Phil Hajal
‘He sponsored me when I was 10 and helped me get my first real sponsor Life’s A Beach and Bad Boy Club.’
November 2025
Your name popped up during the spotcheck interview on Trinidad & Tobago as a national treasure. How did you get started with skateboarding?
My earliest memory of a skateboard was probably as a 3-5 year old in Trinidad at my Grandmother’s house. I remember it was a plastic board, and I would sit on it and roll down her driveway. Next was around 1986 when I was 8 years old in Florida. My brother Paul started skating first. I wanted to do whatever he was doing. I got a Veriflex Striker skateboard from Kmart and I would skate in the carport by myself for hours every day. I was hooked line and sinker from that day onward.
Which skaters did you look up to when you started?
Monty Nolder was the pro I looked up to most. Monty was a Florida pro in the 80’s and 90’s that made the biggest impact on me. He sponsored me when I was 10 and helped me get my first real sponsor Life’s A Beach and Bad Boy Club. These teams consisted of some of the most legendary skateboarders in the world like Jeff Philips, Reese Simpson, Bill Danforth, and Monty.
From starting out skateboarding in the Carribbean to becoming a pro in the US. How did you make it happen?
I suppose I really didn’t start skating hard until I was already moved to Florida in the 80’s. But I never forgot my roots. Trinidad is where I was born and lived until I was around 6. I have a lot of family still there and both my parents spent half of their lives there. My dad got a job managing a horse farm in Ocala and he moved us to Florida for a better life. Skateboarding was just around me as a kid and I naturally progressed.
You were a pro for Rhythm. Were you also riding for Powell?
I did turn pro and get a pro model skateboard for Rhythm around 97. It was an honor to me when Chris Miller asked me to join the team. I was never on the Powell team but I was pro for Bones bearings and Bones wheels which are both part of the Powell family. Skateone Corp is the company that distributes Powell Peralta, Bones Bearings, and Bones wheels. I still get flow from them to this day. I’m super thankful for everything Powell has done for me. It’s one of the best companies in the world in my humble opinion.
I believe you owned a skate shop called ‘Fluid’ and now it is called ‘Ocala’. Any reasons for the name change?
This is a long story. But the short of it is. I founded / ran Fluid Skate Shop from 2000-2010. Then I built and ran Gainesville Skate Park 2010-2012. I founded Ocala Skate Shop in 2020 when I built my vert ramp and home. Ocala doesn’t have a core skate shop. And when I built my ramp, I saw the need for shop. It’s a small shop built into my new home. I learned a lot of lessons running my old store. The main lesson is that skate shops don’t make a lot of money in small towns. Overhead and expenses put most shops out of business within a year. Our new shop has no overhead or expenses as it’s built into the house. So as long as I’m enjoying it and able it will be here for the local community.
You are based in Gainesville, Florida. What are some of the local talents that are or will make a name for themselves?
Thanks to the free local city skateparks in Gainesville and Ocala, Fl there are a lot of kids that have the opportunity to learn how to skate. a few of the local street rippers are Brandon Gabbard, Louis Leib, Austin St Louis, and Nick Walden. In order to learn and compete with the best kids need access to good quality skateparks 24/7. Florida has some of the best free public skateparks in the world thanks to companies like Team Pain. And this is the goal for Trinidad. To get a company like Team Pain to build a free public skatepark in Trinidad.
I forgot to add a few guys to this list. The first 3 men’s names I provided previously are street skaters from Ocala, Fl. We have 3 amateurs on the Ocala Skate Shop team. Reef Orlando, Gavin Liller, and Cole Liller are some of the best amateur vertical skateboarders in the world. All skaters are Florida natives that have their own vert ramps in their back yards. They are the future of vertical skateboarding.
‘The future of vert is bright.’
What does the future hold for vert? Will this eventually be replaced by bowls as skateparks do not seem to cater for proper vert ramps?
The future of vert is bright. There are new vert ramps being built all over the world. Florida has more quality vert ramp than any other place in the world. Vert will never be replaced by bowl because it’s essentially a different animal/ discipline than concrete bowl. A vert ramp enables skaters to fly much higher much easier than the smaller transition concrete bowls you see at most parks. The bigger transition and skatelite surface make it easier to do bigger airs, more spins/rotations, flip tricks, and more lip tricks. Vert will always be the most exciting event for spectators to watch. We are hoping vert will be included in the next Olympics.
Last question. If you could interview one person, who would it be?
If I could interview one person it would be Monty Nolder because he’s made the biggest impact on skateboarding worldwide, our local community, and myself. I would ask him what he saw in a 10-year-old me that made him want to sponsor me? Or maybe I’d ask him if there’s anything else in the world that brings him as much happiness as skateboarding did? Because I have yet to find anything close.