Bastien Salabanzi Interview: The Lost Part

Bastien's portrait from his Skateboarder Interview back in 2004, at the height of filming a part that would disappear for a decade.

All Photos: Oliver Barton | Words: Mackenzie Eisenhour

Lost footage has always been somewhat of a skate nerd wet dream. The prospect of something so incredible—so Eifel Tower monumental, had it appeared when first filmed—just sitting on a shelf for years almost makes the footage increase in enigmatic value. So much so that finally watching it feels like crawling into a pixel generated time machine; beamed off to an alternate universe of what might have been.

Has a part this good ever been held for this long? I can’t think of any off hand. There was the notorious Muska part from Welcome to Hell, but that part more or less surfaced only a short while later in Fulfill The Dream. There were recent rumors of a full Jovantae Turner part from Video Days, but that may be more wishful thinking than any type of actual completed part sitting in Spike’s analog tape vault. There was also longstanding gossip of full parts from the non Tim and Henry names of the ’92 Blind team (Guy, Rudy, and Lotti), but again, those may be more urban myth than reality. Last year’s talk of a Ty Evans blocked Marc Johnson part for Tiltmode also comes to mind, but that part was supposedly more on the “throwaway,” fun/dorking around side than a straight up game-changing NBD fest (That one from Marc was in Pretty Sweet.)

Bastien’s “Lost” Flip part seems truly unprecedented in terms of the impact the footage probably would have had at the time. Especially given that Bastien essentially went underground both sponsor-wise and geographically (returning to Europe) directly following it. These would have been serious groundbreaking (and possibly life/career arc changing for Bastien) NBD hammers back then—coupled with just how long it has summarily been mothballed (A decade!), and just how good it still looks today. Meanwhile, the entire Flip, Sorry saga is steeped in so much drama of it’s own that any footage from that era carries added weight regardless.

The Sacto triple set fakie flip was most definitely NBD back in '04.

With all that said, I really wanted to get Bastien’s take on how he felt to finally see it come out. I can only imagine how heavy the emotional ties to the footage are given everything that happened in his life since. I pictured the final release of this part as the symbolic cathartic resolution to that entire chapter of his life. And while I at first felt a slight hint of anger that the part hadn’t come out sooner, I think a big tip of the hat should go to Ewan Bowman and everyone at Flip for making the effort to finally put it out. In some ways, at this point, it might just have been easier to let sleeping dogs lie and let it die on the vine.

You’ll always hear people saying how good Bastien was in those early years, but you’ll really never grasp exactly how insane it was to watch him skate firsthand. He just did not miss a trick. It looked like he could learn anything within something like three tries. And he would be talking to you as he did it. I know everyone says this or that person was “the best.” But when people say it about Bastien—there’s almost a different type of intonation—they really mean what they're saying.

Here, along with Oliver Barton’s photos from Bastien’s ’04 Skateboarder Magazine interview (shot during the filming of the “Lost Part”) is his take on most of the things mentioned above. Now get this man a board sponsor.

This could be my favorite switch varial heel ever, barring any rendition by Keenan Milton obviously. Downtown LA.

How did it feel to see the “Lost Part” footage finally come out? I can only imagine it felt amazing.
Yeah for sure it was nice to see it come out, even ten years later. I never thought it would been seen so I’m stoked it's finally out there.

When did you hear about it? Did Ewan (Bowman) contact you before it went up?
Yes, he did. He sent me an email and told me he was working on the edit and wanted to put it out soon after the new year.

Who did you watch it with the first time? Was it like getting into a time machine?
I was home by myself the first time i watched it. Yes, it was like a good flash back moment. It did bring back a lot of cool memories. Definitely.

Could you remember specifically all the tricks in there? Was there anything you forgot about?
Oh no! Dude, I think I probably forgot half of the tricks in this part. I mean it was ten years ago you know.

Can you run down the day (who was there, how it went down) that you got the cab flip front board in Melbourne?
Well it was really late—maybe one in the morning when I skated it. I know that Ewan, Andrew Mapstone and a few local friends were there too. I didn't try it on any other rails because i thought that one would be perfect to try it on. I didn't do it right away. It probably took me thirty tries maybe more.

The backside nollie and Cab flip stair line.

Run down the session where you got the fakie flip at the Sacramento triple set.
It was during a night session during a skate trip in Sacramento with the Flip team. I was shooting with Oliver Barton at that time for the Skateboarder interview. I remember that a few tries before I made it my board fell right on the edge of the tail. I had to pull off a big piece of it off. I was pretty bummed about it. The run up to the set is slightly down hill. That really helps a lot.

What trick in the part brought back the best memory?
I don't have one in particular. But definitely all the tricks in Australia bring me awesome memories. It's one of my favorite trips I've ever been a part of. It was so much fun.

Had you tried to retrieve it over the years? Even just the cab-flip front board? Who was blocking it?
I thought about it. But to me it was Flip's footage and I didn't try to get it back. I don't think anyone was really blocking it, it just turned out that way.

Do you think your life would be on a different path if this part had come out almost 10 years ago? I don't think so but we'll never know.

How come you don’t do more backside 360 flips? The one in that OZ line was rad!
Thanks mate! I don’t know, I still do some here and there. Maybe I should do it more often. Haha!

Switch ollie blaster at the Sepulveda gap in West LA.

I noticed at the end of the part they had a clip of you sitting at Uni high. To me it was kind of a nod to Nyjah since his cab-flip front board there (on the Uni rail) was the second to last trick in his Fade to Black part. The same trick you did on the Melbourne Gold rail, 10 years later. Was it weird to see Nyjah do that trick?
No it wasn't. I saw him during Street League throwing some of those moves down so I knew he could do that trick. I was really blown away by the backside 360-kickflip lipslide. That's a very hard trick.

Nyjah kind of called you out in that Free Lunch thing saying you had told him you were going to beat him at Street League. What did you think when you saw that?
Not much really. He just misunderstood what I told him. I didn't mean it like that at all. He didn't see that I was joking. I would never say something like that seriously. But i guess he thought I was. No big deal.

When were your kids born in this whole series of events?
My first son was born in May 2008 and my second one in May 2010. It's the best thing that ever happened in my life. I love to talk with them and see my sons evolving, learning, playing, or laughing. Only parents can know how infinite is the love for our kids. They're my most precious things in this world. Lao will turn 6 this year and Jazz is going to be 4 years old.

With this footage out have you been able to finally make peace with everyone there (at Flip)?
The relation between Flip and I has always been peaceful. They will always be my first family when I first came to the states. Geoff (Rowley) welcomed me in his house like a brother. I have learned so much with all those guys. I have so many awesome memories traveling the world with everybody.

Nollie heel front boards back in '04 where no joke. Can't think of one before this one, nor have there been many since.

After Jart, have you been looking for a new board sponsor?
No I haven't. Thanks to Bud skateshop. They hook me up with their boards and they’re super good. I'll see what happens. No rush.

Would you go back to Flip if they asked you?
Never say never.

Are you still skating Street League this year?
Yes for sure. I'll be there and looking forward to it.

Who impresses you most in person at Street League?
Probably Shane O’Neill. Just because I had never seen him skate in person before and I was truly amazed by how much board control he has.

Who do you miss seeing everyday most from the Sorry days?
I was good friends with everyone from the team so it's tough to answer. I always had the best times whenever Ali was around though. It was non-stop jokes, laughing or playing guitar together. I love Ali.

The voodoo child staple: backside flip with classic Bastien form.

When was the last time you ran into Tom (Penny)?
I saw him last year in Munich during Street League and he stops by Bordeaux from time to time as well.

Whatever the circumstances, it must feel good to have that footage finally out. Are you moving forward with a positive outlook from this?
Well yes, it feels like a closed chapter sort of with this footage finally out. I'm happy Ewan put it out there.

Can you top that part?
No, I can't.

The Lost Part, 10 Years later.

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Steve Berra

Still a number of people to come from this with raw text. Here's everything Steve Berra had to say about it back in '03. Like Dyrdek, Steve has always had strong opinions (to say the least) and has never been afraid to voice them. I remember him being particularly passionate about this topic. Photo from The End. —ME

STEVE BERRA:

“Drugs are such a dissociation from what really is going on. It’s a disconnect with the real world. There’s such a social veneer on the planet right now anyways, that it doesn’t need to get any worse. Its like, ‘Hey, everything’s great,’ Meanwhile, we have a president that wants to go to war with Iraq and ignore the rest of the world. There are just so many things that are fundamentally wrong going on right now. I mean it’s already bad enough, we just don’t need something to dissociate us even further.”

“They come up with any other reason they can to smoke weed. You know, it’s part of one of the most insidious declines of our civilization. All these people are like, ‘Oh, it’s got nothing to do with me man, I just buy a little bit of weed.’ Well that weed comes from somewhere. People lie for drugs. People kill for drugs. Drugs are a huge, huge business, and they are built on the further degradation of people. Drugs aren’t designed to give someone a mellow high. Drug dealers are the lowest people on the planet. They enable someone else’s downward spiral. Everybody’s complaining about how the planet needs to change, but these guys want sit back and smoke a joint. I just have a little higher aspirations then that.”

“I looked up to this popular skater back in St. Louis when I was growing up, Warren Stevens. He was like a couple years older then me. I remember, it was right at the time when my other friends were starting to drink. One day I just asked him like, ‘Hey, you don’t drink?’ And he said, ‘No, I skateboard.’”

“I don’t agree with anybody doing drugs at all. Even drinking excessively to me is just wrong. I mean what is the one contributing factor to every skateboard premiere that ever got fucked up, closed down, or turned into a fight. The main contributing factor is alcohol. Take away the alcohol and those guys aren’t going to act that way.”

“We don’t need to further promote the dumbing down of our youth. Look, kids have a hard enough time dealing with the pressures of drugs and the angst of youth as it is. All that stuff is already out there. Its not like they’re going to discover it in a skateboard magazine, but we don’t need to contribute to it as pro skaters.”

“People can argue whoever the best skateboarder in the world is, but there is no doubt in my mind that Eric Koston is and always will be the best skateboarder that has ever lived. Everything he’s ever done, he’s done completely sober. There are specific other guys that I know that go out and do coke, smoke weed, or whatever—anything to disassociate themselves from the consequences, and then its easy for them to do what they’re doing, because they're totally out of their minds. Eric has to sit and see both sides of the spectrum because he’s dead sober. He has to overcome the knowledge that he could break his face. The same can be said about Jamie Thomas. They’re not some morons doing coke before they skate.”

