Some of the best skateboarders in the world
came out of there and that's the bottom line.
The Whittier locals ruled. Spidey's ramp
came around and we started to hang around
with Spidey. My friends-Keenan, Castro,
Mountain, Blender, Spidey, Lucero-taught
me skating and life. Lopes, Edgar Torres, Cor-
ona, thanks. I'd like to thank Allen Losi more
than any other human being. All these
people have been involved in my life, but I'm
not going to tell these little kids everything
in this magazine because some things are
too gnarly to speak of.
Okay. High School?
High School was screwed up. I was
supposed to be a punker; I had my haircut
over one eye, it was all so stupid. Every
parent better watch their kids because one
she was not like any other girl in my school,
she had nothing to do with anybody. She was
truly away from everything. She ended up
quitting school. I was actually
friends with her for a while and
love her. I love her for the time that
I
loved her, for how miserable she
made me, how miserable I made
myself, because I liked her so
much and she was incapable of
giving a shit about me. She's my
doomed love. She sent me to hell
more than five times. I knew she
her for it. All the other kids were
rope's end, I was heavily depressed, I was
heavily disillusioned, I hated my parents
blindly. I thought they were the cause of this,
but it was all me. I was in love with
girls who didn't react to me and I
wanted a fantasy, storybook reac-
You have no
right to feel
like you've
been burned
because
was ahead of her time and I loved you're eating
jealous of her, Tiffany simply ruled cheeseburgers
on Melrose
the place. I see her around now-
adays, I don't know what to do, I
break into a sweat. I just want to
day they're going to slap you in the face with tell her what I think, but she and shopping
their problems.
Tenth grade-passing the ten-minute
period, the period that rules all high school
kids' lives, the little part before lunch when
you get to socialize, the thing that rules the
whole day. You're sitting in class, girls are
writing notes to each other about what's go-
ing down. Anyway I meet this beautiful
woman, indescribable, I can't even tell you
how beautiful she is. She didn't even care,
tion from them. I had total im
aginary relationships. Well, they
knew me, but I was trying to force
myself on these girls. What kills me
is that Tiffany dropped out and I
was part of what drove her away.
I would have settled for hanging
around, being the guy girls say 'Oh
he loves me he'll do anything for
me! I would do that till the death.
That's really too bad.
Oh don't buy Grosso's board,
he's this, he's that.
It's not about buying boards.
This is about buying boards, this
already knows what I think. I just
want her to react, but she's never
for creepers
going to react and it's
intense. A hard thing to face up to. and Sham 69 This is coverage, dude.
it's pretty
interview's about buying boards.
whole shock, from the experience stickers. Self- Stop. This is an interview about
that
I channeled it all into skating. I
freaked, pushing any and every
trick possible more than ever
before, completely going off. Also
pity is stupid.
at this time I quit school and dropped out of
everything. I became discontent with people
in general.
How far did you get in school?
Two months before I was about to
graduate. It was my birthday, I was at my
a
person, not a board..
Yeah, you're right, but these kids
aren't reading about a person
they're reading about a board.
Wake up and smell the roses peo-
ple. Go back and read Mountain's interview,
Losi's, Hosoi's, Blender's. Read between the
lines kids, you'll learn something that you
probably won't like.
What about "Nobody's Hero" moral?
When I was young. Lance and everyone
I hung out with listened to Stiff Little Fingers.
They did a song called "Nobody's Hero."
Listen to the song and, most importantly, pay
close attention to the lyrics. Then you'll know
what I'm talking about. You don't have to look
up to me, you might think Grosso's pretty
good. Take, learn, emulate something that
I did, but don't get so caught in one thing
that you lose sight of your own life. I've self-
indulged myself in women, skateboarding.
drugs and as many things as I've been in
touch with. It gets you everywhere and it gets
you nowhere. That's about it.
When I'm as low as I think I can get, I don't
doubt that I imposed this misery upon myself.
I long to rip the wild board with the greatest
of simplicity. The idea of being in love near-
ly drives me to hate sometimes, and I like it.
Giving a woman overall pleasure is my
greatest quest and the one I'm the farthest
from accomplishing.
Do you feel bad about everything?
Well, you can't feel good all the time. I wish
I could. I go enter contests, I do well, I come
home, Trish dies, I look at all the lines I've
drawn and I get drunk. I (Continued on page 115
Left: Jeff during the salad days of The Insultors. Right:
"Duane didn't do layback rollouts for fun, Duane did
them because he was in pain." Photo: Chris Ortiz.
BLE