The Light Of Puerto Rico: Diego Najera and Jenn Soto
words and photos by Caleb Sugai.
The only experience I've had with Puerto Rico up until this trip was the time the homie Monkey showed me some Robert Lopez footage ten thousand beers deep.
Needless to say I was pretty in the dark about what really goes on out there. Thankfully, Adidas decided that some skate photojournalist should scope it out for a couple days, so they sent ya boy because everyone else was busy. The squad was tight and included mega-hammers Diego Najera and Jenn Soto, who were there as a part of Adidas’ “Nuestra Cultura Al Mundo” celebration. The idea of the celebration was to highlight Hispanic and Latino excellence, which, based on swag alone I think Diego and Jenn both achieve. While I would like to come back and tell a story of cultural transformation, I would be full of shit. The truth is that I competed in a drunken triathlon consisting of skating, gambling, and swimming.
However, despite being hampered by my own ignorance, the light of Puerto Rico seeped through the cracks. The little homies at the DIY park sweeping up the bowl early in the morning; the homie Javi picking up Marcus and I to show us spots; Jenn’s sister teaching us dominoes; although it was just a small glimpse, it was all I needed to begin to understand.
This sense of community and perseverance was expanded when I had the chance to speak directly with Diego and Jenn. They aren't just some rich brats who focus their boards and scream at mall cops. They understand that they are a part and product of a vast cultural tapestry designed and sculpted by where they are from, and they hold that with pride.
Special thanks to the Adidas family.
What's the last sunset you watched? Who were you with what was it like?
J: I go to Cuba a lot because my partner is over there, and our apartment is right next to the seafront. There's this wall in Havana called the Malecon. It's this Iconic spot where you can go watch the sunset… It's cool. And sometimes the water gets crazy, the water starts crashing and everybody gets soaked n shit. But that day was a calm one.
D: My last sunset that I had got to see was actually in El Centro during my birthday. Was just chillin out in the backyard with the family, super sentimental. Just took a look out and it was a cotton candy sunset in the desert.
J: I love that cotton candy effect
D: yeah it just comes out of nowhere. You wont even realize it's above your head then you just take a glance and be “like damn that shits crazy.”
So I know for you Diego, you've started “Nothing Special”, making your own shit and putting your own flavor into it. And Jenn, you started mixing some music with the turntables. I feel like it's pretty common for skateboarders to enter different realms and make it work for them. How did skateboarding teach you how to do different things? How do you apply what skateboarding taught you to these new ventures?
D: Well for me, personally, skateboarding has been the basis for me learning anything else that I put my mind to. It helps me to understand that you have to keep trying in order to get better at it or to accomplish anything in that space. Skateboarding has taught me so much within anything I do, from here on out. The way I think of things, the way I look at things, even with business shit, the company side of things ya know? I'm always a student, always learning, you never know enough, you can always learn more.
J: I would say for me it's pretty similar. How skateboarding teaches you how to accomplish stuff.
D: It puts you in that space to keep trying and trying
J: The confidence behind it in the bigger picture.I want to get into more things but I just haven't yet but the Idea of knowing that we made skating work out, like we're here skating in Puerto Rico just chillin, it adds a little confidence like I can do anything I put my mind to.
It's been fun trying to find something that gives you that same feeling as skating. I can get bored pretty quickly. Like I'm that person who can pick up a hobby and the next week I'll drop it. So when something grabs my attention… The music thing is just for fun but it's something that I found where 4 hours will just go by. There's not a lot of things that do that for me but skating.
Both of you have been going to a lot of latin countries lately. Diego you just came from Mexico City, Jenn you’ve been going to Cuba and Brazil. You both have been here a couple times. From seeing these countries, being there, talking to people and experiencing the culture. What’s something from these countries that is normalized there that you would bring back to the U.S?
J: I feel like Latin countries are more community based. People aren’t afraid to hug each other and kiss each other on the cheek. I just love that everyone can be family. In a moment of conversation “I’ll see you tomorrow” is something that hits a little bit differently.
D: I'm along those same lines. it's a place (U.S) that If you give people that same type of welcoming environment that you receive when you go to these countries (Latin) it might be something that they're not used to. So bringing back real love, and caring for people that are right beside you even if you don’t know them. They might be going through something.
And these people out here are going through a lot as well, everyone is, but they still carry a smile on their faces. Shows that no matter what the hardship is you can still be there for one another. I would bring that back. There's not a lot of that out there (U.S), there’s a lot of “me,me,me’s”.
If you guys had the choice, who’s someone who doesn’t skate that you would give a pro board to?
J: That doesn’t skate?
Or skate adjacent.
D: Imma turn my boy Kevin Perez pro. He’s a filmmaker. He doesn't know about it yet though. That my Boy.
Throw some wheel wells on it?
D: Wheel wells, custom shape, all that. He likes to skate his filmer board sometimes so I'd make it so he can still get down. I like getting creative, and he puts in hella work, massive amounts of work.
J:I don’t know if I’m saying this because I'm listening to you, but it would be really funny to see Dserr, our filmer for Adidas. Big ass wheels on the cruiser board, filmer board is giant, switch frontside flip first try on flat. Nollie heels, switch heels, he’s super sick.
D: He’s got that same passion though. They’re skaters too, they just went a different route.
J: We need that pro part.
D: Imagine that? That would be sick!
Like Beagle and shit. But you can always tell that someone else had to help film cause the angles are all different.
J: We’ll film their parts.
D: to the best of our ability.
How is learning about different cultures through skateboarding different from your average tourist?
