Ten question interview with Laci Simonik

Last week I traveled to the other side of the country to meet the longboard dancing crew in Győr. I spent two days there, on the first one a few guys from Budapest joined me. It was really awesome, we played game of skate, talked and laughed a lot. In my opinion, the guys in Győr are the bests in the country in terms of knowledge and community.

Game of Skate on Dunakapu square

I didn’t want to meet to miss the opportunity, so Laci Simonik and I sat down for a few minutes and we made an interview. He’s my friend and one of the best longboard dancers in Hungary. It was my first ever interview and so was his. I can tell you proudly that I was nervous at the beginning, but then it was really enjoyable to work with him. I don’t want to drag it any further, let’s meet Laci!

So Laci, please talk about yourself a bit! Who are you, what else do you do besides longboarding?

LS: I’m 18 years old, I’ve been longboarding for three years. Before that I asked my buddies to give me their longboards for five minutes, I only had so much with longboard dancing. I’m still a student in high school, but I often go longboarding after school, several times a week if I can. I don’t really have any other hobbies, I’m trying to take longboard dancing as serious as possible.

If you take it that seriously you must have plans or goals. Can you tell us about them?

LS: I could say that I want people to notice me, but that wouldn’t be true. I want to get to know new people, have fun and travel to a lot of new places. If someone would offer me a sponsorship or anything else I would be really appreciated and of course I would accept it, but for me, it’s just not about getting sponsored.

You’ve taken part in competitions, and you have also achieved rankings. Would you talk about these contests?

LS: Of course! So first I saw a competition here in Győr, but I did not dare to take a participate, because I thought I wasn’t ready. In the second contest, I wanted to compete purposefully. The whole thing went down in three rounds and I was able to take first place. This was in the summer of 2019.

Then one of my friends invited me to Vienna, to take a part in Simplelongboards teem weekend. There was a contest too and I thought: what can we lose? There were three events: a push race, where I won, a tik-tak competition, where I became sixth, and a best trick contest, where I won my first Simplelongboard deck.

The next one was here in Győr exactly a year ago. There was an integrated dance-freestyle contest, where I finished in second place. I took place in the best trick event too, where I also earned second place.

I want to take part in new competitions because I really like the experience of the whole thing. It’s really good that we are there and we encourage each other. I think it gives adrenalin to everyone.

Laci on a competition in 2019

You talked about longboard dancing in Vienna. I think that the world’s longboard dancing community is getting bigger and bigger. What do you think about Hungary, is there a lot of new people out here?

LS: Ever since I started, the community has expanded a lot, which is pretty good. They see us doing tricks and they come there saying: Wow, I want this too! They are asking for tips and of course, we help them. A lot of people start like this, and they achieve high results.

I think our community is very good, we are really receptive to the new ones. Whatever they are asking for, we give them advice if we are able.

What would you say to these beginners? I think, that it feels good to get advice from a guy like you, who is proficient in the subject.

LS: In my opinion, they should set goals for themselves that they must achieve, thereby they are motivating themselves. What is really important, the perseverance. Furthermore, they have to notice their own mistakes, based on which they can develop.

I can totally agree with your thoughts! You seem like you have a lot of fun during longboard dancing, but what is your favorite experience?

LS: It’s hard to choose one! Maybe last year’s summer opener ride. People came from all parts of the country and even from abroad. There was a competition and after that, we rode together from Veszprém to Balatonalmádi where we made a party. There were many of us, we went longboard dancing and had a lot of fun.

Rajmi, Benji and Laci in Balatonalmádi

There are bad things in everyone’s life, but we have to focus on the good side. Did something bad happen to you while longboarding, like accidents or something else?

LS: Fortunately I didn’t have any serious injuries. Maybe when I landed badly on my uncle and it snapped a big one, but it did not broke. I had to rest for a couple of days, but after these days it got better… I mean I was able to walk again, which means I’m ready to go longboarding.

One thing that I don’t like is the self-appointed leadership role when someone selects themselves to direct everyone. Fortunately in our group, this is really rare. We have no leader because it would only disintegrate the community. In my opinion, we handle this well here in Győr.

What if you are going through a hard time with longboarding? What motivates you to try again?

LS: If I’m really not able to learn new tricks, or land the old ones, then I give it a rest. I come out in a good mood to skate or to hang out with the crew, but if nothing happens as it was planned, then I just sit down and talk with my friends. And tomorrow I start it all over again. New day, new impetus. I don’t think I’ve ever lost my motivation, but I think I would the same, give it a rest, and try again later. Sometimes my body is too tired to do anything even if I still want to skate. After a week of relaxation, I can give 200%, so it’s really worth it.

What about the strangers who are getting angry? People got a bad opinion about skaters, is there a lot of friction with these people?

LS: There are arguments sometimes with older people or with the ones who don’t skate. Mostly they horn in us because we skate, so we are bad people. You know, these stereotypes. Or they come with the fictional rights, that we can’t do this or that. Luckily these discussions are rare these days.

My last question, which is a fun fact about you, would be about the donuts. I always see these donuts in your Instagram story. How did this whole thing start?

LS: I loved donuts even as a little kid. I ate them all the time when we went out. I also bought a shoe with donuts on it, oh and socks too. This whole thing stood on me and I became the donut guy. I really love them and I like trying out specialties.

The shoe, the legend, the myth.

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