Talking with Nate Roline gives you that instant sense of "this is a good dude". The Edmonton ripper created a buzz back in 2005 when he appeared in the 14-minute C1RCA Canada promo video, Kybosh, which was assembled by Jeremy Pettit.

"I got on C1RCA and they asked me to do a trip to Calgary for a week to film with the whole Canadian team," Nate explains. "It just came up randomly, and I was hyped. The Decenzos and Magnus Hanson are in that video too, which is sick."

Stepping into 2010, Rise Up is a new column series not unlike the ongoing On The Horn interviews, but it focuses more on the under-the-radar rippers who are catching fire, so to speak. In this installation, Nate discusses a kidnapping, putting on weight for TENS, getting stiffed by the City Of Champions, a serious wax problem, and more.

Age: 22
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Current Residence: West End – Downtown Vancouver, BC
Stance: Goofy
Sponsors: Element skateboards, C1RCA footwear, and Plush & Famous skateshops in Edmonton.

Video Resume:

-Red Hot [Plush & Famous], 2006 – "Glenn Suggitt, the owner of Plush & Famous usually does a local skate video every couple of years. So I've had a couple parts. They're pretty rad."
-Young Folk, 2007 - "My buddy Liam Mitchell worked on that video for so long. People were stoked."
-TENS, 2010 - "That's the latest one. They did such a good job on it."

Favouite movie quote: "The only good bug is a dead bug."—Johnny Rico, Starship Troopers

It seems like after Kybosh, you had some momentum but sort of slipped under the radar. How come?
I knew this question would pop up [laughs]. I was barely 18 at the time, and had all my friends in Edmonton. I just wasn't really ready to make a Vancouver move. There aren't any photographers and filmers who are always on the go in Edmonton like out west, so I didn't really have access to that for a while. I've always been skating, but was just under the radar in terms of coverage until TENS, basically. I finally made the move to Vancouver, and I'm stoked to try and get stuff done.

Speaking of coming to ‘Couver, can you tell the story behind being kidnapped from Edmonton by Liam Mitchell, Dave Ehrenreich, and Ben Marvin with nothing but lint in your pocket?
So random [laughs]. Those guys showed up outta nowhere in like July '09. Liam's a really good friend of mine, so I met up with him while he was in Edmonton. He introduced me to Dave and Ben. We ended up hanging out the whole time, and when they were leaving they said, "Nate, you're coming with us." So I packed a bag and caught a ride. I filmed a trick every day for a week in Vancouver with Dave, and it was so fun. I filmed most of my stuff for TENS.

How was the experience filming for that vid?
I gained a little bit of weight last year – a lot of people definitely like to joke about it [laughs]. I don't really care, it is what it is. It's kinda funny. You can't really tell in the footage, but in my TENS section, I'm probably about 220 pounds for pretty much all of those tricks [laughs]. I was a hefty kid, but I've definitely lost about 50 pounds since then just from skating a lot.

Nollie 270 Heelflip. Owen Woytowich sequence.

Over summer '09, I heard you were hired as the "park host" at that sick new Callingwood plaza in Edmonton...
That was basically the best job I've had. I was just there to make sure the park's OK – clean it up a bit, ask sketchy people to leave, and make sure everything's cool with the kids throughout the day. I had to wear a helmet, which was shitty, but all I did was skate all day. The only bad thing was missing my first paycheque because I was late getting my direct-deposit bank information in. The cheque was supposed to get added on later, but it never did. My boss even admitted I got screwed over.

What's the best non-incriminating Glenn Suggitt road trip story you have?
I don't want to get an angry email from him [laughs]. It's always an amazing time with that guy. He's the life of it, and I know a lot of other people out there would say the same. I went on a trip to Cali with Glenn and a bunch of people from Edmonton, probably in '05 before Kybosh. We drove to Kamloops, then Vancouver, and all the way down the west coast. I was pretty straight-edge back then, but looking back I wish I loosened up a bit more because it was pretty crazy [laughs]. Total Edmonton style. Glenn knows a lot of famous spots around LA, so it was rad to be able to go skate them.

Do you have an obsession with the movie Starship Troopers?
It's just a ridiculous movie I saw when I was like 11 [laughs]. I think the cheesy lines are hilarious, and it was probably the first movie I saw that had a lot of gore. I was stoked on it. Everyone's got their stupid movie that they're hyped on. Starship Troopers is mine.

What's your worst habit?
It's waxing. I've really angered some people with it [laughs]. I'd way rather slip out than stick. Stacy Gabriel is actually worse than I am for waxing, which is crazy. Guaranteed some people at the Vancouver plaza have seen me waxing stuff [laughs]. I need to put up warning signs when I wax.

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Count 'Em: TENS