Skidmark Skatemag SM44 | Page 23

throwing away everything, just to be pickled. But I get it. I get the struggle. It’s hard, you know. Through all of it, skateboarding was what really was making me happy. It’s easy to lose yourself in certain drugs. You can lose everything, and it takes time to rebuild, especially with skating. It’s just about being the best version of one’s self. Im 5 years clean from alcohol and hard drugs which is the best thing ive done for myself. I dig it. don’t give up on your dreams. Do what feels right for you not the crowd. SKIDDY: What would you say if you could go back in time and talk to yourself? BELO: Have fun, dont trip on what people think. Don’t waste time on the party. Stay focused and skate. SKIDDY: You want to thank anybody? BELO: Big thanks to my sponsors for helping SKIDDY: Was there a “rock bottom” me out and hooking it up (Skateworks, Krux point for you? Trucks, Guayaki, R&D (NHS)). Skiddy for sup- BELO: Yea, I’d wake up daily and drink three porting my skating and giving me this inter- tall cans of Steel Reserve, then I would go view. My fam and all the homies. out and skate and continue drinking. It was lame. I always had problems. My anxiety was horrible and unmanageable. I would just try to huck...liquid courage...try to jump off something big and hopefully get a banger or something. My skating’s become more tech- nical, because a lot of that jumping down stuff pickled...I screwed my knees up dude. I blew out all the cartilage in my knee. It’s bone on bone. SKIDDY: Do you have any words for young skaters out there? BELO: At the end of the day, it’s what you make it. It’s all about fun. Be yourself and “It’s hard, you know. Through all of it, skateboarding was what really was making me happy.”