Tommy Budjanec...
frontside 180 kickflijp
BASIC
MY DAD
WAS
A...
RED TO GO
Fresh New Fall Line Available
Basic International
1599 Superior Ave. #B-9
Costa Mesa, CA. 92627
phone (714) 650-6656
fax (714)722-0644
photos: amy uhrine
JAZZ
MAN
CHRIS PASTRAS
At twenty years old, Chris Pastras has already been a pro for two-and-a-half years. Giving instead of taking
from skateboarding, he quit World, started Blue and finally found his niche with Jason Lee as Stereo.
How did you get into skating?
Well, some friends of the family
had a son who had a halfpipe in his
backyard and I'd come from school
or sports practice and try to pump
on the ramp and fall.
How old were you then?
I started trying to skate when I was
seven. My godmother used to yell at
me because she thought I was going
to break my neck. I had a skateboard
but I hid it for a long time because
wasn't allowed to skate.
Why did you come to California?
About three years ago I came out
just to hang out. I had two weeks
worth of clothes and stayed with
some friends. I thought I was just
going to take a year off from school
and just skate.
You'd just graduated high school?
Yeah.
Did your parents stress?
My mom did, not my father. He
was a jazz musician, so he wants me
to do what I want to do. He teaches
English in college now and he's not
happy. He says sometimes he wish-
es he made it as a musician so he just
wants me to do what I want to do.
When you first came out here,
you stayed with Mark Gonzales. Is
he anything like everybody makes
him out to be?
I don't really want to talk about
him. But there is one point I want to
make about Mark Gonzales. That
cover shot of Thrasher is living proof
that skate maintenance doesn't
make a difference. People run
around saying that their bolts need
to be perfectly flush and their grip-
tape has to be cut perfectly, and if
their tail is % off too high or low,
they can't ride. Skaters worry about
the most pointless things sometimes
and it does nothing but hold them
back when really they should just
worry about their ability. How cut
their Plan B jeans are doesn't even
make a difference.
Do you feel there's a lot of indi-
viduality in skateboarding today?
I definitely feel that there's a lack
of individuality and it's a shame
because pro skaters have the ability
to be whatever they want and say
whatever they think is right or
wrong. But they're afraid to step out
of line and jeopardize their position.
So they just stay quiet. Five hundred
pro skaters are satisfied with this one
personality. They just want to be one
guy. They want to all look the same
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