Desillusion Magazine: This is Dylan | Video

Ask any skateboarder about Dylan Rieder and you’ll receive either a look of disgust, or look down and note their jeans are cuffed way above the ankle. Indeed, Rieder’s career and personality are some of the more polarizing topics in skateboarding today. Ever since his barrage of coverage in 2010 and 2011, the most notable of which come in the form of an Epicly Later’d series and a ‘short film’ by Gravis, Rieder has been the subject of both heavy criticism (‘he’s the worst kind of hipster’) and high praise (‘he’s the second coming of Heath Kirchart!’). Regardless of one’s stance, ultimately, the skateboarding community has its eyes firmly affixed on the 24-year-old professional. For its 10th anniversary, Desillusion Magazine released a six-part series in which they honor the people they find most inspiring in skateboarding, surf and fashion. Rieder, who exists at the apex of these concentrations and more, was the subject of one such issue. Desillusion released the accompanying video to talk with Reider about his philosophy on professional skating. Considering that Rieder has been in the spotlight for such a long time, it is often overlooked that the pressures of being a “professional athlete” in an era where ‘marketing’ is synonymous with ‘branding everywhere’ would be stifling for most people. Resenting this parallels with the resentment of authority and confinement that attracts many people to skating in the first place. Rieder hints at this and more in the interview as he explores the meaning of professionalism, and like everything else, does it in his own unique way.