From tragedy to triumph, the life of Joey Flores
GILROY – Whenever Joey Flores left his house to go out skateboarding with friends, his mother would bless him and wish for his safe return.
Although he sometimes came home with scrapes and bruises that go with the territory for skateboarders, Flores always returned excited to share some news about how he landed a new trick or two.
But then one day long after returning home, Flores was on the receiving end of some news – news more tragic than mere scrapes and bruises. His mother woke the family one late June evening and told them she wasn’t feeling well.
After rushing to the hospital, their worst fears became an all-too-sudden reality. Bertha Flores – the mother of seven children – had died of artery pulmonary thrombolysis, a type of pulmonary embolism.
It was only a month short of Flores’ greatest accomplishment on a skateboard. In the weeks following, he took the bronze medal at the Junior Olympics in San Diego, earned a year-round sponsorship from Mountain Dew during a competition in Milpitas, and got an invitation to tryout for the X-Games.
“It pushed me harder. It made me fearless,” Flores said. “It gave me way more motivation.”
Skateboarding became more than just a passion, a way of life. It was now a coping device.
“I think that’s what drives him now,” said Emilia Flores, 24, one of his four older sisters.
Bridging the gap
Since they knew little of skateboarding, Flores’ parents, Bertha and Venancio, could not truly understand when their son returned home and spoke of his latest progress. But they did know he was enjoying himself and not doing other things on the streets. And that was enough for them.
Little did they realize, their youngest child was taking the beginning steps of a skateboarding prodigy with life goals of turning pro and making a living off of it.
“At first, I really didn’t understand the whole concept of skateboarding,” Venancio said. “I’m still trying to come to terms of understanding it.”
At first his son didn’t even understand the concept of skateboarding.
It all started one day in 1999. Flores, a fifth-grader at the time, stepped out of his family’s Gilroy apartment and saw a skateboard lying on the ground. He picked it up and took it for a whirl.
“I went to Rod Kelley and I chipped the front of it,” Flores said.
In the meantime, his older sister Vanesa, the owner of the skateboard, came outside to find that her board was gone. She left it outside at her father’s request and thought one of the neighborhood kids took it.
“If we had a bike or skateboard, my dad would make us leave it outside because there were so many of us living there,” said Vanesa, now age 20. “When we came outside, the board was gone.”
Then her little brother came up the block in possession of her skateboard.
“I totally got angry that he grabbed it. I was like why did you take it,” Vanesa said. “He just said, ‘Hey, this is fun.’ He really enjoyed it. But I was more mad than anything.”
After a little scolding, Vanesa decided to let her brother have the skateboard to practice on.
“She said I could have it,” Flores said. “After that, I rode every day.”
Since she was skateboarding herself, his sister decided to feed Flores’ new-found interest and began working with him. She was quickly impressed when Flores completed an ollie on the first day – something that had taken her weeks to accomplish. (An ollie is getting the board elevated from the ground and landing back on it).
“He picked it up quick,” she said. “After that we couldn’t teach him anything else. We just gave him the wood.”
The two eventually started going to the new skate park at Las Animas Park in Gilroy just down the street from their apartment.
“Everybody at the park would be like who is that little kid,” she said. “Everybody wanted to skate at the park, but they didn’t want little kids in the way. But here comes little Joey.
“They were underestimating that this little kid actually knew how to skate. He was super tiny.”
Each day Flores would go to the park and continue to rapidly improve.
“I got hooked on it quick,” Flores said. “When I skate, I’m in my own little zone. It’s just me and my board, and I’m taking care of business.”
Other siblings take notice
It wasn’t just one sister who began to take notice of Flores’ skateboarding ability. As a close-knit family, each member shared interest in what the other was doing.
Emilia Flores would also head over to the skate park to watch her younger brother do his thing. She was immediately amazed at what she saw.
“I would see the older kids not landing their tricks and he would be over there landing everything,” she said. “I knew if he kept at it, he would amount to something real big.”
“I don’t know much about skateboarding, but I thought if he lands it, I guess it’s good.”
But she made sure Flores was not slacking in school.
“Homework is always first,” Emilia Flores said. “If he gets his homework done, then he goes out to the skate park or brings out some rails in the front. He’s always skateboarding. If he’s not skating, he’s watching skate videos.”
Rafael Flores kept having friends – and even people he didn’t know – coming up to him asking about his little brother and telling him how talented he was. So he also watched Flores land trick after trick at the park, but didn’t realize the extent of his skateboarding skills.
“After watching him, I said, ‘they’re right,'” the 21 year old said. “The fact that he puts all his pride and soul into what he does gives him the energy to make him be as good as he is. If he keeps it up, he’s only going to get better and things can happen for him.”
