From the ashes of team Dogtown,
Wade Speyer has come on strong
for the last three years to estab-
lish himself as a road survivor
and all terrain gnarler. After all
the results from the 1992 NSA
contest series he's been named
the "street" champion. Check out
some of his lines.
What's your original name?
James Wade Speyer.
So why do you go by Wade?
Because my mother likes it better.
What'd you do before skateboarding?
I used to work on mini bikes in the
fifth and sixth grade. I skated a little bit
and played baseball. Then I slowly start-
ed getting out of baseball because it got
to be boring and got more stoked on
just riding my skateboard everyday.
Where did you ride it?
My friend Pat had a little mini-ramp in
his backyard that was eight feet wide
and four feet tall and we rode it everyday.
I had an Uncle Wiggly Fish Stick with
Independent trucks and B-52 wheels.
Who did you look up to back then?
When I was in the second grade, there
was this guy named Bryan Cooper who
worked for Thrasher and lived in Dan
ville. He built this eight or twelve foot
haitpipe in this creek area where I used
to go play, they taught me how to ride it.
Were your parents into you skating
back then?
No. When I was in first or second
grade, my mom thought I was going to
kill myself. My parents got a divorce
when I was a little kid and I never saw my
dad that much because he lived up in
Washington and I'd only see him three
or four times a year.
What happened to your dad?
He passed away of cancer when I was
in the fifth grade. I remember I went to
go visit him, it was pretty gnarly because
I basically watched him die in the hospi-
tal bed. When we went up there for
Thanksgiving because he was getting
better and we were going to go eat at his
680
house with all of
our relatives, and
my dad all of the
sudden got really
sick and had to go
back into the hos
pital. He was back
home for about a
week and every-
one thought he
was going to get
better, but at the
hospital they said
that the cancer
got even worse
and it spread over
his whole body
and he ended up
getting leukemia.
I remember the doctors telling me that
they didn't think he was going to make it
and it was pretty hard to deal with at such
a young age. I really didn't know what
was going on.
Do you think you're pretty similar to
your dad?
Yeah. When I was a little kid and went
to go visit him, I'd want to do what he
would do. I loved camping because he
taught me how to camp and do things
like he did and I got stoked on doing
things like that. After my dad passed
away, my mom and step-dad took me
camping and it wasn't the same, so 1
hated it. Now I wouldn't mind doing it by
myself because I would think of camping
with my dad.
Ever think, "I'll do this for my dad?"
I sometimes wish he was still here so
he could see what I do, but I know he's
up there watching
Have you taken any college classes?
No. I want to go to school, though.
Once this is all over, then I'll go.
At nineteen years old, you moved
out of your house. Was it the right
time for you to move?
Yes and no. I know my parents will
still let me live at home if I choose to.
Did you quit skating vert?
No. I hurt my knee.
Do you think that vert is more fun, but
you get stuck doing switchstance
heelflip 180's down stairs because
that's what's accepted?
No, skating both is the way to go. It's
all skateboarding. You should try every
thing and not just one thing.
You just started skating street more?
I used to always skate street. That's al
I did. Then I started getting into ramps
when I was in the sixth and seventh
grade. When I was a sophomore, I
started skating vert with Ray Dillon
almost everyday. I learned how to skate
vert at the San Jose Warehouse with
Kendall and Cab
Do you like to skate by yourself or
with other people?
I skate with other people. That way,
when you're out trying tricks, you could
both try tricks together instead of trying
to figure it out yourself.
Who do you have fun skating with at
contests?
Cardiel. Jason Lee. I like watching
Jason Lee because he's so smooth.
What's your dog's name?
Kawi.
Where did that name come from?
From my motor bike.
What kind of dog is it?
It's a pit, "born to kill."
Are you into killing animals?
Depends on what kind of animal.
What kind of animals have you killed?
Just birds. Shot 'em.
Are you raising your dog to fight.
other dogs?
No. I'm raising her to kill humans.
Right, Kawi? Good girl. (con page 62)
On one of Thrasher's
first visits to the East
Coast, we came across
Mike Vallely skating in a
parking lot and the rest is
history. That was six
years ago and though
the companies may
change, Vallely is far
from done in skating.
People are always making
you out to be a real tough
guy. How do you respond?
