Interview by M.Fo
How old are you at the moment?
Two decades old.
When did you start skateboarding?
1977. I puttered around before that, in '75 and '76, on a
store-bought board, like a Continental with loose bearings.
But I didn't consider that skating. Fred Logan, a guy who lived
on my street, and I built our first ramp in 1977, so that's when
I pretty much consider it all beginning for me. I was a social
outcast back then, as far as fitting in with my fellow skater
friends. They were all hyped on the surf thing--who had what
board, the newest O.P.'s, and who had a Hang Ten shirt. Then
there I was, running around in Toughskins, y'know. Those
guys were more into the trappings than the actual act, which
kind of blew me away and made me not want to hang around
them. What's ironic is that while they were all wrapped up
in the fashion and those types of superficial interests, they
ended up fading out and I fucking lasted. Here I am.
We finished building our first ramp in the rain, and the only
board I had at the time was a Hang Ten with all the pictures
of surfers on the top, with the orange wheels and loose bear-
ings. I didn't have any shoes on, so I was riding this plastic
skateboard with no griptape, with no shoes on, trying to do
a kickturn in the rain on this little quarter-pipe we built.
How did your skating progress from there?
For starters, my older brother was an influence on me in
an athletic way. I grew up without a father from day one, and
my brother kinda filled that gap. He was a bitchin' influence
on me. He made me a good baseball player and an athelete
in general. What was cool was that he was stoked that I was
skating, too. Skating was somewhat deviant, as far as organized
sports activities are concerned. ►
I'm glad to be involved in a
sport where the level of
progression is infinite.
Previous page: Precision tail tap. Santee, CA. Photo: M.Fo.
Top: Gator does not worship, he observes.
(Jacket art: Vicki Berndt, Photo: Mike Blanchard.)
Right: World's Fair. Vancouver, BC. Photo: Dave Omer.
SuperValu
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