Another Side of Pro Skateboarding

When you think of pro skate boarding, you think of Tony Hawk, ESPN, sponsors, cool boards, rocker chicks and smile-inducing hi-jinx.

You don’t think of homelessness, drug-induced stupor and depression.

But that’s exactly what you get in Tristan Patterson’s “Dragonslayer.”

A tragic, yet heartfelt documentary of a renegade pro skater, Josh “Screech” Sandoval, it’s a film that will expose the underbelly of the sport. In spite of that, it ironically leaves you with a smile.

While it’s easy to pass judgment on the people in this film, the more you keep an open-mind, the more you’ll enjoy it. Maybe this is the way these people want to live. Maybe the Jack Kerouac-inspired life works for these misfits. Society rejects them, but they find their own way to make something of themselves. In the end, it would be easy for them to simply give up. But they don’t. That, above all else, has to be appreciated.

Through its intelligently and eccentric way of shot selection [courtesy of Director of photography Eric Koretz], the film sometimes feels like a dream, with sunlight screaming off abandoned pools all over the West coast, all begging for a grind. At other times, the reality sets in and the hallucinogenic effect wears off completely. This beautiful duality fuels the tale.

Fair and honest throughout, there’s no spin here either. What you see is what you get. It’s not always pretty, but it’s real.

Unforgettably surreal and down to earth, the story of Sandoval, is an undeniably sad one. Arguably one of the greatest pool skaters of his time, Sandoval has been through quite a lot and is on the wrong side of his prime. Slipping up and unable to hit the tricks that he used to, he’s not the skater he used to be. While the backstory is never clearly explained, it doesn’t take much to see the factors that led to his decline.

He rarely speaks of his parents. His relationship with ex-girlfriend and his new baby is strained. His living situation, out of tents, cars and abandoned homes tells the story all by itself. His inability to make the right decisions will annoy some and confuse even more, but it’s hard to argue that his every move isn’t at least a bit captivating and entertaining.

Like Holden Caufield with a skateboard, Sandoval is a tortured soul that manages to squeeze every ounce of passion and desire out of a life that clearly has never gone his way. His journey, like Caufield’s, may be predictable, but it’s memorable.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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