Definitely not one of the more vocal pros on the scene
today, McGill makes up for it in determination and seriousness.
MM: No, oh no.
KT: Can you appreciate somebody that
takes something on as a lifestyle?
MM: I don't really care what they do. As long
as they keep it... Really a lot of people that cut
their hair and dress up and earrings in their nose
connected to their ear, I don't say, "I'm going to
stay away from these people or I'm not going to
talk to them." I talk to people like that all the time,
I understand a lot of them, they want to be
noticed, they want to stand out.
KT: Do you think the mag (Thrasher) goes
over the kids' heads sometimes? Should we
stick to skating and the basics?
MM: Oh no. Some people want to know
everything-they want to know what's going on
whether it be punk or whatever they're into-
they want to know different things. If it's the
basic, same skating stuff it would be boring. Kids
want to know what's going on in the contests,
they want to be there, they don't really want to
hear about Joe Schmoe got up and this and
that...which a lot of magazines kind of write. A lot
of the kids don't know who these people are,
they want to know about the skaters that they've
been hearing about. What that guy was doing
during the contest or what he does. I used to
read the magazine all the time too; when I was
first starting I wondered about these people.
What is Tony Alva like or what is Stacy Peralta
like. Do they go to school? Stuff like that.
KT: Do you read any other magazines?
MM: People magazine, I like to read about
people. I could never get into reading at school,
though, I just hated it, but for a test you just had
to do it.
KT: Did you really send one of your
boards to Ron and Nancy at the White
House?
MM: They have a McGill shirt, okay, that is
positively, absolutely true. There is a secretary
who works at Powell whose husband is a press
secretary in Santa Barbara and they were invited
to a special dinner with the President and they
were each to bring a little something and they
brought him a McGill shirt, because that's the
same jet that shot down the two Libyan planes.
KT: Why did you use the F-14 fighter jet as
your logo?
MM: Before I did it I went and saw one of
those air shows with the Blue Angels and it was
so hot, just so powerful. I don't know if I'd ever
want to go on one, but..
KT: Are things working out well with your
sponsor?
MM: Things usually work out, I guess (some
other company) was ripping off their Pro skaters
with royalties and stuff and they all marched into
their superior's office and demanded what they
wanted. Which is good, you have to do that. I
thought that was pretty neat, they need to do that
to get these companies to take care of them. A
lot of companies don't take care of their skaters
KT: Any parks that you didn't skate and
would like to?
MM: I've yet to go to Carlsbad and see...you
know, what it was all about. I know it's still there.
KT: Were you in "skate heaven" in the
days of travelling from park to park?
MM: Oh, yeah! Totally. It was always chang-
ing-it was like surfing, always riding different
waves, if you ride the same wave you get bored.
KT: Is it that way with ramps?
MM: They change, all of them change, how
with the canyons and different levels.
KT: You got any ideas?
MM: Well, we're working on some ideas for
one with a bowl on the end of it 'cause there's
just not a lot of carving on ramps. Sort of like a
half capsule. It's hard to make those kinds of
ramps 'cause you have to make it round.
KT: Do you miss carving grinds and two
wheel edge carves?
MM: Oh yeah, because you have so much
room, I like skating big pools, nobody can under-
stand, I loved to skate at Upland and nobody
wanted to skate there. It's not the kind of pool
you want to lear tricks in, it's just so fun to keep
going, you're not confined to this little area.
KT: Favorite maneuvers? What have you
been working on lately?
MM: I like to do high airs, I just started to do
lien airs again. Straight up lein airs, like Christian
Hosoi. I feel so good when I come down off of a
new trick. I like doing Elguerials. If you do them
high you get a good feel out of it...the 360" hand
plant.
KT: Do you think vertical skating is going
in the right direction as far as the super
tricks?
MM: Yeah, oh yeah it's been going like that
for a long time, it's just not getting the TV. cover-
age and public coverage that it should. You got
to bring it to them and just present it to them
'cause skateboarding is there.
SUMMARY: TWENTY-ONE RAPID FIRE
QUESTIONS FROM THE HIP WHILE CON-
SUMING GARLIC BREAD AND FINE WINE.
Q: What blows your mind the most?
McGill: People with earrings that connect
from their noses to their ears.
Q: How would you prefer to have profes-
sional skateboard contests run?
McGill: More like Joe's Ramp Jam.
Q: Why?
McGill: I think it's a lot more fair.
Q: Are you worried about going to
heaven?
McGill: No. No. No.
Q: Do you believe in an after life?
McGill: I don't know. I swear, I don't know
what to believe.
Q: What's your sign?
McGill: I'm a virgo.
Q: Why do you skate?
McGill: It's a way of life.
Q: What did you say to your mom when
you left (to come to California)?
McGill: Uhm, "Goodbye", "Be back soon" and
"T'll call you tomorrow".
Q: How fast does Alan Gelfand talk?
McGill: He talks real fast (said at 100 mph).
You know, if you start hangin' around with that
guy, you start talking fast. He talks so fast.... I
swear.
Q: Does he talk alot?
McGill: He talks alot! I haven't seen him in a
long time, about a year now, but, I think he's
making a come back, practicing by himself, you
know. Anyway, Stecyk says that, he misses him.
Q: Why? Because he talks alot?
McGill: Yeah.
Q: If there were things you would change
in skateboarding right now, as far as any
thing is concerned, what would all five of
them be?
McGill: Well, it would have to get publicized
more, more T.V., movies, etc. We'd have to
make Stacy president and we'd have to have a
system that would work for skating, and not for
money. That's it.
Q: What do you think about when you put
together your contest routine?
McGill: You want to save some of your
energy for the end. You want to have a strong
finish.
Q: Say you were forced into a contest to-
morrow, how would set up your routine?
McGill: It all depends where you are. Like if
you're at Upland, you gotta set up a run where
you're gonna last.)
Q: Let's say you're gonna go to a big
ramp, what would you do?
McGill: Well, I'd start off slow with the basics.
You know, some inverts and some Andrecht
fakies, roto-rooters and then start getting into
some air. Backside air, maybe an Ollie-oop, a
frontside handplant, a frontside-backside, a little
of that, and let's see, what else? Then toward the
end I would do some Elguerials or Gay Twists or
an occasional Caballeríal
Q: What about this? You're in a clutch
contest situation and have enough time left
in your run for maybe three runs to blow
some minds, what would you do?
McGill: An Elguerial, maybe a high Gay Twist,
a little Caballerial on the side there.
Q: Do you consider yourself an athlete, or
maybe sort of an unorthodox athlete?
McGill: What's that?
Q: Not your every day athlete.
McGill: I'm definitely not your every day
athlete
Q: Is there anything that upsets you about
skateboarding?
McGill: Yeah, the people that gave up on it a
couple years ago, saying it was dead and now
they're startin' to come back all of a sudden,
they're back in action making wheels and
boards. Saying "hey we're in there again". But
it's the other people who stuck with it that are ac-
tually the ones to make it all happen again, like
you guys at THRASHER Mag. I think you should
get all the credit for it.
Q: Will you ever stop skating?
McGill: As long as I have fun at it, I won't stop.
Q: Do you consider yourself a good man?
McGill: Yes I do, I'm a good man. I'm not a
menace to society.
THER
20
Corner air at a secret pool somewhere in the Santa Cruz mountains