Welcome back to another Comacan questions interview, we are now at number 99 and we are stoked to say that we’ve brough almost 100 interviews to life with so many different people and brands. Being that we are close to 100 interviews we had asked who readers wanted to hear from, recommended to us by one of our readers (who has also been featured himself) was todays guest. Our guest this week has a focus on the freestyle side of skateboarding, something that we do not personally have a lot of experience with but we do look forward to learning ourselves and sharing this interview. Please enjoy this week’s interview with MLM Skates.
What is MLM Skates?
MLM Skates is a freestyle skateboarding brand.
What does MLM stand for?
It’s a mix between a name other skaters called me as a kid, and the name of the first rider I sponsored in Brazil, Lucas Melo. I’m actually in the process of re-branding slightly. Let’s say it stands for “Mr. Lloyd & Melo Skates” for now.
Why did you choose the name MLM?
In a way, I didn’t choose it at all. It just kind of was, like A&W.
Where are you based out of?
I’m based out of Ontario, Canada. More or less the only freestyle game in town, unfortunately.
What inspired the creation of MLM Skates?
After giving up downhill skating, I was unhappy for a long time. I decided to start a company, just to reconnect with skating in some way. That led to supporting a skater in Brazil, who just so happened to be a freestyle skater. I couldn’t find the gear I needed to try it myself, so I decided to solve the problem.
Where can people view available products?
People can check out my stuff at https://mlmskates.com/ or see a sample of my first shape in person at this year’s Freestyle World Round-Up! I’ll also have a small stack of decks available at Decomposed soon. Great folk over there.
What does skateboarding mean to you personally?
I started skating downhill in 1997, when I was five. For nearly twenty years, it was all about adrenaline and speed. I ended up bailing hard in my twenties, nearly died, then had to go through physio therapy. I got hooked on pain killers, then everything else. That led to me being homeless for a while. I got clean in 2015 and started putting myself back together. I tried working some day jobs and couldn’t handle the public, so I ended up at home with nothing to do and no prospects. I eventually decided that I was going to be in pain no matter what, so I might as well do what I love. Skateboarding means everything to me. It has my heart, and it took my body.
What do you specifically like about freestyle skateboarding?
What draws me to freestyle is the individuality and the accessibility. All you need is a board and a flat space to practice. You could learn to skate like the pros without ever leaving your house. Not to say it’s easy, but there’s a ton of cool tricks for every skill level.
Anyone you’d like to thank?
There are a lot of people I’d like to thank, but I’ll keep it short(ish).
Thanks to Witter Cheng and everyone at Decomposed for all their help.
Thanks to my team; Lucas Melo (@lujeej), Orson Merry (@orson_m_d), Billie Freestyle (@billie.freestyle) and Jacob Sexton (@jacob_sexton_07).
Lastly, huge thanks to my sister, Pearl Clapp, Mr. Tony Gale, Terry Chui, Monty Little, Kevin Harris, Casey Smith and all the other rad skaters that gave me advice and support over the last year. It’s been a wild ride so far.