Abdias Rivera came up in the cutty streets of Tampa Florida. Once he discovered the Skatepark of Tampa and the great crew of guys that run that place, he had a second home and a good jumpstart on a skate career. Now living in Southern California and riding for Foundation, C1rca Combat, Pig Wheels and, of course, still representing for the Skatepark of Tampa, Rivera has been putting in work lately. Our own Mike Sinclair has known Abdias for a while and sends him boxes of product as his Team Manager at Foundation. Since Sinclair knows Rivera well, he was able to rib him a bit and get interview answers out of Rivera that you won't see anywhere else. —Adam Salo

What kind of name is Abdias?
It's a name my parents gave me.

Didn't you drop out of the 6th grade?
No, actually 10th. Same thing.

Could you spell your name by the 10th grade?
I could spell that at one, son.

Didn't [Skatepark of Tampa's] Brian Schaefer try to teach you math on your first road trip?
I dunno. I barley remember that trip, but he probably did.

What do you remember most about that trip?
Being broke and asking Droors clothing to send me per diem.

Did they go for it?
Yeah they sent me $125.

So then are you responsible for putting Droors out of business?
Pretty much, I might have taken their last 125 bucks.

What life lessons did you learn at the Skatepark of Tampa?
Get out while you can and don't get caught in the moat. Also don't mess with Ryan Clements; he'll choke you out.

I got choked out by Schaefer before. What do you got to do to get choked out by Ryan Clements?
Put your jeans in a bowl in the microwave and break the microwave and the bowl. Don't do that.

Who hooked your nipples up to a car battery in that one Skatepark of Tampa ad?
I did after a day of drinks. Not so fun.

Did it shock the crap out of you?
No but I no longer have nipples. Worst idea ever.

Do you think they will grow back?
I hope. I don't want to be nipple-less for the rest of my life, man.

When did you start getting tatted up?
At 13. Me and my brother made a tattoo gun and went for it.

How many did you do yourself?
I did half and my brother did the other half.

That's white trash and you aint even white, Abdias.
Yeah I know. That's what Florida will do to you.

How come you never won a Tampa Am contest, that's your home turf?
It's too easy, gotta give others chances to win, you know?

Any chances of you possibly winning this year?
It depends, I got close one year when I was, like 17.

Would you enter another Tampa am if you ever won?
Probably. Who knows. Gotta wait and see.

I heard you got a little rabbit or something for your lady?
It's a Meercat from South Africa named Chupa and it flies and climbs trees.

How much does a Meercat cost?
About $200.

That's a steal.
Yeah, it's a steal.

Does it defecate all over the house?
It has it' own room /jungle.

You know Elijah Berle asked me to send him 10 more boards because his dog went to the bathroom on his stack of boards.
[Laughs] Sounds about right for a little kid.

What's your best excuse if you sold your boards and you were trying to pull a fast one on me?
Hey Mike, I never got that box you sent! Send me another one!

I ain't falling for that. I got tracking numbers.
Oh yeah.

What do you think Angel Ramierz is doing right now?
Hanging at Shag Lounge with the homies. Or he's in the deep end of the peanut bowl doing invert fingerflips.

Anything you want to tell the world?
Watch out for them jokers.

When does this C1rca Combat video drop?
Spring 2011. It's going to be sick. Lee Dog [Lee DuPont] got it going.

What are you going to do today?
Just got back from Denver. I'm sore and tired so probably nothing!

Any thanks?
All the Skatepark of Tampa guys: Clements, Schaefer, Barak Wiser and all the Tum Yeto crew. Mario Miller at C1rca and any clothing company that wants to send me stuff.

Well Droors aint gonna be calling you anytime soon.
Ha! I know but I appreciated that $125!