John Joseph Cardiel (born December 14, 1973) is a former professional skateboarder and snowboarder who has been a core member of the AntiHero Skateboards company since it was founded in 1995.
Early life
Cardiel was born in San Jose, California, and grew up in Half Moon Bay and Grass Valley. When asked by prominent skateboard photographer Tobin Yelland in a 1998 Transworld Skateboarding interview, "When you were younger and skating with all your friends, did you ever think you'd get sponsored?", Cardiel replied:
"No, not at all. It wasn't about getting sponsored, it was about skating. If you constantly think about getting sponsored, the only reason you're skating is to get on a team. It just worked out for me. I think the majority of skaters who are sponsored weren't really thinking about it all the time. They just wanted to get away from home and skate."
Professional skateboarding
Sponsors
As of January 2016, Cardiel's sponsors are Vans, AntiHero, Spitfire, Independent Truck Company and Chrome Industries.
AntiHero
AntiHero is a board company that was founded by professional skateboarder, Julien Stranger, in 1995, following a proposition from Jim Thiebaud (co-founder and owner of Deluxe Distribution), who is reported—by Jake Phelps, editor-in-chief of Thrasher magazine—to have offered Stranger the opportunity during a period of time when both Stranger and Phelps perceived skateboarding as "stale". Stranger has explained the original concept that underpinned AntiHero in the following manner: "Oh, there's was no concept ... well, maybe there was, I don't know. Just kind of balance out the rest, or something, with what was going on with us." Phelps has stated further to Stranger's vague explanation:
"I think if you pay attention to life and the way things are, that you, you come out pretty jaded by, you know, life. Or things aren't the way they should be. I think AntiHero is a reflection of that. I think Julian's own twisted take on things has been, like I said, there's no expectation—we just skate, we fuck off, we have a good time. We go to trips sometimes and nothing happened. Or sometime we go on a trip and everything happens at once; you never know. And I think that that translates very much into John's way of life—whether it's hunting, fishing, or whatever, John's [Cardiel] an outdoorsman, and I think that, that hearty spirit of America translated very well with Julian's gritty grime of, like, the city slime, into making a really solid, 'This is what it is to us.'"
Cardiel and Stranger first met at an amateur skateboarder contest that was held at the Powell skateboards warehouse—the contest was held around 1990/1991.
In the fall 2012 catalogue release of AntiHero, Cardiel's signature skateboard decks are included in the same series as the currently active riders.
Skateboarding influences
Cardiel listed his top skateboarding influences of all time in an interview with the Transworld Skateboarding magazine: Mark Gonzales ("... just his way of looking at skateboarding, and just approaching it, is just like, forever, the gnarliest thing"), Christian Hosoi ("... for just his raw blasting airs; his smooth style; his happy-go-lucky attitude; he was always, like, "What's up?!", just, like, love ..."), Sacramento skateboarders ("... you know, Rick Windsor, straight up."), and Tony Hawk ("... the insane 540s with no hands, and, just like, all his tricks; he had the ramps, all his ramps, all the ramps he had—I thought that was insane. Tony Hawk's the best."). Cardiel identified Gonzales as his top all-time influence, stating: "... just everything—vert, street, like, whatever. Running, you know? Like, he's a great jumper, on feet, like, pffft. Just a human being, like, so, I'll give it up to Mark."
In an interview, published in January 2013, Cardiel explained his influences more generally:
"Basically, just like the kids around town—you know what I mean? The gnarly rippers around town, there was this dude, his name was 'Eric Benthen'. So, that was, basically, what inspired me in the beginning. Just, Raven Tershay, basically, like, Emmanuel Guzman, like, ah, I see, just a lot of, a lot of good skating right now. You know, like, I mean, Paul Rodriguez, like, these dudes are so, on their stuff, and, like, it's just, it's just, almost insane. It's like, ah, kung fu, like, I wanna say, like, uh, kind of like Bruce Lee, martial arts type of thing. And they've excelled to a level where they're just, like, masters, you know? It's like, it's just like, it's, it's, it's impressive."