Garden State Skate freestylers united

We met Pete Betti one day in renaissaning Asbury Park, NJ. We took a few moments of Pete’s time for picts and vids of this freestyle up and comer and to learn a little about Freestylers United and a guy named Panda.

Owner’s name / Who is Freestyler United: Erick ‘Panda’ Mattos. Freestylers United is a place for Freestyle Flatland Skateboarders to have an Internet home so to speak––with content, ideas and goals that have never been thought of or attempted in the Flatground skating world.

Who founded / invented freestyle skating? Is it another kind of street? Freestyle Skateboarding was just a pinnacle to skateboarding’s birth. Skateboarding started in the 1950’s when surfers had the idea to surf the streets. I don’t believe anyone is on record to have created the first skateboard. Many people seemed to have made the claims though. Freestyle Skateboarding along with slalom, started to become popular at around 1963. Some of the most well known freestyler and slalom skaters of that time were Danny Berer, Torger Johnson, and Woody Woodward. Around 1965 skateboarding died out for awhile until around the mid 1970’s. Companies like Zephyr started showing the world Slalom and Freestyle skateboarding. In my own ideas, I believe spectators were completely shocked to see skateboarders doing things no one has ever thought to do. There is a lot of history and I urge readers to research the beginning of skateboarding.
Give the readers a snapshot of your endeavor if they aren’t familiar with FSU:
Freestylers United is a non-profit organization of Freestyle Skateboarders. We thrive on showing the world our love for a style of skateboarding everyone thought had died. We want the world to see us not for our crazy tricks, but for our passion and our insight into the birth of skateboarding. Our goal is to touch base with all types, styles and origins of skateboarders and unite us all together to one day grow, share, and experience skateboarding in a different world. Street, Vert, Slalom, Downhill and Freestyle––to unite together, companies, events, jams and contests, big or small!
How’s the FSU growing / expanding in Jersey? We have very dedicated and passionate freestylers in that area who share the same dreams and goals as we do. They want to unite with skateboarders of all kinds, and show them that we’re unique, but were skateboarders too. We hope Jersey will be a set path to near and far future events where Freestyle, and all other varieties of skateboarding can communicate and experience new events brought to you by FSU and a united group of skateboarders. We wish to grow our sport and combine our dedication together to give Jersey skateboarders something unique and never before done.
What % of skaters are freestyle vs street or vert? Is it growing and how fast?
Most people believe there are only a few freestylers out there. That is not true, there are many, but to compare with vert skateboarding would be difficult to process. Our community is all around the world and due to lack of freestyle events in the world it is nearly impossible to compare the two. I will say though, the number of vert skateboarders are no doubt larger then freestyle, something we hope to change, to get back on the radar.
Do you have team/member freestylers or sponsor? Who are they? At this point we do not sponsor due to being non-profit. But our team members are freestylers who are active in the community and very dedicated to our goals: Pete Betti, Oriel Sanchez, Matthew Gokey, Emily Bettis, Jake Maiurro, Giampaolo Baccio, Tim Ahern, Mike McCabe, Cristobal Bahamonde, Mike Osterman, Brandon Landry and Brandon Pretty––all whom spend a lot of their time supporting freestyle and FSU and freestyling as much as they can. They are the reason for FSU and we want to give them opportunity!
How long has freestyle been around? Is it more popular in any special areas of the country/world? Freestyle has been around since the early 1960’s. Today, it is most popular in Japan and there are many freestylers around the world in other countries such as Canada and Europe! Japan holds the largest freestyle skateboarding events.
Is freestyle more dangerous or demanding? What is differing from street or vert with equipment etc? Freestyle skateboarding is not dangerous. It will hurt and it will take getting used to. The most critical injury you could probably get freestyling would be a hairly fracture due to pressure in your hands or feet. While on rare occasions this has happened, it is nothing to be afraid of. Freestyle equipment concentrates solely on protecting your hands, shins, feet and your skateboard! Deck set up would include small custom shaped decks, designed for rail and truck tricks––with a flat tail and or nose. It is possible to ollie with one, but not recommended. The differences may seem small, but freestyling concentrates on movement, speed and the ability to make every part of your skateboard last as long as possible. Freestyle equipment such as custom shinguards, gloves and skid plates can also be used to add variety to street skaters just as street skateboarding equipment adds variety to ours.
What’s next for freestyle?
We want to bring in a new crowd, a new generation of freestyle skateboarders. We hope to get more involved in the modern day skateboarding world, so be on the lookout for more freestyle events and a new pathway to how people react to our style and our creative, unique endeavors. We are working to collaborate with all styles of skateboarding to unite together to once again shock the world.
Is Freestyle discriminating in any way?
No way. Anyone can freestyle.
Where can people go who want more info on freestyle skating and FSU?
Freestyle has a Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freestyle_skateboarding and don’t forget http://www.yoyoskates.com/history.html. For more information on freestyle events or even to ask questions to the pros––those who were there watching Mullen and watching skateboarding evolve––visit: www.wfsafreestyle.org. For more information on FSU just visit FreestylersUnited.com.
Do you do any special events like video premieres, signings or demos?
We have a Madera, California Jam called the San Joaquin Class in which freestyle skateboarders do events and jams and the pros who attend are always up for autographs.

Do you have any future events coming up?
The FSU Box Battle in San Francisco in Mid-summer. We will be in Philadelphia for the World Freestyle Championships, a Beta Tour in September, and we will be holding events in convenient locations. As time passes events will be announced on our website.
From your point of view where is skateboarding and or freestyle going? Skateboarding is evolving slowly, no one has given up on it and no one will. Freestyle is the same, there are many who care about it, it is the reason FSU exists. Skateboarding and its future is up to us to decide. I see more events like The Maloof Money Cup which paved a new foundation in the way others view skateboarding. Working together and never giving up.
Any thanks you would like to give?
I would like to thank Jeremy Elder of SmallSchool.biz, Bob Staton, of the WfsaFreestyle.org, John Leathers of Chaos Brothers Skateboards, Keith Butterfield for his infinite inspiration, and to every freestyle skateboarder who has not given up and never let their unique way of skateboarding change. All those who stuck by me through thick and thin and continue to do so! Thank you all!
I want to sincerely thank you Garden State Skate Mag for hearing us and giving us a fantastic opportunity. We wish you the best!
Pete would like to thank his sponsors, Freestyle USA Watches and Globe shoes. He would also like to thank Ocean Hut Surf Shop and Gary Zamora for all the support.