Gabe Vigliotti - Minnow 👑 Kingpin of Ohio

Gabe Vigliotti, otherwise known as Minnow, holds the title of the #1 Kingpin in Ohio, representing, Youngstown. He also claimed the title for Kingpin of April 2019, on our very first Kingpin of the Month edit. Gabe has been throwing down on Street Kingpins app. He has been chasing contests around the world and taking podiums at almost every one he attends. There are some big plans in store for Minnow. We got the opportunity to catch up with him to see what the rest of summer holds. 

Hey Gabe! Thank you for joining us today! We want to congratulate you on being the Kingpin of April 2019!

That is really cool, thank you. It’s cool because I have been on the app for a long time and to get some recognition is nice. It is just cool of you guys. 

You have been posting clips on Street Kingpins for just over a year. How old are you now? 

I am 13.

 When did you start skating?

When I was 10.

You have only been skating 3 years? That is Incredible! You can definitely see the momentum with your skateboarding. 

Yeah, thanks. 

Growing up in Ohio, what is your local park?

We don’t really have a hometown skatepark. I have a cool set up in my backyard. Other than that, I go up to Pittsburgh or Cleavland a lot to skate. All the parks near me are falling apart. 

We have seen a lot of momentum towards building new skateparks. It sounds like they need to build a fresh one in Youngstown! 

Yeah that would be cool. 

You are the Kingpin skater at Switch and Signal indoor park. What is up with that park? 

That is probably my favorite skatepark. It is in Pittsburgh, so it is kind of far from home but I get to go skate it pretty regularly. 

Switch and Signal park

Switch and Signal park

Yeah Switch and Signal indoor park looks amazing! We have seen a ton of good skateboarding coming out of there. 

How about the Rob Dyrdek Park in Kettering? 

Yeah that one is a lot of fun too, I don’t go to it as much though. 

Minnow has been traveling a lot and winning skate contests all over the U.S. What are some of the recent contests that you won? 

I won a few of the Grind For Life contest series. I got to go to a bunch of parks around the states following the series. I did pretty well in all of them.  Recently, I won the Ryer Field Jr. Hot Wheel Series in St. Petersburgh, FL. I also just won the one in Ann Arbor, MI. I took 1st place at the Skateburgh contest at Penn Hills Factory in Pittsburgh. Last year I got another 1st in my division at Hellorama contest at the old Ollies skatepark. 

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You have been going to a lot of the Grind For Life events. 

Yeah they’re my favorite contest to go to. All my friends go to them so it’s always really fun.

Any best friends that you skate with? 

My friend Noah is fun. He lives in Florida. He’s fun to skate with because he is really good. So, it’s cool because it pushes me to learn new tricks. Every time I get to skate with him I learn new tricks and stuff. 

Do you have any other hobbies? 

Not really, I just skate and play Videogames haha!

What’s your Videogame of choice? 

Minecraft 

You have won some contests already this summer. What are your plans for the rest of summer?

I’m going on this trip this July, It’s 9 days long. We are hitting all the Zummie’s Best Foot Forward contests. We are just going to drive up and follow the tour. That is going to be fun. 

The Best Foot Forward contests are amazing. That is really the biggest AM contest series in the world. They make so many stops all over the world. We attended a couple out in Colorado. They have a great team making that event happen. Which stops are you hitting? 

I’m going to the one at Grant Park, Niagra, Ann Arbor and really all the contests we can hit in those 9 days. I like them because there’s no an age limit. So, it is good for me to learn how to skate with some of the older guys. Get use to competing with them anyways. 

Minnow brings it up a level to all the older guys. He is the one jumping in on a session and busting flawless lines around the park. Us old guys are the ones looking back at you like, who is this kid showing us all up? 

I don’t know if you saw my run in the GFL Ann Arbor contest, but that was just why I love doing contest. I kickflip front boarded the handrail. I had never done that before. That is the first handrail style rail I have ever kickflip front boarded. I like the adrenaline rush you get. It just pushes me to do something crazy. That’s why I like contests. There is this one guy I skate with in Pittsburgh. He didn’t really understand why I like doing contests at first. Until one day he called a trick out for me to do, and I actually tried it. Then he kind of realized how that kind of stuff really pushes me to learn more.  

That is what it is all about.. Contests bring that energy. They bring people together and make skaters push themselves. For the record, yeah we did see that kickflip front board! 

It was kind of sketchy because I didn’t totally lock into the rail, but that’s fine. 

Yeah I count it. Add that one to your arsenal. 

There is a lot of tricks that are simple that I just never got around to learning. Like, when I learned front boards, I immediately started learning kickflip front board. But then I never got around to learning some of the easier tricks like 5-0’s on rails and stuff like that. So it’s weird because I am still learning some basic things. I have recently been really trying to perfect some tricks, like back Smiths, nose grinds and blunt slides. I just never did a lot of stock tricks, I just skipped straight to the harder tricks. 

I think that will pan out for you in the end. You are super consistent on the board and it shows. 

I try to get consistent at every trick I learn. Even if I don’t think I will ever really do it again. I like to get good at every trick I learn. That way if I ever do need to bring that trick out I will have it, like in a game of skate or something. 

Minnow, do you want to give out any shout outs? 

Yeah I have had a lot of help from my sponsors, Monster Army, and Bones Bearings. There is this guy Justin, that has been a really good inspiration to me. He is probably the best skater in Cleveland. He helps me a lot because it is nice to skate with people that are super good at skating. I can progress with them, you know? Just everyone that is for me, the people that are nice to me and encourage me to skate. 

Don’t forget about the biggest sponsor of all, Mom sponsor. 

Yeah I guess. I never say that but she has helped me out the entire way. 

What is your dream sponsor?

My dream sponsors, well I am already on Bones so that is one of my dream sponsors. Spitfire wheels, but I don’t know if I would be able to ride for Bones and Spitfire. Independent Trucks, Element boards, and Mob grip. I met some guys from Element and they were really nice. That’s what I am skating on now. 

Are you a graphics guy? 

I usually just get boards by the size and I don’t tend to care about the graphics as much. Every once in a while there will be a cool graphic that In really want. I have a couple hanging up in my room. 

That is cool man! Well maybe those dream sponsors will become a reality real soon for you. Keep skating and having fun on the board. Keep that consistency and style. Winning contests back to back to back, like you have been doing will surely get you recognized in the skate community. So, I am guessing that we will see you at the 2024 Olympics then. We are already looking forward to that. 

Thanks for joining us on Street Kingpins! Make sure to follow Minnow’s skate journey @minnowskate on instagram and Minnow on the Street Kingpins app. Get on the app and send him some props! Let him know you read his story.  




Brett Buescher