BUSTER
Do you have any superstitions?
BH: I never like to say, "This is my last run."
Everyone has their own stupid little things, like I
always try to put on my pads in the same order.
It's something you always do, you think, wow if I
do this it might mess up something. As far as
pennies go, if it's on tails, I want to pick it up
more because everyone says it's bad luck. I really
don't have any firm beliefs in anything, but I can
make myself think stuff will go wrong.
MR: If I ever start in a contest and I don't use the
bathroom, I can't use the bathroom any time
during the contest. It'll bring me bad luck. I never
put on my helmet first. Sometimes, if I eat
something and have a good day skating. I might
eat that again the next day.
Do you have any favorite music?
BH: Loud stuff, fast stuff. I like King Diamond a
lot. People laugh, but I like how fast those guys
can beat...I don't listen to the words. Whenever
I'm sitting around, I like listening to the Damned. I
don't really like love music. Listening to all that
lovey-dovey stuff gets on my nerves.
MR: Damned, Elvis Costello, Dukes of Strato-
sphere, I like every type of music.
Is Buster your real name?
BH: Buster is my real name...
MR: Liar.
BH: It comes from way deep in our family. It's not
my real name, but my parents started calling me
that when I was young and it stuck. Nobody calls
me by my real name.
What is your real name?
BH: I like it, but it's funny sounding. I'm not
embarrassed about it but, it's never been used for
me. I want to be called Buster. All my friends
know it and always make fun of me. Mark, you're
holding it in pretty well. It's eating you, I can tell.
Is it Fred?
BH: Nope. My real name comes from my uncle.
MR: Buster's real name is Weldon.
If you're a
skateboarder,
you should
everything.
Mark, do you shave your ears or tape them back?
MR: When I was a little kid, I taped all around my
head and tried to make them stay. Sometimes I
put them in my hat, hoping they'll stick to my
head a little better. Actually, I usually get my hair
cut really short so you can see them better.
How do you set up your board?
BH: White wheels, 9" Gull Wings, no rails. I don't
like too many stickers, but sometimes you have to
put them there. I like black tops, but you don't
always have enough griptape.
MR: I usually ride medium to tight trucks, small
wheels, hard, not very many stickers on my board,
try to keep it calm. Simple...no riser pads, low to
the ground. I tried to ride no rails for a week, but
it didn't work.
What are the raddest tricks?
BH: 540's and 720's. Those are always going to
be cool tricks, because they're totally different
than any other tricks. Lip tricks are definitely more
technical; a lot are way cooler than airs. Lip tricks
now are so complicated. They're probably the
most difficult. There are too many hard tricks to
compare. It's not just one anymore; you put three
together. Airs are hard to do. Every ramp is a little
different for airs. To go high is definitely hard.
Only a few people go really high consistently.
MR: My favorite type of tricks are real technical
but real fast. I don't like seeing technical tricks
being done slow. Ollie tailgrab-to-front truck,
frontside and backside, ollie 50/50-to-board,
frontside rock and roll slide moving real far. Big
long ollie tricks-to-fakie, fast. One of the hardest
things is being consistent. People like Christian
who can go anywhere and do it all are the
raddest. That's something I strive for, being good
at airs everywhere. Going consistently high.
Are you working on any goals?
BH: I'm going to move out to California to see
how everything is away from home. I might go to
school next year. I'm not going to blow that off,
but I want to put 100% into skateboarding. I
can't skate the rest of my life, so I might as well
put 100% into it while I can. If it doesn't take me
very far, then I'll go to school. It's harder to go to
school later, but it can be done
MR: Skating takes up most of my time, but I'm
going to go to school for a couple of classes in the
fall so my parents don't hound me out. I'll be
learning how to skate everything, going to a
want to skate different place everyday, getting consistent.
Skating with everyone and being surrounded by
skating will help me. I'll do the best I possibly can.
BH: I'm not going to set any specific goals. You
can't expect everything. My final comment to
skateboarders is, don't limit yourself to one area
of skating. Try to be well-rounded and have fun.
You shouldn't put down other skaters because
they like one terrain. If you're a skateboarder, yout
should want to skate everything. You should have
respect for all types of skating.
You should
have respect
for all types
of skating.
MR: Make your decisions based on what you
want to do. Don't let other things decide. Don't
let other people influence your decisions. Don't
do something you don't want to do for the wrong
reason, or you'll get hurt....
HALTERMAN
36 THRASHER MAGAZINE
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