DUANE PETERS thought that was it. I landed in
(From page 34) doing kickturns and I
won't care. Just like I don't now. I go
to a ramp and watch everybody do
nine-foot airs. I'll do a two-foot air and
I'm having fun-that's my life.
Waitress: How are you guys doing
here?
Rum and Coke.
Waitress: You know what, I can't serve
you anymore. No big deal, but I just
Nike to be responsible to our patrons.
I don't want you guys to leave drunk
because I can get in trouble for it.
We're not going to leave drunk. I'm
not driving.
Waitress: That doesn't matter. You've
had like four drinks and that plenty.
I think you're a joke.
Waltress: I'd be happy to call the
police to escort you out if that would
make you more comfortable.
Oh, would you? Thanks for letting
us pay for our police patronage.
Waitress: Okay, I'll go call them right
now for you.
Okay. God. Let's go.
Duane wasn't satisfied with the
restaurant/waitress interview and
wanted to conduct another inter-
view with himself. We said sure
and this was on the tape he sent.
I'm standing here with Duane
Peters, professional skateboarder.
We're following up on his Thrasher
Magazine interview. Hello Duane.
Hey, Duane, how come your voice
intonation gets all weird when you
turn into an interviewer?
Well, I'm trying to sound like an in-
terviewer, Duane. Let's cover some
topics that Bryce Kanights did not
have a chance to cover with you.
Is that all right with you?
Yeah, it's fine.
Since you've been skating most of
your life, do you feel like you're
happy where you're at?
Yeah. I am happy where I'm at.
because I never liked to just hang out
and stay doing the same thing all the
time. I'd probably be in a different
place if I didn't fall off that building
See, we were parking lot skating and
all of a sudden I hear all those sirens
coming up. It sounded like somebody
was getting murdered. I turned
around and all these cops were chas-
ing me. They weren't going to ask
any questions, they were all, "Get
him! They thought I was a car thief;
apparently a lot of radios had been
getting ripped off. I jumped up on the
top of the fence but I didn't look at
the numbers-you know, there are
big numbers on the different floors
of parking garages. The cops were
running at me with billy clubs and I
was just going, "I'm not going to get
beat up again, this is over." I was on
the dark side of the building so I just
jumped. I had a bottle of tequila in
one hand and my skateboard in the
other. Right as I let go, I looked over
and saw the number four. I was on
the fourth floor. It was a long way
down. I just let go of everything. I
something weird, smelt around and
realized I was in a dampster in about
two feet of trash. I heard the cops
saying, "Where the hell is he?" I
waited for about an hour and I finally
got out of there, but my knee had
bent completely the opposite
direction-which is called a hyper-
extension of the knee-massively. I
had to kick my knee back into joint
and it was gnarly. All my ligaments
had stretched where they're not sup-
posed to stretch. So it was painful as
hell, but I got out of there, found my
skate and butt-boarded home.
Well, did you go see a doctor or
anything?
No, I didn't. I went to an orthopedic
place, got myself a brace and walk-
ed around in that for about four
months. I was hoping my knee would
get better, but it's still not the same.
it locks up when I sit down and I have
to unlock it.
When I fell off that building I felt
like everything I loved about being
young and skateboarding had just
been torn away from me. I needed
help. The only help I could look
toward was my companies. At that
time, skateboarding had gone.
downhill and there was no money
left, there was not even a magazine
left. I don't think Santa Cruz inten-
tionally burned me, but they cut me
down to fifty cents a board. It was like
a drop in the rain. As soon as my
knee got hyper-extended it was like,
"Well, that's too bad." I felt cheated.
I ended up getting into full-blown self-
pity, alcoholic binge. I used to cry at
night. I was totally angry at the world.
I didn't like anybody or anything and
I just pursued music. I ended up
beating up people in different short-
term bands and having to leave. I've
probably been in over 35 bands...
Ask me another question, Duane
Do you miss competitions, Duane?
Heck yeah. I used to never be less
than third place. Every now and then
I'd do an allnighter or something and
end up in 12th, but sure I miss it. I
had my peak, you know, and I had
a great one. I feel like I did a lot for
skateboarding. I did the loop. I did
quite a few things. I made up a lot
of tricks and I'm stoked about that.
Do you feel content with life?
No I don't. I don't feel content at
all. I feel like the day you become
content is the day you might as well
just dig a six-foot hole and let rigor
mortis set in. I've got a lot of dreams.
There's a lot I want to do with my life.
but my love for skateboarding will
never end. I know it because it's part
of my blood. I don't care if it's just
skating to the liquor store, skating
down the street, skating to the park
with friends, going off of a stupid lit-
tie jump ramp for a half hour,
whatever. Skateboarding is self-
expression. It's an art form. I dream
skateboarding. I'm never going to
quit. It's just something that's in my
blood. I get more hurt nightclubbing
than I do skateboarding. I've slowed
down on my nightclubbing now.
because I'd rather be on stage than
out there in the pit. These days you
get thrown out the door if you breathe
wrong or you're dressed strange. I
got into a lot of periods of my life
where I dressed really odd. I didn't
want to dress like a punk rocker so
I'd dress like a freak. I've gone down
to the beach in a Taco Bell uniform
just to bum people out and let them
laugh at me-big polyester bell bot-
toms, sweating with a Taco Bell hat
and a wig on. I've got plenty of wig
stories. Going to a party, knocking on
the door, punching out the guy who
opens the door and trying to take the
whole party on. Those days are pretty
much gone I think. I've been beat up
too many times. I think it's time to go
on with my life. When you've done
something so long the thrill's gone,
you move on to other things. I've
done some pretty weird things. I've
experimented in too many different
ways of life. I'm an explorer, I'm
thrown here for a reason and I want
to check it out and see what the hell
it's for.
