American Skater

Between May 2025 and March of this year, I photographed Robinson Gonzalez, a Venezuelan professional skateboarder in his mid-twenties.

Three years before I started this work, Gonzalez crossed the Darién Gap, having left his family behind. He was later granted entry into the United States as an asylum-seeker. Back in 2018, during anti-government protests in Caracas, an explosive device had nearly severed his left hand. His political involvement had made his home country unsafe for him. 

After settling in San Antonio in October 2024, he got sponsored by an American skate brand, found work as a food delivery driver, and taught skateboarding to local youth.

Most of these photographs depict him alone, as he struggled to build a life in a new country without a support network. The images depict the emotional cost of migration: missed birthd...