It seems to come down to service when talking about the Maloofs. Just how two brothers from a family that gained its initial fortune from Coors beer distribution in New Mexico came to be involved in one of the most spot-on skate contests seems like a total mystery. But, again, service seems to be the answer.
This American family of Lebanese descent has taken the money their father made from beer distribution, hotels, trucking and banking in the Southwestern states and expanded it to casinos, sports franchises, music, reality TV and now skateboarding, all with the customer in mind. There's no doubt that they bring their own interests to the table in each one of their business pursuits, but even before the first Maloof Money Cup last year, Joe and Gavin Maloof and event handlers, listened intently to what the skaters competing wanted. This year's event has only improved, by involving Geoff Rowley, Lance Mountain, Erik Ellington and Braydon Szafranski in the street course design, picking top skaters (instead of relatively unknown contest-only skaters), adding in Wild Card skaters voted in by fans and continuing with the jam format. But, it's still a wonder—why skateboarding?
You guys just get in?
Joe: Ah, I've been here most of the week.
I was watching the time lapse footage of the builders putting everything up.
Joe: Oh, yeah, it's crazy.
Seeing how you're the owners of the Palms Casino and knowing a bit about gambling, business and what a safe bet is, who would you put your money on to win the street portion of this year's Money Cup?
Joe: [Laughs] Oh, God. I gotta stay neutral, but I'm so excited because we've got the best in the world—any one of them, all of them, could win.
Fair enough. The Maloof family has a deep history in traditional sports. Your Dad was the owner of the Houston Rockets. You and your family are the current owners of the Sacramento Kings. But skateboarding is a little different from traditional sports. What sparked your interest in skateboarding and what made you take that interest to the next level spawning the biggest purse contest in the sport?
Joe: I think that, when I was young, I'd see everybody outside playing catch with baseballs or Frisbees, you know? But now, every time I look out the window, I see people skateboarding—from 10 to 40-years-old. I thought, "This is something I might want to get involved with." So, I thought, let's throw a little camp in Orange County and that's how it started. Then, it blossomed into this.
We were gonna do a camp and then I started having people come to me saying, why don't you do a competition? And, that's kind of how this came about.
Typical Maloof style.
Joe: It's the same thing [as other sports]. What I learned about skateboarding is these are wonderful athletes, number one. Number two, it's basically the same demographics as an NBA player. They're basically 19 to 34...you have some young kids—kids like Nyjah [Huston] and the younger skaters—but for the most part, these are high class, highly trained athletes that are amazing at the tricks they do. That's what captured my imagination.
And then another thing was when I saw Jake Brown fall. It upset me deeply. I though, "God, I gotta help that guy." That was the first thing I wanted to do, so I called him pretty quick after that and he's actually the first skateboarder I met who got involved.
So you saw that it was a big pastime with guys that were hucking their body and you thought it could be bigger?
Joe: Well, what I thought was, not everybody can be 6'5" 250 pounds and play linebacker for the Chicago Bears. These kids have an opportunity now to make a living at skateboarding. They have a lot of talent, they train. They're just as good as any athlete in any major sport I know, from basketball to football or anything else—I respect them, I really do.
Josh Brooks
Torey Pudwill back Smith transfers the rail. Launch Gallery »
Have you or your brother ever dabbled with a skateboard?
Joe: Oh yeah, I tried it once and that was the last time. I was in Albuquerque, where I grew up and there was a shopping mall—what was the name of that shopping mall? Kissel Callister...Kissel Callister was the name of that shopping mall and they had a slant that I went down and I ran into a drain. When I hit the drain, I went flying...I actually hit my face, tore my face up.
How old were you then?
Joe: I was about 13.
And that was the last time you stepped on a skateboard?
Joe: That's about it man, but that's why I have so much respect for what these guys do.
You definitely put your body in danger.
Joe: I think there's a whole lifestyle, too—the music, the dress, the apparel...there's a big celebrity to these guys.
What would it take to get you to have a go at jumping down the largest gap on the street course?
Joe: Oh, I'd give a million bucks to go and be able to do that.
I mean, what would someone have to give you to jump the largest gap out there?
