70 THRASHER
MA
Ples
INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
BY BRYCE RANIGHTS
Matt, what's been going on?
Well, as far as this year, I
just started going back to
school, taking one class, skal-
Ing all the time.
What are you studying?
Japanese and Yoga. I've
been trying to focus on those
two things right now and skat-
ing as much as possible. Just
trying to do whatever I can to
be creative.
Coming from the east,
explain the skating situation
here on the West Coast as
opposed to the East Coast.
Well, when I first moved
here, I moved pretty much
because it was too cold there
in the winter, like months
sometimes
just constantly snow, and the reason why I moved out
here is because of nice weather and there's just so
many hills and so much other obscure stuff to skate as
compared to where I lived. It was like a small town. It
wasn't like a big city. Boston was always totally fun. It
was always fun skating with everybody there.
What town were you from?
Rowley, Massachusetts.
How far is that from Boston?
About fifty minutes from Boston by train.
So you'd commute to Boston every weekend?
Yeah, after like seventh or eighth grade, my mom
would let me go to the city, and I would go there every
weekend and skate around with Tom, Robbie, Jahmal
and my friend Greg. For a long time in the winters, we'd
skate Maximus, because it was loo cold, just skote of
around the Harvard Square and Copley Square.
Boston's one of the best cities, San Francisco and
Boston are my two fovorite cities in the country.
into creative things where you express your emotions
through something
We were just at your house and you had an assort-
ment of paints and brushes laying around. Have you
been getting Into art lately?
Yeah, from being around a lot of people who do
art like my roommates Mat O'Brien and Don, they're
always doing something, and I see them do it, and they
get me stoked on new ideas. I've been doing that and
trying to write. I haven't been writing as much as I used
lo. I used to always keep a journal and draw pictures,
but since I haven't travelled as much for the last couple
of months, I've been mostly just doing it of home when-
ever I'm not skating. I kind of like to keep my mind
occupied rather than just ske veg out in front of the tale-
vision
So, you don't watch a lot of TV?
No, only when The Simpsons are on or if my girl-
friend's watching it.
Do you pay a lot of attention to all the
skate videos that come out?
I like to watch them once,
Left: This church on Masonic St. is
the scene of one of the first handrail
attacks in the city. Some ten years
later Pailes goes over the bar and
Into the abyss
Right Stinkbug down some steps
Self-explanatory
check out
Matt
Pailes
is deter-
mined to
either pound
the shit out!
of himself or
be an amazing skate
boarder: I am not
sure which. None
the less. he accom
plishes both. With a
uniquely solid style. unbiased trick
selection, and the ability to overcome
fear Matt is capable of doing anything
sets his
mind to. Outside
of his skateboarding
talent. Matt is an honest.
humble and generous person. I
met Matt about five years ago at a
ratted skatepark in Maine I remember
thinking he was a remarkable skater.
especially when he would attack the
handrail with backside lipslides. Matt
would sometimes ask me to go skating
with him in Boston near where he
Ived. Even though I lived only
three hours away. I regretfully never
went. Soon afterwards I moved to San
Francisco and didn't hear from Matt
for quite a while. About a year later.
he came out to visit and Itked it here
so much, he decided to stay. Matt has
lived with myself and our friends
Mat O'Brien and Greg "Salba
Ware for three years now. We all
skate and hang out together almost
every day. I feel fortunate to know
Matt and have learned a lot from him.
So, with my associations out of the
way, please enjoy the Interview
Dan Drehobl
Who were your earliest skateboarding influences?
The earliest was probably Lester Kasal when I first
started looking in the magazines, becouse I liked the
way he did high airs, and then I started liking the way
Gonz, Jason Lee and Neil Blender skated. It seemed
like they'd always be doing things that were different
and doing it in a creative way.
You're into a lot of creativity?
Yeah, pretty much. I don't think my brain really
works as good with mathematical type stuff. I'm more
what's going on,
see skaters. I like mostly watching people
who I know more, because it gets me more
stoked, because I skale with them, not just watching
some ole Joe Schmoe doing the same old tricks. I like
watching people who are totally pushing limits, skoling
so hard
Who do you think are the guys that are pushing those
limits right now?
There are a lot of people. People who I respect in
skateboarding, people I look up to, are a lot of my
friends like Ben Liversedge, Dan Drehobl and Mike