Paul Rodriguez, aka P-Rod, has become one of the most well-recognized figures in skateboarding today. His ability on a board speaks for itself—loudly. But more than just his skating, Paul’s path to the upper echelon has been carefully carved by the mindset it took to get there.

Captain of Industry is a three-part series with P-Rod that explores how he went from learning kickflips in the grass in front of his mom’s house to getting his name on 10 signature Nike shoes, and eventually starting his own brand to stay closely connected to the skateboarding industry for years to come.

In this first episode, Paul recaps a few of his career highlights, like signing with Nike and how Primitive first launched as a sneaker store before transforming into the full-fledged skateboard brand it’s known as today. P-Rod sheds light on how these moves came to be while describing what his headspace was like along the way.

“The greatest in their field, I think they all are—more or less—on the same wavelength mentally.” — Paul Rodriguez