Joe: I don't think I could do it. I don't want to make bets I can't win.
I guess you've been in Vegas long enough to know what's a good bet.
Joe: That would be a good bet for a mad man.
With your new foray into the skate world, who are the skaters that you've gotten to know?
Joe: First, we've gotten a lot of help from Rob Dyrdek. He's been real instrumental in helping us last year and he's been a consultant this year. Andrew Reynolds designed the course last year. Geoff Rowley designed the course this year. And the vert: Bob Burnquist, PLG, Jake Brown—they designed the vert, so, really, this is their competition. But, I would like it to be the world's greatest skateboarding event and it's like the way it is because they designed it and decided everything about it. All we did was build it.
Are there skaters that stood out to you as interesting characters or people?
Joe: Adam Dyet—you know? He's got his own thing going. The Lizard...
Lizard King?
Joe: See, I've gotta learn the names. He does his own thing. Paul Rodriguez—P-Rod—he won it last year. He's a nice guy. Bob Burnquist, Danny Way...he really helped us last year. We've really had help from all the top guys. I think they've kind of embraced it.
Who, in your opinion, puts in more work: a professional skateboarder or a professional basketball player?
Joe: God, I don't know. It's close, man. You know, Sheckler was out here yesterday and you could just see it in his face. You could see him skate one part of the street course over and over and over. I wouldn't be surprised if he skated the middle and then the other part of the course. These guys are determined—they're pros. They're the best in the world. Basketball players are wonderful athletes as well, so it's hard to compare the two.
You said you let the skaters plan the street course and how the contest would go down. Did you initially plan on doing it and having someone come in and direct it?
Joe: I think one thing we had to do was come with our hat in our hand. We had to ask the skaters themselves how to do things, 'cause I didn't want to come in here and do it my way, because that's the wrong way. Come in and do it the skater's way is the right way. I think what they appreciate is...we learned a lot from the X Games, the Dew Tour. We learned a lot from what they did, we respect what they've done and we've incorporated it into what the skaters want and it's worked out great.
Josh Brooks
The street course in all its glory. Launch Gallery »
Was there any consideration to build a course in a place where it could remain as a public skatepark after the slight backlash of complaints from tearing down last year's concrete course after the comp?
Joe: You know, we can't leave it here. I look at it two ways: the greatest in the world are going to skate this street course and then we're going to take it away, never to be skated on again, so it's kind of a little legendary. And it is, but then the business side of me looks at it and says, "What a waste." But, it's worth it, I think. I'm gonna do it every year. I think...I'm sure that we'll eventually have more than one of these, I hope, and maybe we can do a course in other parts of the country, where we can go into a city, build a course, have a Maloof Money Cup there and then leave the course for the public. Maybe that can happen in the future. It kills me to tear it down, but we can't leave it here. So, there's kind of a mystique behind it. It's kind of legendary that they skate it and then it doesn't exist any more.
With a contest now two years in the running and a really positive response what are some of your future plans to really push the Money Cup into the future and build it in the coming years?
Joe: My dad used to have this saying, "What we do good today, we must do better tomorrow." So, it's great and fabulous, but we've got to make it better next year. There are things we learn every year. We've learned a lot this year, the design, the format, how it should be judged—all that sort of thing. So, we just want to listen, take our advice from the skaters...if you take your advice from the skaters in the street, then we'll be okay.
So you and your brother came up with this idea together?
Gavin: Actually, Joe came up with the idea and then I just backed him up. He just noticed thousands and thousands of skaters and said, "There's gotta be something there," and he came up with this. It started out as a skate camp and then one thing led to another.
Like a lot of Maloof projects, I suppose.
Gavin: He's in the forefront, but everybody—all the family chips in.
What's the rest of the family think of it?
Gavin: Well, at first, there was some apprehension.
Isn't that how your family is with a lot of your ideas?
Gavin: Yeah, yeah, a lot of apprehension. Then, they came last year and saw that it was sold out, so they were like, "wow."
To learn more about the Maloof Money Cup, go to the Maloof Money Cup site. Also, you can watch live webcasts on FuelTV and get regular updates on the contest here on ESPN Skateboarding.
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