“If I did drink, which I don’t, I would never show me drinking anywhere in a magazine or in a video. And I certainly wouldn’t talk about it. I mean everybody’s got a rough story, especially guys who skate, but I just don’t agree with promoting the further degradation of our society. I keep thinking everybody’s going to grow out of it. But then I go on some business trip to Italy or somewhere, and I see these 30-40 year old guys doing what I thought only teenagers did.”

“The reason why we have this image is because that image is promoted. Drug use exists in every other facet. I mean I stayed at Yale for four months. There were students at Yale smoking crack every night. I mean being truthful about it is one thing, but glorifying it is another. When you’ve got ‘Legalize Skateboarding’ made out into a pot leaf, you’re not really talking about skateboarding. Companies like Shorty’s, Hollywood, or Baker, I don’t respect those companies as much as I respect somebody like Jamie Thomas. I don’t think anything good comes from the things they promote. Even Birdhouse, look at what they’ve done since the departure of me and Heath. I mean talk about embarrassing—Tony Hawk, the all American boy is at the forefront of promoting 15-year-old kids drinking beers with their face at the crotch of a stripper. That’s terrible. I’m not saying that those kids aren’t going to drink. But, it’s a terrible ploy to try and sell boards. It's like you have two choices. You can either not take a stance like, ‘Well, it’s got nothing to do with me’, or you can take a stand against this. I mean have you ever seen a drug addict. It’s disgusting—somebody shitting on themselves from withdrawal. That’s not skateboarding.”

Berra's part from Birdhouse, The End ('98). Possibly also a commentary on drug use.

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Rob Dyrdek

Another collection of B-Side quotes from this. In fairness, I should mention that Rob took issue with some of this text when it went to print in '03. Also, keep in mind that many of his views may have changed further in the eleven years of "moguling" since. Regardless, Rob always voices strong opinions and I've always admired him for that. Photo: O'Meally —ME

ROB DYRDEK:

“The fact of the matter is that all pro skateboarders are somewhat psycho. Very rarely do you find a skateboarder that comes from some solid foundation. You go against everything to be a skateboarder. When you choose to commit your life to it, you’re pretty fucked to begin with. It’s the ideal types that tend to be drawn to drugs, people with destructive personalities."

“You have this ‘I don’t give a fuck’ mentality. You get a little older, and usually you’ll ease out of it. But If you can’t ease out of it, it takes you down. I can count so many of the skaters I’ve seen fall. I’ve seen weed sink skate careers. I’ve seen liquor destroy skate careers. I saw the toll it took on my skate career. It’s the innate destructive impulse that is embedded in anyone that chooses to dedicate their lives to skateboarding.”

"There’s way more normal kids in there today then there was when all of us guys came up. When I fuckin’ turned pro it was for nothing. I wasn’t turning pro with some big check in the mail. I was giving up everything. I was like, ‘Fuck it. This is what I’m doing. But I’m not getting enough money to live.’”

“The Piss Drunks brought this chaos and partying to the kids. I mean, they’re not the only dudes in skateboarding that ever partied. But it was the first time in a while that anybody went that heavily with it.”

“This is the 100% dead truth—I am a natural born partier. But I go on vicious sober streaks. In my older years, I’m not really into drugs. It’s too destructive. But I went through that period to rid my body of it. I would party every single night if I could. It’s just embedded in me. The party demon is always just beneath the surface. Every now and then rears its ugly head and is just buggin’. Sometimes it’s a wonderful experience. Sometimes it’s embarrassing.”

“Sure, someone like Andrew Reynolds is pretty fucking influential. But at the same time, look at the amateur kids they brought up. Those kids didn’t grow up wasted. No one influenced me to party. I just found it. Kids are gonna do what they’re gonna do. It’s just a matter of personal circumstances how deep you go with it. Some people take it to another level.”

“It’s a part of skateboarding as far as I’m concerned. It’s another thing that makes skateboarding better than everything else. We don’t have no fucking drug testing policies. There’s no one that's going to fine us or suspend us from riding our skateboards for doing whatever we choose to do. You don’t have to get up everyday and do something. It’s on you. If you want to go on a cocaine bender for two months, fine. Then you go on a sober streak for two months and kill it. The only thing that matters is that you hold it down on your skateboard to the best that you can.”

“It’s just a part of skateboarding and always will be. Just like when Jay Adams was around. It’s no different. There’s always going to be your straightedge dudes that hate it. There’s going to be your middle ground guys that dabble and stay in control. Then there’s going to be your full fucking psychos.”

The DC Video part from that same year with the skit that started it all.

Jake Johnson: The Cinematographer Intv. B-Sides

I'd been meaning to post this Jake & Gilbert article from TWS's May 2012 issue for a while. I was talking to Adrian Adrid at Stoner the other day and while we were both fanning out on Jake Johnson (I also fan out on Adrian's frontside ollie in the link above), he mentioned Jake's interview from this so I figured I would post the scans of the mag version along with his full uncut text (Jake's got cut down about 600 words for the final print version. Gilbert's ran uncut.) With everything that the Workshop has been through since this came out I figured both these guys had only grown more relevant. Photos: O'Meally, Chami, Allan. —ME

Original Intro:

Sharing the second half of the last part of The Cinematographer Project—Alien Workshop’s heavy hitting duo—Jake Johnson and Gilbert Crocket both earned their professional stripes this past February the second their footage hit the screen at the 14th Annual TWS Awards in Hollywood. In addition to sharing “Going Pro” parts in Cinematographer redux, both rookies also originated and more or less reside and handle their business on the East Coast. Based in Pittsburg and Richmond respectively—both also seem content to operate outside the confines of the pastime’s standard designated urban playing fields—be they in California or even NY and Philly. Given Alien Workshop’s history of placing itself both geographically (Ohio) and conceptually (See any AWS video) outside the beaten path of the skateboard industry, we thought it would be appropriate to get both their takes on what it means to have your name on a skateboard in this last year of our Mayan lord, 2012. Is moving west still the time-tested prerequisite it once was? Or has the onslaught of Internet interconnectivity finally leveled the entire playing field? Is real street skating on the verge of a massive comeback, or are we unwittingly witnessing its death knell. Peppered with a host of tangent musings—from skydiving to OCD infused alcoholism—the following 10 questions each sought to answer these existential queries along with anything else that popped up along the way.

JAKE JOHNSON:

What happened with this skydiving situation? Was that your first time jumping out of a plane?

Yeah. It was. Crazy. I had been thinking about it for a long time and our first destination was Vegas. We met the dude that trained Bob Burnquist back in 2003. I figured if it worked for Bob. It was unbelievable though. Not only while we did it, but the whole rest of the day while we were skating we were just super confidant and not worried about anything (Laughs).

Are you still living in Pittsburg?

I’m still technically living there. But I’ve been away for like a month and a half.

What is the Map Masquerade tour?

Basically I bought a van that we’re taking on this tour across the country. You can follow us @MapMasquerade or go to asenseofdirection.org. It’s like a mini Workshop van and we have a bunch of friends along. We’re hiding all types of product along the way so you can follow the clues and find the treasure. It’s a conversion van too so I’m planning on living in this thing when I get out to San Francisco. It’s got a nice little bed in there and I have homies along the way to get showers and Internet and all that.

I was reading something about you saying the message of skateboarding was kind of stronger in the small town scenes and videos now? Is that something you seek out? Is that what this tour is about?

Yeah. Definitely. It’s something that I’m building my beliefs around. I want to do what I can to basically support them. I’m learning as I go in the industry that it’s a very fragile thing. I got dropped from Quicksilver last year after putting in all types of time and effort into trying to help legitimize the company. I’m realizing that I got to benefit from the money and support of those companies but in the end, my career is probably gonna last through the support from the core shops and the people who put their life and entire body, energy, and mind into skateboarding. Longevity’s not going to come from some board of trustees. For me, I’m just trying to go at it from the ground up. I want to see skateboarding grow for everybody and filter into our society, but not in a diluted way. I want to see skateparks and skateboarding everywhere but I want to see it done the right way. I think skateboarders have a lot more to offer than just entertaining people. I think we can innovate in a lot of ways.

I guess the million-dollar question then is what the actual message of skateboarding is then, right?

Yeah. I think it really comes from your experiences that you have in the act of skateboarding. They idea is that it develops along the way. That’s what I meant when I was talking about the message carried by the first generation of skateboarders. What they were representing was something entirely outside what society had ever seen, so it was a very destructive force in the beginning because it ran into so much opposition.

What does real street skating have to do with the message?

Basically, what skateboarders were trying to say was that nobody really owns property. We all kind of share it. You take a piece of granite out of the earth and make it into something to sit on, and it makes your business money—but you don’t actually own that rock. I think the message of skateboarders is that nobody owns any of it. When you use it, you become a part of it. You heighten your sense of awareness to reality. And that’s what gives skateboarders their leg up and an advantage. That’s what should give skateboarders their motivation.

So the act itself sort of gives you the message?

Exactly. But nowadays, it’s turning from that into more of a competitive thing, where skateboarders are trying to do it to impress an online community, or to impress a board of trustees. Skateboarding is an intimate relationship with your reality through challenging yourself to face the nature of it. To take a piece of wood and to go against gravity. Go against society. Go against what they define the uses of public space to be. The conclusions that you come to through your trials and tribulations along the way—security, and people that want to stop us—if you learn to maneuver around them more smoothly then we become more efficient beings and basically are evolving. That’s the message of skateboarding. It’s about bettering yourself through the act of riding one. 

Wow. It also seems like the same guy that wants to own the granite rock also now wants to own skateboarding, No?

Yeah. Exactly. They want to own it and regulate it. They don’t know it, but deep down they are afraid of our evolution.

I think kids see it though, even without understanding…when they see the real thing they know it, like—I want that.

Yeah. They feel it. I hope that they can still experience it the way they should. It’s gonna get harder and harder though. Bigger companies will stretch skateboarding further and further. I think a lot of people argue that basically as long as more people are seeing it it’s good. I think that’s false. I think it should be more of a less is more type situation. There should be more focus on less people. You can get a message out to all kinds of people, but they’re not going to make informed decisions unless they really understand that message. It might work in the short term. But in the long run it will come back to bite us. Skateboarding isn’t for everybody.

Beyond solving skateboarding—where you out at the Awards for The Cinematographer Project premiere?

Yeah. I was there. I was hiding in the corner somewhere but I was there.

How was it seeing that in completed form?

