CCS Welcomes Fabiana Delfino To The Team

Interview And Skate Photos By Matt Price

Fabiana Delfino skates fast, slams, films amazing parts and does it all with a smile. Fabi is the pure embodiment of skateboarding, and we couldn't be happier to have her as our newest addition to the CCS team. In the last couple years, Fabi has been traveling the world and ripping everything with Santa Cruz and Vans, but we managed to catch up with her and ask her a few questions so you all could get to know her like we do!

CCS: So Fabi, let’s get some stats out of the way for the two people out there who may not know you. Let’s get your age, where you live, how long you have been skating and your current sponsors.

Fabiana: I’m 22 years old and I live in Boca Raton, Florida. I’ve been skateboarding since I was 9. I currently ride for CCS, VANS, Santa Cruz, OJ wheels, Monster, Independent, IWS, Bones Swiss and MOB

Tell us a little about how you started skating in Florida.

One year my brother got a skateboard for Christmas then not long after, I got my own. For awhile I’d bring my board and my rollerblades to the skatepark and I’d take turns doing both. One day I just left my blades at home and just fully started skateboarding.

You skated and rollerbladed? Were you a child of the Rocket Power generation? Did seeing skating and rollerblading on T.V. influence your decision to get involved?

Yeah for sure. I spent most of my time outdoors and was involved in sports. My parents encouraged us to try everything; mountain biking, tennis, soccer, etc. When we were super young, my brother and I would watch Rocket Power whenever it was on. The whole brother-sister duo and neighborhood kids getting together and playing outside was something we related to. We also loved extreme shit.

You mentioned to me before that you didn’t really look at a ton of skating for a long time and you were just doing it. What were your first skate videos, or first favorite skaters you started paying attention to?

For a while, the only things that I knew about skating came from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. I only knew the skaters from the game and only watched the videos from the bonus section. My most prominent memory of the whole, thing was seeing a five second clip of Elissa Steamer in the intro of the game. I can’t even begin to describe how much of an influence that had on me! The feeling I got from seeing that might be the reason I got to this point of my life.

That’s amazing! What was it like growing up skating with your brother, Pedro?

Growing skating with Pedro was bitter-sweet. Bitter because he wasn’t always down with having his little sister around every time he skated with his friends. I’d kind of get bummed because I didn’t have friends to skate with. There were many sweet times too, though. When the two of us would go out skating it was so much fun and fucking sick. As we grew older, we didn’t skate much together. He had his crew of friends to skate with and found my own. And that’s kind of how it was for awhile.

Did seeing the way he skates make you feel like you had to be gnarlier and go for bigger shit?

I never felt like I had to do the shit he was doing. He was gnarly! The biggest take away I got from watching him skate was to do things out of my comfort zone while going fast as fuck and taking the slam.

Did you two feed off of each other when you were progressing? Any tricks you learned from him or any tricks that he learned from you?

We would get fired up and we did feed off each others energy. It’s a special thing, getting to share a passion with your sibling. We bonded over eating shit then getting up.I don’t think we learned tricks from each other. His take on skating is more on the gnarly side and mine would be more on the tech side I guess.

What do your parents think about both of you being consumed by skating? Is it all smiles and encouragement or have they been bummed or worried?

My parents were always down with us doing things that made us happy. They didn’t mind us skating and were never really scared of us getting hurt. I guess the mood changed a little when they noticed us taking it more serous and doing it more than they expected. Their biggest worry was that we’d get consumed by the things that may “come along” with being a skater in their eye; like doing drugs, being delinquents and dropping out. Skating has become “legitimate” now with the Olympics and shit but at the time, (speaking for my self) I wasn’t taken as seriously as I thought I should have been. BUT, right now they are over the fucking moon. Seeing how skateboarding has evolved and given us opportunities that even we never saw coming, they are just so happy for us. They’re very proud parents and even more encouraging. We’re very lucky.

What was it like when you first started getting sponsored? Who was the first company to hook you up?

My first sponsor was my local skate shop, Island Water Sports. I was 14. They started hooking me up with shop decks and shirts and I was so stoked! They always showed me so much love and support. They viewed me as family and I appreciated that.

You don’t seem to do the contest thing much, but recently you won the Vans Showdown in Huntington. What kind of contests do you like skating, if any?

I enjoy skating contest when my friends are involved. That’s pretty much it.

It seems like Vans and Santa Cruz have had you on the road a ton lately. What’s one of your favorite trips you have been on recently?

My favorite trip was with Vans to Bali, Indonesia. It was an all girls trip with all my best friends. It’s hard not to have the best time in that situation.

Where is one place in the world you have to make sure you see still?

I gotta check out Paris for sure.

What does being an “am” skater mean in 2019, and do you think, if you turn pro it will feel any different?

Ams and pros are the same besides the name on your board and the contest you skate. I might even think that ams work harder sometimes because they're doing anything it takes to fulfill the dream. That pro status.

Who are some of your current favorite skaters in 2019? Anyone on your radar that we may not know about that’s about to blow our minds?

Favorite skaters right now are Elissa (Steamer), T-Funk, Grant Taylor, Erick Winkowski, and Pedro (Delfino). Anybody from Florida should be on your radar.

You’re on some heavy teams with some legendary skaters. Did meeting anyone in particular intimidate you? Have you made friends with any of them that has surprised you?

Oh, definitely. I feel like I’ve been thrown into this thing so quick. I never prepared myself for meeting the people who’ve influenced me so much. I won’t name names because a lot of them are my friends now and I’m still a bigger fan than I’d like to admit.

When you’re not skating or on a skate trip, are there any other activities that take up your time, or are you 110% skating, all day every day?

When I’m away on a trip, we’ll be filming like all day, everyday. Sometimes I’ll feel crazy at the end of it. So when I’m home I’ll just chill and ride my bike a bunch. I’ll still skate everyday at my local park but it’s super mellow.

A lot of sponsored skaters eventually feel pressure to live on the west coast. What do you like about living in Florida, and do you think you will ever move out to California?

Staying in Florida has been the best move I think. I’m saving a ton of money on rent and when I get back from a trip it’s like a vacation; doing whatever the fuck I want to do. I do think California is the move though; more spots, filmers, and skateparks on every corner. The whole industry is there.

What was... The last trick you learned? Your favorite trick to do? One trick that people might be surprised that you’re not good at?

Last trick: Bs Layback 5-0 to Tail

Favorite trick: Varial Flip?

I suck at kickflips.

Anyone you’d like to thank before we sign off?

Thank you Skateboarding.