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TinoIt was a little different from actual pool skating. I grew up skateboarding on the East Coast. I had only seen it in skate videos from the 80s, and I thought pool skating was like skating in the park. But in reality, it was something completely different.

TinoThe first time I skied was in upstate New York. I went through the woods and found a square pool next to a lake. It was like a bank. It had a relaxed atmosphere, and I think it was built in the 80's. We had a BBQ there, skated in the pool, and swam in the lake. We spent a lot of time there, BBQing, skating in the pool, swimming in the lake, camping, etc. It was a very different experience. It was a very different experience.

TinoNo, I didn't always go. It was kind of far and I was too young to drive, so I went with older friends when they went. Then I moved to New York and met an older friend who liked pool skating. He took me to Asbury Park in New Jersey, where I skated for the first time in a pool that was shaped to be easy to skate. It was really great.

TinoCool. It's a perfect departure from my life in NYC, where I lived for 18 years before moving here. It's very mellow. It's a very boring city, but I think it's great that you have to find something for yourself to do.

TinoI can't compare L.A. to New York because they are really different types of cities. What I like about this city is that I can feel nature right there. There are mountains and the ocean.

TinoI usually wake up in the morning, take a walk with my dog for about an hour, and have a cup of coffee or a smoothie. After that, I work at Supreme, and I live with two pro skaters, so I go on their missions and skate with them. I'm very bored (laughs).

TinoYes, it is.

TinoIn NY, I worked in a bar for 12 years, but that bar closed in 2010 (ed. note: it moved and is still open).

TinoIt opened in '89. It was a shitty area when it opened. The Lower East Side was a heroin and cocaine spot. People were selling it in their apartments, and people were standing in line. It was just crazy. There were gangs and dealers. It started to change, probably in the early to mid-90s. You didn't have to go to the Lower East Side back then. Max Fish was one of the first places to do business in that area. You could say that they created the Neighborhood. But then, as the area became more or less prosperous, the anti-Max Fish started to appear. And because of those kinds of complaints, we closed the store. It's ironic that they built the Neighborhood, but it became too good, and people started complaining about the bar. After the bar closed, I looked for work nearby, but there weren't many jobs for a guy with 12 years of bar experience. I could have been a bartender, though. Then Aaron, who was working at Supreme at the time, offered me a job at Supreme in LA. I talked to my girlfriend at the time and we decided to move the next day...I worked in bars for 12 years, took a day off, and started working at Supreme in LA.

TinoThere are a lot of them (laughs). Some of the guys would start crazy fights, and everything was already happening. One day, half the customers in the bar were skaters and the other half were graffiti writers. One of my friends was playing pool and his stick hit a girl in the butt. She was a friend of one of the bands, and that started a fight between the two halves of the bar crowd. It was like they were beating the shit out of everyone around them. I think Tony Alba was there at the time. It was after the Dog Town movie came out, so everybody knew him. And the guy wearing the Dog Town cap noticed him and said, "Tony Alba! Everybody stop!" And he yelled, "Stop!" (laughs). There were a lot of things like that. I've had John McEnroe, the tennis player, come. There were celebrities and young guys. There was the Arranged Gallery next door, so the guys from around there would come. It was a lot of crazy stuff, but I met a lot of creative people, and it was very inspiring. It was all about the people that were there. Musicians, skaters, graffiti writers. It was a very inspiring community.

TinoI moved to LA, started working at Supreme, and all my friends were pool skaters. That's how I got into pool skating.

TinoThat's right. Where you go skating depends on the environment. I wasn't planning on taking serious pool skating photos at first, but I took a few with my phone and saw that they looked really good, so I decided to do it right. Actually, I had never taken a serious picture before I started this project. I used to take pictures with my phone when we all went skating together, but before I knew it, I'd fallen in love with photography. But it's hard to bring a big piece of equipment with you, so I just used a small camera with basic auto-focus. That's how it all started. I naturally wanted to find more pools, take more pictures, and when I saw the pictures, I wanted to take more pictures. I wanted to skate a lot, find new pools, and get better at photography.

TinoI think it's the same everywhere. Because the skate and art scene is all influenced and driven by the same things, no matter where you live. So it's the same no matter where you are. Kids see pro skaters drawing stuff on grip tape, and the work of great OGs like Mark Gonzalez, Ed Templeton, Thomas Campbell, and others push the skate industry and kids in a positive way. The community is getting bigger, but there is still a limited zone of what is the big norm and what everyone is aspiring to. Of course, I think hip-hop and other music has an influence, now and in the past.

TinoWho is your current favorite skater?

TinoYes, I do. I love all the skaters.

TinoI have been to LA, NY, Australia, Mexico City for the book event, and have plans to go to England and Paris. I'm kind of going with the flow, but if there are people who are interested in doing something together, I'd like to make it happen.

Tino(Laughter). He's 10 years old now, so it's very mellow. He's living the chill good life (laughs). I took him to the dog park when I drove back to NY a few months ago. My French Bull is my best buddy.