Richard’s part from the Transworld video First Love – 2005

By: Jason King

The first wave of professional skateboarders to come out of Dallas were Jeff Philips, Craig Johnson and Dan Wilkes. Following them was the next wave of vert guys, notably Mike Crum and Mark Roach. And then there was Richard Angelides.

Dallas is, and will always be, remembered for the legendary vert skaters mentioned above, but Richard deserves mention in the same breath. His remarkable career spans two decades and he is, quite simply, the best street skater to ever come out of Texas.

I will never forget my first memory of Richard as a 13 year old, fully padded kid destroying the mini-ramps at Jeff Philips park. Some of us older guys mistook his shyness as arrogance, but really we were probably all just jealous. At this point none of us knew how good a street skater he was, but we were amazed by his abilities at the park, even holding his own as a Good Texan on the vert ramp.

When we eventually became friends and started spending more time in the streets, one thing was completely evident: Richard had more natural talent than all of us. In the pre-internet days, we relied on VHS tapes to keep us current on the quickly evolving art of street skateboarding. I can remember all of us learning pressure flips together one night after watching some H-Street video. Afterward I dropped Richard off around midnight at his mom’s house. The next day when we were skating downtown, Richard could do every pressure flip variation imaginable. To this day, I’m not sure if he learned them in his sleep or if he was up all night skating in his mom’s garage.

That never stopped. Richard could always do everything.

Interview by Jason Shelton

1. Where did you grow up?
i grew up in San Antonio Texas at a young age but when i got involved in skating is when my life started and that was in Dallas Texas, so i consider that where i actually grew up

2. Why did you start skating?
saw it on tv once on espn much like you could watch the xgames or malloof now days and was completely drawn to it, had to try it

3. When did you start?/first set up?
i started just on my ass or knees on random boards, probably not even mine, just bombing sidewalks for entertainment like a mini roller coaster, but that was before i saw it on tv and how it could be done for more than just a laugh. then when i was aware that there was more to it i got a legit santa cruz deck at the first shop i ever walked into. thanks mom

4. Who were your favorites coming up?
i had plenty, anyone who came to town that helped me realize the possibility of progression. matt hensley ,umm there were too many to name

5. Were you stoked on the Dallas skate scene?
i didnt know any other scene but yeah i was stoked on it. it was good to me, couldnt have imagined it different

6. Tell us about some memorable street spots in the D/FW area.
marble gardens was the shit, just a plaza in downtown fort worth. was our equal to love park or emb i guess. just somewhere you looked so forward to going to always, id be there everyday now if i could

7. Who did you want to skate like?
my friend Jason King played me a Black Sheep song once called “have U.N.E. pull” cuz the moral of the song is to be yourself. i still probably wanted to do something like a bunch of different people, pick and choose you know? reese forbes ollie, J Lees tre flip, Biebels energy, etc

8. How did JPSP factor into your life?
uhh, saved my life i think, too much to say but my life would be on a different path without that park and my freedom and friendly connections stemming from there

9. Who was your posse?
tons. people i met at the park, and continued to kick it with/take me in. mainly Jason Shelton, Richie Harrington , and Jason King. only real homies that didnt revolve around skating only. corrupting fucks to me because i was the youngest. you fucks!!

10. When did you get sponsored and by who? (poorhouse/other level)
i got sponsored at like 14 ithink, i got boards from a few local companies then mike crum and chris gentrys spawn off of vision called other level, geto boys inspired, then alien workshop around the same age, fifteen i think

11. You rode for Alien Workshop. What happened with that?
i was so psyched, but i couldnt get any help to get near a filmer when they wanted footage. aka go to california and things unravelled i guess. i made a choice to be with the people that helped me get there and stay there in cali, even if it was a couch or a floor i was where i wanted to be so i switched to be with homies that took care of me. never any hard feelings, i just couldnt produce what they wanted stuck at my moms house in Texas

12. What was your level of addiction to Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat? (trenchcoat!)
dude it was like crack im guessing, i dont even play video games nowdays, maybe like iphone apps to kill time but if i was rich then arcade owners would have a hella lot more quarters from me. i was intruiged by it so much and i couldnt tell you why. i fucking loooooved those games

13. What music did you bump in Dallas?
geto boys fool! i was super into cypress hill randomly, i met people that introduced me to other stuff than rap like the pixies that i love to this day, i was stubborn but open minded to an open ear equals a new variety

14. Skatepark of Houston had some heavy talent, tell us about it.
houston was the shit, just a new scene and a raw group of talent. road trips were exciting and helped us all progress. different stuff to skate and people to learn from and open arms to welcome us to the neighborhood, some of my best learning experiences skating and life for sure

15. Tell us about your contribution in the development of vert skating? (pressure flip mutes)
i was scared of vert, took me so long to drop in, but i felt like you had to be involved in all of skating to be a part of it, i loved people like colin mckay who would get tech and treat a vert ramp like a ledge so that was what i strived for. i had a small bag of tricks then. i skated vert ramps bitch

16. When did you realize you could skate for a living?
when i got paid stupid, i moved into an apartment when i was visiting San Diego…ohh i can live here now? ok ..thanks. not going home to moms now

17. Give us a typical day for Richard these days in sunny SoCal.
depends, its summer now, i play my guitar in the morning in my driveway, or just sit in my driveway, i live by the beach and its so damn peacfull. ive been going to blackbox aka Zero park alot by my self, Jamie T gave me the a ok, and am very greatful for the chief to say that. fuck i do whatever i want as long as i continue to feel comfortable on a board. its my life

18. Who are your favorites these days?
these days? alot. cuz i still love people that i can watch from back in the day. kyle leeper, stefan, biebel, my friends are my favorite. old gino and keenan, koston and guy. i love kenny anderson. mostly my friends though. alex schmidt is my friend

19. Who was you friendly Texas competition back in the day?
the person asking me these questions i grew up skating wth, i know he want me to answer “Josh Kalis” but thats not true. Josh moved to Dallas when we were both around sixteen/seventeen and i was a local and he wasnt. competition is for team sports like rivalries, Lakers Celtics, Red Sox Yankees, even Mavs and Heat now. i was a local when he moved in town, he came to the park and i realized there was people who made it street skating cuz all i knew then were local vert pros. funny thing is people thought we were in competion but i never thought of it that way and after so many years he is now part of the Kayo fam and i couldnt be happier, i cant block his shot ever