ÂBÖÜT PÂBLÖ
Pablo Ramirez (1993-2019) was a supernova, filling each and every moment with energy and passion. From his earliest days pounding the drums with everything he had and already skateboarding with pure joy and abandon, through his 20s when he became a professional skateboarder and inspired people around the world with his fearless skill, speed and dedication. Pablo made a difference, Pablo grew as an athlete, artist, and spiritual being, and Pablo showed others a different way to live in which every minute counted, and love was paramount.
SKÂTÉBÖÂRDÉR
Pablo’s love of skating began at a super young age. He played roller hockey early on, and then moved on to ice hockey, playing with the pros at a summer camp in Canada. Of course, Pablo had his skateboard wherever he went! Pablo became a professional skateboarder in San Francisco, and he was ambitious, always striving to get better, achieve excellence, go faster. He made a huge impact in the San Francisco skateboarding community. Known as “P-Splifff" as part of the GX1000 skate crew, Pablo had an international social media viewing audience, and skated for HUF and GX1000. The hills of San Francisco were his canvas and he challenged himself to be the best and the fastest. Pablo was frequently featured in Thrasher magazine, and with the GX1000 crew shared his joy of skating in Thrasher videos such as Roll Up. He reached beyond the skateboarding community when GQ published a profile of Pablo and GX1000. Pablo loved adventure and self-discovery — he biked a thousand solo miles from Manhattan to Maine and back, and traveled to locales around the globe — Spain, Italy, Japan, Israel, Dominican Republic, Russia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada. He loved baseball, hiking and camping, soccer, and sailing too.
MÜSICIÂN
Pablo’s musical career started at age 6 when he discovered the jembe drum, by 8 he was already playing a drum set, and at 12 John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” album ignited his love affair with Jazz music. Eager to play great and play live, Pablo studied privately and attended top music programs including The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, the New York Jazz Academy, the New School for Jazz Studies, and Berkeley Jazz Academy. He performed extensively both in jazz bands and rock bands (including Good to Go, Jet Lag, and The Gradients in NYC and Das Waser in San Francisco) and was at the center of the Brooklyn DIY scene. Pablo performed jazz standards at countless venues, including Carnegie Hall Main Stage and the California Jazz Conservatory. Music was an essential part of his daily life and he received spiritual sustenance from the Jazz greats, particularly John Coltrane, Max Roach, and Art Blakey. He loved experiencing live jazz and caught many shows at Smalls, Blue Note, and Village Vanguard in NYC, and at SF Jazz when he moved out west. A highlight of Pablo’s immersion in the jazz world was his day hanging out and playing music with Wynton Marsalis — jamming, dining, talking shop. No matter who he was with, Pablo was always Pablo and musicians both famous and not-so-famous loved him for that.
ÂRTIST
Pablo ultimately found painting to be the best way to express his thoughts, feelings and creative energy. He immersed himself in his craft, spending countless hours honing his skills, studying art history books, and exploring local art museums. He explored abstract greenism and used Instagram as a way to share his art. Pablo had the opportunity to show his work at a collaborative DIY show, and then at the Youth Art Exchange’s public art show on April 6, 2019. His warehouse loft was a window to his mind, with his work covering every available space, and Pablo could transform every surface into a representation of his feelings and ideas. Art and skateboarding came together as he painted his decks and turned them into works of art.
