Meet Mario Loor | Founder of LA Boarding School & Recording Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mario Loor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mario, what role has risk played in your life or career?
important to focus on building a strong emotional, social, financial and spiritual foundation to have your back when this happens. Most people quit. You should be aware of the right things to quit. If something is not serving you it’s best to move on but you have a burning passion that can light up the universe, please don’t hold out on us! We need you.

Risk taking has and continues to play a major role in my life and career. I love trying new things. This is how I find what really works. I am so grateful this life chose me. Taking risks is me continuing to choose it back. I prefer doing what I love and failing at it continuously until something hits than to take the safe route that slowly kills you to nothing. Art kills you in an abstract way. Allows you to live forever. If you have love, skill and passion, stare it dead in the eyes when the odds are against you and remember what got you there in the first place.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
LA Boarding School is an extension to what I was doing in my hometown of Lodi, NJ when I was a kid. In street skateboarding culture it’s cool to mirror what the pros are doing. At the time that was, making full length videos with your homies. Though that has changed drastically since Instagram, kids still seem to do it but it’s definitely a dying culture. I would be the guy that made these videos happen. From filming, starring and editing these flicks. One of many take-aways from those days was coaching. When someone is trying a death defying stunt they need a motivator. Someone to hype them up when the gas is low. Especially when it becomes a battle. I am very proud that one of my friends went on making a career in skateboarding.

When I moved to LA again in 2018, I had no hopes in doing anything with skateboarding. I could count how many times I had been skating since I was a kid on one hand. I migrated from Brooklyn, NY because all the other indie artists were doing the same. I wanted to be where the bands I liked were. I arrived with a few guitars and twenty dollars to my name. The beginning was so rough and not what I expected. I was homeless for a couple months but very lucky. Once I settled into my place I found a job teaching skateboarding on the westside. I quickly discovered a lost forgotten talent. After less than a year of commuting there by public transit I decided to start my own business on the east side. Coming in at a solid 15 lbs, LA Boarding School was born.

I wanted to do something that was accurate to the experience I had with skateboarding growing up. An approach that was more focused on working towards a video part. Getting the best performance out of every lesson/class. Going home knowing I taught someone at least one new trick or concept. My best students usually leave a lesson with multiple new tricks. I discovered the correlation. I had been practicing for this since I was a teen. Plus all the years of working with kids through music in New York. My girlfriend at the time worked in marketing and gave me some tips on how to start a business. To this day the first camp I did was one of the most successful ones.

The video editing skills came in handy when I would post on Instagram. My philosophy was to make the kids the stars and motivate them to want to keep challenging themselves each and every lesson. I knew that this could and would be much bigger than I had ever expected it to be. I was just a musician trying to survive and make art but LABS started to sustain me. Once you can start investing in yourself and your art with something meaningful and gratifying you really feel like you can do anything. It’s been anything short of easy and to this day it comes with its battles but I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is very inspiring to watch the students progress and the school grow. Do what you love and let it kill you. Once you’re there, your love is eternal.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s make it a skate trip! We could start with breakfast at Kitchen Mouse in HLP then warm up at Garvanza Skate Park. After we could have some fun at the Griffith Park Ditches, a legendary skate spot at Mineral Wells Picnic Area. Depending on where we would be we could hit Best Fish Taco in Ensenda or El Huarache Azteca for lunch. Follow that with a session at Echo Park Skate Park, Lake Street Skate Park then maybe hit the swans on Echo Park Lake. For dinner we could check out Joy, Thai Fantasy or Checker Hall for the best fish sandwich you’ll ever have. End it off with a show at Lodge Room followed by some vinyl DJs and solid drinks at Goldline, Footsies or Zebulon depending on what’s hot that night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother, Maria and my father, Mario. Forever grateful for the help of Hank, Andrej, Mike Foote, Chip, Michael “The Professor”, Josh & Que, Musician’s Institute, John “El Vampiro”, my Brooklyn family, James, my cuz David, Dalton, all my incredible friends, students, clients and team members at LABS, Anne Alo & Reina, whom I never met but am grateful for connecting me with you guys!

Website: laboardingschool.com

Instagram: @laboardingschool @m4rioloor

Image Credits
Shoutout to Jimmy Larsen instagram @offgridskater and Anne Alo annealo@gmail.com