Wednesday, January 5

Monster

Jaren Grob is a Monster. It is not a designation he chose or even wants. It is the reputation he earned during the 1999 season. It was his first season as a professional skater, and he made the most of it. Jaren blew away competitors with his balls-out and huge style. A product of Utah, Jaren has experienced culture shock in his travels but has finally focused on his career as a pro skater. Jaren finished 1999 ranked 3rd in street on the ASA Pro Tour and he won the Rookie of the Year award. Jaren also won the rockstar of the year award -a well-deserved honor headed up by past rockstars such as Dion Antony and Ryan Jackalone. Jaren had just finished his prelims at a Venice Beach competition one afternoon when I caught up with him. He was just beginning to feel the pressures of Pro competitions when this interview was conducted. The Monster was used to tearing up competitions in the backyards of small Utah skate shops or on the uncontested Barnum and Bailey Circus. This new pressure seemed to leave him unfazed as I caught up with him.

I used to help Mark Laue throw the only little competition series through Utah for 2 years. We became friends with Jaren and watched him progress. Finally Jaren accepted a job with Barnum and Bailey while Mark stayed behind to help run Realride skatepark. I went on to work at the ASA. The best part of this job is seeing all of your friends on tour. Here I was with Jaren Grob; we called him the Pug-dog.

Jaron was raised in Orem, Utah. It was there where he got his first pair of skates at Wal-Mart and started chilling with his friends. They played roller hockey together and Jaren got used to having wheels on his feet. There was a skatepark Jaren and his friends called Lumberyard University (LYU). They skated there all the time until it burned down. After that, Jaren put an eleven-foot ramp in his backyard. Today the ramp is worn by the weather and most skaters would be sketch to drop in on it, but Jaren rips on it without a second thought.

In 1996 Jaren met Mark Laue and me and went to compete at Salty Peaks (where his disaster to backslide blew everyone away). Jaren starting doing demos at schools - anything to keep skating. After a stint with the Circus, Jaren returned home to the brand new Real Ride Skatepark in Salt Lake City.

Jaren has been one of my favorite skaters since I knew him in Salt Lake. It wasn't just his style or his sick tricks. It was his attitude. We hit the town, we hit the park, we hit the grocery store - wherever we went Jaren made it entertaining. I feel it is his just reward to be a top ranked pro skater. I see him put so much work and effort into skating. He doesn't look at it that way. He just wants to go skate. He hasn't lost touch, or gotten too good for anyone. He still jokes around and makes an ass out of everyone he's with. It usually ends for the best. Although I still call him pug-dog, he has earned the title, The Monster.