Lilo & Jamma
Written by Lilo Flower
Photography by Matt Chenot
I am a pit bull adopted from a shelter in Fresno, CA, by my sidekick, Jammalynn Flower. Ever since I was two months old, I’ve gone everywhere with her, and she’s always wearing those funky shoes with four wheels. Two of my favorite things in life are towing and chasing my mom while she roller skates. I can’t skate, but I’ve come up with ways to join the fun.
I am a free dog. I get to run wild in the world. I didn’t grow up using a leash in a traditional way like other dogs (unless we get caught by the cops). For me, a leash is best used as a tow rope. I bite one end of the rope, my mom holds the other end, and I sprint as fast as possible while she skates behind me. I tow her on boardwalks, to local skateparks, up hills so we can bomb them, and into street spots when she needs extra speed (or anytime she takes out a leash, I’m ready).
One time, there was a giant kicker ramp in front of a gap that bikers had placed in a skatepark. My mom needed more speed to make it over the gap, so she got out the leash. I watched her previous attempts, so I knew what to do. We started in the parking lot, and I towed her into the skatepark as fast as I could and whipped her into the ramp. She cleared it with flying colors!
Anytime we’re at my grandma’s house, we skate to the skatepark because it’s only one mile away. We’ve skated there so many times, I know the exact route. I can tow her there nonstop, running stop signs and dodging cars to get there. I hear her laughing the whole way, and anytime I look back, she has a big smile on her face, so I know I can go as fast as I want.
My mom is kinda crazy. I can’t help but run after her anytime she skates. Especially when she drops into bowls, hits street spots, bombs hills, or does anything insane. When she carves and grinds on a ramp, I’m right on her heels. It’s like a rodeo. At first, I was afraid for her and wanted to chase her out of the bowl, but then I realized it was really fun. It became a game and scratched my herding instincts. Except when she starts doing flips, that’s when I get uneasy. For example, if I see her doing a flip transfer, I’ll drop in ahead of her and cut her off. It’s for her own safety. I study her lines, so I know the perfect time and place to get in her way and stop her. Sometimes this forces her to go even faster, and then she starts changing her lines and faking me out. But that’s all part of it.
If I’m on the deck of a ramp or bowl, I’ll grab her pants in the middle of a grind and howl at her. Another one of my tricks when she skates is biting the bottom of her bell-bottoms or nipping at her ankles if she’s wearing shorts. There were a couple of times when I bit her too hard. Now she has two scars on her leg from me. Oops. She doesn’t care, though. She loves me by her side.
The craziest lines are when I grab her pants while she’s stalling at the top of the ramp. Then she has no choice but to slide out of her line. I love the sound her jeans make when I get a clean rip out of them. I’ve shredded most of my mom’s bell-bottoms. Some of her pants are so stretched out and torn that they will get caught in her wheels while she skates.
One time, my mom was doing a 50-50, and I got trapped in between her legs when she was dropping back in! When I start getting too close, or she needs a head start, she’ll throw a ball to distract me. I have a weak spot for balls.
Over the last five years, we’ve gone to so many different skate spots all over the country. The more I skate with my mom, the more tricks I learn. I can drop into 10-foot bowls, basically do 50-50s, spine transfers, and air out of ramps. I even hit the coping on a vert ramp recently.
We are very lucky to have each other. I have so much fun with my mom, and I can’t imagine doing anything differently. When we’re together and skating, everything just makes sense.
