Tommy Sandoval: prom date from hell.

A lot of people say that they don't give a fuck, but Tommy Sandoval--for better or worse--truly means it. Cut from the same cloth as a Muska or a Sheffey, Tommy has been called a noble savage, a caveman on wheels, and a total fucking maniac. And while all of these descriptions are at least partially accurate, more than anything he's an unrestrained handler of business--a real trick-getting monster. Clear a path, look out below, and hide your sister. Tommy Guns is on a mission.

What are some of the advantages of driving a full-size '92 limousine?

Advantages to the limousine? Whenever you go skate with a bunch of your homies they can all just hop in the back and mob to the spot. And then if you feel like pickin' up some bitches you can just cruise to the beach and catch some hollas from a couple ladies, I guess. Is it easier to get a strange girl into a limousine than a regular car?

It's easier than you think.

Has any fucked up shit happened in the limousine?

I can't say anything that fucked up has happened, but there's been some crazy shit girl-wise. Me and my homie were just crusin' down in Del Mar and we picked these two chicks up at a bus stop and by the time we dropped them off my homie was getting down in the back and I was mackin' up front. And they were lesbians.

Did you tell them that they were too fine to ride the bus?

Nah, I just said, "Get in bitches. Let's go!"

Are there any disadvantages to having a limousine?

Parking spots and a little bit of gas. Maybe convenience. Drive-thrus are hard.

How long did you have the limo before you broke it in, if you know what I mean?

Probably about two weeks to a month before I started banging out some bitches.

Do limousines have any special rules?

I guess if it was legit and I had my chauffeur's license I could roll up that partition window, and then it'd be legal to drink in the back or whatever. I guess that's special, since no one else in America is allowed to drink in a car.

Have you gotten pulled over by the cops in the limo?

They just look at me and drive by. They give me the eye though. They give me the, "What the fuck are you doing driving that car?"

I heard you've got your first pro contest coming up. What do you think about being in something like the X-Games?

I guess I'm fortunate. Only a few people get that chance, so it's pretty cool.

If you had your choice, would you rather be competing against Koston and Reynolds on live TV or skating with your friends?

I'd rather be at the Chula park, probably just skating the bowl or something.

You've had a pretty good year with the contests. What's your approach?

You just get there and see what people are doing. I just do all the tricks I can do and see how it works out. Sometimes I'll get hyped and try something I can't do. Sometimes it works out and sometimes I get broke.

What kind of big purchases have you made with your contest money?

Big purchases? Let's see. With that first contest I won, I bought my Omega--my Oldsmobile Omega. From the Skate Plaza contest, I bought my limo. That's been it--just two cars.

If you won $50,000 in one contest, what would you do with it?

I'd put at least 40 in the bank, straight to savings, and then I'd play with 10--buy some weed or some shit. Nah, I'd paint the limo.

How would you paint it?

I'd paint it white all across the bottom and leave the top black, kind of like an Oreo.

What were you doing before you got sponsored by Zero and all that?

I was laying tile for a year and a half. Basically every day I'd get home from laying tile and either get wasted or go skate. I had to decide what I wanted to do more.

How did you start getting noticed by Jamie and the Zero team?

I saw Jamie at two or three spots in San Diego, at Point Loma and Correa. I guess Lenny Rivas had told him a little bit about me and then I saw him at Correa and gave him my sponsor-me tape. He watched it and invited me to skate the Zero park once or twice. I just saw random Zero dudes everywhere. I saw Jon Allie a couple times and I guess I ended up meeting a bunch of them.

What did Lenny say specifically?

He probably said, "There's this crazy dude in Chula jumping off crazy shit and looking like a monkey" or some shit.

Didn't he say you had a crooked face?

Oh yeah, yeah. I had a crooked face. I had a fucked up face for awhile. I was skating. It was when I was on Germ. I had just started to get boards and I was trying to do more tricks on rails. I was trying to do a trick on this rail in Chula that's kind of known, where if you do a trick everyone kind of knows about it. I was trying a front blunt and I was coming out to fakie originally, but changed my mind in the middle of the trick. So when I came off the rail, one foot was on the tail and the other was on the ground. It just popped the board up and it hit me in my mouth and my nose. I broke my nose. If you go back to that spot now, there're still blood stains on the ground. I guess it was pretty brutal.

So how did your face become un-crooked?

There's this thing called plastic surgery.

You got plastic surgery?

I think so. I've got a metal plate in my face or some shit. I don't set off metal detectors, but it's in there. That shit hurts.

I thought your face was crooked for two years.

I did it twice, that's why. In the same spot, too. I'd done it on a bike before this time. I endo'd the shit out of it and just died. That second time I broke my nose and loosened all my teeth up front. I had to have emergency dental surgery.

Did people treat you differently with a crooked face?

I guess. My eye was completely red for awhile. It looked like I'd gotten my eye sliced open. I was walking around with a blood-filled eye, so I'm sure I looked pretty crazy.

So when you first got on Zero, it wasn't paychecks and trips to Europe, right?

