I'm pretty certain Phelps was saying Reynolds used to be an idiot, not that he is nowadays (which is pretty much what Reynolds says himself when he's talking about his drinking days).
Atiba talking like he's some sort of tastemaker is really annoying. Besides him and Phelps the episode and whole season so far has been really good.
I loved watching Andrew get stoked on the new baker graphics.
The first thing he says is that he didn't think Reynolds would be one of the most influential street skaters of all time. Kind of the opposite of tastemaking.
And to the guy who is suspicious about a father praising his daughter, yeah, that is super out of the ordinary, and not, like, totally what you'd expect at all.