and be accepted as the cool skate guy or
whatever. And if you're not that mold,
you're a T Dog or whatever they say. And
they sit back and let some fat business
man make their ads and graphics and por-
tray them however he wants and that's
marketing. And marketing has no position
in skateboarding.
What about all the skaters getting in-
volved in tagging and gangs?
I think it's just a trend, but to say that
they can't do that is wrong. But the thing
I really don't understand is why these kids
feel they need to glorify poverty and look
like a cholo or gangster. To me, there's just
nothing glorious in being poor. Skate-
boarding should be an escape for people
of all financial or cultural backgrounds, not
a trap. It's funny because you watch the
rich kids come together with the poor kids
who skate and they try to act even tougher
than the kids that are really hard up.
There's no fun in being poor. My grand-
mother got mugged on her front porch.
She lives in a bad neighborhood.
Are a lot of kids trying to be gangsters?
I think that they're trying to be some-
thing they're not. They're searching for
something and they don't know what and
that's the most easily accessible thing
because there's five million skaters out
there wearing their pants baggy and their
hats low and trying to act like they're car-
rying that gun. If you're carrying a gun,
you're just plain ignorant.
Who influences you in skateboarding?
I've never been the person to really look
up to people. But the people whose skate
board ability I really respect are probably
Salman Agah, Mark Gonzales, Julien
Stranger, Rick Ibaseta, Lavar and Kareem
Campbell. There's so many amazing peo-
ple I don't really want to name names
because there's so many. Jason influ-
ences me when I see how well he does
360° kickflips. Whatever trick he does, he
does it perfect. I think there shouldn't be
favorite skaters. Each person should do.
what they do well. That's my answer to the
question, not who I named. Each skater.
should do what they do well and should
add something to skateboarding. Every
skater should be at their best. Garbage
skating just holds everything back.
What's garbage skating?
Garbage skating is video transfers of
tricks that are not done solid, where peo-
ple lose speed when they do the tricks.
And they don't do the tricks farther, high-
er, or longer than before. It's just a waste
of a page in a skateboard magazine. Like
I said, I've had a skateboard since I was
seven and if I was trying to learn every trick
If you're
carrying a
gun, you're
just plain
ignorant.
for the last thirteen years, I'd be a nut case
or have broken knees. I skateboard for the
feeling, nothing else.
How do you feel about the big switch-
stance craze?
It's cool because it's a whole other side
of skating that people never realized
existed, but I didn't take it serious for a
long time because I saw Mark Gonzales
doing switchstance kickflips and switch-
stance manuals about five years ago. He
didn't take it serious. I think people should
keep in mind not to overdo it because
the craze will fade, just like pressureflips
and lateflips and whatever else was trendy
back then. Late shove-its. If you overdo
it, again you're just taking away from your
skateboard ability overall, just trying to be
the best at one facet.
Who did you used to skate vert with
back in the day?
Barker, Boyle, Buster and Mike Vallely,
and that was mainly it. I skated Cheap-
skates and I'd go there some days and just
skate vert. I'd just get psyched to skate
vert because it was fun.
What do you do on personal time?
Things that make me happy, like music.
I listen to a lot of music, watch good
movies, hang out with girls on occasion,
whenever that comes along. Sometimes I
play sports, sometimes I play tennis. I like
drawing, mostly graphically. I look for
graphics for Stereo a lot. That's what takes
up a lot of my time.
How did Lavar get those washer and
dryer wheels?
He called me up and said he needed
money, not because he wanted to go.
pro, but because he wanted to buy his
mom a washer and dryer, so me and Jeff
decided to give him those wheels to get
money for it because it was just so funny.
Did he buy his mom a washer and dryer?
I think so. That's what he told me. He
said he gave her some money to get a
washer or a dryer, I'm not sure which. I
think some of it actually happened.
32
Chris, (opening page), meet
Chris. Photo by Jody Morris.
Video grob (top sequence) of a
half-Cab heelflip manual back-
side 180' out at EMB. Frontside
bluntslide (big frame) at Lincoln
High School. Photo by Bryce
Kanights. Steady power
(bottom sequence) on a non-
garbage 180' over a street.
Sequence by Jody Morris.