It was stressful. I was coming off the worst injury of my life. I put a lot of responsibility on myself when I’m filming. I feel like filming our interpretation of skating is really the only thing we have outside of doing it for ourselves. So it’s really important to me. I’ve had a lot of second thoughts and distrust for HD and the dynamic that goes with filming HD, so it was a tough project, and I really only had three months time to film.

What is the dynamic that goes with HD? What are the limitations to you?

The limitations of just finding a filmer with HD gear is one thing. Because he has to spend an enormous amount of money on it. Then it’s relatively heavy and a very cinematic piece of equipment. So if you’re spending that much money on it, you’re probably wanting to use it for higher end production. So your mentality is already more production based. Your tendency is going to be to stylize your footage. I think HD might cause kids to think there’s this standard they have to meet. It leads to a more planned out and structured approach to filming. They’re not just grabbing the camera and skating with a friend all day long. It takes over the session too much. It’s getting better now. The cameras are getting more affordable. And I watched Benny (Maglinao) do this and I came to respect his style and understand the medium. But I definitely don’t think that the VX is dead.

Do you think that the VX can make a comeback?

I hope so. I hope that I can be at the forefront of it. I’m trying to push that in my skating. I think a lot of people jumped on board the HD because the industry pressured people to do so. But I think there’s still value in the VX footage. Think about the prime of skateboarding in the 90s to 00s was translated to us through the VX. It’s not just nostalgic, but also the quality of the experience. The sound of the audio. The ability to get close into each spot with the fisheye and the Mark 1. It’s the emotion you get when you watch it. These things all made skateboarding the way we wanted. I think HD excludes certain people too by having standards. I still think skateboarding is translated through your own eyes, a filmer, or a photographer. For other people to experience skateboarding they need to have one of those options.  

HD tends to feel like something is being presented to you, whereas watching VX feels like you’re there with the skater. Like your one of the dudes in the trenches.

I’ve never heard it referenced like that but that’s exactly how I feel. I feel that HD puts a wall of glass between you and the skater. Like you’re watching something in a museum. Sometimes it just feels like a video game. And that’s where it disconnects me emotionally from the footage. I organized my whole life around skate videos—when they were coming out, what year they were released. My whole childhood was basically framed up by the anticipations and then premieres of these videos. I don’t know what kind of an affect the constant Internet updates will have on the youth. I know a lot of people are becoming keener with it, and they are able to take what they want from it and leave the rest alone. I just personally think it’s important to support people that create full length videos and have something physically come out, even if it takes a little longer. I think skateboarding is about patience. Good skateboarding takes time and you can’t rush it. There’s a lot of pressure now, especially for sponsored skateboarders just to produce. They’re being pulled in all different directions. I think they need to be left to develop their own styles. Each scene should develop their own style rather than all try and conform to the Internet. It’s a wash.

How does going pro feel now? How soon do you and Gilbert get boards?

They congratulated us on going pro after the part premiered at the Awards show. I gave Mike (Hill) some suggestions for graphics though. I gave him this book of really strange architectural structures. I told him to do something with a Geodesic dome or something like that. Hopefully within the next few months we’ll have something out. It still doesn’t feel like it’s happened. I guess that’s the corny, stereotypical answer but it’s true. It’s going to be strange to see my name on there.

Both Gilbert and yourself are from back east. Do you think you still have to move out west to make it?

I think that’s one thing that the Internet is really a positive thing for. That idea that I have to move to California to be seen is almost completely gone, I think. I mean, people still want to move to California. But the idea that you have to be there because the Industry is there has almost died out. I’m on tour with Marc Sucio right now, he’s from California so it doesn’t apply on that angle but you look at the following he got from putting out one part on the Internet.  

My generation was right on the border of the Internet. I got on Instant Messenger in 1998. I’d meet kids at Camp Woodward and then keep in touch with them on there. We’d transfer footage in these primitive ways and I’d meet up with skaters in person when I started taking trips to New York. That’s basically what helped me move to NY. I appreciate that side of the Internet a lot so I know it has its good uses. It’s when kids actually believe they can use the Internet to get famous that things turn ugly. Just skate. People will take notice if you’re good enough.

It seems like The Cinematographer Project kind of followed in the return to real city street skating. Like more dodging cars and rough spots with cool backgrounds and less schoolyard ledge combo stuff. Is that type of skating coming back right now?

I think it is. I think it got to a point technically where there’s not too many people that can really push the boundaries. You have your Nuggets and your Nyjah’s, or Marc Suciu. There’s a small group of people that have the technical ability to still innovate. Then on the big side, it really had already pretty much maxed out in the Jamie Thomas' day. It got to a certain point on both fronts where there’s just that much more you can do. So it starts coming back to style and spot selection. I think people that have interesting approaches to even basic tricks start to be what stands out. The visual experience is what skateboarding is all about. Finding those unique locations that incite ideas and emotions to the viewer—that’s the most important thing there is.

Where do you see people doing it right out there today?

Well, I think it’s really interesting in a business as top heavy as skateboarding, now you are seeing people from other countries that have the same passion for the message and are doing it in their own way. I really enjoy watching companies like Magenta, and Palace, and Polar coming up from various countries in Europe right now. I think it’s rad to see them get a little more stylish and creative then some of the big companies.

What pro would you like to model yourself after? Who carries the message, without starving?

I don’t know. I’ve been following Pontus (Alv) pretty closely for the last few years. I’m not sure what his financial state is but it seems like he lives a good life. He builds all these rad DIY projects and creates all these super unique skate spots and artistic installments. He gets to create his own videos, artwork, board graphics, and do it all from his own country. I would say if I could model myself after anyone, it would probably be Pontus. He takes what he does seriously and he gets to have ultimate control of what he puts out. What could be better? Actually, if I could really do it, I would become a hybrid of Pontus and Heath Kirchart. Heath is another guy that takes his skating seriously. He wants to make sure he helps push the limits of skateboarding. He handles everything on a very professional level. So if I could combine both of those things, that would be it.

I’d pay to see that hybrid.

I want to give skateboarders that sense that you can create your own world. I think that’s really the best thing skateboarding teaches people. I believe in my core that this world is a heaven and a hell. It all just depends on how you live it. What are you doing to create it?

Last question—do you think skydiving’s gotten too mainstream?

(Laughs.) Oh fully. It’s not about the spots anymore. It’s too commercial. They’re all jocks now.

The Cinematographer Project ('12) AWS part. Still so good.

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Eric Dressen & Tony Alva

Been a minute, but here are some more raw quotes from Skaters and Drugs. Short and sweet, this is what Eric had to say on the topic back in '02. I was a huge Dressen fan as a kid and was lucky enough to get to skate with him during the '90s West LA Hot Rod crew days and call him a friend today. I still don't think Eric gets enough credit for being as influential style-wise as he should. Easily one of the top 10 most influential styles ever in my book. Photos: Thatcher/Brittain —ME

ERIC DRESSEN:

“They should have been called ‘Drugtown and the Z-boys.’ All those dudes were all on drugs. Every guy I grew up with around there that was a pro skater was on drugs. It was everywhere. You’d eventually retire and then just get more fucked up. I saw it happen to every dude and it happened to me. I was terrible.”

"Just from the ‘70s, everybody did drugs. It was like the tail end of the hippie movement. Nobody thought drugs were bad back then. And then you basically become a rock star, and its sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. It all goes hand in hand."

"Christian (Hosoi) and I would go smoke a joint in the parking lot before all our runs. I never skated a contest where I wasn’t stoned. I remember being at the Munster Championship Contest in ’90 and Colby Carter and I were smoking before the heats or whatever and I kept winning all the qualifiers. Right before the finals I didn’t go smoke and I ended up getting second. Colby was joking around saying I would have won if I smoked more weed. He was probably right."

"Jeff Phillips won the Vision Psycho Skate contest on acid. It was like full strobe lights, 3D projection screens, the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing on the platform, and there’s Jeff skating amazing on acid."

"The new kids are headed for it. I don’t think they’ll be able to handle their drugs as good as we did."

Eric's part in Speed Freaks ('89).

Since Eric's was short and he mentioned Dogtown I figured I'd post Alva's full collection of quotes to corroborate Dressen’s story. The name for this site actually came out of the following TA text. At the time he said something like, “Deadhead hippie Rasta dude” and I remember thinking Dead Hippie would be a cool name for something. Also bare in mind this text is over 10 years old. I know for a fact that TA no longer smokes weed today just for the record. Photos: Friedman/Stecyk

TONY ALVA:

“We were like 70s, dude. So we were like acid, coke, Quaaludes, taking crazy pills like reds with a malt liquor. I think at times drugs enhanced the whole thing. Like back in the early punk rock days, it just made it way more intense. I mean when you’re that age, and especially back then, you could kind of get away with stuff like that. I mean that whole decade was a trip. But, if your taking acid for 20-30 years, dude, your brain is going to start morphing. If you have some weird shit going on, or you’re a little wishy-washy in the head, it can fuck you up big time.”

“A lot of people consider marijuana a drug and I disagree with that. There is a huge segment of the skateboarding population that use marijuana as an herb to better their lives and get in tune with their environment both physically and mentally. Once we erase the stigma that weed is a drug, skaters will no longer be labeled as druggies. By en large, the skateboarders out there are not using drugs like cocaine, heroin, and speed. That’s only in the extreme situations like with Jay Adams or Hosoi. Those are serious street drugs that will take you down no matter how baddass you think you are.”

“To them, stoners will forever be that unmotivated Spicolli type fuck up. They listen to somebody talk about the positive effects of marijuana and they automatically tune it out, ‘Oh, Alva’s talking bullshit. Alva just needs a crutch. He’s a Deadhead hippy Rasta guy. He’d have been better without it.’ They teach drug addicts to call it ‘marijuana maintenance’. But I’ll keep saying it. If you’re a spiritual person, marijuana can be extremely positive.”

“I just hope that people educate themselves and learn more about it. Legalization of marijuana has been a long overdue thing in the world. I get hassled so hard any time I go through customs because I have dreads and there’s a stigma to that.”

“The label is wrong regardless. As you find out when you really look at skateboarding, there are dudes completely on the other side who are completely straight edge. And they have to deal with the druggie stigma all the time. The key is to let everyone do their thing. Skateboarding is all about, ‘to each his own’. Fuck what anyone else thinks about us.

“To teenagers, drugs seem like some sort of adventure. Its just one of those things you just have to do to get out of your system. I’m a parent too, and I don’t advocate doing drugs to young kids. But if my kids ended up trying chemicals or something, the best thing you can do is communicate with them. Most parents did drugs at some point too so talk to your kid and pass on what you learned. The best and only thing you can do is talk to them.”

