The cold weather is just around the corner ready to say “I’m back!” (at least here in Canada). For fingerboarders, this is just another great excuse to stay in your cozy pajamas and fingerboard all day with a cup of hot cocoa on the side. Our guest for today’s episode of Grind&Slide is the perfect guide to show how to maximize your fingerboard experience at home; from fingerboard tips, creating TikToks, and hosting podcasts. For this episode of Grind&Slide, we invited Christopher Vargas, also known as @fb.christopher on various social media platforms. We had the pleasure to invite Christopher to talk about his journey as a content creator, his observations of the trend in the fingerboard scene, and more.

Here is the conversation with Christopher Vargas.

(NY) Please introduce yourself to our readers!

(CV) Hey! I’m Christopher Vargas, or if you know me from my social media, I’m Fb.Christopher. OR Facebook Christopher if you ask Dave England! Anyway, I was born and raised in Southern California. More specifically the Montebello, East LA, and Whittier areas! Growing up, I spent most of my time trading Pokémon cards, skating with friends and playing music. Now, I’m a full-time social media content creator/vlogger / Podcast host focusing a lot on fingerboarding — something I’m super passionate about! I live in Whittier, CA with my wife and best friend, Jolene, and we love spending our free time hanging out with our two awesome kids Nickson and August!

(NY) How did you start fingerboarding, and what was the motivation behind creating content on TikTok?

(CV) Aside from trading Techdecks in middle school, my first real experience with fingerboarding came in January 2021. We were at a small get-together for my son’s 2nd birthday when my buddy Andy pulled out this wooden fingerboard with metal trucks and bearing wheels. He said, “Check this out,” and ollied over a soda can right in front of me. I was immediately intrigued. Within a few minutes of messing with his fingerboard, I accidentally landed a kickflip—and that was it. I was hooked!

It’s important to know that I’ve always been super into skateboarding; even long after I stopped doing it regularly, it’s been a huge passion of mine. So, to find this new hobby that was so closely related to skateboarding was incredible!

When it came to TikTok, it just felt natural to share this new rad little hobby of mine. I’ve always loved creating content and sharing it online, and fingerboarding gave me a fresh outlet for that. I’ve told this story a bunch, but it never gets old. I was sitting in my room with my fingerboard and an obstacle I made from tile and some broken wood. Honestly, I was terrible—just flicking the board around aimlessly. My wife walks by and says, “You should post that on TikTok.” I was like, “Why? Who would even want to watch this? I suck!” But she was like, “Just do it, people will watch!” A few days later, I posted my first TikTok and yeah, my page shortly after took off!

At the time, TikTok was blowing up, especially with everyone still locked down from the pandemic. It felt like everyone was on the app, so it was easier to reach people, even those who’d never heard of fingerboarding. It’s been a blast connecting with a community that’s just as hyped about it as I am!

(NY) Aside from TikTok, you also host the BigSpin fingerboard podcast. How do you approach creating content for these different platforms (content wise and lengthwise)? Do you see them serving distinct purposes?

(CV) In my mind, I break my content down into short form and long form.

For short-form content—like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts—I focus more on quick, informative content mixed with some paused humor. The goal here is to catch people’s attention (maybe make them crack a smile), especially those who are new to fingerboarding or just discovering it! It’s about being punchy and engaging to draw in new followers.

My long-form content, like “The Chris Files” vlog on YouTube or podcast episodes, is more for people who are already into my content and fingerboarding in general. It’s for those who want to dive deeper and get to know me and my friends, who for the most part are also content creators or people who run fingerboard brands, on a more personal level.

Short-form content grabs attention, but the long-form stuff is where I really get to connect with the community.

(NY) What is a moment from your fingerboarding journey that you feel best represents who you are as both a fingerboarder and a creator?

(CV) This is such a rad question! I’ve been lucky enough to have had so many incredible moments throughout my fingerboarding journey but being a part of FingerboardCon 1 is at the top of the list. In October 2023, Blackriver, Slushcult, and 6Skates hosted the first-ever FingerboardCon here in SoCal, and it was a game-changer for the fingerboarding community. At this point, I’ve worked with Blackriver and Slushcult on projects before, but I never imagined they’d ask me to MC the event or host my own panel talking about creating fingerboard content on social media. It was surreal, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Honestly, FingerboardCon, especially the first one, feels like it’s going to go down in fingerboard history, and I’m so stoked I got to be a part of it! I can’t thank Blackriver, Slushcult and 6Skates enough for allowing me that opportunity!

(NY) What’s something about running a fingerboard podcast or creating short-form content that might surprise people?

(CV) Two things come to mind. First is the time! People often think creating content is easy—like you just pull out your phone and film. But even for short-form content before I even film one clip I’m already into a video about an hour or so of “work” before I even start the actual process because planning and brainstorming your video concepts is key to decent content! Then when it comes to filming, finding the right lighting and angles can take another hour. Most of my videos are sped-up clips with fast cuts under a voiceover, which can take 15-60 minutes by itself. And don’t forget to write a decent caption, add hashtags, and get it posted across three platforms—by the time it’s all done, I’ve easily spent close to three hours on a 60-second video. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve posted some raw, point-and-shoot videos that did pretty well. But for the most part, production value really matters, even with short-form content!