At first they gave me a couple of boards every now and then, and I was still laying tile and trying to skate. Then one day something happened at my house. I guess my brother got beat up by some black guys and they were all peeping out our apartment, like walking around to check us out for a couple days. I told Jamie about the situation and he said I could move up north and have a job in the warehouse and just skate. So I did, and probably worked up there for about a year. Then they finally gave me sponsored amateur status.

Did having to work in the warehouse bum you out?

Not even. Nobody's ever really believed in me that much, except for a few close homies. I told myself to just go up there and handle it. I had some minor problems counting shit in the warehouse, but I tried pretty hard to work and do what I could do.

Were you glad when he told you that you didn't have to work in the warehouse any more?

Hell yeah. We were on a trip when he told me I was on the team, and that when I got back I wouldn't have to work anymore. I thought, "Oh shit. What am I gonna do all day?" So then I moved back to Chula. I moved back home.

I know you just got a tattoo of it, but what's so great about Chula Vista?

All my homies are here. It's just a nice environment for me. This is my 'hood. For instance, yesterday I'm rolling home and I'm at a stop light and this fool rolls up next to me. I was listening to some reggae and he's all, "Let me get a CD. I'll buy it off you." And I'm all, "I don't know about that." But then I see he's smoking a blunt so I said, "Let me get that blunt! I'll trade you." So I traded him a CD for the blunt and then we just rolled on down the street.

Nice. So it's the kind of town where neighbors know their neighbors.

Yeah. Whoever's just chill. Well, not everyone's chill. There's some gangsters, too, but they all live to the south. They're all wack-asses.

Can it be rough around Chula?

It can be if you go into the wrong town. Some areas are full of gangsters and people that will jack you. You definitely don't walk around too late around here.

There's a lot of nerds in skateboarding who have a hard time meeting ladies. What advice would you give them?

Take off your glasses, speak up, and don't stutter. Just try and spit some game, I guess. Don't be afraid of chicks. They want it as much as you want it. And if you're talking to some girl who don't like you, just walk away. Why waste your time? Be confident and don't ever be scared of a girl. Get your game face on.

Does a game mustache help too?

Yeah, I guess. I've been getting compliments on it all the time.

Didn't you have to shave it for a bet once?

Yeah. When I shaved my mustache, it felt like I was losing a part of myself. It's kind of comforting to have it there.

A lot of people have probably noticed your tattoos. How'd you decide to get the Die Trying tattoo?

I was in my house with my friend who had his tattoo gun and I was trying to think of a saying to always go by; something to kind of hype myself up with permanently. It's what I came up with. Die Trying. Basically, die trying doing something.

Do you think about it when you're at the top of a big stack?

Sometimes. Sometimes I think, "I'm gonna fuckin' eat shit right now." Other times I don't even care. I figure I'm not gonna get hurt that bad. Then I think about it and just go for it.

When you're going for something like that nosegrind yesterday, are you concentrating and analyzing the situation real hard, or do you clear your mind?

I definitely can't clear my mind. My mind's so fogged up from all the weed. I usually think about a trick for awhile before I try it. That's why, when we rolled up, I was pretty much ready to go for it. If I just show up at the spot I'll do an ollie or a boardslide, depending on what the trick is, and see how it feels. Then I just try and throw my board and get into the trick, or sometimes I don't and I eat shit.

Is it the case sometimes that it's hard for you to wait for the photographer?

Yeah. It's definitely possible that I'm gonna get anxious. If you can set up fast, that's cool with me. I can probably get ready as fast as you can.

What other tattoos do you got?

I've got two guns over each hip.

Is that from the nickname Tommy Guns, or did that start the nickname?

I actually got the name Tommy Guns from Lindsey. We were on a trip and he started calling me that out of the blue. I guess it kind of caught on. Other than that, my tattoos are because I like Colt 45s. I actually have another addition to the tattoo but I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. I want to get two bullet belts x'ed across my chest. I don't know if I'm ready for that because it's gonna hurt.

What's some bad shit you've done? Have you maybe killed someone?

No. I've definitely never killed anybody, but when I was younger we blew up the sewer. We made a Molotov cocktail and threw it down the sewer and lit six blocks of sewer on fire. It was sketchy. Our parents found out and we got in trouble.

You know I haven't done any drugs besides beer. If I was going to do one drug for the kicks, what would you recommend?

You've never smoked weed?

Not on purpose. Maybe second-hand in the tour van.

You should definitely try mushrooms. Trip your ass off.

Why? What do they do?

It will make you hate everyone around you but all of a sudden you'll feel okay. As long as you have someone around you that you know, you'll be okay. If you're around people you don't know and feel uncomfortable, you'll want to fight everyone. If they start talking to you, you'll hear gibberish--and when you talk to them you won't even know what you're talking about. It's real crazy.

And that's the best one? That's the best feeling I can hope for?

No. They make you feel crazy. Say you're looking at a wall. The wall will look all curvy and moving and shit. I looked at a tree and thought it was falling down on me. I was totally scared. It's crazy.

I think maybe I'll just stick with the beer. Is there any beef between the skaters and another group in Chula?