“Skaters are just tough motherfuckers to begin with. I think they just subject themselves to things almost as guinea pigs. It’s the ‘fuck it’ mentality. They’ll try anything. Overall, there were a lot of funny stories and good times that involved drugs but at the same time there was also somewhat of a negative shadow that got cast over it later. Too many of those dudes ended up wasting their lives chasing the dragon, trying to score another gram of coke, or just wound up dead. I think eventually, you know, all that shit just gets tired.”

Tony in Dogtown and the Z-Boys ('01)

Zack Wallin: Sugar Magazine Interview, Le Tombeur de ces Dammes

This Zack Wallin Interview ran in French in the August 2013 issue of Sugar Magazine in France. As a fan of Zach and his powerhouse skating, I figured I might as well post the pre-translated English text here along with the scans of the Sugar spreads. Photos by: Dave Chami, Seu Trinh, Oliver Barton, and Wes Tonascia. Click on the images for XL. Enjoi —ME

Life is funny sometimes. Getting something you always wanted is often accompanied by a different challenge you have never faced. This Karmic law arrived in force for Zach Wallin last year when he finally got the nod to become a full-fledged amateur skateboarder for enjoi alongside Ryan Lay—something he had essentially been hoping for his whole life. When all that was left was to make it official with an intro part, he was diagnosed with to this day unexplained and apparently very rare blood clotting in his chest. Originally told not to skate by experts at Stanford University, and ordered to administer blood thinning injections into his stomach twice a day to boot—Zach eventually decided to film the part anyways—shots, clots, and all. And as luck would have it, his teammate, Ryan Lay suffered a series of ankle injuries of his own; pushing back the intro video’s deadline long enough for both to put together the impressive parts that ultimately dropped last May (See Zach's Below). A year and a half later, with his mysterious health condition completely cleared up, I checked in with Zach to get the temperature on life in the Mansion, fanning out on Cairo Foster, how it felt to quit his day job as a carpenter, and most importantly—why he is universally renowned as a lady’s man.     


How have things been since becoming an official am? Do you still work construction?
Things have been good. I actually quit my job as a carpenter and have just been skating every day. It’s been awesome because when I was working a full-time job and trying to film I would just get hurt because I wasn’t on my board enough. I can skate every day now and I just feel way better on my board.

I guess working something with physical labor involved too—if you got hurt skating you can’t work and if you got hurt at work you couldn’t skate.
Exactly. Even if it was just a hard day at work, it was still labor. Then I would just be too tired to skate when I finally had the time. Or too sore.

You weren’t just sitting in a cubicle.
No, it was hard work.

Still living the enjoi Mansion life?
Yeah. Actually I am. It’s pretty sweet man. It’s real mellow now. It’s still a skate house. Cairo Foster lives here. Louie lives here with his wife and a couple of other Tiltmode homies—my friend Warren and G-Won. It’s pretty awesome though, you always have someone to skate with.

No plans of moving?
No. It’s a nice place with cheap rent. I’m pretty content.

Were you born and raised in San Jose?
Yeah. Born and raised. I basically just moved around San Jose when I was younger but we always stayed here.

How did you stumble on skating?
Actually my cousin came into town to visit one time for a couple of weeks and he brought his board with him. I must have been nine or 10. He would go skate and I wasn’t allowed to go venture out with him, but he would come back and just have all these incredible stories about meeting new skaters, because he was from out of town, hanging out with girls and listening to music at the spot. He would come home to our house and talk about it and I was just mesmerized. I was amazed that all these rad experiences were right there for you if you rode a skateboard. I think a few months after that I got some shitty Nash board for my 10th birthday.

Best memories from your two weeks in Scandinavia and Russia last year to fully get on enjoi as an am? Had you traveled before that?
I had traveled before that trip but that was kind of the first trip were I was officially on a team trip. I was like 80 percent sure I was on before the trip and then I finally got fully on during it. I still had to film the intro part though to really seal the deal.

Those intro parts had some drama too right? Ryan Lay was injured and you had that crazy blood clotting deal.
Yeah. Right after that trip we kind of both got jacked up. Ryan had some pretty serious ankle issues and I had that random internal blood clotting.

Is the blood clotting pretty much cleared up now? You don’t have to give yourself the blood thinning shots any more?
Yeah. It’s basically completely gone. Thank God. I don’t have to give myself the shots any more. I was the gnarliest thing for me. I had to take them twice a day too, like one right in the morning and then right before I went to bed. Waking up to sticking a needle in my stomach was the worst.

The one at night probably sucks too. You can’t go get drunk and forget to take it.
Exactly. You can’t miss one of the shots. So you can’t forget or you might have clotting. It sucked. It was just this constant reminder that I was jacked—morning and night. Thank God it’s all over. It’s a really long story but at the end of it all, all these specialists, specialists from Stanford, not just these budget doctors still had no explanation for why it happened. Usually people get clotting in their legs, but I had it in my chest, which at my age is supposedly extremely rare. They were tripping off me. Then I was tripping because they were tripping.

I asked Matt Eversol what to ask you and he said, “Ask him about chicks. He slays pussy. Big booty hoes.” So what about chicks?
(Laughs.) I don’t know. I guess I get lucky with the ladies sometimes. I don’t really feel like I’m a lady’s man. I don’t go out telling myself I’m going to land myself a lady. Actually, I feel like that’s when you f—k up. You go out with expectations—out on the prowl—and I think desperation is just ugly. Looking like you need something is sometimes a good way not to get it (Laughs.)

Best advice for meeting a girl at the bar? Just play it cool?
Yeah. Play it cool. Don’t be that dude going for the glory. Let it happen. I don’t even know. I don’t go on the hunt.

San Jose girls vs. Russian or Swedish?
Oh man. San Jose girls don’t even stand a chance. They shouldn’t even be compared (Laughs.) No, that’s a lie, there are some really good girls here. But I think my preference—I just love Finnish girls. They’re beautiful and their vibe is awesome.

Is skateboarding for a living something you’d want?
Yeah. Why not? For as long as it lasts. I’ve had real jobs. I worked carpentry for like four years and that definitely showed me enough to know about the real world. Now I just feel like I’m on vacation all the time (Laughs.) Skateboarding is not a job. I never really planned on making money off of skateboarding. I still don’t really depend on it. I’m just going with the flow right now.

It’s almost like trying to meet girls. You can’t really go after it?
Yeah. Exactly. Just let it happen. I always do what I’m happy doing. That’s worked out for me so far so hopefully I keeps going.

Favorite San Jose legend about an enjoi rider? Any urban myths?
There is one. I don’t think I’ve ever asked Jerry (Hsu) about this one but when I was a kid I remember reading in an interview or something that he had done acid by himself in his room. And he ended up staying in the room all day and all night and ended up writing all these words all over his body with a Sharpie. I don’t know why, but I always remembered that. To this day I think about it when I see him (Laughs.) I need to ask him about it. What did he write?

Do non-skaters in San Jose know about enjoi?
Oh, for sure. I get people talking to me all the time. I’m like the new guy on the team too, so these random people will come up and ask questions about it. They know about Louie or Caswell (Berry) or just Tiltmode.

Your skating is definitely in the powerhouse realm—fast and big. Did anybody influence you to skate the way you do or was it just natural?
I think subconsciously, looking back, I was definitely influenced by John Cardiel. I was always my favorite when I was a kid. A lot of my friends didn’t like him when we were real young, but I think that’s why I always wanted to go fast. Cardiel was the dude I looked up to. I think watching Heath (Kirchart) and Cairo (Foster) too. They would just jump over and down massive shit. Those dudes probably made me want to take an extra push.

All time favorite enjoi ad?
Man. There are so many good ones. I have tons. One that really stood out to me early on was the Marc Johnson ad where he’s freestyling on that little board. I think because I saw it when I was so young. From the new ones there’s one of Caswell and Jose (Rojo)—like a sequence of them shotgunning a beer. I think just because I heard the back-story on it. I guess they needed multiple takes of the beer shot so they were basically wasted mid-day by the time they finished.

It’s funny you mention Marc. Do you think his imprint is still there in enjoi?
Yeah. To me it is. I mean I’ve never even met the guy so I can’t say too much. But I know he pretty much came up with everything for enjoi in the beginning, and it has more or less stayed true to his vision. Even now, my favorite stuff from enjoi is from the beginning when he was doing it. I wonder what he thinks about enjoi today. Maybe if I meet him in the future I might get the balls to ask him.

Was it crazy to share a part with Cairo Foster and Caswell (Tweak the Beef [‘12])?
Totally. It was insane. I was just talking to somebody about it. My friend was over at the Mansion and Cairo walked by. My friend was just like, “Whoa, that’s Cairo Foster.” And I was just like, “I know. It’s a trip right?” It started this whole conversation. I seriously had photos and sequences of Cairo on my wall growing up and now I’m kind of sharing a video part with him. Even Caswell. They’re my good friends too but there’s still that little kid in me fanning out a little bit.

Does it ever wear off? You see Cairo walking to the shower or whatever and you still think, “Whoa.”
I don’t think it ever fully goes away man. It might wear off because you get more comfortable but then we go skate and he’s trying a gnarly trick and it just all comes back (Laughs.) All of the sudden I feel like this little kid that rolled up on the session by accident, like “Holy shit! There’s Cairo Foster!”

How good was Louie’s part in Tweak the Beef? Last part!
It’s funny. I saw a majority of that stuff go down in person but a lot of that footage was already pretty old so I had kind of forgotten a lot of it. Then to see it all together like that was kind of surprising. You forget how good he actually is. Even joking around, a lot of that stuff is really hard to do. He’s the type of guy that will just throw out the craziest trick I’ve never seen him do before.

I feel like one day Louie should just shave his head and put out like a fully serious Heath style part.
Yeah. Shave his head a la Jamie Thomas and just go for broke.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on one of those “Who Is” parts for Matix. Like Daewon (Song) just had his. And then other than that I’m just working on a full enjoi part. Basically Tweak the Beef was all the leftover VX footage that we had laying around but the actual HD enjoi video is supposed to be out in the next six months. I’m pretty nervous about it.

It can’t be any harder than the intro video was with all the health issues.
That’s true. I still don’t even know how it worked out.

Plans for the future? San Jose for life?
I’m traveling a lot know so when I come home to San Jose it’s like a treat. But then a week goes by and I want to go travel again. But all my friends and family are here, so I think if I ever buy a house I want to buy one here. So I guess I am San Jose for life.

