Meet Roberto Smith | Digital Artist & Skateboard Designer/Owner of Alegre Boards

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

Hi Roberto, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I never thought I would start my own company but things start to line up and you end up where it just makes some sense. I spent years creating work virtually as a digital effects artist/animator in large visual effects studios on big projects which meant you’re typically working on someone else’s ideas as a small cog in a big machine. In contrast to this, I’d always found comfort in making/restoring physical things with my hands, with real tools, by myself. I loved the brainstorming, the discovery, the research, the problem solving and tinkering of it all, and without any option of a “ctrl-z” safety net. In the past (and even still today), I often found myself daydreaming about some outside-the-box ideas but I was getting tired of not following through with them. Big ideas talked about with friends over many weekends, over countless cups of coffee, for hours and hours that never turned into something real. There were definitely a lot of fun conversations but I felt that without carrying through with something, it was starting to feel too much like “Groundhog Day”, a lot of empty talk and I was getting tired of not having anything to show for all the brainstorming. I wanted to prove that some of my ideas, well, at least ONE idea, was doable.

The Alegre Boards skateboard was that different, doable idea. Looking at my old snowboard in my garage I thought it might make a crazy cool (or just crazy) skateboard. I sat on the idea for weeks, procrastinating, not knowing how to begin until I finally realized I had already begun and I just needed to get in the garage and start figuring out how to build it… from almost nothing. I drove to the nearest hardware store and picked up building materials that I imagined might work and then to a skate shop I’d driven past hundreds of times before and asked for “the biggest skateboard trucks you have”. After building my first Alegre skateboard (with basic hand tools, trial and error, and lots of guessing), I knew I had something unique. That first skateboard got a lot of attention and maybe more importantly, it actually worked surprisingly well and felt great to ride!

A few years later when I made another one for my then girlfriend, now wife, I knew I had something more than just a fun experiment, but something bigger. She actually didn’t know how to skateboard at all and was able to pick it up pretty much right away. A nice discovery about my Alegre boards, that as a longboard, they’re easier to ride than traditional shorter boards. With each additional build I was improving the design and the build process. I know I didn’t invent a new activity; I just put a new twist on an already popular activity. It wasn’t crazy to think I might have a built-in audience and I felt that this lowered the risk somewhat in pursuing my business. Also, physically building my skateboards was something I could do on my own from start to finish, at least on a small scale, so I just started making boards on my own in my garage. (KCRW is such a great late night companion). This gave me the breathing room to figure out the process and think things out before jumping into the deep end.

After I had a handful of my Alegre Boards skateboards built I found it much easier for friends to help out since they knew exactly what they were getting into. Most of the process was figured out. Although, when I finally pulled the trigger on launching the business on paper, I was clearly stepping into unknown territory. The only things I knew about starting a business was that I had no idea what to do or where to start. I had a friend then tell me, “yeah, no one knows how to start their first business. It’s something you learn”. Touché. So I just started asking friends, web searching, researching and then step-by-step started going down the rabbit-hole of LLCs, patents, fees, taxes, web sites, social media, etc., It’s still quite a bit of a mystery and I still try to take it step by step. Knocking each step off the list energizes me a little more each time and I look forward to building this business and seeing how far it will roll!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

Turning what people think about skateboards on its head. There seems to be something universally cool about converting one thing into something else that’s equally or more interesting than the original item. Successfully colliding two unrelated worlds together can make you reevaluate what you’re looking at. I have people come up and ask about the boards all the time but it’s even more fascinating when it’s someone who’s never skateboarded before. There’s a certain “wow” factor which immensely helps the boards create buzz on their own without me having to say anything, I mean, they’re so big, they’re kinda hard to miss. But I found that my boards not only look amazing, they are fun to ride. And it’s that feeling of riding the boards that keeps you coming back to the board and sharing the experience with others.

It’s hard to argue against the reality that the wow factor of the skateboards does play a big part in the Alegre Boards brand getting attention. I’ve always considered myself a terrible salesperson because I find having to approach strangers with a “cold opener” completely awkward and unnatural. But the Alegre Boards skateboards are an absolutely amazing ice breaker as more often than not, people approach you, and on a very honest and inquisitive level.

Also, I took the process of creating the business in very small steps and took my time with it. With a fulltime job and two kids, you’re pretty much wiped for time and energy so being able to work on Alegre Boards at night in my garage was a very important factor in making it happen.

-> Shoutout LA Question: “Social impact: how does your business help the community or the world?”

I think it’s important to have a diverse marketplace in a community and it excites me that I can participate in that diversity. Instead of offering something that is already represented multiple times at any given festival or marketplace, I like that I can contribute something unique, something that you haven’t seen anywhere else and boldly stands out as something that makes people smile, that get’s people out and about and sharing their experiences with others. To know I can not only be a part of that energy but help elevate it by offering something that you are not seeing anywhere else, feels great. I remember being invited to Burning Man years ago but I felt if I went, I would just be taking, consuming, and copying the energy that was there and the experience would not have felt authentic to me. That didn’t sit right in my mind. If I went, I rather would have wanted to help define, attract, create and perpetuate the vibe and energy. This is something that excites me with my Alegre Boards. Wherever I take my skateboards, the skateboards seem to energize people. There’s a certain buzz when people see the skateboards riding past. Their heads turn, their expressions light up and you can almost see the giant question mark over their heads as they mouth, “What the…..?”.

I’ve also found it very interesting that the first few people who purchased an Alegre board had never ridden or owned a skateboard before. There’s something about the Alegre board that sparks joy in people even those outside the skateboard community and I think that’s something special.

Another way Alegre Boards is impactful on the community is that the snowboards sourced to make the Alegre Boards skateboards are reclaimed from used or discarded snowboards keeping them from ending up in landfills. True to my first build, I find used snowboards and repurpose them to make them into skateboards. Even though a snowboard may be considered no longer satisfactory for riding down a mountain, I’ve found them perfect for upcycling them into my skateboard builds. By using discarded snowboards not only are these snowboards kept from filling up city dumps, but I have also found that with the sporadic nature of picking up these snowboards from wherever I can get them, this has led to collecting snowboards with a wide variety of designs on them, making for a very eclectic assortment of board graphics which really highlights how unique each Alegre Board is in its final appearance.

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?
There is just SO much to see and experience here in LA. But having lived in the SouthBay since the late 1900’s (’95), I definitely gravitate to the beach cities. A day spent in just about any town from Redondo Beach up to Malibu is an easy sell.

There have been a few new additions to the local area near where I live that my family and I have been visiting more often. The Point in El Segundo and the new Manhattan Village offer a great space for families to gather, relax, eat some great grub and listen to some great music.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Well, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t give a shoutout to my family and friends. Everyone has been incredibly supportive in my pursuit of successfully getting my business up and going. To hear the words of encouragement and excitement as I share each step I take and the offers to help me out really means a lot. And to my wife Nikki for her patience and understanding in the sacrifices of time and space.

Website: alegreboards.com

Instagram: instagram.com/alegreboards

Facebook: facebook.com/alegreboards

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRHqppOynyngAUKawMer9Jw