Trading humor for handrails

Bypassing Dad's comedic career path, Paul Rodriguez Jr. finds fame in skateboarding.

By Bob Putnam
Published July 14, 2007

On Father's Day, Paul Rodriguez took his son to a racetrack in Pasadena, Calif., where they were mobbed by adoring fans.

The admirers were not after the 52-year-old comedian. They wanted his skateboarding son.

"They were pushing me out of the way," Rodriguez Sr. said.

Paul Rodriguez Jr., 22, is now the celebrity in the family. The two-time X Games gold medalist in street skateboarding is a virtual billboard on wheels. He was a character in Tony Hawk's video games, appeared in a marketing campaign for ESPN Deportes and was the first skateboarder and Hispanic athlete to have his own signature shoe by Nike.

The limited-edition shoe is so popular Rodriguez Sr. said he gets calls from Dave Chappelle, Hugh Hefner, Sylvester Stallone and Quentin Tarantino asking him to hook them each up with a pair.

"It's amazing," he said. "I never thought things would turn out this way."

Rodriguez always imagined his son would follow his path to stardom. Things changed when he bought his son a skateboard when he was 6. The kid was hooked. He constantly prowled his suburban surroundings for skateboard-worthy terrain.

"When I started, I was skating just for fun," Rodriguez Jr. said. "I played baseball and other sports. But those became a fad. Skateboarding never faded for me."

At 14, he made a career decision. He dropped out of high school so he could hone his skills as a street skater.

Dad didn't think that was funny. He threatened to send his son to boarding school.

"I thought he was cheating the world by doing this," the elder Rodriguez said. "I didn't see any longevity in it. Skateboarding was something you did to kill time. It wasn't something you did to make a living, to raise a family."

A few months later, Rodriguez's assistant asked if his son was really into skateboarding.

"He dabbles in it," Rodriguez Sr. said. "Why do you ask?"

His assistant pulled out a skateboarding magazine that featured Junior on the cover.

"At the time I didn't know Tony Hawk from the Atlanta Hawks," Rodriguez said. "But once I saw him on the magazines and in the video games, I knew he was on to something."

Rodriguez Jr.'s skateboarding career is no joke. He is the mainstream face of his sport with sponsorship deals that rival other big-time athletes. According to Outside magazine, he made an estimated $2-million from his Nike endorsement deal in addition to six-figure earnings from endorsements and prizes starting in 2004. And he has become so widely known that he shut down his father's personal Web site because of female fans asking for autographs.

"He has taken over the family name," the elder Rodriguez said. "You Google Paul Rodriguez and it's all about my son."

The money earned from contests and endorsement deals allows Rodriguez Jr. to make a nice living. He owns a spacious townhouse in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles that he shares with his girlfriend. But he won't let the celebrity status go to his head.

"I'm not going to be an idiot with my money," he said.

Added his father: "He's the more grounded of the two of us. I'm the one with beer flowing, the Jacuzzis going. Paulie will come over and say, 'Dad, how can you live like this?' I'm like the teenager having to explain myself to him."

For now, Rodriguez Jr. plans to keep skateboarding, but said he wouldn't mind acting some day.

"I know he can do it," Rodriguez Sr. said. "My son can act. But his future lies in skateboarding. He's definitely proved me wrong becoming this big-time skater.

"And he's given my career a boost."

Bob Putnam can be reached at putnam@sptimes.com or 727 445-4169.

[Last modified July 14, 2007, 01:00:09]