Lilia Flores, 25, the third-oldest, “thought it was more of a recreational activity for him.” But she soon came to realize that it was more than just fun and started attending her brother’s more frequent competitions.
“That’s when we really started noticing he could go somewhere with it,” she said. “He works hard and puts in a lot of heart. If he uses that work ethic and determination, he will be able to fulfill his dreams.”
Soon enough everyone in the family – including Manuel, 31, the oldest, and Yesenia, 26, the oldest sister – knew their little brother was something special.
“It’s taken all of us by surprise, but me, out of all my brothers and sisters, kind of knew that Joey was going to be a good skater,” Vanesa Flores said. “He didn’t want to wrestle or play other sports. He wanted to be on that board.”
Move to Hollister
As a sixth grader, Flores and his family moved from Gilroy to Hollister, where they still reside. But the three youngest children still wanted to attend Gilroy schools. Wanting her children to be happy, Bertha Flores, who ran her own house cleaning business, drove them to school every day.
“We all got dropped off at different spots,” Vanesa Flores said.
When she got done with work, Bertha Flores knew exactly where to find her youngest son. He was practicing at the skate park.
“Both of our schedules worked perfect,” said Flores, who enjoyed taking the daily ride back and forth from Gilroy to Hollister with his mom.
Sometimes, however, Flores was still working on a trick when his mother arrived at Las Animas Park. Instead of rushing him out, she would wait in the truck until he was done.
“You’ve always got to give it a good try and commit to it, but you should know your own ability. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of practice,” Flores said. “Right before I do a trick I’m thinking about if I’m in position and how I’m going to land it. In the middle of the trick, I know if I’m going to land it or not.”
With the passing of his mother, Flores is going to attend San Benito High this fall as a junior, but he plans on returning to Gilroy High for his senior season.
Big family event in San Diego
When Flores competed in San Diego in the Junior Olympics on July 17, it was the first time his father saw him compete.
“At first, I was struck with all the incredible things they could do with a skateboard,” Yenancio Flores said. “I couldn’t believe what Joey could do. I enjoyed it because he enjoyed it so much.”
It was also the first time his whole family came together to watch him skate.
“It was really exciting for us just to have everyone there. With our current situation, it was really emotional,” Lilia Flores said. “It was great to see him have a great time with it.”
“It brings a smile to me only because he enjoys it so much,” she added. “Knowing he’s putting in so much hard work and seeing the excitement in his eyes brings joy to all of our hearts.”
And although his mother was not there in body, Flores made sure she was there in spirit – like he does for every competition. In his wallet, he carries a photo of his mother with saying on it written in Spanish that he reads before each run.
“Just so I can know she is with me,” Flores said. “She’d always bless me and wish that I did good today and no harm would come to me.”
For his first run, Flores selected a Spanish song from Ramon Ayala to be played while he skated.
“That was totally cool,” Vanesa said. “I believe it reminded him of my mom. We all got teary-eyed. … I don’t know any skateboarder who sticks to his upbringing and heritage like that. I think it even touched my father a lot.”
His performance earned him a bronze medal and Flores whole family was there to share in the achievement.
“That was exciting,” Emilia Flores said. “Like my sister said, it was very emotional. It was the first time the family was together watching him. … We knew she was there in spirit.”
Three days after returning from San Diego, Flores went right back to work in Milpitas at the Vans Skate Park, where he earned a year-long sponsorship from Mountain Dew by placing in the top three.
“It means a lot,” said Flores, who is also in his second year of competing in the California Amateur Skateboard League. “I felt really confident. I landed a couple of tricks that got the crowd going a couple of times.”
Future plans
With his family fully behind him, Flores continues to pursue his dream of becoming a professional skateboarder, and nothing is going to stand in his way.
“I want to become pro. I want to get sponsored,” said Flores, who makes videos of his tricks to send to prospective sponsors. “I think I’m on the right track. I want to make it so I can buy my dad a new house and a new ride.”
The next step for Flores is winning his league championship. He is currently three points behind the leader with five more events to go, starting with Saturday’s competition in Marina.
“I want to take league,” said Flores, who came up short in his first tryout for the X-Games last weekend in San Diego. “It made me a lot better. Everything was bigger. It made me do bigger tricks. It was a big learning experience.”
The last few months have been a trying experience for Flores, but one he’s made the best of.
“He feels like he has a blessing from up above,” Vanesa Flores said.
And he plans on using that blessing to guide him through the challenges that lie ahead, while never forgetting the challenges of the past.
Said Flores: “I just want to make my mom proud.”