Well, for the most part, it's
an exaggeration of the truth.
I'm really not a tough guy. I'm
just a person who stands up
for himself.
It's not something you try
to do, it just happens?
Yeah, throughout my entire life. I've
been the kind of person who seems to
attract conflict and trouble and I try to
deal with it the best way I can. I try to
stay in control, stay maintained and not
resort to violence. I would like to avoid
conflict all together, but it's sort of fol
lowed me around. And yeah, I've got-
ten in some scraps, I've had plenty of
conflict in my life with authority and just
the regular Joe off the street. But for
me, it's a reality of my life that I have
to deal with almost every day. I look at
it sometimes when we sit around and
talk and laugh about it. "Tough guy.
fights, ha ha, funny stuff. We can talk
about it that way sometimes, but for the
most part, it's kind of sad and it's noth
ing I'm proud of. It's nothing I want
made out to be glamorous.
You're going to be a father soon.
Why would you want to bring a child
into today's world?
I'm not looking forward to having to
worry about the condition of the world
and having a child at the same time.
For me, it's going to be something
that's going to eat at me. I'm going to
be very protective and it's going to be
a pain in the ass dealing with that.
First of all. I believe that reproduction is
the most natural thing. It's our pur
pose as living creatures to ensure the
evolution of our species. Basically, my
role as a male human is to mate with a
female human and reproduce. Actually,
after the baby was conceived. I proba-
bly should have been terminated right
on the spot, because it seems that if
women were raising children, things
would be a lot better. I have a lot to offer
as far as being a father; all the things
I've learned in my short twenty-two
years of being alive. The things I've
dealt with in my life and the things I've
learned from life make me feel that I
have a lot to pass on to the next gen-
eration. Maybe next time around there
will be a better version of me
So why are you doing Television?
The truth? So that I can provide for
my wife, myself and our family to be.
That's the ugly truth of it all. Skate-
boarding has become the thing for me
to do in order to make a living. I'm not
particularly proud of that, but I dream of
it being something good and positive
for the sport as a whole. Once you get
to that point of professional skate
boarding and get on the other side of
Ever so casually Wade (opposite sequence) scuffs a slate edge with a monster crooked
grind fakie in downtown Concord. While the world goes about its business skaters
like Wade go about theirs. Half-Cab heelflip (previous left) at a local shopping mall.
The man (far left) and his dog Kawi. Speyer images by Bryce Kanights
the fence, the industry side, it's the
whoring out of fun and it's the ringing
dry of skateboarding's soul, that makes
it a really weird position to be in. We
want to accomplish something good,
but once you're on this side, it's hard
to really make sense of it or find
something really positive in it.
It's not like you're doing it just to
make a living and that your heart's
not in it.
Yeah, my heart's in it. I still have fun.
but I see the fun fading again like it did
a couple of years ago. I don't want to
dwell on the negatives, but that's where
I am right now. That's my job.
You've been on a tour of the US
every summer since you turned pro.
The attraction to touring is just doing
your thing live, meeting people, see-
ing the kids who buy your boards and
support you and just being on the road.
Driving and seeing the country and
the world is an experience. Every win-
ter. I sit at home and I can hear sum-
mer calling me and I can't wait to get
back on the road. Touring is a neces
sary part of what I'm doing. Skate
boarding is freedom and freedom is the
road, being out and doing whatever
you want. It's one of the most enjoyable
parts of skateboarding for me.
Seems like being on tour gives you
time to think and consequently,
you produce a lot of writing.
Anytime you're not doing the daily
grind, you're experiencing more
things than you usually do, as opposed
to sitting around the house or just
skating the local spots everyday.
There's a lot more going on, you meet
people and you get more input on di-
ferent things.
People say skating is dying, but
there are tons of companies and
more pros than ever. Why do people
say that? Is the spirit is dying?
Skateboarding is dead, at least
what it means to me. Why I started
skateboarding and the reasons
behind it have all been copage 2)
Huntington Beach High is a spot that has been worked by Mike Vallely. Both the
frontside bluntslide (previous right) and the nollie backside tailslide (above
sequence) are proof. Mike and his hound Henrietta (top) mug it up.
Vallely images by Chris Ortiz
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