Nah, there's just beef between some skaters from our shop, Urban Nation, and some from another shop in Chula. Our shop used to have some of their riders. We call them traitors and they're just a bunch of hater bitches. If we see them at the Chula park we fuck 'em up and they get all bummed. I guess that's a group we hate.

How come you're not afraid of a 20-stair rail but you're afraid of chewing gum?

Because gum is fucking disgusting. A 20-stair rail ain't gonna stick to my shoe. Fuck that.

How much would it take for you to put someone's chewed gum in your mouth?

It's not happening.

Ten grand?

Not for 50 grand. I'd throw up and be disgusted for a week.

Is there anything that creeps you out as bad as chewing gum?

Probably public restrooms. I have a real phobia of public restrooms.

Did you have to go home from school to take a dump?

Yes. I never once took a shit at school. For all the years of school, I never took a shit there.

You had some rough times as a kid. Now that you're grown up, what advice can you give kids who have problems at home?

It depends on how the parents are, but sometimes you have to rebel and do your own thing. If your parents don't support you and aren't looking out for you, you might have to take off. If they are behind you and looking out for your best interests, you don't have to do much. Just try your hardest. Mostly it's your drive--how much passion you have for what you want to do. Say your parents want to ground you because you've got bad grades, but you've got something you need to do on your skateboard, I say go for it. Rebel. I watched my older brother do the same thing so I just charged it. I'd tell them I was going to school, but then just go to my friend's house. Once they found out I wasn't going to school they got all pissed off and threatened to kick me out. I told them, "You don't even have to kick me out. I'll just leave." The day I left, I told my parents everything I do. I told them, "Look, I drink, I smoke weed, and I skate a lot. I don't want to live here. I'm out of here." From then on, I just handled it. After I moved out I was staying at my friend's house, then I stayed at another friend's. After awhile I realized I couldn't do that; everyone was getting mad at me because I hardly ever had money and I was just mooching. I told them, "I'll get you back. I just need to handle this right now." After awhile I realized I had to get a job. My friend offered me a job working with him and his dad. I got my tile job and worked half-time so I could skate. Then my friend got a camera and I started to get serious about getting tricks on film.

Didn't your brother set you on fire?

Yeah. It was when I was 10 or 11. We were bored around the house. We had nothing to do. We had four brothers and the most annoying little sister. So we started doing crazy shit all the time. We knew about fire, and we started finding things around the house to light up. We had a can of Lysol and we'd spray it on each other's shirts and hats and make it spark up. You spray it on and light it on fire and it burns, but you can't really feel it--you just pat it out with your hand. So my brother sprayed it on my shirt. He gets halfway from the top and asks, "Is that good?" and I'm all, "Yeah, chill out." He keeps spraying more and more and won't stop and I'm all, "Fuck this. Take it off me," and he says, "Nope," and torches me up. I'm just all burning and it was kind of funny for a second, but then it wouldn't stop. My shirt's still burning and it stopped being funny real quick. I tried the "stop, drop and roll"--that shit they teach you in school. That's bullshit. It doesn't work. I stopped, dropped, and rolled, and I'm still on fire.

That might have been the Lysol.

Yeah, but regardless. The shit didn't work. I'm still burning. So I try and pat myself out some more and it still wouldn't go out. So I jumped on the bed and smothered myself and it finally went out. I got up and I'm in a shocked state. I took my shirt off and my skin is bubbling off my body, like, three inches. So I just ripped the skin off.

What?

I didn't know what else to do! I just ripped off all my skin and I had to go to the hospital and I had second and third degree burns. All the hair on my face was gone.

You had a mustache at age 11?

Nah, like my eyebrows and eyelids and all that. I smelled burnt hair for a month. Whenever I'd eat a burger, I'd smell burnt hair. I never wanted to eat a burger for a long time after that.

What are your brothers and sister named?

My sister is named Renee. Then I'm the second oldest. My twin is Travis, and then my next brother is Silas. And then I have a stepbrother who's black. His name's Jammin.

His name's Jammin?

Yeah, like the song. It's crazy. Rumor has it his dad was at the radio station in Chula, Jammin' Z-90, and somehow he got the idea that that would be a good name. We always used to call him Jammin' Z-90 and he'd start crying.

Are they stoked for you?

I don't know. I haven't seen Jammin for awhile. He joined the Army.

Is he in Iraq?

I don't know. I hope not. I have one other brother, the oldest, he's Tyrone. He's a fuckin' junkie. I learned all my drugs from that guy--what to do and what not to do. I just see the consequences. Fuck all that shit.

Do you like traveling?

Basically, I hate traveling. It depends. I don't like it because I get homesick. It's not Chula and I don't know anyone. But it's part of my occupation now, so I can definitely handle it.

Thanks for all your help, Tommy. This has been a great interview. Here's my last question: Where do you want to be in five years, in 2011?

Me and my homeboy have a bet for 2010, whoever can grow their hair out the longest. So by then I should have a really long mop. I might have dreadlocks. Fuck. By then I guess I should be thinking about having some crazy-ass Corvette or some shit, too.