Have you never heard of Raphae Ueda? You’re about to, then. The skater, who is 15 years old, is well known for his innate talent. Since his father, Lincoln Ueda, was Raphae’s main inspiration and a competitive vert skater in the 1990s and 2000s, it might be genetic. Raphae is making the most of his talent by carefully honing his skills, studying and observing his rivals, and keeping his focus on the end goal: his future.
Raphae is the newest addition to the Monster Energy Skate Roster for 2022, and he is thrilled!
Raphae practically grew up skating since his father Lincoln Ueda is a famous vert skater and currently a coach in CA|TF. Growing up, he was constantly surrounded by skateboard icons such as Steve Caballero, Neal Hendrix, and more.
“Yeah, it’s pretty sick to be skating at my home park and then see my dad working in the same place. And I got to skate with so many legends that it’s pretty surreal to think about. Growing up it was dudes like my dad, Neal Hendrix, Kevin Staab, Steve Caballero, Simon Tabron, even Tony Hawk a couple of times.
I mostly watched though since I was like 8 when I went to those sessions. Complete mind trip. They definitely inspired a ton of tricks too. Most of the tricks I adore and enjoy doing are taken from any Vert video that you’ll find from the early 90s to early 2000s but done in a park instead. Seems like it kind of came full circle, only took like two generations in between,” Raphae told Monster.
He claims that he is his biggest competition this year is himself.
“I’m just kind of starting in the industry and competition world (well I guess I haven’t even started to be honest), so at the moment I’m really only focused on having some fun and learning new things. Also, even though skate competitions are, by definition, a competition where you compete against others, I’ve always seen competitions as a huge collection of skaters showing their progress and pushing themselves to evolve this sport we all love.”
The best part of the entire competition, Raphae explains, isn’t exactly getting the perfect score, but rather having the opportunity to skate and surround yourself with amazing peers and skaters.
He elaborates saying, “The rankings are, in my opinion, nothing in comparison to getting to skate with all the coolest people in the community. Either way, doing good in competitions sounds pretty awesome too.”
Everyone is beyond excited to hear more from him.
