was awesome. But I had to come to the realization that with the new owners and management, there was no future for me there.
“I don’t know exactly what my future was supposed to be there, but I was told several times that when I was done skateboarding, I would have a place to do things. I wanted to believe that I had a home there. But in the end, all they wanted from me was the physical activity of skateboarding. And I’m not going to be able to skate forever.
“There was a span of about four years where new guys were coming in and the company was changing. We were all getting pay cuts and that’s fine. Skateboarding is definitely slowing down for me. But I would’ve liked to have done stuff within Dwindle. Maybe a company of my own or possibly a bigger part of Blind… a team manager or something else along those lines.
“At one point, I tried running my company Etcetera out of Dwindle as an attempt to get something going but it ended up lingering for about a year or so. I was really serious about it but they didn’t seem to be too interested.
“It’s obviously hard to talk about. There’s so much shit in all of this, all balled into one. I know that I can’t keep up with these younger guys, I just can’t. But they weren’t allowing me to pursue anything else there. So I had to look out for myself and leave.
“Realistically, it was getting increasingly difficult to be part of the operation. I almost quit three times before, but I stuck with it. I knew that I was getting phased out, but at the same time, I was told I had a home there. So I stayed, until it became obvious that this wasn’t going to be the case. I mean, hell, make me a janitor. That’s fine. Let me learn something and work my way up. Just give me a chance.
“It hurt, man. I spent 20 years riding for a company and all of a sudden, I’m worthless. Hopefully I can figure something out.”
Needless to say, Chrome Ball Interview 112 is highly recommended reading.
