THE COMPLEX 7: RYAN SHECKLER

It’s hard to believe, but Ryan Sheckler is still only 18. Since he turned pro five years ago, he’s earned both (a) veritable shitloads of skateboarding awards and sponsors and (b) a constant stream of naysayers who scoff at his reality show (MTV’s Life of Ryan) and money-out-the-ass style. In that sense, Ryan reminds us a little of Soulja Boy—he’s undeniably good at what he does but pisses people off because he enjoys making a lot of money and acting like a teenager. Know this: Ryan is playing the game, and he’s winning. Feel free to hate, but it is what it is.

On deck for the skater is his official clothing brand, RS by Sheckler (available at JCPenney). Who will buy Ryan’s budget-friendly collection of T-shirts, jeans and accessories? “The kids at the skate parks that like what I wear,” he says. “Their parents are not going to drop $80 on a pair of jeans that their kids are going to put holes in. So go buy $39 jeans and have [the kids] put as many holes in them as they want.” Ryan was recently in town to promote RS, so we got up with him to talk about TV breakups, bad injuries and his favorite rappers. Read on for The Complex 7 as well as pics from the RS collection….

Interview by Jaeki Cho

#1: WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER ONE DEAL-BREAKER FOR A POTENTIAL GIRLFRIEND?

Ryan Sheckler says: Just demanding and wanting too much of my time. For me it’s God, skateboarding and family. I keep myself out of a dating situation unless I find a girl like a lawyer who is doing her own thing. I think having a girlfriend who doesn’t have a job, who doesn’t do anything but sits around and waits for you is really complicating.

#2: WHAT’S THE WORST WAY YOU’VE BROKEN UP WITH SOMEONE?

Ryan Sheckler says: That was on the second season [of Life of Ryan]. I had this girlfriend named Kayla, beautiful blond girl. I have a really short attention span, especially with women. I got over the situation and I was traveling too much so I couldn’t do it. And the producer of the show said, “You got to break up with her on TV.” I was like, “Fuck, man.” So with four cameras and 15 production assistants, I went up to her and said, “Babe, this isn’t going to work anymore.” It was the hardest breakup I had to do. TV breakups are hard. You don’t want to look like a dick, but you don’t want to look like you are shutting her down 100%.

“Big up…to all my haters!”

#3: WHAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR FRIDGE AT ALL TIMES?

Ryan Sheckler says: We always have Red Bull [laughs], fresh fruit, cheese, everything…the freezer’s loaded too. We have a lot of Hot Pockets.

#4: WHAT’S THE MOST EMBARRASSING PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU’VE EVER WORN?

Ryan Sheckler says: I wore this plain white shirt with a vest over it at the MTV Awards, and then I saw a picture of it. I went, “Oh, God.” It was just a plain white T-shirt with a vest and a [Red Bull] necklace. It just didn’t work and I was so embarrassed. I hope it wasn’t a K-Fed moment, but it was a moment that made me say, “I’ll never wear a vest again.”

#5: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SNEAKER OF ALL TIME?

Ryan Sheckler: My favorite sneaker is my fifth shoe that’s coming out with etnies called Sheckler 5. I’m never leaving etnies—lifetime contract with them [laughs]. It’s basically a mid-shoe with a brand-new toe we made out of G2 Platinum—the stuff that they put in bulletproof vests—so when you skate your heels don’t get too much impact.

RS by Sheckler collection display at the Red Bull Space in NYC.

#6: IF YOU HAD A WEEK-LONG HOLIDAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Ryan Sheckler says: I’ll go to Atlantis in Bahamas. I went there during spring break this year and it was insane. The story is, I got home from Australia on a Monday and we had St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday. So on St. Patrick’s Day night, my friends and I were saying, “We’re going to the mountains for spring break.” And then someone said, “What mountains? It’s supposed to be hot. Let’s go to the Bahamas.” So 10:30 p.m. at night we got 7 tickets, got our stuff, our passports, and then next morning we flew to the Bahamas. The legal age there is 18, so I finally got to gamble. I was gambling out there, and I won like 12 grand.

#7: WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Ryan Sheckler says: I don’t usually cry when I break bones, but I cried after I broke [my right arm]. Second day after my surgery, I was in the most pain of my life. First, they took out all the ligaments from my wrist, and cut out both sides of my elbow. Then they strung it all through my arm, put two plates, four screws, and the screws are still in [my right arm]. It was supposed to be a two-hour surgery, but they found so many more things wrong that the surgery turned out to be six-and-a-half hours. I was out the whole time so I don’t remember anything until I went home to my bed four hours later. The pain was so insane that I threw up the food I’d eaten. It was so bad. And I hate taking painkillers, so I was just trying to tough it out, but I had to take them. It didn’t even hurt breaking it as bad as it hurt after the surgery.

BONUS QUESTION:

Complex: What are your thoughts on the hip-hop community embracing skate culture?

Ryan Sheckler says: I absolutely love it. I just love the fact that they embrace [skate culture] by rocking the same shit we are rocking. They are giving skaters way more hype now. And I think skateboarding is so big now, it’s actually legit to copy some shit. My favorite rapper is Lil Wayne by far. Him and Baby are one of the coolest and most legit dudes. But I’m also really tight with Snoop. So I love Snoop and I love Wayne.