Alli Checks In with Greg Lutzka

Greg Lutzka started the competition season off strong with a win at the Skate Open in Boston, pairing that with a second-place showing at the Wendy’s Invitational. Alli caught up with him at the last stop of the Dew Tour in Portland to get some details on his new shoe due out from K Swiss, to hear why he’s stoked about his move to Darkstar, and to see what else he’s been up to.

So how are things going with K Swiss? Is your new shoe out yet?
Things are going good with K Swiss. We just hired Mark Miller over there, so he’s bringing in the brand management and running the whole shop there. We’re opening a new office in Orange County and building a whole skate team. My shoe is pretty much done. It comes out in a couple months and it’s going to be dope. We’re building a team, building the whole program and doing it right. We’re taking our time with it to make sure it comes out proper.

What was your role in designing the shoe?
I sat down with the designer and told him what I liked. We brought in a freelance guy that did my first shoe at Globe, and he works for Circa now. He designed my shoe and he’s great.

How has the move to Darkstar skateboards been?
It’s good. I’m definitely psyched. It’s just a better fit for me with Decenzo, PLG and Dyet. Basically Decenzo and Dyet are the guys I skate with a lot, so I fit in there. Me Ryan, Adam and PLG are at all these events anyways, so it’s cool. Mad representation for Darkstar, and I’m psyched to be part of the program.

Have you noticed any difference in skating the boards?
Yeah, actually. This board is the Armor Light and I was just telling Ryan this is the first time I’ve ridden it. I only brought one to this event so I could try it out in practice, and it’s skating amazing. I kind of wish I would have brought more.

You started off the season with your first Dew Tour win since ’07, what worked for you in Boston?
Boston was good. Skating is weird man, it’s just sometimes you’re on, sometimes you’re off. I was just on point for that one. 

Will you be gunning for a Dew Cup this season?
Yeah, of course.

With Street League coming up and the rest of the Dew tour you’re going to have a pretty grueling contest stretch. Will you be doing anything different to make it through it?
I just basically skate every day whether I’m at a contest, filming video parts or shooting magazine stuff. It’s all skating to me. Out here at Dew Tour it’s cool because I’m skating with a bunch of my friend’s, but some of these guys are the guys I skate with in the street. So it’s nothing different than some people watching and a judge up there judging how you skate.

You always seem to have a good time while competing regardless of how you finish. Would you consider yourself a competitive person?
It’s cool to go out there and do well, but I wouldn’t say I’m super competitive. I just want to have fun and skate. If you stay on your board and you win, then more power to you. If you don’t, hey, all your friends are here and you’re having a good time skating anyways. It feels good to win, but skateboarding isn’t about that. It’s not like football. It’s not a jock sport. Some guys take it more serious than others, but I think if you just go out there and you have fun and feel your board, you’re going to do well.

                             

Do you have any video projects right now or are you in full contest mode right now?
I just finished a Darkstar commercial, and we’re working on some K Swiss stuff, so I’m always shooting for video stuff. I would like to get a Transworld part going soon, so that would be my next thing I want to do.

Did you ever think your fedora hat would make a fashion statement in the industry?
I know, that’s crazy. I don’t know, I just wear all kinds of hats, beanies, baseball hats, trucker hats, fedora hats, whatever. I guess it made a statement. Hey, kids are wearing it! When I go to the mall and I’m not wearing it, I don’t get recognized. That’s kind of nice. I can be incognito sometimes (laughing).

Greg will be out in Salt Lake this week to compete in the Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge. For the event schedule, click here. For ticketing, click here.

Check out Lutzka’s winning run from this year’s Skate Open