skated that until '82, and that's when I moved out here. I left it still
skateable; my friends skated it for about six months to a year after I
moved. Then my dad tore it down and gave it to some guy and he's
got it built in some barn as far as I know.
How did your folks react to all this, having one of the first major ramps
in the midwest in their backyard?
When we'd throw a contest, kids from six states would come. My
parents were pretty supportive of my skating but not as much as when
I played hockey. I played for ten years and my dad really got into it.
We both did. He coached for a couple of years but had to quit because
he had a small heart attack.
So you played hockey for quite awhile?
Since I was three years old. I started playing on a team when I was
four and then played 'til I was 14. When I moved from Detroit to Cin-
cinnati, that killed it, because they don't know how to play hockey.
I'd be down at the goal end of the ice with the puck and they'd still
be back there. Just weren't as progressive as up north..
Why did you get into skateboarding?
My friend had that board and he bought a Skateboarder Magazine:
it was like the second one. I slowly got into it and just stayed with it.
quit hockey and just stayed skating all the time.
Did you have the basic growing-up experience as a kid, before skating
and all that?
Yeah, I raced motocross. When I was real little I was always into bikes
and before it was called BMX we used to have races and I did that..
Then hockey. I never got into school sports. I always hated football.
Why was hockey any different?
It wasn't school. It was out of school; you had to try out for it. It was
one of the better teams. Sponsored by Little Caesar's Pizza. I was with
those guys for about six years. We won the Nationals twice and won
the Silver Stick, the first American team to ever do that. We went to
Sweden and won a tournament there. My friend plays first string goalie
for the New York Rangers now, and he played goalie with us for five
years. I kinda miss that. I'd like to start ice skating again, maybe get
in shape a little more. It's good for the wind. I've lost my breath: I
don't have it like I used to.
Did you go right for the vertical?
Yeah. We always rode anything we could find. Some pools, not too
many because the pools back there are mostly square and not transi-
tioned...pretty fucked, actually. There are a lot of pools out here.
Where did you move to first when you came out to California?
San Jose. I lived there for three months and then I got a job at Santa
Cruz and moved over here.
Was that a big step for you?
Moving was. I'd really never travelled away from home that much. I'd
travel but never really leave my parents that long (laughter). But it wasn't
that; it was time to move and I wanted to...it took awhile to get used to.
Was that when you realized that skating was your survival and livelihood?
Yeah, that's what I always wanted to do.
Were you on Santa Cruz at this time?
Right when I moved out I was on Madrid, and I quit...not enough
flowage. Plus, when I went to Stevie's ramp, Fausto picked me up, and
then I got on Santa Cruz and they set me up.
You seem to have adapted to the warmer climates.
I don't miss the snow at all in the winter. It's too depressing. When
I had my ramp I would go outside and it was 25, with ice on the ramp.
I'd spend two hours with the heater chipping the ice off, skate for two
hours until it finally dried off and then it would start snowing again.
What are the main differences, other than weather, between skating in
the Midwest/East Coast and California?
Skating's more progressive out here. It originated here, everybody
always wants to come out here and skate with the California dudes
because they're the best, usually, in the world. It's the only place you
can really go to get known and if you really want to become a pro and
do it, you've got to come out here. There are guys that still live back
east, and more from back there are turning pro now, which is good,
but when I wanted to turn pro, there was nothing back there so I had
to come out here. There was really no choice.
Do you think it's always better to skate with somebody who is better than
you, that's going to push you?
Oh yeah, definitely. That's the only way to get better. You've got to
see what they do and learn from them or start making up your own stuff.
Competition. What's your best placing?
Second in streetstyle, third in vertical.
Do you make an extra effort to go all out for contests, showing up at
every event?
Yeah. I do now. I have been for the past year and a half, but for about
a year I just wasn't into it. I got burnt on the whole contest scene and
kind of got burnt on skating for awhile, just went through a dry period.
I've been skating a long time, everybody has, and you go through dry
periods once in awhile. That's all that really happens...but...con-
tests, I'm a little more into it now. Maybe more because I have to be.
I think they are worse than they ever have been now, the judging is
ridiculous. Vancouver was really bad. In my opinion Christian should
have won. I mean, Tony Hawk was doing all these tricks, but he wasn't
going that high and Christian was going like eight feet on everything
and just working the whole ramp. He did two backside airs across the
whole fucking thing. I think it was just bad judging at that contest; most
of 'em are. At Virginia Beach I thought I got kinda rooked. I thought
I would have made the cut...but I fell and if you fall now it's like,
forget it. They're getting really bad on that. If you fall once. Everyone
else falls at least once in a contest run now.
Do you think that organization, the way contests are run and the judg-
ing factors all have a lot to do with skater's attitudes?
A lot of the pros are getting into demos because you push each other
more and there's no contest pressure. I really don't get nervous during
contests; I just get mad at myself when I bail. A long time ago I was
pretty nervous at contests...I've gotten so used to it now that if I blow
it, it's not because of the pressure. I can handle that. I get bummed
when I fall on a good run.
What is your favorite contest on memory, one that sticks out?
The first one I entered pro-Joe's Ramp Jam. It was my first pro con-
test and I was nervous. Drank a brew, took a puff before my runs and
it put me right in place. I was like this (shakes). I was pretty much
coming from nowhere and everybody was just all...who's this guy?
I got third, so I was really stoked about that. It made my whole skating
career right there. I accomplished what I wanted to do. Turning pro
and doing good in a contest.
After something like that, do you slack off to a certain degree?
Yeah, I did. Vert was my main thing, and I did it. I've been street skating
a lot more recently and been getting into it just to balance everything
out all the way around. I think I'm going to start doing really good in
contests again because I've been skating a lot more. Going to Hawaii
again is going to help training. I want to get McTwists down; I can make
it, I just don't have it right here yet (points to forehead).
Why do you say going to Hawail?
Because you can get away from everybody else who's here. There's
a lot of skaters over there, but it's a more relaxed atmosphere I think.
It's better to skate in. It's a lot of fun. The weather is unreal. The waves
are the best. The people are really nice, some of the coolest people
I've ever met. That's why I like to go there because I get along with
them and they show me a really good time. There are some good ramps
there now. Wallo's, the Hell Ditch, it's one of the gnarlier places to
skate probably because of the surface. You don't even wear pads cause
it just eats 'em up. If you fall, you're bummed.
How do you like the Santa Cruz lifestyle? You managed to fall right
into it?
I like it. It's a lot of fun, when I'm here. The past year I haven't been
here too much, so I don't see what's going on. When I first moved here
I hung out a lot. Now I don't get the time because I'm always on the
road. That's what's really fun about skating now; travelling. You get
to go everywhere. I want to go to Brazil, hopefully this winter, and
Europe next summer. If everything works out.
What about the female factor on the West Coast as compared to Ohio?
There is no comparison. It's unreal out here. There's so many more
girls out here. L.A. is a zoo; they're everywhere. It's infested.
What about on the road, on tour?
There's no girlfriend now; there was for awhile but I wasn't home
enough to see her, so I didn't think it was fair to her. She lives right
down the street, so we're good friends still. On the road you meet a
lot of girls, definitely. You go dancing and stuff. It's a lot of fun. I don't
like any chick that knows anything about skateboarding. I'd rather just
Sed power-plant at World Expo in Vancouver. Photo by Steve Keenan.
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