Who is Sica?
Jessica Ryan aka Sica is a major female figure in the Freebord world. She had worked for the company for several years and help foster the community. In her prime she could keep up with any crew and ride faster than the tourists. Sica is currently just an, “ol’ retired skater with a couple of nuglets of my own-spoon feeding them skate videos and preparing them for their inevitable gromhood.” Although Sica is no longer an active rider, she hopes that future generations can keep alive the vibrance of “stupid & dangerous” in the community. Here are my 10 questions for Jessica Ryan..
(1) Full name?
I think it’s Jessica Rose Ryan-Flores… I’m not really sure because I married my best friend’s gay Mexican lover years back in Vegas and have since divorced, but I’m not sure if the government changed my name back automatically or not. Is that a weird answer? How am I doing so far? perfect
(2) Where are your origional stomping grounds? Where did you first learn & develop your skill-set?
Ventura, Cailfornia when I was 16. I was sportin a hookless Alpha 100 in a parking structure everyday on my lunch break till it finally clicked. I got the bord a couple years earlier but had given up on the first try after not immediately rockin it- At first I thought it was a scam and had it in storage till I saw more videos that made it look sooo dope that I had to try again.
(3) Recomendations for beginners?
Watch me and Bob’s old Learn2Ride video. Loosen your front truck, bend your knees, start mellow, and never give up!! It’s not a toy- any half decent sport takes time to get good at, so don’t bitch out. The more comfortable you get on it, the more the lines will blur between your Freebord and your snowboard- but that won’t happen day 1.
Most important advice of all, WEAR A DAMN HELMET! If not for yourself, then do it for your mom- it’s selfish not to.
(4) Any words of encouragement for the ladies?
Just have fun- don’t let anyone pressure you into speeds or runs that you’re not comfortable doing. Wear pads if you’re nervous about falling. Keep your limbs loose and relaxed. Just the fact that you’re on the bord and trying puts you ahead of the mayority of the prissy bitches, so be proud. And maybe don’t smoke a joint before dropping in- that always made me ride more tense. I’d look down at my bord while going 30mph and be like ‘wtf…how does this work? How do I know how to do this?’ Not good questions to ask yourself at high speeds.
(5) How did you deal / cope with injuries?
Man up and get back on the horse bia! I’ve ridden in casts countless times- I even got my doctor to cast a bottle opener into my arm cast so I could still crack beers after a ride. I had surgery on my second broken arm (from riding) a few days before flying out to Switzerland for a sponsored Freebord Team trip- I still rode and filmed everyday.
That being said, I took a few months off riding after blowing out a knee at an FRA ride, cuz sometimes you gotta give your body a chance to heal and not risk further injuring yourself- judgement call.
Unfortunately as I write this, I actually can’t really ride these days because a few years back a building collapsed on me here in Thailand, breaking my leg and losing me a lot of motion range in my ankle. Stupid building. Tough luck, but it coulda been a lot worse, haha!
(6) Care to share the story behind the “chip” necklace?
I was just starting to get on Freebord’s radar, before any kind of sponsorship or anything. They were doing a team trip down to SoCal and one of the stops was gunna be staying at my place and getting some first time filming in- they were all stoked they were gunna get a token chick rider, haha. The day before they showed up, I was practicing hella, trying to get smoother. I got cocky at the bottom of my last run and flipped into switch cuz I wasn’t going very fast. I caught a backside edge and tried to spin around to catch my fall because I was wearing leather gloves (and didn’t think I had enough speed to get hurt doing it). My left arm snapped in 3 places along the forearm- it was super gnarly- broke thru the skin, screaming bloody murder cradling my limp arm in my other hand (got the image in your head? Beautiful). It was a gnarly scene for sure. Anyway, had emergency surgery that night, 2 plates and 14 screws later the Freebord Team shows up and in my morphed out stupor I show them the scene of the crime. My doc had made jokes earlier about trying to put my arm back together cuz there was a significant chunk of bone missing- big enough that I could probably find it on the road. Johnny Lau-Lau won the treasure hunt. Naturally, I dremalled a Freebord star in it and wore it around my neck as a souvenir- it’s not everyday that you’ve got the opportunity to extract your own bone for jewelry ; )
(7) If your “dream team” came out to shred for an afternoon, who would of been on the roster?
Aww see that’s why I never got the final call on who made the cut for the team- I love everyone! If it were up to me, the whole Freebord community would be there. But let’s see…
Sam Trowbridge, above anyone else for sure- I miss that dude so much. Bob, Hoppe, SupaMang, Johnny Laudin, Justin, Stevie-B, Draper, Torok, Elison… I guess Tim can come too. Arnaud Blin, Manon, BenM and Roberto Lopez reppin Europe. My Aussie brothers Howley, Duncs, and Macca for sure. Dane and Joe the kiwis, and Bayard and Steen would be high-fiving in the front blastin past everyone pullin 3s.
I know I’m forgetting a buncha people but a day like that would be boss.
(8) Style or skill?
Style, hands down. I’ve watched an insane amount of Freebord videos- like, it was my job at one point to watch every Freebord video on the Internet and present the most interesting ones I found each week to the company. Pulling something off will only take you so far if you can’t make it look good. Valuable footage has to look good, and if you’re trying to get sponsored, you gotta be able to deliver that usable video asset to the company. That’s one thing Sam was so good at- making the ride look fun, easy, and smooth. THAT is what inspires people- gives them that spark that makes them wanna go ride. Feel that rush, satisfy that drive, the cure for the itch, kill the monkey… whatever you wanna call it- real style is what feeds it and cultivates it.
(9) downhill or freestyle?
Downhill- it’s what the bord was designed for. I’m impressed by those that can hit rails and stairsets and stomp big gaps and all, it’s just not my scene and not what I think makes freebording so special.
(10) Favorite video of all time?
Oh whhhhhat, that’s too hard.
The Ride Explained is a classic, Vision8 had a great feel to it, the original Freebord Commercial is what roped me in so it has a special place in my heart too. Zoetrope is a favorite, along with The Front Row. I think 2006 was my favorite year for freebording and some of the best content ever came out then. All those BSVs were amazing, and that FRA will go down in history (big thanks to Snickers on that one).
I miss you girl. One day I’m going to show up at Chill Out House to see you and your nuggets. Cindy, aka Bob’s Mom
Fuck I can’t wait until we’re hanging with our kids tearing around with each other. This woman is a gem.