9.19.06 The American Dream. it means different things to different people. for Rodrigo Peterson it was leaving his home in Brazil to chase his skateboarding dreams in the good ol' U.S. of A.. marinate on that for second. it takes a lot of balls to peace out to a foreign country and leave your fam and friends behind. you've got to really believe in yourself, not give up, and be willing to pay some major dues. that's pretty much what Peterson had to do to earn the respect of the skate industry. although he's not Pro yet, he gets more media coverage and has more legit sponsors like LRG and NIKE than his average Am counterpart. looks like The Dream is becoming reality.
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SGV: you were part of the Brazilian skate invasion that happened about 5 years ago. not everyone managed to make it and survive... how come you're still here?
PETERSON: I wouldn't call it an invasion. I wanted to come to America to skate better spots... it just so happened at that time alot of people from Brazil were coming over, and alot of us have the same names. in Brazil the skate industry is different, its a lot harder to get product... sometimes if you break a board you have to hustle for a week to get another one. it's fucked up, but we do it because we love skateboarding. in America you have a better chance. I feel very lucky and I feel very bad for some people, but I don't make the rules. everytime I get on an airplane I can't believe it, I feel so lucky to be able to travel and tour.
SGV: did you remember the first 2 professional skaters you met when you came out to America?
PETERSON: Eric Pupecki and Lee Smith... we skated Cinerama (Dome) together. the next day I skated with Rick Howard and Scott Johnston in Downtown LA at the Beneficial gap. I remember seeing Billy Valdez and Paulo Diaz there. When I first came to America I only had 7 bucks in my pocket.
SGV: are you serious? how did you afford the plane ticket?
PETERSON: my uncle got me a ticket. he asked me if I really wanted to go and I said yes. he somehow got me a ticket.
SGV: so you only had 7 bucks when you got here. how did you survive?
PETERSON: I used to work as an audience member for daytime shows in Hollywood. I would just clap my hands when they asked me to... that's it. It was super easy... I did that for 6 months. it's cool... you make a little bit of money and it helped me learn english.
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SGV: Brazil has developed a pretty gnarly reputation since CITY OF GOD came out. do you have any crazy stories?
PETERSON: oh so many, but there's one that's pretty crazy. there was this one time I went to Sao Paulo to skate in a contest. I left there on the bus on a Friday stayed the night and skated the contest on Saturday. on the way back home I took the bus to see my girlfriend at the time. It was 6 in the morning and the bus was empty. the next stop maybe 100 guys get on the bus, I guess they were coming back from a Hip Hop show or something. and some of the guys are in one of those soccer clubs that are almost like gangs. I remember they were drunk and singing their club song. I had 2 backpacks and my board and I seen this guy coming with a knife and he just put it up to my neck and takes one of backpacks and my board. I was like, "fuck, can I just please keep my cds?" then all of sudden I see my other backpack on the floor ripped open and everything is gone. then the bus came to the next stop and I just got off. I've seen it happen many times to other people too... it sucks. there's a lot of fucked up shit that can happen. sometimes they will kidnap you too. when you stop at the red light some kid might come up to your door and force his way into your car and drive you to the ATM and make you take out all your money then they will just kick you out of your own car and take off. a lot of times its rich kids that are hooked on crack and they do crazy shit.
SGV: so whats up with all the pictures I see of kids sniffing glue? is that really something that kids do out there?
PETERSON: yeah, for sure. you know why they do that? it keeps you from feeling cold at night and it also makes you feel like you're not hungry... and it gets you faded. a lot of kids think its the best drug ever. they use it because they like it, they are drug addicts. they're trying to not think about reality... it's really fucked up. when I think about the Brazilian government it's fucked up. every 4 years they get a new president to make sure the rich people keep getting richer. in Brazil we only have high class and low class, there is no middle class. I know people that joined the army in Brazil because they have no money and nowhere to live.
 SGV: I heard that it costs alot of money to go to school out there.
PETERSON: yeah, but you can go to public school if they have enough room for you. it's crazy... this is how they do it; on the 30th of each month the school gives you a test. but if your parents didn't pay or didn't pay the school for the test you can't take the test. so basically, if your parents pay for the test you pretty much automatically pass the test, knowhatImean? we used to just go to school to meet up with all the homies and go to the bar at 10am. my school was in Downtown so there were lots of places to go and skate at. I was skating everyday. by lunchtime almost everybody leaves the school and goes to party. you'll see 200-300 kids at the club or the pool hall during the day.
SGV: the cops don't do anything?
PETERSON: why? what can they do? there's too many of us.
SGV: so what's the legal drinking age out there?
PETERSON: when I was 10 years old my dad would send me to the store to buy him beer and cigarettes. its a much different culture down in Brazil. here in America everything is so systematic so everything is under control. that's a good thing sometimes. but in Brazil we don't have a system that works. all that shit stems from back in the day... those europeans fucked us up.
SGV: Brazil has a reputation for having some of the hottest girls on the planet. if you're from Brazil what kind of girls turn you on?
PETERSON: Brazilian of course! I don't really care, if the girl is cool, she's cool. I don't care where they're from. but there is something about South American girls... they have a lot of heart. there's something about them... they have a different kind of energy.
SGV: you got to check out Macau. it's an island thats very close to Hong Kong that was colonized by Portugal a long time ago. the chicks there are part Portugese and part Chinese.
PETERSON: oh, that sounds dope. that's just like how the Japanese also colonized in Brazil too. in the Liberdade district of Sao Paulo there is nothing but Japanese people. all the store signs are in Japanese even. they live like they are in Japan. even all the Japanese holidays are celebrated. it's pretty dope... I have a lot of Japanese friends. we got colonized by everyone; Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal. I guess during the second world war everybody that didn't want to fight in the war moved to Brazil. because we have so many different kinds of people in Brazil we have lots of different religions too. like in the north side of Brazil they do a lot of Black Magic. the energy there is crazy. the whole country is filled with lots of energy... sometimes its too much.
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