Stoke Levels Rising: Milton Martinez Interview

Milton Intro 750px

So, damn it! You broke your leg a few days ago?
Yeah, we went on a mission at six in the morning and yeah, man, I fucked it all up. I sat on my fucking foot on my board and dislocated my ankle and broke the side bone on my leg called the fibula. I went to the Red Bull doctor yesterday and he said it’s not that bad. I need a quick surgery and to not walk for two months then after that I can start the recovery for a month. After that I should be back to good

 

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Wow! So they are not going to amputate it?!
No! It should be alright. I’m dealing with the pain. I have pain pills.

Did you say pain pills? Be careful. Don’t get hooked!
No, I said I got time for the family now so that makes it all right.

Milton 1 seq 750pxPainless wall bounce in LA        Sequence: Burnett

It’s pretty cool that Red Bull has doctors on hand that will take care of this 
for you.
Yeah, that’s a really big help! Red Bull Argentina hooked it up and they are going to pay for it. I’m so stoked. If I had to pay for it, it would have been very hard for me to cover it. Gnarly.

Wow! So you don’t even have to pay for it? They just have these guys on staff to get you back in the game as quick as possible?
Yeah, it’s really cool, man. I’m trying to do everything they say to make it go faster. 
I went to the doc today and I’m going back tomorrow. The surgery is next week. They have to wait for the swelling to go down, then they can operate.

Milton 2 750pxNollie big spin at Our Father’s house    Photo: Remy

Well, I guess your part is done now! Are you pretty holy stoked on it?
I’ve been on a bunch of trips so I didn’t have a lot of time to film for it but I’m stoked on what I got, you know? I think it’s alright.

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Were you trying to get a last trick for the video when you got hurt?
I was trying a kickflip on the downtown carwash in LA. The one that Mark Gonzales skates. I didn’t get to try the kickflip, though. I just broke my foot on the ollie. I think it was too early; I wasn’t warmed up. It was too high. I don’t know but I fucked it up.


Whose part are you looking forward to the most?
Everyone’s part is going to be gnarly! But Grant Taylor, Louie, Kyle, Alec, Caswell—I think everyone’s part will be good because of the different styles of skating. I can’t wait to see it.

Milton 3 750pxRipped from the pages of Photo–G. Unadulterated fatty to flatty    Photo: Remy

Yeah, and Russell seems like he’s doing a good job of editing it.
It looks like it’s going to be a fun, gnarly video, man. I can’t wait to watch it with everyone.

How long are you going to be out?
The doctors said only three months and then I’ll be good again. It’s crazy how fast they can make you better these days.

Milton 4 750pxAbout to land on the photographer, 10-flat-9     Photo: Remy

Since you can’t skate, are you going home to see your wife and kid now that you have some free time?
They are here already in Long Beach now! We have a little apartment. I’m with my daughter right now getting some morning sun! Luckily, they are here. They are helping me a lot. They are the best support I can get right now.

I’m sure it’s hard for you to be away from your family when you travel all 
the time. How do they handle it? Are they understanding?
Yeah, they understand. My daughter is just three years old so she doesn’t really know what’s going on yet but my girl, she skates too, so she fully understands everything that I have to do. She doesn’t try to keep me home when trips come up. I think it’s because she skates and she gets it.

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Your girl skates too?!
Yeah, man. She’s better than me probably!

Who wins in a game of skate?
Her most the time. She got nollieflips, fakie hardflips, nollie backside flips and I can’t do that stuff.

Do you guys go to the skateparks and have picnics?
Back in Argentina we go with everyone: 
My mom, my brother, my girl, my daughter, the whole family and have big picnics at the park. Everyone goes to the park and chills and skates. Drink some yerba mate tea. 
Have good times.

Milton 5 seq 750pxScooter-assisted gap up to NBS    Sequence: Remy

That’s awesome! What part of Argentina are you from again?
The south of Argentina on the beach side. It’s, like, four hours from Buenos Aires.

Another gnarly stunt man named Diego is from Argentina. Did he influence your skating or is it just something in the water down there?
Yeah, for sure, man. I’ve been watching since I was a little kid. All my life I was watching Toy Machine videos, the Thrasher videos or whatever I could find with him in it. Watching him for a long time jumping big shit like the 20-stair in Japan and that big nollie. He was big back in the day!

Milton 6 750pxAll along the watchtower, Milton ollies in at Hendrix High     Photo: Arto

Are you guys buds now?
Oh yeah, for sure! He’s my brother’s TM. We get to see him all the time. Cleaver skateboards is Diego’s company. My brother rides for Nike and Diego is the TM for that too.

You say your brother skates as well?
Yeah, both of them do. Ezequiel rides for Diego’s board brand and Nike also.

So do you get to travel with your brother to skate?
Not so much last year but the year before that we went all over: Barcelona, the States, Costa Rica and some other places. It was really fun. I’m getting him to come to Long Beach right now so he can skate here and help me a little bit with this leg!

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What are you going to do with all the free time you have now until your leg heals?
Just try to fix this leg as fast as I can and be on top of everything the docs tell me to do. Get it done so I can get on my board as fast as I can. Until then, just be with my family and doing all the dad shit that I have to do. Get the gas put in the new house, all that kind of good stuff. Make sure we are good here for a few months.

 

Milton 7 750px

Broken ankle, 6:45 AM. Get well soon, Milton    Photo: Burnett

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