WADE
INTERVIEW & PHOTOS BY BRYCE KANIGHTS
WADE SPEYER IS AN ALL-TERRAIN
animal who eats up anything that
is put in front of him. Whether it
be a metal vert ramp in a foreign
country or the painted curbs down
the street from his house, Wade
kills all. Being humble as well as
burly make Wade one of the class
acts in skateboarding today.
You've travelled all over the world. What's
the most memorable spot to session?
It's got to be Burnside. No, there's so many
places. Marseilles, that was awesome, that
Switzerland park, just skating all over Europe,
that Amsterdam demo just because of all the
people there, and it just was so fun. It's not a
contest or nothing, everyone just skates.
What about how vert's accepted again?
I thought it never really did go out of style.
It's just that skaters used to skate everything.
and not just any one thing. When those guys
all decided it wasn't cool to skate vert and
stopped skating vert, well, they just missed
the boat, because everyone still skated any-
way. They just thought it wasn't cool, but in,
reality, it's one of the best things.
What do you think about skateboarding
being thrust into the media?
It doesn't really bother me. I think it's kind...
of cool. I know some people say, "The ESPN
thing's bunk. Why do that, play it out..."
How was ESPN?
That ESPN contest was one of the best con-
tests probably ever. The ramp skating and the
street course and everything was totally awe-
some. It was perfectly organized, they set
everyone up in the dorms. It was totally fun.
Who inspired your skateboarding?
Ben Schroeder. He was the first real
pro skateboarder that I actually hung
out with, and he totally helped me out.
He was really cool to me and would just
take me around and feed me, just any-
thing. As long as we were going to the
ramp or something to go skating, we'd
just go out with Ben. He was like a big
brother, it was cool. He's a good guy.
He's just a really good person, helping
out people. He might've gotten into
a lot of trouble here and there, but
despite that, him and his brothers are
just good people.
Did he influence the way you skate?
Maybe just from growing up with.
him. You watch someone, and then
you want to try the same tricks that he
does, because you're just looking up to
him. So, he inspired me a little bit just
because I hung out with him all the
time. Back then, for what he did, was
like the gnarliest thing ever.
Vert and street feel the heat, and when
Wade is on there is no telling what
will happen next. This switch gay twist
(opposite) was the first one he ever
made. The dirt track attack (left) from
the mountain man. There is nothing
that feels better (top) than a long ass
tailslide on a lathered-up ledge.
He destroyed the Raging Waters
ramp, I remember that.
It was gnarly, he'd break the ramp.
What's best about skating?
Just that there's no real rules. You just
do what you want to do. You can just
go for it. If you make it, you make it,
and if you eat it, you eat it.
What's up in Concord?
Hopefully we're going to get a park
pretty soon, if it ever goes through.
Tell me about your mini-ramp scene.
It's pretty good, but now it's got a
kink across the whole wall, so I've got
to take it all apart before winter here so
we can ride it.
Do a lot of kids skate your ramp?
guess, usually they just come over
and skate till ten. Right now the ramp is
messed up, so no one's been coming
over. But as soon as I get it fixed, I'm
sure there'll be a whole new crowd of
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