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on saw skaters starting companies and making clothes, skates and wheels. This was still a young industry and success was not guaranteed. The kids were young and learning how business and marketing worked.
Jon wanted to be involved. In the fall of 1996, Jon Julio and some of his friends started England clothing. "We wanted something on a higher end, a little nicer that would last," Jess says. Brooke Howard-Smith, Ethan Jenkin, Jess Dyrenforth and Jon all set out to create what is one of the most successful skate companies on the market. This was the beginning of his success. Jon was winning competitions and helping form the image of skating as the market grew. He quit Roces to ride for USD. "Big companies don't listen. I had no real input at Roces."
It was this at time that he began to get recognized as a great skater on television and in the print media. The market had leaked to the mainstream public and his parents began to come around. "I was able to pay my bills and I was making a career out of skating, so they started to support that," Jon says.
"His parents are great. It took awhile but now they completely support him," Azikiwee says. His parents saw he was traveling the world and really enjoying himself. As long as he is home for the holidays everything is cool.
That doesn't mean Jon has had it sweet ever since he began skating. Skating was still small when he risked everything to jump headfirst into the industry. Jon's father suffered a stroke that had the entire family worried for quite awhile. "It scared the entire family. We didn't know if he would make it," Jon says. In the long run, his dad pulled through critical condition and now only suffers some hearing loss. "We were extremely happy. That was one of the turning points in my life." It helped give him the outlook on life that his friends admire. Jess is waiting for skaters such as Jon to get older and become respected outside of skating. "It will really help our sport and push it in the right direction" says Jess. "We need guys like Jon looking after skating when they are 35." The sport has to age, and, as Jess put it, "I hate to reference skateboarding, but the integral guys are 30 or 35. We need that: more role models"
Jon has recognized his role model status and lives up to it. "I have never been in any real trouble," Jon says, but he has been in the occasional fight. "I don't like it when people talk shit." Otherwise, he is very quiet and reserved. "If you know him, he can be loud and funny," says Azikiwee, "but if he’s around people he doesn't know, he tends to clam up." This is not to say he is not friendly; he’s just shy. The media exposure doesn't bother him (except when I call 9 times a day to ask questions), neither does being in the spotlight. The exposure is good for the sport, and it is good for a recognized role model to be high profile. His impact is profound. Skaters all over the world look up to him.
His favorite destination is Australia. "It is just so different," says Jon. "I recommend going." Paris has been fun for him, and there weren't many "rude Frenchmen", as they are usually stereotyped. "The only place people were rude was Germany, I don't know why." I asked him if he thought it was racial or if he had ever encountered any racial tensions. "Not in skating, and Milpitas is very Filipino, so I have never had problems." Jess agrees that the industry is very multi-cultural, and that is one of the best things about skating. "It brings together skaters from all over, and there is never racial attitude," Jess says.
But sometimes there is just bad attitude. "I think much of the bad attitude comes from how we are treated like kids," Jon says. "There is age and maturity in skating now and there should be more respect. We are not juvenile delinquents." Jon used the World Championships as an example. "When (the ASA) cancelled the party, there was nothing else to do. If (the ASA) treats skaters like kids, then they are gonna fuck shit up," Jon says. But that does not mean he doesn't support the ASA. "If there is a dope event, I will be there, but the ASA feels so structured and rigid." Jon is more supportive of the grassroots area of skating: the kids. "The kids are where the future is at and we are going to be doing jams for the kids more around here. We need the ASA; it is good for the sport. There are just some things that should be done differently."
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