All time San Jose legend?
Tim Brauch. When I was a kid growing up skating south San Jose I guess that was were he was from. So everywhere you went there were just these rumors, like “Oh Tim Brauch grinded this, or Tim Brauch used to skate this mini ramp.” He was probably the first sponsored skater I ever heard of so I’ll say him. Rest in Peace.

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Gino Iannucci plus '02 Divulge Interview

Still from Skaters and Drugs in '03, here's Gino's extras, short and sweet. I also scanned this '02 Gino Divulge for the Editorial section so pasting the raw text from that here too. Make it a Gino Monday. Portrait and nollie 180 sequence: Reda, 360 ollie sequence: O'Meally —ME

GINO IANNUCCI:

“It seems far more publicized in skating. Skateboarding is more about doing your own thing. It’s kind of on you. There aren’t going to be drug tests or anything.”

“When you’re young, it’s like more normal to be around experimentation and those situations. As you get older, it get’s a little less common. I think using drugs later on is where it gets more dangerous—when it’s not experimentation anymore.”

“Skateboarding might get your kid around some sketchy situations. But that’s what life is about. If you raise your kid right, you know they’re going to make the right decisions. Skateboarding takes a kid out of that shelter. Some day, whether you like it or not, that’s going to happen regardless. Making mistakes later on can be a lot more costly.”

“I’ve seen firsthand pro skaters that skate better zooted.”

Here's the Divulge text:

Cult Classic

Gino Iannucci reflects on a bigger pond, corporate crossover, and the road from 101

Words Mackenzie Eisenhour

Progression always arrives in waves. A group of individuals, feeding off a common catalyst, spearhead the evolution of skateboarding and stretch it to include their own definition of the pastime. It happened in the ‘70’s with the Z-Boys, it happened in the ‘80’s with the Bones Brigade, and back in the mid-90’s, it happened with a group of World affiliates including, Blind, Plan B, and 101 teamriders. At the crest of the mid-90’s wave, Gino Ianucci brought speed, finesse, style, and creativity to what could have been one of the more awkward phases skateboarding has endured. While much of the emphasis at the time was on a heightened level of difficulty, Gino managed to safeguard skateboarding’s fluidity and ensure that progress need not sacrifice style. As the mid-90’s swell berths new tides, the shoreline is changing. Big money, bigger companies, and adult life all add up to the ultimate test of any progressive movement—the test of time.

What has been the biggest change in professional skateboarding since ’96?
It’s definitely more of a job now. Not that that makes it better or worse. There’s definitely a lot more money in it now then there was in ‘96. I mean nowadays you see pros doing ads with Bentleys, Lamborghinis, diamonds, and foxes. To me that shit’s just whattev’s. I kind of miss the days when skating was hated on—a little more underground. Skaters used to be like these hoodlum outlaws. That’s really what we traded for what it is now.

What would you have said two years ago if somebody told you you were getting a shoe for Nike?
Two years ago, it would definitely have been unbelievable. Just picturing my shoe sitting next to Jordan’s up in the store or something. The way skateboarding is right now it doesn’t even seem that crazy. It’s so big; it’s almost understandable now.

How was it filming the commercial?
Pretty strange for sure. Like 20 people standing around, huge camera units, and this closed off double-set. They had like a full permit and all that. This guy was standing right next to me and he’d yell action for every try.

Did they understand that it was switch?
I doubt it. I tried to explain that it was like a 180 going backwards but I don’t think they got it. I kind of had to just tell them, “Look, just trust me, its going to look cool, it’ll work for the commercial”.

Was it their idea to run all the slams?
Actually, I made the trick second try and they wanted to shoot more so I kept trying. After I made it once, I just couldn’t get another one to go. When I was leaving the set the guy was like, “I think we really caught something there. We’re going to use more of you falling and not so much of you landing it.” At the time I was kind of pissed off but when I saw the finished one it actually came out good.

What goes on inside the Nike headquarters in Oregon?
You always kind of wonder what their headquarters are going to look like. I mean you know how big the company is. I’m used to going down to the skate companies and the product is like right there stacked up. At Nike it’s like this whole college campus with nothing but offices. You don’t see any of the shoes around the offices. It’s just this whole community with this nice landscaping and all that.

How did the backside heelflip over the gonz gap happen?
That was the first time I was in San Francisco. We were actually about to fly home in a couple hours, and we went to skate EMB to kill time. Nobody was really skating that day. It was me, Keenan, Keith Hufnagel, and I think Jamie Thomas was there. Gabe Morford was shooting photos. I went up and looked at it and just got psyched to try something over it. At the time I was running backside heelflips every which way so that’s what I tried and it worked out. That and the switch flip down the Hubba stairs that same day were pretty much the first coverage I ever got.

What was the best trick you ever witnessed at the old World park?
I got on 101 after a lot of the real crazy stuff had already gone down. I do remember Keenan doing a fakie pop shove-it to fakie 5-0 frontside halfcab out on the ledge. At the time that was pretty amazing. The footage got lost.

What’s up with your skateshop?
I was looking for something to do out here and I had a friend who owned a tattoo parlor. The basement was empty and he had another friend who wanted to open a shop so we all got together and went in on it. It should be done by the beginning of May. It’s called Poets, from Poet’s Corner which was around were I grew up.

Rundown your September 11, ’01 day.
I was in my car when I first heard about it on the radio. I was down in Long Island and all these cop cars were just flying by. I finally got home and just watched the whole thing on television. I pretty much hung out at my house and watched it up until today. Personally I’m over the coverage of it. The whole fireman, FDNY thing has gotten to the point where it’s being exploited. Out here, they’re putting up memorials left and right. Every train station and street corner has a golden statue of a fireman holding a baby or something. It’s cool, but overkill is overkill. It just cheapens the initial reaction. They should have ended it with the special Robert De Niro hosted and just move on.

What do you think they should do with the spot where the buildings were?
I actually liked the light idea, but then when they finished it it just looked like shit. I think they just need to move on. Build something and keep moving. Build a vert ramp or a skatepark there.

If you only had three tricks, what would they be?
360 ollies, switch backside 180’s, and nollie heelflips.

What does going fast do for your skateboarding?
To me, that just feels like the right way to do it. I’ve had people tell me before like, “Maybe you should go a little slower.” but I couldn’t really mess around with going slow. Just flying into a ledge or something and coming out with speed, that just makes the whole trick complete.

What kind of mark did Keenan leave on NYC skateboarding and life in general?
His mark, and really what he left everybody who knew him was his personality. Everybody knows that just being around him was enjoyable. His personality came through in his skating. Just watching him skate was enjoyable, he looked so unique on a board and chose unique tricks to do. Keenan never stressed being pro or any of that. He didn’t want to skate everyday. But when he did, he f---ed it up, because he was psyched to skate. He never looked at it like a job.

 

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Brian Anderson

I'm just going to keep rifling these off. Here's BA. Again from Skateboarder in '03 and this. Shots out to 3D Skateboards. Photo: Templeton. —ME

BRIAN ANDERSON:

“I kind of hate to say it but if you’re a skateboarder, there’s a good chance that you’ll be hanging out in an area where drugs are available. It kind of depends on where you live.  But, there are positive sides to that as well as negative. On one hand its good for your kids to be exposed to real life and the real world because once they see how it works they’re usually going to be less tempted to rebel. On the other hand, depending on the your child’s personality, exposure to even something minor could trigger an addictive personality and make that child do downhill. It really depends on the individual. But as a parent, you should be able to read your child and keep that from happening.”

“They’re talking about alcohol. I mean its something that everybody in our society knows about. I can understand that. I mean, that’s their thing. That’s who those guys are. If those guys are willing to portray themselves with that image, hey, they have every right to do that. If somebody else wants to have a skateboard company that’s against doing drugs, they can do that too. To each his own—within reason. I mean there shouldn’t be like an ad in magazine with someone shooting up.”

“The most important parts of skateboarding that need to stay alive are really at the actual skatespots. It’s not so important if magazines and video are showing this or that so long as people are still able to do enjoy their atmosphere the way they always have at the spots. No matter how clean skating gets I think you’ll still be able to go out to a pool or a ditch and see guys having a beer or smoking a joint. And there are kiddy spots and more adult spots. I don’t think you’ll be rolling into the Vans Park with a joint in your mouth.”

“I’m happy with the experimenting that I did. I was always surrounded by friends, be it a sister or good friends that told me, ‘If you’re going to do acid, you know, be careful, go out in the woods and drink plenty of water.’ I mean you don’t just go out, buy a hit of ecstasy, swallow it, and go out to eat dinner with your parents. There’s just a time and a place for things like that.”

"I’d like say that I have no regrets. I’ve probably taken more acid then one individual should take. But I was always constructive. That’s how my friends where. It wasn’t like a Beavis and Butthead episode. It was like something creative to do at that time and we all eventually grew out of it.”

“When and if I have children, I’ll tell them when their like twelve years old, ‘If you’re going to experiment with sex or drugs, don’t be afraid to ask about it. I’d rather you to do it at home. I’ll leave you alone. But just be careful.’ because kids are going to do it anyways. That’s the only reason I’m talking about this. I don’t usually like to share my life in a magazine but drugs are an important topic. Kids just need to know, drugs can be interesting but they’re also not for everybody, and if you’re not responsible, they can get crazy.”

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Duane Peters

This one is pretty heavy. Here's Duane Peters' take from back in '03. Photo: From the TWS 30th Anniversary Issue. Duane was number 23 on our list of most influential skateboarders of all time.—ME

DUANE PETERS:

“If you’re interested in drugs, you’re going to experiment. In my case, punk rock was really new. I was young. I came from a broken home and skateboarding was already a good outlet from that. I started drinking real early. I really liked the (Sex) Pistols. I liked Sid Vicious. I liked the destructiveness of it. It looked appealing and attractive. As soon as heroin came around I was in. I found it and it found me.”

“I know plenty of guys that smoke weed and will never try heroin. It’s a matter of whether you enjoy upping the stakes. If you do, there’s going to be price to pay. The maze of life gets harder. You could end up dead. It all depends on the luck of the draw. In my case, it totally took over my life. I was completely satisfied with drugs. I became everything I never wanted to be. At a certain point, you cross the line and there’s no way out. You can’t even leave your house without it.”

“I wasted so many years. I did jail time. Heroin made a wreck out of everything around me. Right off the bat, you hurt the ones you love. You do anything you can for a fix.”

“I was sixteen-years-old, doing the Skateboard Mania show and I had television producers shoving coke spoons up my nose. All of a sudden, you’re at mansions on the hills with Hollywood types and model chicks. They’ve got living rooms with Jacuzzis and water falls in the bathrooms and some producer is putting coke up your nose and pouring you drinks. What are you gonna do? You’re going to fuckin’ whip it.”

