10 Things That Matter - At Home With Ruben

Location: kitchen top display shelf

"It was a nice gift from etnies around 2003 or ‘04, after my signature shoe was done. One day it showed up at my house. It’s an actual shoe dipped in Bronze. Joe and Taj got the same gift for their shoes. I never tried putting it on my foot; it won’t bend at all."

Location: entranceway open closet

"This is my only NORA Cup, for my 'Grounded' part. I like it. I had friends from Spain there at the awards night; it was a good night. I have other trophies in the closet also, and X Games medals are inside the cup. I didn’t want to throw them away. I always thought that I would do something cool with them. Maybe it should be in the middle of the house. Maybe I’ll take it to the skatepark and put it over there with some old stuff, like bike parts and clothes."

Location: guest room

"My mom painted a picture of me that was from like ’92- I had only been riding for a few years. This is some kind of fly-out at a ditch by a supermarket in Malaga; it’s still over there. My mom painted it when I was living in the U.S., around ’99. It was probably why she painted it- because I was gone, and she missed me."

Location: living room

"It was when I was living in the U.S. around ’99, and was gone for a long time. My sister made a sculpture and used parts of chains and spokes I had. My friend MacGyver helped her snap a few pieces of chains. She made a cool piece of art; when I came back and saw it, I was flipping out. It’s cool to see how proud my sister and mom are of me."

Location: dining room table

"Every once in a while I’ll look through all my pictures. I have boxes of pictures. If I frame it and put it somewhere, it’s cool. But if you have it laying around, it’s more alive. I have that with a few pieces of art. That photo was such a good time living in Austin with Joe. It was right after the world trip, around 2004? I’m very bad with years. My hair actually grew more than that. Life was a blast. That phrase was one of the first things that Sandy Carson taught me. I think it was Joe that took it, or it could be Sandy."

Location: dining room table

"Joe gave me the piece Shawn drew for my frame graphics a few years ago. It’s a nice piece of art, with so much detail."

Location: Coffee table

"The Ride one was because there were photos being taken at the same day and minute all over the world. We were eating dinner and talking. Vince Perraud reminded us that night, and suggested we do that last minute, not even an hour before. I remember I had a little bit of gasoline in my garage. I pulled the car in the bowl, since we didn’t have any light. We had a couple of tries in a minute. The DIG one was a nice surprise, with me Van, BF and Joe. I wasn’t that much in the media as I had been in prior years. The Art cover- I really like the picture. Manu Sanz wasn’t shooting BMX photos for a while, but we are really good friends. He visited Malaga and he shot that. I hadn’t seen him for years. It is a nice souvenir from him."

Location: bedroom

"The photo was taken by Alvaro Santarofia, on a Flybikes trip in New Zealand. He has one of those panoramic cameras. It was 2005 or 2006. MacGyver, Perico, Sergio, David Quesada, Javi, Giddy, Haimona, and KP are in the photo. The rocks are perfectly round; I heard no one knows how nature could make them so perfect. It’s so cool. It’s another good memory of a really cool trip."

Location: Kitchen seating area

"Hugo Almeida took it in Portugal at this contest. There was a track next to it, and this girl was having so much fun jumping. I thought it was super cool. One day he framed it and gave it to me as a gift; it was super nice. I have it in the kitchen, because in the morning, it makes you hyped- it’s how life should be. It’s a good reminder to get up and be ready to have fun."

Location: guest room

"It was a nice gift from Joe Rich. It’s a nice memory skating this pool in Asbury Park, New Jersey, from around 2002. I was staying at Garrett’s house. It’s the first pool I ever skated. It was a really good pool, with a good transition."