Rob Roethler on Overcoming Fear in 'Four If By Sea'
How does the saying go? One if by handrail, four if by sea?
That’s not exactly how it went for Paul Revere, but it is the name of the latest project from the Burton Analog crew.
Luke Winkelmann, Niels Schack, Grace Warner, and Rob Roethler ventured to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a street trip last season. Four If By Sea is the end result. You can watch the full five minute feature below.
Roethler took some time to talk to Snowboarder about the project, the latest from the TDI crew, and respect for tall snowboarders.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What’s up, Rob? How are you doing?
"I'm doing well, man, I kind of got a double whammy right now. I got a bruised heel and I'm sick. So just not hyped on that, but spirits are high."
Rob Roethler.
Photo: Dean Blotto Gray
Yeah, I saw the post about your heel. How is it? Is it getting better?
"Dude, yeah. Actually, a few days ago I was really, really worried, because it just didn't feel like it had gotten better since I left London. I went to London with the (Technically Doing It) crew. We had our Halloween event, and I really wanted to shred and get some good clips, and wound up learning a trick. I was having so much fun. But then, of course, you know, world comes crashing down, and I take my foot out of my boot and it starts throbbing again.
So I was worried that I might have just completely f*cked my recovery. But I'm feeling a lot better the last two days. I'm stoked as hell, dude, I got those Normatec boots coming. So hopefully those things can really push some blood around and get some more healing juices flowing."
I'm not even going to beat around the bush, man. Your ender in Four If By Sea, that is heavy. That is an unreal part, and it's a hell of a way to end the video. Talk me through that. Was it a battle? How many tries?
"So, we get there, and I didn't even have my bag with my kits and stuff. So I'm like, running whatever I had with my boards, which was the red puffy and then I had purple headphones and shit. I'm looking at all these clips like, ‘bro, what is he wearing?’"
A still image of Rob Roethler shortly after the incredible wallride. The clip is Four If By Sea's closing scene.
Photo: Dean Blotto Gray
"I wound up being pretty okay with the kits. I was able to work out. Nonetheless, it was like, day three of the trip. We had gotten skunked the first day because me and Luke had tried to hit this monster, long rail for like five hours. I mean, he put in like five hours on it. I tried for like two and a half, and I was over it.
I heard there was a wall ride, and I don't know. We only had 10 days, right? So we were all just really, kind of trying to patch it in...I was just like, f*ck, you know, like, we really got to turn it on. We can't just, you know, go and get some filler, do whatever. And, yeah, right, like, well, there's a wall ride, and I'm f*cking huge, so every rail that you guys want to hit is going to look so lame if I hit it. I make stuff look really small when it's not actually small. That's a little frustrating."
Rob Roethler.
Photo: Dean Blotto Gray
"But that spot was actually at a Navy base, and we had to wait until Sunday, I think, so that we could go hit it. We were there by like 7:30 maybe, maybe 8 a.m.? I know I had the clip by 9 a.m. but we shoveled real quick. I wall-rode it twice, landed both of the normal wall rides. Then I was like, 'Well, okay, like, just gotta try this sh*t.'
I was so f*cking scared up there. I'm like, trying to, like, think about which ancestors I'm doing this for, because I'm trying to convince myself that, like, I got this sh*t, you know? I’m doing everything I can, but in reality, I know the more time you hesitate, the more time you have to freak out.
As soon as I started thinking about it, I just was like, ‘Alright, you guys ready? Word, dropping.’ Sent it, did the ugliest front flip you've ever seen your life. I almost hit my head on that pole. It's like, sticking out at the bottom of the wall, I think it was, I honestly think it was, like, within 15 tries, for sure."
Are you going out to Nova Scotia and you're like, 'We're going there for 10 days, this is all going to end up in one video?' Or is this kind of the end result of, like, there's not as much of a game plan going into it, and this is what came out of it?
"Well, so last year was a really weird winter, right? The snow was odd. Everyone went to Oslo at one time to go and try to film some sh*t. And there wasn’t really a lot of snow in the streets. So we didn’t really have a big idea for a street video at all, for Burton. Pretty last minute, Pat (Dodge) and Zach (Nigro) were like ‘Yo guys, like, we found some budget. We want to get you guys on a trip, build some stuff, like, worst case, you know, Analog ads, or whatever, right?"
Rob Roethler.
Photo: Dean Blotto Gray
"We were all hoping maybe there would be more trips, maybe we do a two-year project. Maybe we just use all of our footage for separate things. But ultimately, we had enough to put it together, and we were like, please, can we make a video? So I’m super hyped. I know it worked out, but not much of a plan going into it, as far as what we were going to turn it into."
How was the trip? Did you get to enjoy Halifax at all?
"Hell no man, we were f*cking grinding.
Every morning, we were out of the house by 7:30 a.m., like we fu*cking grinded. I mean, I enjoy that sh*t. It’s fun to a certain extent. I actually really love sitting at a spot and, like, cheering on your homies, you know? I was the center fielder when I played baseball. I'm sitting here. ‘Here we go, now! Let's go! straight over the middle. Come on now!’ I'm just sitting there yapping the whole f*cking time."
Rob Roethler.
Photo: Dean Blotto Gray
I don't know if you can talk about this. I've heard you mention it, and I feel like I've heard Zeb (Powell) mention it in passing. Are we getting an all-black backcountry movie? Is that in the works? Or is it just an idea right now?
It's not going to be all backcountry, but we do have a TDI movie coming out. I mean, it's not this year. We're filming it this year. That's going to be really sick. Keep an eye out.
But I’m very excited. Zeb obviously has a very, very difficult schedule, so he kind of has to do his own thing, and he'll kind of pop in where he can, but for the most part, yeah, I think we should we have a good crew going to Japan. I think we have 13 of us going to Japan. We're going to try and split up, do some street somehow, and then we're going to try and link up for another street mission."
When you first started blowing up, after your back flip video where you’re flipping the camera off, Shaun White reposted that on TikTok. Now you’re both in the same Warren Miller movie. Have you thought about that at all?
"Damn no, I didn't know Shaun’s in it, either. I haven't even seen the video, dude. They didn't like even really let many of us know that, like we were officially in it. So (Luis Medearis) has had most of the communication, with them, right? Because he's been giving them all the footage and putting us in the video. I still haven't seen it, so I didn't even know.
To be honest, I've been really, really worried about Four If By Sea. So that's also on me, and my focus has been elsewhere. But, nonetheless, I'm overjoyed that we got a section in a Warren Miller film, of all films, or all production companies. You know, it's really kind of wild."
Anything else we need to know?
"Just a quick thanks to Burton, Skullcandy, Oakley, all my sponsors that rock with me. But other than that, that's pretty much all I got for you."
I just want to say, I’m a bigger guy, too. I’m tight end-sized. And I think from a rider’s standpoint, seeing another football-sized player move the way you do on a board is inspiring.
"Thank you so much. And to every motherf*cking tall dude out here who's only supposed to play basketball and do whatever the f*ck someone tells him to— Tell them to go get some, because that's just so stupid. We can do absolutely anything. I live to prove them wrong. So let's do it."
