to focus on your own energy and on what you
need to do. When I'm on my board. I always
knew how to do that, but I never realized it until I
started doing Yoga and Tai Chi, and that just
mode it so much easier for me to get in-tuned i
with what I'm about to do. That's how it's helped
me just in seeing things in myself, and then when
I skate, it just comes out a little bit easier. It's kind
of hard to explain.
So, do you apply that when you do a backside
lipslide down a thirteen-stair handroil? Do you
visualize it?
Sometimes, but usually I'm just trying to
not think about anything at all and just skate,
because that's what the essence of it is,
is not to think and just do
What music do you like listening to?
If I'm skating. I love to hear like
Sabbath or something just totally rock
ing, something so fast that just gets
you so stoked, anything like that
At a contest I love to hear hard,
heavy rock. I love music. If I'm of
home, I like to listen to
old records of Bob Marley. I like to
listen to a lot of jazz like Miles
Davis. I like to listen to Bob Dylan,
Dovid Bowie, Led Zeppelin,
everybody. I like different types of music. Anything
thor's tempting to the ear, I like, as long as it's not just
garbage like glam-rock. Anything with poetry is rod
Are you pretty happy to be a member of the Think
team?
Oh, hell yeah. These guys are like my family. We're
working on our video right now, and everybody's got
their input, and everybody talks about what they want
to do with the video and this and that; it's like a big
family Keith and Greg are always there to help us
when we need shit. I can't thank those guys enough
because they're the ones who hooked me up in
skateboarding from the start and got me
a place to stay.
They have
always
been rod
to four with. Wade has always
been pushing us every time we tour. He's
the guy who's been around, so he knows all the
spots. He knows everything about skateboard-
ing inside and out. Dan is skating so good and
pushing people too. I'm totally content with
where I am right now.
What does the future hold for Matt Pailles?
Just to keep doing what I'm doing: skate-
boarding and trying to be a good person to peo-
ple, trying to be positive always. I don't know
what the future holds. I don't think about it too
much.
What's your favorite country or favorite spot
that you've been to?
Whenever we went over to Europe, I loved
skating Romford, England; that was a crazy place
just because it was an old abandoned skatepark,
ond we'd show up with all these skaters. I loved
Japan a lot, too, just because the people there
were so rod. The language was so different; it was
almost like alien. But I don't really have a favorite
I just know that I loved a lot of places. I loved
Amsterdam. I definitely want to go back. But as
for countries, probably England and Japan were
the most incredible countries
Are your parents stoked that your passion for
skateboarding actually turned into a profession?
Yeah, my mom's stoked off that, and my stepfather
never really understood it until I started ending up in
magazines and stuff like that. My mom has always been
so supportive through it all, because she knew, she was
just happy that I was doing something I loved and she
didn't know if I could come out here and do what I did. I
was just like, "Well, I'm just going to go up to San
What about the kids on tour?
Oh, man, kids are funny on tour because they just
think that everything you have in your van is for them to
just get stoked on. They're like. "Can we grab that? Can
we have this?" But I love it, man, because it was just like
when I was working of a day care you see little kids
perspectives on things again. It makes you realize you
were just like them at one time, just cruising around.
having fun.
What's to be expected of
a professional skater?
Someone who can
ride just about anything
that they get their wheels on
and who just has a positive
attitude about skateboard
ing, not like someone who
doesn't even have the feel
ing for their board that just
can do tricks, but someone
My brother's really into politics, and it's good for him just
because he loves it, but for me, that stuff is just brain
clutter, because I know what I want to do in my life. It's
good to know about what's going on, but as far as TV
and the news goes, that shit's just mind control. A lot
of it is so based on just telling the public what they want
them to hear. TV just only tells certain stories, or it
doesn't tell the facts behind the stories. The only political
thing I've been following is about this guy named Mumia
Abu lahmal, and he's this guy who supposedly killed
some cop in Philadelphia, and everyone says it wasn't
him, like there's so much protest going on about it
and meanwhile, during the OJ case, everyday was a
soop opera, Abu Jahmal is a political writer, and now
he's going to get the death sentence, and they don't even
pay attention to that, because they just put it all on
money. He didn't have the money, so the media just put
it on someone who's a superstar, and they can make
money off of it. But, basically. I try not to think that much
about it. I just hope
Above Dovrn the stairs, over the rail,
and onto the ledge. 5.0 at speed.
Right You get your wheels caught an
the wall, the show's over Patlee Itves to
tell on Van Ness Ave.
W
Francisco and see what hap-
pens She was worried, but then when she saw that I
could do something with it, she was totally supportive.
All my sisters and brothers- I have seven sisters and
brothers and four step sisters and brothers- and they're
always asking me if it's dangerous, and they're all
"Don't you ever get hurt?" And I fell them you're not sup
posed to think about getting hurt.
What's it like going on tour?
Well, it's crazy. You get in a van, and you've got five
guys, and each one of them has their own view on life
and their own view on what's going on, and some
times tension gets high. It's pretty crazy, because every
one always wants to eat at different times, and Greg's
always the one driving, and he's always in charge of
where we're going, so it's cool. I love travelling. That's
the funnest port about it. The van is the hardest part,
because you've got like five people just crammed in at
once, all sweaty, going from Georgia to this place to
Florida to that place
who has an actual feeling for
their skateboard and can ride
any terrain no matter what and
definitely has to be stoked on
skateboarding, not just look at
it as a job. That's my definition
of a pro: someone who just
knows that they're in-
tuned with their skate-
board and that they are
in-tuned with why they're skateboarding
that Mumio gets off, because I
Do you think personality and self-image have anything don't think he did it
to do with it?
No. I don't think self-image really has much to do
with being a pro. Just be yourself no matter what, Do
whatever feels comfortable to your own mind and your
body, that is the key
You're pretty liberal and casual about the way you go
about things. Do you pay much attention to the trap-
pings of politics or news at all?
Ltry not to, I've seen people in my family get into it.
Is
there anything else?
I'd just like to say thanks to
Greg Carroll and Keith and all the
guys at Think, thanks to all my
sisters and brothers, my whole
family. 469 family, to my girl-
friend Lea, Bryce, Rob Dotson of
Airwalk and to the world.