Curren Caples Covers it All

By Chris Nieratko

Josh Brooks
Curren Caples blasts a stalefish at last summer's Coastal Carnage contest.

Curren Caples, Vans and Flip skateboard's pre-pubescent wonder-kid, has been getting a ton of coverage in the past year or so since the release of the "Extremely Sorry" DVD. For the most part I paid him no mind because I enjoy watching little kids skate about as much as I like watching girls skate (Elissa Steamer, Marissa Dal Santo and Alexis Sablone aside), then back in April I saw a blonde streak of light fly passed my head at the Cowtown PHX Am contest and I was forced to take notice. Curren skated everything in the park at top speed with no semblance of "little kid style." He instantly won me over. I decided to get on the horn with him and see what he was up to. As the youngest competitor scheduled to skate in X Games 16's Skate Park contest, he should turn some heads there as well. I'm looking forward to watching this kid's career blossom over the years because if he's this good now, wait 'til he's old enough to drive!

What are you doing, Curren?
Hanging out at my dad's skate and surf shop. It's called Momentum.

Are you on the shop team? Did you have to make a sponsor-me video?
Yeah, I'm on the team. No, no video.

How is your dad supposed to know if you're any good?
I don't know; Louie Lopez is on the team, too.

It's pretty cool your dad has a skate shop for you to hang out in since you're only 8-years-old.
Ha. He's had it for a while. I'm 14 now.

How come you and Louie look so little?
I don't know. He's way smaller than I am and it's funny because people always ask me my age first then Louie's and they're like, "Wow!" He's 15, a year older than me.

Are you guys concerned that you both might be midgets?
Ha, no. Everyone that I talk to says they're super tiny until they're 15 and then they hit growth spurts. I just haven't done it yet.

How tall are you? Two feet tall?
I'm like five-foot.

You're not five-foot.
Ok, 4' 11" or something.

Or something. Pretty much every vert ramp is five times taller than you?
Yeah, basically.

When you were learning to skate pools did your dad have to lower a rope down to get you out?
No, when I was really small we'd do the truck thing; I'd have him lower my board down and I'd grab the truck and he'd pull me up.

If you were bad would your dad just leave you at the bottom of the pool?
Yeah, I'd just have to pump my way out.

What is it like being the only American on the Flip team?
I think Lance [Mountain] is American too but it's kind of cool. Oh and Louie is too.

Is it cool skating with Lance Mountain?
Yeah, I got to skate his pool for the first time a few months ago. The thing is pretty sick. It's amazing.

Victor Decolongon/Getty
Young Curren gnabbed $6,000 at the 2009 Cons Coastal Carnage contest.

You being only four-years-old, do you ever trip out that Lance is so old?
Yeah. I trip out when we go somewhere and older guys will freak out. They'll see Lance and they'll lose their minds. They'll bring out super old-school boards and have him sign them. It's pretty cool when we're with him.

Do you go to school, Curren?
I'm home-schooled.

Do you ever get detention at home school?
Yeah, it's more like I have to go out back and pick up dog poo or something.

Your dad used to be a pro surfer, so were you born on a surfboard?
Yeah, he was; he rips. I didn't really start surfing until I was 9 or 10. I wouldn't go more than 5-feet from shore. Now I fully can surf.

I heard you surf as good as you can skate.
No, I'm not that good. I'm trying to get there but it's hard. It's totally different than skating.

Would you rather be a pro surfer or pro skater?
A pro skater because I think skating takes you places in the world that surfing won't. In surfing you're always by the beach and skating takes you to more cities. They both take you crazy places so doing both is cool.

But surfers have hotter chicks hanging around.
Yeah.

I see all these photos on the web of you and Louie Lopez at parties with all these hot older women.
Yeah, the guy Troy had us go around and take a photo with ever girl that was there.

Did it give you butterflies in your belly?
No, they were all like, "Why do you want to take a photo with me?"

He was probably using you because dogs and babies are chick magnets and you're like a little baby.
Yeah, I don't think it worked for him.

Is your family super-rich? Because I don't know too many 6-year-olds with their own warehouse.
No, my dad runs a surf camp and runs a shop but we just rented the warehouse and it's Oxnard and it's dirt cheap for a massive warehouse. It was disgusting when we got it. There were a bunch of dead cockroaches and stuff all over. Right now the warehouse isn't all the way done because we only have one guy working on it so one thing gets done every two months. The miniramp used to be in my backyard.

You got a rough life.
Yeah, it's pretty cool. But it was a mission getting it over to the warehouse because the ramp grew two inches from sitting out in the rain.

That four-foot mini looks like a vert ramp to you.
Yeah, it's fun. We just added another 8-feet onto it.

Where you heading to next?
On Sunday I'm heading to Europe for a trip with Flip. We're going to go to Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam.

Is your mom going?
Yeah, my mom is going. My dad has been to Europe with me three times and now she's finally getting to go. My dad gets all the good, international trips and my mom gets all the trips in the United States and places she really doesn't want to go. It's pretty funny, if there's a possibility of surfing then my dad is going. Red Bull took us to Australia and he went on that trip because we got to hang out and surf the Gold Coast for a while.