Early Life
Rodriguez's nickname was given to him by his classmates when he was around eleven years of age.
In 1996, at twelve years of age, Rodriguez received his first skateboard as a Christmas gift from actor/comedian father Paul Rodriguez; Rodriguez had seen a group of skateboarders at his new school and was immediately fascinated by "how they kept their board to their feet and how they could flip it."
In an interview with skateboard photographer Giovanni Reda Rodriguez recounted a vivid memory of his early life as the son of a celebrity:
I'll tell you a good story about Mr. T . I believe it was 1988, every year there was a Christmas Day parade in Pasadena ; I was probably about three-and-a-half, four years-old—I loved Mr. T. He had the cartoon out at the time and all that. We're, we're there at the banquet before the parade started 'cause my dad brought me to take me in the car to wave at the crowd, or whatever. And, ah, I had to go to the bathroom, my dad was getting interviewed, and, like, I tried to tell him; Mr. T was just standing there, chilling, 'cause they were just talking, and Mr. T goes, "I'll take you". And he throws me up on his shoulders, and I'm sitting up on top of all his gold chains. I remember it perfectly and he fuckin' put me on top of his shoulders and walked me to the bathroom; like, just waited outside for me, and it was sick. Mr. T chauffeured me to .
Read more about this topic: Paul Rodriguez (skateboarder)
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