barker
bar-
rett
But once they had seen how going to contests
worked, they saw that things might happen.
How'd you first get into skating?
In the third grade I had the chicken pox and I
couldn't go to my school fair. I was hanging out
in my tree fort and could see everyone at the
fair. My mom found out there was a skatepark
and she took me there, bought me a skate-
board and got me a membership to cheer>>
me up then, when I was ten, my family and I took
a train to California and we drove down the
coast. I skated at Marina Del Rey when wide
boards were first coming out. Two or three years
later it went underground and I didn't really see
it. But still, I played around on it.
Who'd you hang with?
My friend Mike Deering. We used to ride bikes
and then we started skating together. We'd meet
in Doylestown, that's where Sean Miller, Rob
Krull, Ben Miller, Harry Barford and all those
guys lived. I think because of us, skateboarding
is illegal in that town now. It's been illegal there
for about six or seven years.
What were some the first tricks that really
inspired you?
Mike could do railslides on railroad ties and
double-sided curbs, but I could never do them.
Who were your major influences back then?
Lance Mountain and Mark Gonzales. Mark
was always doing something crazy, like allie.
pivot on a bench. I guess the first person I saw
ollie was Chuck Treece. It was weird, we learned
how to do it on our own without seeing anyone
do it. Coming from a small town, we weren't
exposed to people, besides videos, which
weren't that frequent. We'd get a little bit from
everyone we skated with. Sean learned rock and
rolls one day, and he came over to my house
and taught me how to do them. My friend Mike
taught me a lot about ramps. We saw Andy How-
ell, do kickflips at some Ocean City contest in
'85, maybe even 84. We couldn't believe it, and
for a year and half we tried kickflips in the grass,
next to my ramp. The streets were too
rough.(Continued on page 64)
john
car
diel
bros is the best thing because you meet so
many new people, and when you're done travel-
ing, you're always stoked to be home. You also
get to adapt to the new terrain.
Terrain:
I like to skate everything. I feel that when you
go somewhere you've never been, and apply
yourself and adapt to that place, you really start
to have fun.
World view:
I think the world will come to some kind of end but
I hope it doesn't take me with it, at least not too
soon.
Who's rad:
Christian Hosoi is seriously burly and the Gonz is
incredible. Their skating will live forever.
Music:
I like all kinds of music. It's just a small part of my
life. I don't like to waste my money on tapes or CDs,
I'd rather save it for a road trip.
What's rad:
Being spit out of some tranny and floating in the
air Tweaking your body is the best.
Advice:
Always try to go a little faster than before, just for
the challenge
Worst scene:
The worst scene is a whole bunch of skaters sit-
ting down.
Contests:
Chris Senn should win every contest because he
wants it, and I hope he does.
Origins:
Skating was started by kids just wanting to rip up
the streets on their boards. That's what koops me
going
What's wrong with skating:
The only thing that's been bumming me out lately
is that these big companies have gotten so involved.
Can't they just make a really good board and stoke
kids? They have to try and ruin other companies
and steal riders. That's no good.
Modern tricks:
Skating is progressing so fast these days that you
must keep up or you will be smoked by some young
new street dog
46 THRASHER MAGNE