“It wasn’t until shooting up came in that you really had to hide it. I’d be at a nice house and somebody would draw a line of coke on the table and I’d ask them, ‘Is this line mine? Because if it is I’m going to do what I want with it.’ I’d scoop it up, take it in the bathroom, get my rig out and shoot it. Then I’d go back and ask for another one. Next thing you know, I’m not at any of the parties anymore. I’m a complete loner and I’m homeless. You finally have a wake up call and your pushing a shopping cart, hiding some fucking blanket you found because you think somebody is going to steal it, and people are calling you a bum.”

“I was shooting up, living in a ditch and got rushed by these three Mexicans for a piece of shit watch that didn’t even work. They stabbed me seven times in the knee and three times in the back with these fucking shanks. I was swinging my board around at these fuckers and the funniest thing was I was rushing so much from the coke that I couldn’t climb out of this four-foot ditch. I finally got these guys off me and I was running down the street covered in blood when the cops came. I had three warrants but they told me to get the fuck out of there. They wouldn’t take me in their car because I was such a fucking mess. You have to use your imagination but everything bad that could happen happened to me”

“I used up all my tokens early. When they’re gone you don’t get anymore. Take it easy and you can make the party last your whole life. Otherwise, you end up with some big decisions and you can’t have it both ways. My statement to the world is ‘Don’t use up all your tokens.’"

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Andy Roy

Here's Andy Roy talking candidly about Heroin addiction in '03. Andy has cleaned up a couple of times and is hopefully done with this beast for good. Was stoked to see him have a guest trick in the Deathwish video. Again, the original Skateboarder article is here. Photo: Tobin Yelland

ANDY ROY:

“They (Skateboarders) don’t have no responsibility, you know. They just get paid to go skateboard. You don’t have no schedules. You can sleep in if you want. You don’t got no one telling you what to do. There’s all the traveling you know and you’re on the streets. Then you got like the street drug dealers. They’re always out to make money.”

“What happened to me was, I grew up with all my friends, and they didn’t have an opportunity to go and do what I did, like traveling and skating, so they just stuck around Santa Cruz and they would drink and smoke weed. The next thing you know heroin hit my crew big time. I came back from a skate trip and they were like here try it. I tried to smoke it and at first I didn’t understand it, I didn’t like it. I would keep coming back from trips and one time I broke my foot, went home to visit, and just never left. I got sucked in.”

“It’s a physical drug. I got hooked. At first we were just smoking it and then eventually you don’t get high anymore so you take it to the next level. The first time I shot up was with Jay (Adams). It’s a heavy thing. Its like whatever pains you have, physical or mental, it takes them away. Its like the best high at first. But then you do it three days in a row, and if you stop, you’re going to feel it. You get anxiety, you get cramps in your legs, you can’t sleep at night. All you do is think of that drug, that high, and than you’re body just freaks out and you have to go do it. You’re like a complete slave to it.”

“Its everywhere. It’s in every town. You can’t believe it. Business people do it, like some people you can’t even imagine. Some people can just hold it, and other people can’t. Me, whatever I do, I take it to the fullest. Heroin led me to the gutter. I lost everything.”

“Finally, I’m doing good. I’ve relapsed so many times and said that I’m done with it. But I’m 31-years-old now. I’ve met a new girl that doesn’t mess around. She’s beautiful. I don’t have that craving no more. I’ve been threatened with prison, like, if I get in trouble again, I’m gone. I’m just tired of running around and just hustling for money everyday. Its so stressful that you can only take so much. I think my body has just given up. I can’t do it no more. It wore me out.”

“It doesn’t take all those rehabs and all that to be done with it. You just have to decide in your head.”

“I’ve seen people give up all their belongings. I’ve seen people steal from their own parents. I’ve seen people give up their dignity. I’ve seen men do sexual favors you know, its just gross. The horror stories wouldn’t even make it into your magazine. It’s just disgusting. It makes you into an evil person. It takes your pride and your soul, and you just wait for that next fix. You’ll do whatever it takes. I was on the streets. I went from traveling and skateboarding to having nothing. It’s such a violent world—just straight gutter.”

Skaters and Drugs Outtakes: Ed Templeton

As promised, here's Ed's collection of raw quotes from '03. Once again, you can read the whole final version of the article here. Coming up, there are some really good ones from Duane Peters, BA, Marc Johnson, Dave Carnie, Dressen, TA, Dyrdek, Gino, Berra, and tons more I'll keep posting up as I get the time. Thanks for reading. Photo: Templeton —ME

ED TEMPLETON:

"Skateboarding has at times been extremely involved with drugs. It’s about youth and it’s about coming to that age where experimentation happens. At one point, I feel like there was like a critical mass in skateboarding on pot. It was almost like if you were a skater, you smoked pot by default. Now, with skating getting more mainstream, it has been scaled back a little. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening."

"The majority of it has to do with the people getting paid to do it. Your average kid trying to get sponsored isn’t necessarily into drugs."

"It’s a lot of different things. It’s the money and the free time. You have a job that doesn’t require that you look good, or be coherent. You can’t show up to regular jobs with bloodshot eyes."

"I’ve personally watched kids go from innocent 15 year old skate rats to full hooker, booze and drugs users in a year."

"The rock star dudes live the rock star life. It’s always been like that. Hosoi used to always have two rooms at every hotel they stayed at. One for sleeping and the other just for partying. Nobody would sleep. The rock n’ roll mold gets into the drug element by default."

"Some people can handle skating and partying—drinking or smoking weed. Like you seriously wouldn’t know they’re stoners or even alcoholics. But then there are dudes that just can’t deal with it. They start to suck at skating because of their habits. As a company owner I’ve had instances with riders where I had no choice but to address it."

"Pot can just drain you’re energy if it affects you that way. Guys just sitting around playing video games all day don’t get coverage."

"As a parent, I wouldn’t say skating is any worse then something like basketball or football. If you’re taking your kid to the Vans park everyday, he’s not going to be around drugs. It depends who he’s hanging with."

Caswell Berry: Sugar Mag Interview

Note: This Caswell Interview ran in Sugar Mag in French this past September (2012). A few months old but still some funny skate nerd musings if you are a fan. —ME

Sugar Magazine: Caswell Berry
Vertigo, Shotguns, and Fat Chicks

Caswell Berry has been in the game for a minute. He had his first published skate photo in a magazine when he was 11. He rode for the Ventura’s notorious Christian-themed board company “Renaissance” (As in “Born Again”) when he was 13. Rode for Powell alongside Javier Sarmiento and Danny Wainwright in his late teens. Then joined Diego Buchierri, Billy Marks, Ed Templeton, Austin Stephens and the rest of the loyal pawns at Toy Machine right around the time he turned 20—appearing alongside Ed’s assorted sex toys in the ’02 tour video Sucking the Life. But after changing teams three times in his first decade of sponsorship, since turning pro in ’03, Caswell has stood firm as a mainstay rider for enjoi—combining both the comforts of living in his home town of San Jose with the convenience of it also being the Tiltmode Army’s home turf and site of the longtime party zone known as the enjoi “Mansion”. After Bag of Suck dropped in ’06, Caswell has been more or less living the good life—traveling the world and skateboarding in between cigarettes. With new Osiris, enjoi, and possibly Volcom videos in the works, I caught up with Caswell to get the details of his current situation; Vertigo, Shotguns, and fat chicks being some of the finer points to his story.  Read on. 

What were you up to this summer?
We probably just did a bunch of Zumiez demos and mall shop signings. Then just a bunch of filming trips because I’m working on a new Osiris video and a new enjoi video. I guess the deadline for Osiris is October 30^th so it should be wrapping pretty soon.

Was the last major one that Feed the Need (’07) one?
Yeah.

Is there anything specific for enjoi? I feel like I’ve interviewed so many enjoi riders and there’s always a video coming.
Yeah. I don’t know. I just leave it up to the big wigs. Matt Eversol and guys like that. It’s usually a matter of them having all their ideas in order.

If someone from Bag of Suck era skateboarding time traveled to the present and it was your job to fill them in on what had changed, what would you tell them?
Hmmm. Bag of Suck was ’06. Man, I would probably say that the internet has obviously continued to change things. It’s probably made some things tougher and other things easier. If you’re trying to come up now, it’s obviously way easier to get your footage seen—just dump it all on the internet. It’s a dumping grounds though. There’s so much shit on there to sort through things almost get lost. Even if you find something you want it’s usually only like two minutes. I used to like watching a half hour video or an hour of edited footage.

It was almost easier when people just presented a new video. At least you knew they had spent time on it, like “Ok, this is worth my time. Somebody spent a year or two making it.”
Yeah. Now I’ll see ads of videos coming out and a bunch of them, as far as I know, don’t even ever come out. Like they keep leaking footage online.

It’s true. I feel like Plan B has been advertising their video for like 7 years.
(Laughs.) Yeah. Did that ever even come out? Is it still coming?

I don’t know. I keep hearing it’s in the works. But then it’s, “Oh, we used up all the VX footage, because now it’s all HD.”
That’s true. That whole thing is a kick in the nuts too. Everybody has all this footage filmed on VX and now no one wants to see that shit because it’s old apparently or the colors aren’t good enough or you can’t see your face.

It makes it a bit more exclusive too. If you don’t have the HD camera you can’t run with the big boys.
Totally. The VX was the people’s camera (Laughs.)

What about Facebook and Instagram and all that shit. It seems like every kid knows what every pro is doing at any time of the day now.
Not me. I don’t have any of that shit. It’s too much work and drama. It just looks like bragging to me. It’s fun in its own right if you do it the right way, but just for me—I don’t really want everybody to know what I’m doing. If I post a photo somewhere all of a sudden I have people lurking on the session. It just adds more stress.

I see stuff sometimes that legendary pros that I looked up to post and sometimes it’s actually a big let down.
Oh yeah. I see what you mean. All of a sudden you realize they’re not as cool as you thought.

Yeah. It kills the mystique if Jason Jesse is intagraming every meal he eats.
(Laughs.) No shit. I guess it’s important though. I’ve been told that I have no internet presence or whatever. I understand that you do have to have some of that to keep it going, but it’s just a pain in the ass. Just another thing I have to work for. It’s a distraction. Shameless promotion.

