Dan
Drehobl
AWINGS
DAN
he reason Dan Drehobl has the
nickname "Cancer" is because
-Greg Carroll
he is so sick.
Where are you from?
I've lived in San Francisco for the last two years.
Before that, I lived in San Diego and Austin, Texas.
And then I lived in Maine for most of my whatever.
What was it like living at all those places and hanging out with all
those people and experiencing different lifestyles?
It's really cool. I like moving around and meeting different people.
You get to notice a lot of personalities when you visit different parts of
the country, like how people act. It's kind of fun.
How do people act in different places?
They all have their own way of living.
What place have you liked the most that you've been to so far?
Probably San Francisco. That's why I'm here now.
Did you have a lot of fun out in Europe last summer?
Yeah, I thought it was great. I've been waiting to go back ever since
then. Now I can't because I broke my ankle at Woodward Skate Camp.
How long were you there for?
I was there for two-and-a-half weeks.
Sometimes I
have breaks,
like when
I go to sleep
How was the stay there? Was it pretty cool?
Yeah, it was definitely rad.
When you were out there, did you see kids skating vert and every-
thing, or is it just mostly just street stuff?
A lot of kids skated the vert ramps and a lot of them skated the mini-
ramps, but mostly everyone just stayed to the hips.
Do you think you might be able to influence them to try and be more
versatile in skating? Because it seems like skateboarding is going to
back to being big and clean, with everyone skating everything.
Yeah, hopefully.
Would you say that skating is on the rise?
We'll just have to see what happens.
What's it like living out here in San Francisco
with Matt Pailes and Mat O'Brien?
It's definitely rad. I like it a lot. I wouldn't
rather be anywhere else.
Now that The Spiderman spins his
web in the SF Bay Area, it is not
uncommon to see him (opposite)
doing things that few else will even
try. The nosegrind with the smoke in
mouth at Hubba Hideout is just another
trademark (above) of Dan the Man. A
fine Sunday
afternoon in the
park (left) com-
plete with full
grandma attitude.
When did you first get sponsored?
I got sponsored in Maine by this company called Who Skates. The guy
that owned it was pretty much a dickhead. I didn't get along with him
too good, so when I went to San Diego, I got on Foundation, and then
when I moved to San Francisco, I got on Think.
How do you like being pro?
It's cool being able to express yourself, like have an influence on some-
thing that you love.
You smoke a lot of cigarettes, Dan.
Yeah, I smoke way too many cigarettes. I'll have to quit one day. I think
about that a lot.
You've probably quit cigarette smoking thousands of times, right?
Yeah, every time I put one down, I quit for about fifteen minutes.
Damn, you smoke that much?
Pretty much, yeah. Sometimes I have breaks, like when I go to sleep.
Then you wake-up jonesing?
Yep, because I have one first thing in the morning. It sucks.
Cool.
It's not cool, it sucks. That's why I do it, because I suck.
What's up with your crazy way of skateboarding? I notice you've got
the bone flip going and doing rad wall rides and stuff. What's up?
It's seems like for a while there were a lot of rules in skateboarding, like
people would judge you by whatever, and that's not what it's about, it's
about having fun. Whatever you feel like doing, that's what you should
do. When a trick comes to mind, just do it and don't worry about what
everyone's going to think about you. It seems like too many people do
that nowadays. Skateboarding is supposed to be an individual thing and
it's not supposed to be about clothing or whatever.
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