Most afternoons the Forquer brothers, sophomores Jacob and Sean, head toward the hills with the rest of the Rybioko crew. In light of the warmer weather, the boys take every chance they can to skate around Columbus exploring new tricks, skate spots and videotaping opportunities. Rybioko, a group of sophomores comprised of the Forquer brothers along with Paul Linville, Nathan Murray, Cody Pfister, Stephen Salay and Avery Wilcox, have achieved national recognition with their longboarding exploits. The tireless crew has skated its way to sponsorships, endorsements and free equipment.
“Avery, Sean and I are sponsored by OSC Longboards, and our team has an endorsement deal with Fireball Wheels,” Jacob Forquer said.
Rybioko has garnered the attention of sponsors through their creative street skills, which they digitally film and post on YouTube. One of their films garnered both the judges’ award and the viewers’ award at the 2010 Upper Arlington Film Fest.
Their YouTube channel, “rybiokoproductions,” has a total of eight videos with over 10,000 views collectively. Sean Forquer said the group plans to release trick tips and other types of videos in the next few months, most likely to be filmed at one of their primary practice spots.
“We have about three options when it comes to longboarding spots. Clintonville has some sweet spots; we call it ‘Chinatown,’” Sean Forquer said. “We also drive around [OSU] campus in the afternoons looking for random empty parking lots, and [we] go down by Big Run Park.”
Rybioko and most area longboarders are limited to a few blocks of hills scattered across UA. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, the skaters try to maintain a positive attitude and keep up their love of longboarding.
“My brother and I picked up longboarding in eighth grade after skateboarding through elementary school,” Jacob Forquer said. “Longboarding was new and we’ve had a lot of fun.”
Longboarding has long been a minor UA pastime with only a handful of people pursuing the sport behind that. The Rybioko crew is on the way to bigger things as the Forquers and friend, Wilcox, plan meetings with potential sponsors and encourage one another along the way.
“We motivate each other by trying to be the best skater among us,” Jacob Forquer said. “We love making videos of our tricks.” •