I look through it a lot and just feel second hand embarrassment for people. Like you can tell what people were thinking when they posted something. Like, “Ok, here’s me and Rob Dyrdek. This is going to push me up a few notches!”
I can’t wait to see how many people “Like” this! I can tap my screen twice to give you a thumbs up! It’s like high school. Skateboarding is like a high school click, ranked by importance on social media apps.

I like that there are still some pros that just stay off it.
Yeah. I wish I could say I had some philosophical reason. For me it’s probably just laziness.

I was told my (Matt) Eversol you are in a destructive relationship.
(Laughs.) Yeah. Well it’s up and it’s down like a rollercoaster. There are moments of complete awesomeness and then others not so much so. We’ve been together almost 6 years so it’s nothing too new. She’s a local girl from San Jose. I didn’t have to do any importing.

You don’t live at the official enjoi Mansion anymore do you?
No. I live less than a block away though. So I could be there all the time if I wanted. I’m an honorary roommate I guess. It’s mellowed out a lot. I can’t remember the last time there was a party over there. I know since Louie (Barletta) bought it, he has pretty much just been fixing it up and keeping it mellow. Right now it’s Louie, this dude Warren, a couple of chicks that live in the basement. It was converted into apartments before Louie bought it. Jai (Tanju) used to live down there, Nestor (Judkins) used to live down there. In the mid level, you have Zach Wallin with a room. Cairo (Foster) is renting a room there right now too. It’s a big old house.

Where does Cairo live permanently now?
That’s where he has a bed.

Doesn’t he have a wife and kid?
Yeah. I think they in New Mexico. So when he’s not traveling and skating he’s there and then he comes out here for little skate breaks too.

So the 24/7 party zone is over?
It’s pretty much quiet for the most part now. I’m sure dudes come back from the bars sometimes and rage, but for the most part it’s mellow.

Getting midlife?
Kind of. But I also think it got to a point where skateboarding wasn’t that important after a certain point. The party took over a little so I think this is a shift back in the other direction. You can rage and skate but it’s hard to do. You have to pick your battles as you get older.

Best memory from Toy Machine days?
There were really good times. It was never like I was bummed out on it, except when I left. I’d say every trip. But this one ’02 US trip we did was like a month long—we drove across the country. But Ed (Templeton) has this like sword of a dildo. It has like a sword handle with a hand guard attached to a dildo. It was really weird. That was like the beating stick if anybody got out of line (Laughs.) Like you would get smacked with the big dildo if nobody was feeling your music choice or whatever in the van.

Who was on Toy Machine at that point? You, Ed, Austin (Stephens)…?
Yeah. Diego (Buchierri), Austin, Ed, myself and that was probably right when Billy (Marks) got on and who else? Oh yeah, of course—Josh Harmony. Maybe one more. I feel like I’m forgetting somebody for sure. Fuck. Oh yeah Nate Broussard!

Oh well. Best memory from the Powell days?
Well, the team manager at the time, Rob Washburn, he was pretty awesome. He would throw out a lot of cash for specific tricks (Laughs.) Like, “Here, sixty bucks for this one right here!” and you’d be like, “Fuck yeah! I’m going for it!” (Laughs.) Or maybe the first Tampa I ever entered. That was rad. Powell traveled a shit ton. I don’t ever remember what happened to all the footage.

Best scene in Animal Chin (’87)?
Oh wow. That’s a good one. Hold on… Hi Doobie (To someone in background). I’m just saying hi to my mom’s dog. Damn. Animal Chin. I usually just really enjoy the whole thing (Laughs.) Wallows is really good. Hmmm. The SF part. I’ll just go ahead and say Wallows. Or actually—the club where Johnny Rad is playing. Lance is doing like a 5-0 grind over the window, but it’s actually just his feet. The Blue Tile lounge. That’s my pick.

Public Domain (’88) or Ban This (’89)?
It’s a tie. Honestly I think both copies I had were recorded on the same VHS tape. I was so young I didn’t know the titles so it all blends together. I remember Propaganda really well. Frankie Hill had the first part.

Were you a Frankie Hill fan?
Yeah. I was so young I didn’t really know people. But I remember him specifically mute grabbing that huge ass gap in Propaganda and doing like boardslides almost tuck knee as he was boardsliding, I thought that was really cool. Without knowing personally at all it just seemed like he was such an awesome dude.

Best Steve Caballero part?
All of them. He ripped and still does.

Are you in a Powell video?
I don’t think so. I don’t think they but any out while I was on.

Do you consider yourself a Bones Brigade member? Technically you were right?
I did go to Japan and I think it was marketed exclusively as a Bones Brigade trip (Laughs.) It was when Danny Wainwright and Javier Sarmiento were on too.

Best memory from the Renaissance days?
(Laughs) I knew it was coming. Honestly, most of us got on before any of the 411 commercials came out or anything. I think when we saw those, and it became obvious what they were trying to do with the whole Christian side, that was shocking to almost everybody on the team. To us it was just free boards. They came to San Jose and told us like, “We’ll give you four boards a month.” Who wouldn’t be stoked as a kid? I don’t think any of us knew it was that type of company. They didn’t really tell us. The best memory would probably be from being on a trip somewhere in the US, probably New Mexico or somewhere, but we would stay at like friends of theirs’ houses. But we would sneak off and go smoke cigarettes and drink beer in the woods. That actually felt pretty good considering it was this Christian company.

Was riding for Renaissance like a Catholic schoolgirl’s scenario, where it made you have to rebel for the rest of your life?
Right, like schoolgirls that go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum—just whore it up and start doing drugs (Laughs.) I think I was still too young by the time all that shit went under I was still just a kid. But maybe it did plant the seed of rebellion.

Rubbish Heap (’90): Jeremy Klein or Ron Chatman?
Oh man. Rubbish Heap was one of the videos I had on VHS when I was super young. I loved it. I think Ron Chatman and somebody else both do ollies at Benicia skatepark and their butts touch in mid air. It’s awesome. I remember (Mike) Vallely had a vert part in that too. I like the Jeremy Klein part a lot. He had the Nintendo song. I think I liked it for that reason. I was still playing Mario Bros. and all that. Although I still use that Ron Chatman quote about waxing red curbs. I used it the other day.

“Why would you wax a curb that’s already red?”
Exactly (Laughs.)

Did you love or hate Chris Branagh?
I was pretty neutral on him. I remember he has like the children’s lullaby song and he eats shit on the launcher to handicap bar. I guess Louie (Barletta) grew up in the Modesto area and I guess Chris Branagh was from there. Louie was saying he was just this kid that was super stoked on himself.  

Goldfish (’94) or Mouse (’98)?
I actually saw Mouse first. It didn’t blow it for me but skating was changing so fast then that it was always hard to go back and appreciate stuff you missed when it came out. Mouse was so advanced. It took me years to understand some of the tricks. Like Guy (Mariano)’s switch frontside pop-shove it to switch crooks on a handrail—it could have been regular for all I knew and I still didn’t understand it. The older I get—I think we were sitting there one night at the enjoi mansion watching Mouse and I just started tripping on how good those tricks were for back then.

I doubt if kids will ever really understand what the older dudes see in a Gino (Iannucci) part or a Guy part.
Oh, God no. They have no idea what we’re talking about. It’s beyond their grasp of comprehension. If it didn’t come out in the past few years, I doubt they know about it. Then again, some kids are really smart and get into it.

Best Marc Johnson story from the Mandown (’02) days?
Shit. A lot of fucking drinking. He came on this one enjoi trip with us when he was riding for Chocolate. We roomed together the whole trip and I actually got this photo that Jerry (Hsu) sent me the other day. It’s basically me with my shirt off after some demo and they had drawn this lower back tattoo on me with a sharpie. It was like a dolphin and some other stuff and MJ’s down there giving me a little kiss near the bottom. I’ll send you the photo, maybe they can use it.

What makes San Jose special?
Personally, it might sound weird but even just the way it smells here is comforting. There’s a specific way it smells and feels. That probably sounds weird but every time I get off an airplane and have my cigarette, there’s just a way it smells that feels like home. I love it. I’ve traveled across this earth and I’d probably live in some of the other places I’ve been but not forever. I just feel like this is where I want to be. I just feels right. There’s no place like home. All kinds of skating. All types of crews and homies.

Worst thing you have ever woken up to?
Wow. Shit. Well, it’s not so much “woke up” but more like say coming out of a blackout. But I came to and there was a really awful odor this one time, and I looked up to see this behemoth of a woman pushing my head down into her crotch. That was the exact moment that I came to. I immediately realized that I didn’t want to be there. I just started squirming and freaking out and saying I had gnarly anxiety and had to get out of there. This all happened at the Mansion too, in somebody else’s room to top it all off. I ended up having to pay for a taxi to get her back to her house and she stole my sweatshirt and all my cigarettes. I hopped in the taxi with her and had to go into her house and finagle my cigarettes back. I don’t think I got the sweatshirt back but the smokes were the main concern. That was probably the worst.  

Best drugs?
I’m not too heavy on drug use. But some reefer I suppose, and I’ve had some good experiences on mushrooms.

Worst drugs?
I had really bad experiences on mushrooms as well. But it’s bound to happen if you’re dabbling in that. I think acid is actually the worst. That’s where you see people and they’re permanently not the same afterwards. And of course all the really terrible drugs like Crystal Meth. I’ve never done it but looking at photos of people that do it, Faces of Meth—it looks pretty fucking horrible.

Who is enjoi sending to Street League?
I’ll say Weiger (Van Wageningen), but actually nobody from enjoi is going to Street League.

Romney or Obama?
“Mitt, Eat Shit.” I saw that tagged in a bathroom recently and thought it was really rad.

Is it ever okay to kill someone?
It’s gotta be a goddamned good reason, but I’m certain if it gets heavy enough. If you’re in a kill or be killed situation.

Best skate video ever made?
I’ll go with Animal Chin. I remember renting it every time I had a sick day from school as a kid. It’s got everything—skating, its got sweet acting, it’s got philosophy, like the whole “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” It’s deep (Laughs.)

Best ‘80s movie ever made?
Man. So many good ones. Robocop, Weird Science, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Rambo… Movies these days are basically all shit. They’re either comic book crap or remakes of something from the ‘80s. Total Recall (’89)—the original was great. There was no reason to make another one. Honest choice for best ‘80s movie, I’ll go with Willow. I loved that movie.

What positives do you see in the European skate scene?
Five panel hats! (Laughs.) No. I think it’s rad they have their own scene and companies. Some of it is better than the shit we have out here. It’s cool that they don’t have to get everything from the US.

It seems like the Europeans are less into the DC Monster angle too. Or maybe I’m just being optimistic.
They do have some wild rave shit at contests sometimes though.

