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SKATE SHOP VIDEO AWARDS 2024
VANS SKATE OLD SKOOL 36+

Heitor Da Silva was in Tokyo on a Superstar themed filming tour for adidas. Check out the interview with him during the shooting of the latest video SSTR, which is scheduled to be released soon.
──HEITOR DA SILVA (ENGLISH)

2024.12.13

[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photo_Takuya Izumi
Special thanks_adidas Skateboarding

 

VHSMAG (V): How is the trip going so far?

Heitor Da Silva (H): Japan's been sick. I've been here a couple times, and it’s one of the better ones really. Because the other times I've been here, it's been partially skating and the other time it was raining, so it was a lot of partying. But this time it's been a lot of skating. We had a bus to go spot to spot and everyone was hyped to skate. It's been a dream trip.

V: I read somewhere that you speak four languages.

H: Yeah. My mother tongue is Portuguese, and then Norwegian, Swedish and English. I don't speak Danish but I understand. Norway, Sweden and Denmark have similarities but they're still different languages.

V: You were born in Brazil?

H: Yeah. I moved to Norway and then to Sweden.

V: That's where you went to that skate school Bryggeriet. Do you still live in Sweden?

H: Yeah, I live in Malmo, the same place where I went to school. After that I lived in Denmark for two years because I started to get a little money from skating. I never really went back to Norway because I figured I wanted to keep this skating alive.

V: Let’s talk about your HEJTOR part from earlier this year. What stands out from that part?

H: I guess that part was me being a bit older and more established in a way because the previous trips have been more like, whoever I'm with or maybe people from adidas kind of picked and chose. But this was more me choosing. And then I would make trips to Sicily with me and my friend Tor, and we would kind of fund everything ourselves. I mean, we get the money back, but I would have the luxury of getting my friends to pull up to the Airbnb and we would skate together. I never felt like I had enough time to get everything I wanted to get, but it was a lot of fun. And one of the songs was made by my friend Vincent Huhta’s father. He made the first song for the part. And then the other song was HiTech from Detroit. I've been listening to them since they weren’t really that big, so I was happy to be one of the firsts to use it because I really love the music.

V: Have you always been into Detroit techno music?

H: I’ve always enjoyed it in Sweden, they had a lot of raves. And then I got on Palace and my friend Rory is really passionate about it. He would show me a lot of the music and I would get influenced. But then also we went to Detroit and I got to see the clubs and got the new look on techno.

V: Can you talk about that last switch heel from your part?

H: It was kind of like a bonus because it was the same day that we were getting ready to have the launch party for the video. Tor came in early. Like I said, I didn't feel like I had enough time to finish the part. There was a lot going on for me during that time. So even though I was traveling, I felt like I couldn't get enough shit. So I was like, “Let me get one last clip.” We did it like three hours before the premiere. It was in the morning, and then he had to edit the part and get the sound checked. That was a little special clip for me.

 

V: Your skating is fluid and creative. Who are your influences? I know you mentioned Keenan Milton in one of your interviews.

H: Yeah. He's a big influence, but I like a lot of people. Ishod Wair has been a big inspiration too. I’m like a skate nerd so I’ve watched a lot of videos. Also my friends that I hang around, I would get motivated for different things. I hang out with this guy (points to Lil Dre) and I started jumping downstairs. Grant Taylor too is a big one. I like skaters who are good both on transition and street.

V: Maybe this is a weird one, but how would you describe your own approach to fashion and style?

H: I mean, I don't know much about fashion or anything. It's something that I would see in the movies and I would try to emulate it, you know? And all the friends when I was young, my homie Martin used to wear the craziest shit. He was like 25 when I was 13 or something. He would have tights and tattoos on his whole body. He used to look very crazy and everyone was like, “Yo, how do you hang with him?” He used to have an eccentric style, like not caring. So for me, what’s cool is someone that could wear whatever and be comfortable. Not so much about the clothes, but I think it's more about how you carry yourself.

V: What would you say is your favorite adidas shoe?

H: My last one is one of my favorites, the Superstar with the strap (Pro Shell). Some people have tall ankles, but I have to choke my shoe sometimes to make it sit. So those, you can strap it. And I like Stan Smiths and Forums of course.

V: Do you have any projects in the near future?

H: Yeah, definitely. There’s always something going on. I hope adidas will make a full-length movie with everyone so we can go on more trips (laughs). I got some video coming with my friends from Sweden. We’ve made one before, it's called the Smuts. And I think I'm gonna have something with Palace that's gonna come from Detroit.

V: You had your shoe already but if you were to design another one and a collection, what would it look like?

H: I would like to make something that everyone can use every day. Maybe something like dressy shoes, but something you can skate in. I don't wanna say too much because someone’s gonna steal my idea. I won't mention names, but you know who you are. I came up with an idea of some shoe that no one wears and the next thing I see, someone’s making a collab. But the person said to me like, “Yo, I got inspired.” It's all good. At least he told me. I was like, “Man, I'm inspiring people.”

 

Heitor Da Silva
@heitordasilva

Originally from Brazil and currently based in Sweden, he's one of the faces at adidas Skateboarding, known for his fluid skate style and effortless board control. His notable works include "HEJTOR" and various projects with Palace.

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