Even with the podcast, there’s a lot more that goes into it than people might think. Writing a show build, researching the brands, and coordinating a time that works for me, the guest, and the production crew (Jake and Jolene aka The Pod Squad) at a location that fits everyone’s schedule—it’s all super time-consuming! But don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I love what I do and wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s just something that might surprise people!

The second thing is something I think might surprise people—I’m not doing this for “views” or “clout.” I was making these kinds of videos long before I had a following, and honestly, even if all the views and followers went away tomorrow, I’d keep making content. I truly enjoy the process and love sharing it with the community. It’s not about the numbers for me, it’s about the passion and connection! I’ve said that many times and stand by it!

(NY) Can you walk us through your creative process—from ideation to final cut—for a single TikTok or podcast episode?

(CV) For the most part, every video starts with a general idea. Let’s take a Dollar Tree budget obstacle build video as an example. I’ll usually start by walking around Dollar Tree, checking out random items, and imagining how they could be turned into a fingerboard obstacle. I don’t like to force ideas just because I think they’ll be popular, so I let the inspiration come naturally. Once I decide on a build, I film a few clips while picking up the items, then head back to my makeshift garage studio. Fb.Chris HQ! Lol

From there, I set up my phone on a tripod, get the angles and lighting right, and start filming myself unboxing everything and putting the obstacle together. After filming, I load all the clips into my editing app, mute them, speed up certain parts, and cut out anything unnecessary.

For short form content, I try to keep the video under 60 seconds for Reels and Shorts. But since TikTok doesn’t pay for videos under 60 seconds, I’ll render a second version just over the 60-second mark for TikTok. cause you know, Taco Bell isn’t cheap! Once I get to the voiceover, I mostly freestyle, but I keep notes handy if there’s anything specific, I need to mention, like product specs or events dates or whatever. Since social media moves so fast and people scroll quickly, I tend to speak fast to keep viewers engaged. If needed, I adjust the clip lengths to match the voiceover, then add any sound effects. After double-checking the edit, I render the video. Since I post on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, I try to write a caption that works across all platforms, along with hashtags. And yeah, even though it annoys some followers, I use trending sounds because, like it or not, that’s how you get your videos pushed! The Almighty Algorithm!

(NY) How do you see the landscape of fingerboarding content evolving in the next few years, especially with newer platforms and trends?

(CV) I think the landscape of fingerboarding content is going to keep growing and evolving, especially as new platforms and trends pop up. We’ve already seen short-form content take off on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and I think that trend will stick around. I also see more people creating high-quality, long-form content, like vlogs, tutorials, and podcasts, as the community keeps expanding! (And that’s not to say there aren’t the OGs in the community who have been posting gnarly content for years now) I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I would love to see more fingerboarders and fingerboard brands embrace social media and create content!

Also, I think we’re heading into a time where a lot of young, up-and-coming fingerboard brands are leaning into social media and building content around their brand. I could see this putting some pressure on the older, more established brands that haven’t fully embraced social media marketing yet. Whether we like it or not, we’re at a point where having a solid social media presence is essential for building or maintaining a brand. If you’re not active online, it’s easy to get left behind, especially with how fast everything moves now.

(NY) If you were to start your creative journey all over again today, what’s one thing you’d do differently?

(CV) If I could do one thing differently from the start, it would be to stay true to myself and not worry so much about what others thought of me and my content. In my first year of creating, I was insecure about what I posted because I didn’t want to be seen as the “cringe content creator”. I was more focused on being recognized as a fingerboarder first and a content creator second, and honestly, I just wanted to be accepted by my peers in the community. Looking back, I realize how flawed that mindset was. I was way too hard on myself and overthought everything. I’m in a much better headspace now and understand the importance of just being myself, regardless of what others think.

(NY) Aside from fingerboarding, who are you as a person? What are you passionate about?

(CV) Aside from fingerboarding, I’m a husband and dad first. My family means everything to me, and spending time with my wife, Jolene, our kids, Nickson and August, and our pets—our dog Parker and our cat Jacie—is a big part of my life! I’ve always had a huge passion for skateboarding, even after I stopped doing it regularly. For the most part, I keep up with the skateboard scene and follow the OG brands and skaters I looked up to way back then! Music has been and always will be a big influence on me—I grew up playing and listening to a wide variety of genres, and it’s something I’m still really into! Beyond that, I’m passionate about creativity in all its forms, whether it’s content creation, DIY projects with the wife and kids, travelling and fingerboarding new places with friends or finding new ways to express myself. I love staying curious and learning new things—it keeps life exciting!

(NY) Lastly, is there anything else you would like to add for our readers?

(CV) At the expense of sounding super epic lol I’d say: Fingerboarding is for everyone. Your skill level, political views, gender, religion etc. —none of that matters as long as your main goal is to be a positive influence on this community and our amazing hobby. And for anyone who’s thinking about getting into social media content creation but is holding back because of the “cool guy” mentality that sometimes lingers in the community, I’m telling you—there’s nothing more rewarding than staying true to yourself and doing what makes you happy. There will always be people with something negative to say, or people in their feelings cause your “how to upgrade your tech deck” video did more numbers than their super steezy core desk edit lol, but seriously, trust me, that says more about their lack of personality than it ever will about your awesome one. So go for it and be proud of what you create!

If you made it this far into the interview, thanks so much for hanging out, and I’ll see you in the next video!

• Christopher Vargas

  Instagram: @fb.christopher

  TikTok: @fb.christopher