That’s true. They have their own set of kooks. We all do. They just change flavors from country to country.
(Laughs.) Exactly. You need the kooks to separate out the cool kids.

Hobbies outside of skating?
I like to shoot shotguns. I like pinball. Bowling is a good time. I love all those old school type activities.

Do you just shoot at the range?
They have this place outside of San Jose. It’s like a hillside and they have all these stands where you can shoot clay pigeons. Like you yell, “Pull” like in the movies and two of them shoot up. You can set it to rabit mode where they bounce on the ground, or Canadian geese where they shoot up really high. I’ve hit the doubles before if they cross paths or shoot one after the other.

Is it buckshot or single cartridges?
You can do both depending on how you load your shotgun. Usually we use the spray but you can also get gnarly and use the straight slugs. But those will wreck your shoulder with the kickback.

Worst fashion era in skateboarding?
I don’t know. I wore the super baggy stuff. It was pretty bad. I mean ravers stole it after we were done with it. That has to tell you something when ravers are borrowing your style. That or maybe the short shorts now. The D3 era was pretty bad too.

Longest you have spent away from skateboarding?
My bout with vertigo for sure. That was about three years ago and it lasted like 6 months.

I think I read about that. It sounded insane. You just got vertigo all of a sudden?
I basically got nerve damage some how in my inner ear and then basically had to re-train my brain to take over instead of relying on the nerves. Those nerves are the ones that control your balance. So I had to go to a specialist and do a bunch of therapy just to stand on my board again. I was going out skating one day with my homey and I remember it was a normal day, I just went to take a push on my board and I remember feeling like my head was just going to fall straightforward if I leaned over the board. So I was like, “This is weird.” Then I try to lean back more and then I just feel like I’m going to fall backwards. I had just lost all ability to balance overnight. It was scary. I went home and just laid on the floor in the living room. I tried to get up and got just full on spins like if I was drunk but completely sober. I started vomiting too.

Damn. So after six months you just regained balance?
Yeah. Pretty much. I had all these exercises I had to o. But I guess they worked.

Best enjoi ad of all time?
All of them.

Last thing you want to do before dying happy?
Not die.

Marc Johnson: Building The Pyramid Interview

This Marc Johnson interview was done during filming for Pretty Sweet and ran in German in Monster Magazine (EU). It was never fully published in English. A few bits ran in a TWS article but wanted to get the whole thing out as I felt like he made some incredible points. Mostly on "Building the Pyramid". Will be posting up tons more Intv B-Sides shortly. —ME

How do you feel watching the new generation of skateboarders in this (Pretty Sweet)?

I feel like there’s been some sort of evolutionary leap in skateboarding, where kids nowadays will just see something and not even question whether they should be able to do it or not. Sometimes we joke that kids nowadays don’t watch videos, they download videos into their brain. It’s as if they can immediately do whatever they see. It’s almost like some of these kids were born with updated DNA programs. It’s almost too perfect now. There’s no struggle. I skated in the Street League contest last year and I watched some of these dudes like Nyjah, Sheckler and stuff, and some of the things you would have spent time filming as a banger for a video part, these guys just do it first try. They’ll just do it twice. It’s not even a big deal to them. I trip out on that.

What do you make of the new breed of tranny rippers like Elijah (Berle) and Raven (Tershy)? Back to the Future?

(Laughs.) Yeah. It’s like old school new school. Elijah is gnarly. That’s his thing. He’s not running around teching out. His skating isn’t basic. It just depends on what context you use the word basic in. The tricks themselves might be basic, but the way he applies them and the obstacles he does them on are anything but basic. The guy just has insane pop. Grasshopper legs. He’s a big dude though. He can take pretty staple tricks and take them to spots normal people couldn’t do them because they just don’t have those legs. Elijah’s skating is hard to describe, It’s really just big. He kind of takes the fundamentals and super sizes them. There’s just no hesitation. He’s not afraid. A lot of people will try stuff and sort of think about it, mess around with it a little first. Elijah just goes for it. Which is crazy to see in person. Before he was even sponsored he was skating huge rails. Some of the stuff I watch him do, he’ll just do something, and I know for a fact that I’ll never be able to do that because I don’t have the legs. I could go to the gym for a year straight and still just not physically able to do it. Bryan Herman has that too. I think it’s just timing. Like intuitive timing for crazy pop. Elijah’s got that.

Raven?

Raven to me is like Cardiel’s legacy. He reminds me so much of a young John Cardiel. Just raw. He’s juiced, amped, and just super psyched to skate. A humble nice kid and just all terrain gnarly. Every one that sees him skate will say like, “Wow, he just reminds me of Cardiel.” It’s crazy. He has that rad vibe to him.

What do you think about skating now vs. the ‘90s?

It’s not the same vibe at all. Especially compared to the early 90’s. Skating is different now. It’s NASCAR bullshit. It’s all about your logo. A lot of companies have kind of morphed into different things over the years. Just kind of become these weird entities. They’ve become really what they think other people want. Instead of staying true to their roots. They’ll look at their team and be like, ‘We got this guy, and we got this guy, but we don’t have anybody that does this type of skating.”

What about the skating itself?

I look at it like building a pyramid. As far as street skating goes, the guys in the ‘80s pretty much started laying the foundation. They put down the first building blocks. Natas and Gonz. Then dudes in the ‘90s would kind of use those same blocks to keep building. It kept going and kept going. And sometimes, now, I feel like there’s no struggle anymore. There’s not much left to really build. We don’t have that many stones left in the pyramid. We’re almost at the capstone and dudes are just kind of hanging out at the top. Dudes are just recycling a lot of things now. Maybe switching out one block with the next. Certain guys, and I’m not going to mention names, but some guys are making careers out of straight up just copying other people. I feel like so much has been done at this point, that it’s hard to really be creating new stuff.

Is the evolution of street skating basically complete?

Nothing is static. Everything is always in flux. That’s just the nature of everything, Constant change and evolution. Skateboarding is no different. But if there’s just a brainless push to scoop up new people just because they’re young it’s going to end up looking pretty corny. There are still variations of variations to be done. It will keep going. But skateboarding has slowed down in a sense. I don’t mean it in a negative way, but it’s kind of dragging. There’s only so much you can do with a skateboard, and 99% of it has been done. But that wasn’t the case from like ’89 to ’95. I feel sorry for younger kids that, you can watch it on video all you want, but you don’t get to know what it was like to skate first hand back then. I sound so old saying it, but I lived then. I haven’t seen anything even remotely close to that since. Every year, skateboarding was 100% different. From ’89 to ’94-’95. You would go from like Speed Freaks and Hokus Pokus to Questionable in two years. You look at ’09 to ’12 and almost nothing has changed. That time was just pivotal. Meanwhile, dudes are losing their jobs to these kids who just picked up what we built. There’s this weird child worship syndrome going on. Companies will discard the old generation in favor of some new kid doing the same tricks. I’m sort of generalizing. They want to sell product to kids so they need a rider that age for kids to relate to.

Where do you see people from your generation ultimately ending up?

A lot of dudes get older and move on. I can’t speak for the other guys my age. I think it’s up to the individual. Each person has a different path. I’m just hoping skateboarding doesn’t pass dudes over in favor of someone just because they’re younger. I think skateboarding is rad because there’s a value placed on history. In a lot of other industries it’s just “What have you done for me today?” As far as where I see people of our generation, I’m hoping that the industry doesn’t just put blinders on and march towards compulsive modernity. Knock down the temple and build a mall on top of it. There will always be people that you just can’t replace. It doesn’t matter how many stairs or whatever. Gino (Iannucci) is one of those dudes. You just can’t replace that.

There are still new approaches though?

Yeah. There are new takes on it. Like Dylan Reider has a new charisma and style he brings. But that change isn’t as big as when the entire thing was reinvented every year. Aside from counting a few more steps, it’s been like slowed down to a standstill lately.

Does it get harder to film a part after all these years? Especially after Fully Flared (’07)?

Right now, especially from a personal standpoint, you get to a point where you’ve done so many tricks. It’s a weird thing. You’ve kind of stockpiled the ones you like and discarded the ones you don’t. But it’s hard now. You get to a point where it’s just like, “What the hell am I supposed to do?” You have to keep fucking doing this shit over and over. And if you don’t, some dude is going to come along and be like, “Dude, you haven’t done anything for us this year.” “Motherfucker, there ain’t shit left to do!” You want to lipslide a rail? Fuck off. Yeah, you can take a trick that somebody did on a ledge and bring it to a rail. Cool. But being in the middle of it sometimes, it’s like “What the fuck do they want?” It’s like if you had to record an album every year as a band. And you’ve done everything. I’ve done the blues album. I’ve done the party album. They still want the album. So you just start faking it. I feel like you can kind of tell when people start faking it. Like they had their window. You can tell what stands the test of time. Like Guy’s Mouse part. You can pop that thing in today and get sparked off it. It’s like Dark Side of the Moon. Timeless. It’s still selling. The early ‘90s were like the ‘60s to rock and roll. Dudes will eventually be getting knighted. Sir Guy Mariano. (Laughs.) I feel like a musician can always make music. But as a skateboarder, after a certain point, you can sit around and think of the most incredible stuff ever, but you can’t put it into practice.

How was it traveling with the new kids—Stevie, Elijah, Raven, Cory Kennedy?

It’s weird to go on trips with 20 year olds. It’s hard to rap out with them sometimes. I’m so out of touch with the younger kids. I think with the onset of cell phones, text messaging, Internet, social networking and all that, it does change human consciousness. That’s a fact. The perspective and culture that most of these younger kids live in has changed. So you get to a point where your comfortable with yourself and it’s just like, “Man, I don’t need Facebook.” They can’t spell. They text each other all day with this broken language. Put that shit down and read a book. You can’t even talk right. So you go on tour and there’s just nothing to talk about with these kids. Except on the skate level. Which is rad because that’s the one thing that we all share. You can sit and talk to somebody that’s 20 years younger than you and interact through skating. It’s a glue that makes it all magic right there. It’s got its pros and its cons. But I’m having more fun skating now than in the last ten years. I’m just comfortably settling in.

Does this video have the widest age range ever?

This video will have a good cross section of generations of skateboarders. You got everything from Guy (Mariano) down to Elijah. I think one of the cool things about Girl and Chocolate is that they don’t shit on people and they don’t put people out to pasture. They’re probably one of the last companies that still value the building blocks. In one way shape or form, they hold that close to their heart. I’m fucking psyched to be there.