Do you feel like you've always
learned from your mistakes,
Duane?
(laughs) Yeah, eventually. You
know what, I make the same mistake
more than twice, just about always
But always under different cir-
cumstances. Nowadays when I get.
arrested I look at the guy who's ar
resting me and he's a kid. I hope to
God I never go to jail for something
heavy or get framed or whatever. I
don't want to waste time in my life.
That's why I move quick. My advice
to people is don't be afraid to do what
attracts you. I'm not afraid to die, but
I'd rather live. I think there's a lot
ahead of me. I've got two great kids,
Skyler D., Chelsea Dylan. I named
Chelsea after the hotel where Sid
killed Nancy. Sid and Darby Crash
are like my heroes. I don't want to
commit suicide. I've checked out that
whole scene. You know, the gloom,
the art fart scene. Those people are
bent. After awhile you start looking
at them and you go, "What am I do-
ing with all these devil worshippers?"
They're freaks! They're all speed
freaks, you know. They go out in the
middle of the night and they search
for trash. They look at something, this
weird gold thing, and it's just a piece
of shit out of the gutter and they go.
"This is worth something." and they
throw it in their garbage sack that
they wear for a backpack. They travel
in troops, and they've got a flag and
everything. There are some nuts out
there. I don't know if that's off the
track, Duane, but I'm just trying to
explain something.
That's perfectly fine, Duane. So
anyway, back to skateboarding.
What are you going to do now?
Well I don't know. I've got a really
great band going right now and a
studio in my garage. We've got some
songs and we plan on playing a few
parties then moving on to clubs. If it
happens it happens. Everybody's got
their own little dreams. I'm always
going to have my skateboard in my
hand, whether anybody likes me or
not. I've found out that not everyone's
going to like you in this world, so
don't expect them to. If they don't,
hey, I'm sorry, move on. A lot of
people don't like my lifestyle. Great,
live your lifestyle. I'm taking Tai Chi
right now. It's bitchin' because it
teaches you mind, body and soul and
all that, but it's also teaching me to
stretch, which I never did. I feel like
I'm ready to move onto kung fu
When you move onto kung fu in this
class they throw a paper bag over
your head. Three dudes take open
blows at you, right at your face, and
you're supposed to block their
punches. You're supposed to feel
them. I've watched it, and the bag
just gets bloodier and bloodier. It
scared the hell out of me at first, but
it doesn't look that gnarly anymore.
It teaches you to grow and I think it's
going to teach me to skate better. I
think it'd be great if I started learn-
ing some of these new tricks, just for
myself. I don't plan on winning any
contests or anything. I just feel that
right now is my time to show people
that you can come back, you can
hang in there. I was this close to
death. You readers can't see me now,
but my fingers are almost together.
It feels great to be alive, it really does.
When I get older maybe I'll turn into
another Frank Hawk. Who knows? |
could coach my kids. I wouldn't mind
being a skate dad. If my kids choose
to skate I'm going to do everything
in the world I can to help them out.
By the time they're ready to skate, the
tricks are going to be so unreal. The
future of skateboarding looks really
great. There are movies, you know,
the Gleaming of the Tube, and all
those. There are a lot of positive
aspects about it.
The backyard sessions we used to
have in different pools were proving
grounds. You didn't have to do a
McTwist. It was edgers, rock walks,
lapovers, gnarly carves-the gnarly
things-deathbox tricks, little
backside hoppers, frontside airs. It
was a whole different scene. It was
aggro as hell. People who sat around
didn't say shit, because it was sweat
and you know at any moment there
could be a brawl. But the brawi was
in the pool. You'd go in the pool and
you'd tell the guy to fuck off by doing
a better run than his last run. You'd
stay in longer. It's probably still the
same. People still prove themselves
on the ramps and everything, it's just
a little more artificial than what I
remember. But that's the way it is,
that's where the money's at, which
is great. There are so many posers
out there who say, "Hey, I've been
around five years." Yeah, well great.
It's not a matter of claiming this and
that, it's a matter of knowing what the
hell you're doing and why you're
doing it. In the 60s they didn't cut
their hair until the war stopped. It was
a protest. Same thing with punk rock.
It was a protest against hippies, and
a lot more than (Continued on page 102)
EXTENSIVE RESEARCH;
INDICATES THAT MORE
INTELLECTUALS
RIDE OUR BOARDS
call it;
STREET SMARTZ
0 4 0
N
THE NEW
RHD
"professor"
REMEMBER;
smallmindedness,"
really only means
it's easier to fit your
ΝΑ
head up your butt.
KE
THE NEW
G.S
"guttersled"
D
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