Romero was born in Fontana, California, United States and is the son of Mexican immigrant parents. Romero first started skating around 1997 with his friendship crew “The Death Junkies”. Romero revealed in a 2009 interview that he “was ditching school and skating” with friends during his adolescence, while in a 2010 interview he explained that when he was growing up he knew what he wanted and did not let other people bother him.
Romero has credited his sponsor the Pharmacy skateboard shop “The craziest family I’ve ever had …” with facilitating his departure from his hometown for
the purpose of commencing a skateboarding career. Romero appeared in the Foundation videos Madness & Mayhem (2002) and That’s Life (2004). Then later as an Emerica team rider, Romero lived at the “Emerica Mansion II” with professional skateboarders Heath Kirchart, Kevin “Spanky” Long, and Bryan Herman. In May 2013, the Romero signature shoe model “The Troubadour” was released, and Romero explained that the shoe design was based on footwear that could be for both skateboarding and fashion.
Romero became a professional team rider for Baker Skateboards, a company that was founded and is owned by one of his childhood skateboarding influences Andrew Reynolds—in a 2010 interview Romero explained that his motivation for joining the team was based on his perception that Baker was “cool”. Romero appeared in the Baker video production Baker Has A Deathwish (2008) that is a collaboration with “sister” brand Deathwish.
In 2009 Romero left Baker to join the Toy Machine company and explained in a 2010 Thrasher Mag interview that “I just don’t think I fit in with that crowd. It’s not really
my bag.” Romero revealed to Mike Sinclair, a senior employee of Tum Yeto, that Toy Machine is “100% skateboarding”. This move proved to be a wise choice for Romero as he earned the coveted Skater Of The Year award via Thrasher Mag in 2010. Romero has 3 mind melting parts with Toy Machine since then.
With his band Travesura, Romero released his first recording on the Scion AV label on March 1, 2014 at an event in Los Angeles, U.S. The recording is a self-titled EP and a music video for the song “Tenor” was also released. For Leo, music and skating go hand in hand with a life on the road. From playing shows and getting clips to tapping Langhorne Slim to record the song that made his new “SKATER” Emerica part, Romero reveals the extent of his care for the craft in this Half interview – Half Skate Part – Half Documentary… well, it all adds up if you check out this amazing piece on Thrasher Mags Youtube. It’s a candid look into life on the road with Leo Romero. A must watch!