D: It’s the culture that I come from. Respecting where you’re at, I like to know about the community and the culture, not too much but I do my best. I like to learn about it, understand and respect their space and the area. It’s important to me and it's something that I carry with me and anywhere I go.
J: I feel like skateboarding has so many different types of people. So anytime we are somewhere skating in a different country, yeah we’re meeting skaters and stuff but sometimes maybe after the sesh, someone is into music so they know a spot for that or someone is a foodie and cooks and they recommend food around the city. It allows you to see the city more in depth. The tourist stuff is cool, but I like the cutty local stuff.
I feel like skaters always got the best food spots.
J: I love a good food tour.
D: For real.
Diego I know you recently walked for fashion, and through your brand you've been putting out a lot of clothes. Can you see yourself coming into a designer role for more one off pieces? Have you tried anything like that already?
D: Personally I have tried. I got down with two of my homies that have their own companies (Grand Collection, Contigo Por Siempre), and they gave me the opportunity to create a piece with them after they saw that I was into doing it. It also got me a space to figure out why I’m so intrigued and excited about making these pieces. There’s a reason behind it and I’m just following that reason. So I can definitely see myself go into a fashion house and get down with some shit on the back end as well and let that be the study for me to create my own shit later on. Which I am now but on a higher level of garments. It’s something that I’m definitely into and looking forward to keeping going at it.
I saw that you had that one piece with Grand, and based on the name it seems like it lined up with that trip to japan you guys took. You got a lot of influence from that trip to make something?
D: So for that particular trip we were already shooting a new line that we were coming out with. The whole concept behind that video was to showcase all the new pieces that we were creating in different scenes of Japan and how they would fit in that type of environment. Cigar lounge style, the Houndstooth, with the corduroy sleeves, putting each piece in the right scenery. The concept of the video was making something that wasn’t normally seen in skating. We were on some shit, going around the whole city looking for samples, getting ideas, it was a whole production style trip, not just to film and skate but also to be inspired by our surroundings. That's how that jacket came from that Tokyo trip.
It was a bit cold so we thought about what would be functional in weather like this. The Sherpa on the chest but if it rains and you threw something over it, you would still have the sleeves showing, so you wouldn't get the sherpa wet, just the Nylon sleeves. I designed that piece in Shibuya so that is why I gave it the name “Shibuya Sherpa”.
It shows that you already have that designer mindset, showing that you can make something for a specific area. That seems super important. I’d probably release a jacket in the summer.
D: Your chest and your body gets colder than your arms. The sherpa keeps the center of your body warm. The nylon lets your arms breathe so you don't feel congested.
Jenn, When you were making a break into skateboarding, You did what a lot of male skaters do, save up some money and just go, mainly California. What were those first couple months like?
J: I kind of just saw my opportunity to go and took it. Just winging it with no plan. It made for a fun adventure and good stories. I met Manny Santiago at Woodward maybe the year before going to L.A. I had no plan going, but in the middle of the drive you have a lot of time to think. I forgot where I got the idea but somewhere in the middle of the country, I thought I wanted to try and hit up Manny. I was fortunate enough that he just opened his arms up, let me stay at the house. I didn’t have to worry about too many details, I knew I had to get a job. I think I was there for like a month or two. But it was so crazy being a kid and suddenly being in a house with a skatepark in the back and that house is filled with really good homies all the time. Uplifting each other, living well, eating well, stuff like that. That gave me the push to figure it out.
That's sick midway through just winging it, and for it to work out like that.
J: I was winging it from the moment I stepped in the car. I was gonna figure it out or go back home and I didn’t want to do that so…
Diego, were you able to skate the banks in NY?
D: Not since they reopened them, but I was such a kid. It's probably better now that it's reopened.
Jenn, were you?
J: The Banks are the same, the floor is the same, they just remodeled the buildings and space.
How is it being able to skate there after seeing all that old footage and having it closed on you?
J: Oh dude, I grew up skating in Jersey City so we would just take the PATH train to the city, and our route would usually be to stop there and then go to LES. I remember when it got closed we were super bummed because that was our route. Then it was gonna be open in 2 years… then the next year… so for all this time to have passed and to finally be able to go back. I have a lot of good memories there. Skippin school… ya know stuff like that. It felt like no time had passed but it was still very trippy. It's still the same spot but it's cleaner.
What's the most dialed down thing you can cook?
J: For me it's rice and beans, salad, and some type of meat, chicken, carne, with a sauce.
What kind of sauce do you add?
J: If it's chicken, season it up, add some water, let it cook like that, then at the end crank up the heat and all that water will thicken into a sauce and whatever seasonings you add as well, adobo, sazon.
D: I kinda bounce around but if I want something quick I'll throw a slab of chicken on there, season it well, get down with some spicy fusilli pasta. I try to get everything from scratch. But if you’re tryna be quick just get the pasta from the store, if not I'll make the dough with the egg ya know?
You can make your own pasta?
D: yeah Just egg water flour. Just a quick chicken pasta plate. If I have more time, probably the same as Jenn. I love a good brown rice and beans from scratch but beans take all day. You gotta separate em and shit, take the good ones, and let them boil for mad long, once that’s done you throw everything else in. A nice slab of steak, rice, and beans
J: That's fire, doing everything from scratch, I grab the goya beans. I forgot you have to do all that.
D: It takes all day. I like to mash 'em to refried style. You can also mash them at your own pace, like if you want little chunks don’t smash it as much.
You gotta hit the cookbook one of these days.
