The Paul-Luc Ronchetti Interview
Over the course of 2017, Norwich raised Cali resident and vert skater Paul-Luc Ronchetti was on a mission to film a section around the US West Coast with Brent Hayden. We decided to hit up Paul-Luc to see what he’s been up to, what it’s like skating with the Birdman and what tricks in the part he was most stoked on and he came through with a selection of photos to back up the video and text. Press play below, enjoy some heavy vertical (and otherwise) sessions then scroll down for further visual stimulus to get you to pad up and head for your nearest adult swingset!
How long did the part take to film – from first trick logged to final version of the section exported?
About 95% of the footage was filmed in 2017, so roughly a year. There are some odd clips here and there that date back a few years however.
What one clip are you the most stoked on, and why?
I’m probably most stoked on the Varial Flip Indy Nosebonk on the extension at the DC ramp. I’m really not sure why but that one took a good couple of weeks on and off to get. It was in the summer and that warehouse is like a sauna when it’s hot, so the sessions were extra exhausting. I just remember it being so hard to get the “bonk” – I was relieved when I finally hit the coping and rolled away. Brent Hyden filmed the clip but I have to give props to my buddy Ryan Hass, who stuck out loads of attempts behind the lens prior to the make.
Were there any setbacks along the way? Also, was there anything you tried to film for the section but didn’t manage to get for whatever reason?
There weren’t any crazy setbacks or anything but I did go on a two month demo tour of the Midwest USA, which put me out of my usual filming zone. Luckily I was able to hit up a couple of vert ramps, some sick spots and had a tight crew with me who were always down to break out of the hotel after the demos to find skateparks and spots (thanks Alex Landeros, Matt Ballard, Peter Furnee, Noah Schuler and Bobby Male who were able to meet up to film along the way).
I feel like there’s always something more I can add but in this case I was happy to leave it be before I start to overthink things.