Vincent Nava was a Los Angeles skateboarder who died on September 6, 2020, at the age of 21 in a car crash in the California city. Nava’s death was confirmed by his family in a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses.
“Vincent was one of the most talented skateboarders to ever skate the streets of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. His passion for skateboarding was evident because he lived and breathed it everyday of his life. His natural talent and dedication to his craft began opening so many doors and career opportunities that he both deserved and worked hard for,” Suzanne Rodriguez wrote on the GoFundMe page.
Details of the car crash that led to Nava’s death were not immediately available. According to his family, Nava was fighting for his life after the crash. “Unfortunately, his beautifully amazing and talented life was tragically cut short in a car accident. As we all hoped and prayed for him to pull through, God had different plans,” Rodriguez wrote on GoFundMe.
Nava, Who Was Sponsored by Pig Wheels & Was Seen as a Rising Star in the LA Skateboarding Scene, Said in May ‘You Just Gotta Live Life, You Can’t Live Life Being Scared’
Nava was sponsored by Pig Wheels, according to the skate team’s website. In a May interview with Thrasher Magazine, Nava was asked whether he was scared to die. Nava responded, “I mean, I don’t want to die. If you kind of think about it, it really is scary. But a lot of s*** happens from one day to another and you just gotta live life. You can’t live life being scared, ‘cause you can never be too safe. Someone can do something stupid and f*** it all up, even when you’re being safe. You just got to be aware, but still have fun.”
Thrasher’s Ted Schmitz wrote about Nava after the release of a Pig Wheels video featuring him. Schmitz said in the article, “Hellraiser hair, flaming-skull griptape and posting up on cop cars, Vincent Nava first struck me as some futuristic hype beast with a costume crisis, but once I hit play on his new Pig part, I was blown away. The LA native crushes more handrails than hairspray bottles—which is no small task. See how he locks down his look, wreaks havoc with his hectic 10C41 crew and deals with other kinds of pigs.”
Nava told the magazine when asked about how he got good at skating rails, “The skatepark that I live by has a couple rails. Before I lived by a skatepark, I grew up just skating flatground at the skateshop. They had one flatbar, so I was really comfortable just boardsliding it and I learned feebles. I think it started off with that, and then just seeing Nyjah skate was pretty sick. So I got pretty comfortable at rails and got precise with 50s and some basic s***. And then once I met my friends, they were already good at rails, so I just started picking it up from them.”
Nava, Who Was Known for His Spiked Hair, Worked at an Afterschool Program
Nava was known for his spiked hair and unique look. He told Thrasher Magazine in May the hair, “was a suggestion from my homie Kid Bronze. We would all dye our hair and stuff. One day he said my hair was long enough and that I should just do the spikes. So we just did it, and then I learned to do it myself when I got comfortable with it. So now, before I go skate, I got to do the spikes.”
He said it can take an hour and 30 minutes and two bottles of hair spray to do his hair, “There are some days when I wash it off, but some days I just sleep with it in and kind of touch it up in the morning.”
Nava worked with kids before his death. He told Thrasher, “I work in an after-school program. I teach kids how to skate. So that’s why I’m not working right now, ‘cause kids aren’t going to school. It’s called Woodcraft Rangers. It’s only at schools in LAUSD. It’s pretty sick ‘cause I used to be in that program when I was in elementary. They got sports and all types of clubs and skating is one of them now. You can practice with the kids, so it’s sick. All the equipment is good too—they get Deluxe and OC Ramps.”
Nava Was Remembered as ‘One of the Most Loving, Compassionate & Loyal Human Beings’
Rodriguez wrote on the GoFundMe campaign page, “Vincent’s family lost one of the most loving, compassionate, and loyal human beings anyone would ever know.” She said, “Now having to deal with the insurmountable grief, the family has to begin making funeral arrangements for a life that was taken way too soon.”
The GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $16,000 of its $20,000 goal by September 7. Rodriguez wrote on the GoFundMe, “To help Vincent’s family as much as possible , we have created this GoFundMe page in an effort to take care of all the funeral expenses to help ease the trauma just a bit. Anything and everything is greatly appreciated! If you cannot donate, please help spread the word to anyone you can.”
Rodriguez added, “Vincent, may you rest in paradise our angel! ‘Like a shooting star flyin’ across the room. So fast, so far. You were gone too soon.'”
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