As skateboarding continues to bring new talent up through the ranks, we continue to see our favorites ascending from flow to pro while others burn out and slowly disappear. It stokes us out to see those that make it to “the top,” convincing us of their bad-assery, clip by clip. There’s a relatively constant (but not consistent) supply of new pros in the game, and one of the most recent is Baker Skateboards’ own Rowan Zorilla.
Rowan, although a Southern California native, did not take the traditional route of exposure to success. A skate rat by choice, and a Shep Dawg by nature, he fell into a very unique basket of talent. Raised by the California sun in Vista, RoZo grew up under the influence of many of skateboarding’s elite and most influential. And pushed by a heavy crew of peers, he’s no doubt developed into one of today’s heaviest rippers.
Alongside true killers like Taylor Kirby, Riley Hawk, and Taylor Smith, Rowan showed us his unique style and trick bag while riding with the Shep Dawg crew. At first, his style was an acquired taste; people had never seen someone who skated fast with flailing arms and charging intention as strong as Rowan’s. The Shep Dawgs, without any dispute, became a hot topic and one group that skaters everywhere wanted to see more of. As skater fame came, riders were snatched up by board companies and shoe companies alike. Riley was first, going to Baker. Then, Kirby went to Deathwish, T-Spliff was off to Foundation (and then Mystery), AJ Zavala went to Slave, and others found sponsor homes too. Rowan joined Mr. Hawk at Baker Boys Dist. under Baker Skateboards and never turned back.
Following his firm placement at Baker, Vans published their first ever full-length skate video, “Propeller.” The video was a huge hit and featured Rowan prominently as an up-and-comer in our world we call skateboarding. We’d all seen some footage of
Rowan’s “Propeller” part really showed off a more mature style while revealing this true all-terrain ability on a board. His thorough job of ripping for Vans’ feature film was followed by the Thrasher Magazine cover of his frontside wallride, and the rest is history.
As of March 22nd, 2016, Rowan Zorilla is officially pro for Baker Skateboards! And, of course, Baker released a proper 12-minute edit to show us all. The best part: the video is a Baker team video, with Rowan as the (well-deserving) ender.
Check out the edit for yourself if you haven’t already! It’s worth a watch, and then several more. Rowan also reps Independent, Spitfire, Modus Bearings, Happy Hour Shades, Shake Junt, and Psockadelic. Everybody brings it, and RoZo comes through with proper footage for a “Going Pro” announcement.
Rowan, we’re stoked! Keep ripping, and we’ll keep being stoked. Find his Baker board on the site soon!
Long live the Shep Dawg legacy!
