This afternoon we spent a day at the Rage Skatepark in Festival City to skate with Sid. We just welcomed Sid to the team and today we got to learn a bit more about him…

Interview + Photos by Evan Collisson

Yo Sid! Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way first. What’s your full name, how old are you and where are you from?

I’m from the Manila, Philippines. My full name is Sid Dela Paz. I was born November 28th in 1983, that makes me 25…

How long have you been skating for, and how did you first get into skating in the Philippines?

I’ve been skating for 5 years now, I saw my school friends skating in college and i just borrowed a board and that was it, thats when I started.

What brought you out here to the Emirates and when did you move?

I moved out here for work, my friend told me it was a good place to find a job.

What do you think of the scene out here?

The scene here is much better than the Philippines.

How’s it better here?

Over here you can get a board for cheaper. The value of the ‘peso’ over there is a lot less, so that makes the price of a board really expensive.

But what about in terms of skating?

I think its a lot harder to skate street here, back in Manila, its a lot easier to just go skate anywhere in the streets. Plus you can make obstacles easier.

You made obstacles?

Yeah, you can buy cheap materials over there, like metal and wood.. not like here.

Sid - Frontside Smith

So you live in Abu Dhabi right now?

Yeah.

How is skating there compared to skating in Dubai?

There are a lot of spots in Abu Dhabi… Like at the Corniche theres the waves, chambers, the skatepark there, baladiya park, it’s easier to skate street there, defintiely not as much security keeping us from skating the spots…

Have you skated street in Dubai much yet?

I’ve only really skated at Sparks and at Fountain so far..

What’d you think of those spots?

Those spots are sick man! Those two spots are probably the sickest out in Dubai. I’ve also skated out in Sharjah at the Gold Souk spot, but the security was bad, they wanted to take our boards!

Whats your job right now?

I’m working at a spa, its actually a men’s spa in Abu Dhabi.

Sid - Krooks

What do you do there?

I do waxing for men. (laughs) I never expected to do that kind of work. I didn’t know what I was gonna do when I moved here. My friend just asked me if I wanted come out here and I said yeah. He found me this job because they needed staff.

What’s something you would be embarrassed to tell your friends about your job?

Seriously man, I’m always waxing the butts of local men… Under arms, and full body. But I don’t do the bikini waxing.

What’s the bikini waxing?

It’s when you wax the male organ, the balls and everything!

Yeah, I think most people can understand why you wouldn’t wanna go there. Are you looking for another job?

Yeah, I actually applied at Rage, I already had an interview and they want to put me in the bike shop.

Thats weird, I can’t see why they wouldn’t put you in the skate shop.

Yeah, well im still waiting for the boss’s decision!

Don’t you think you have more to offer as a skater working in the skate shop.

Yeah, I feel like i’d enjoy the work more even if the salary is better at my current job. I’d be stoked to be more involved with skating on a daily basis. I’ll be able to skate more, i think.

Congrats on getting hooked up, how does it feel?

I never expected I would be on the Rage team, because I heard it was hard to get on… But when Joel, Natt and Kader called to tell me I was on the team, I was pretty shocked!

Well you didn’t have to pass any test, we just thought you were a rad dude. Do you think having the support will help progress your skating?

Yeah, because now I can get the support to skate. I can skate at the park and the bowl for free.. Sometimes I didn’t have a board to skate. It’s also hard getting a board out in Abu Dhabi. I usually bought used boards from kids in Abu Dhabi, and they’d only last 3 or for days, a week at most. So this will really help me out. I used to ride for a shop back in Manila called Source, that was for about a year.

What other things are you into besides skating?

I like to BMX and downhill bike… Mountain biking is fun because you go really fast, we have these really good mountains back in Manila I used to ride a lot with my friends. To be honest, I actually never thought I would skate again over here in Dubai, i gave all my boards and stuff away to my friends in Philippines. But when I moved here I saw skaters at Deira Fountain. they say there was a shop in Mall of the Emirates called Rage. So I went there and bought a Mini Logo deck from Joel, and asked if there were some spots, and other skaters here. He told me all the Filipino dudes go skate on thursdays in Deira. So I’d go skate with those guys…

Sid - Buttery Nosegrind

How come all the Filipinos like to skate together and not with anyone else? You guys skate on secret schedules and stuff.

Because we like to skate together, i mean, we like to skate with other people, but when we skate together it almost feels like we’re all back home or something. It feels good. We’re speaking our language and we’re all friends.

Thats cool, One thing i’ve always noticed with the shop over the years that all the Filipino dudes working here get all their homies hooked up with a job at Rage. You’re looking out for one another.

Yeah it’s true, we like the opportunity to work with our friends that also skate. It’s good for a skate shop, because we all know what we’re talking about when a kid comes in and wants to know something, we can tell a kid exactly what to offer them.

Right on, you should get hired for saying that. Is there anything else you wanna say?

I just want to thank Rage for making me a team rider. Kader, all the Filipino skaters working at the shop.. You, Evan for skating with me and shooting photos. Thanks to my family back home in Manila. My professors in college, who also skate.. i got five professors who also skate back there! I used skate with them while the other students were studying!

Thanks Sid!