Who helped you out back then?
Tim was a big influence. I learned a lot of
tricks from Jim McCall then; after that I
went on my own.
Tim who?
Scroggs. He was the one to get me on
Powell. Let see, back to the contest thing.
I soon went to Oasis and that was my first
contest as a pro.
What year was that?
That was, let's see, I was thirteen...I think
it was '80. I'd just turned thirteen that week.
Then my dad said I could turn Pro after I
had already refused the money. So I guess
I officially turned Pro at the Magic Mountain
contest.
What prompted you to develop all of the
new moves?
I don't know.
How many firsts did you have as a Pro?
Just about all firsts.
When was the first time you lost as a
Pro, against Per Welinder at Del Mar?
At my very first really big, like National
contest. I got third and a fifth, I think.
Who beat you then?
Bella Horvath was one. He wasn't any
good and he beat me anyway.
How did he do that?
Remember when Bobby Piercy jumped
over the Playboy Bunnies? Bella did the
same thing. He had three girls and was
jumping over them. Bobby Piercy was
there.
Are you bummed that he won because
of that?
Yeah, sort of.
You know, he's in town.
That's what I've heard.
Where have you travelled?
All around Florida, Georgia, California,
Sweden and England. I'm going to Japan.
When?
Spring.
With who?
Steve Caballero.
Who, in your opinion, are some of the
hottest skaters in Europe?
In freestyle, a guy named Stephan from
Sweden is good. There's a girl there, ten
times better than any girl I've ever seen. I
don't know if it's her real name, it's Go-Go,
she's from Switzerland. She's great.
Shane Rouse from England, Pierre Andre
from France is good. One other Swede is
really good, his name is Tony, he's in a
band. Claus Grabke from Germany is
equally good.
What did you do most while you were in
Europe?
Skated an awful lot and thought about
winning.
Was there a contest over there?
No. I thought about winning Del Mar when
I returned to the States. That was all I could
think about.
That's right. That was your "Last
Contest," now you've retired from
competition. There's no need for you to
compete anymore anyway, if you really
think about it. What do you have to
prove? What's your idea-thought
process for developing new tricks?
Well, I just decide that I have to learn a
trick. I kick my board around sometimes
and watch its motions as it twirls around. I
think in categories, which makes it much
easier than having such a broad spectrum
to pick from. Categories like, rolling
forward, backward, rail, stationary, 50/50
or aerial tricks.
To a non-freestyler, what you speak of
is so uncomprehendable. You're pretty
much one of the only people who
knows more about it than everybody
else. How can anybody know more
about it than you?
I never thought of it that way. I get an idea
of what I want to do, then I think it over a
lot, like where my feet have to be to press
SP
the board back. I think about the mechanics
of it after the fact.
What do you think about life?
I like it.
What do you think about war?
It's a reality, it has to happen.
It has to happen?
I think so.
Why do you think it has to happen?
It's inevitable because of the nature of
mankind. Plus it helps out a lot too. I mean
it gets rid of a lot of people.
Is that good?
Of course it is not good. People get killed,
but it has to happen.
What if it never happened again? Then
what do you think would happen?
People would just be uptight?
Overpopulation.
What do you think about laws? Are
there any particular laws that you don't
like?
I haven't had to deal with too many laws.
Is there anything in the world that you
want to do other than what you're doing
now?
Gymnastics. I like that. Diving would be fun
too.
Is there anything that you hold sacred?
Time to be with myself. Not having to
bother with other people.
If that was taken away from you, would
you be miserable?
I'd go crazy.
HRASH