Mike
Interview and
photos by
Lance Dalgart
50 THRASHER
When Mike Crabtree slid a handrail with a
cast on his foot, it should have seemed like one
of the zaniest things I had ever seen. But having
hung out with Mike for a while, I've learned it is
just one of his various daily routines in life. The
words "can't be done" never have nor ever will
be a part of his vocabulary.
You were born and raised in San Jose?
Yeah.
How did you first start skating?
When I was about twelve, my neighbor Kevin
had a launch ramp, and I would go over there
and skate his board. My mom bought me my first
board soon after, an Executioner
with pink wheels. Soon after that, I
moved to the East Side of San Jose
where I started skating with my
friends Jason, Marlon, Dennis K
and Dave Graves. Dave was seri-
ously one of the best at the time. If
he kept with it, I don't know where
he would be.
What were some of the first tricks
you learned?
A lot of freestyle tricks like half-
flips and Caspers. Then Bali Sahota
taught me kickflips.
You were living on the
East Side?
Yeah, it was totally weird. I saw
a lot of crazy shit go down living
there. I remember going to school
at YB and seeing some crazy gang
shootings. It was cool living there,
though, because every weekend
there would be a different skate jam
at the schools out there. After a
while I decided to move back in
with my mom and live on the South
Side again.
skate all around downtown, trying to avoid the
cops at all the spots. That's when they first started
banning skating downtown.
Wasn't the park open then?
It had just opened. Instead of meeting at
Longs, we would go to the park. A lot of people
stopped going there, so it had to close. It totally
sucked because that was the only place where we
could go, so I went back to skating downtown
again.
How many tickets have you gotten for skating?
At least seven since I first started skating. But if
I would have gotten caught, I'm sure I would have
gotten a lot more.
What was that like moving back to Lower left: Oscar
the South Side?
It was good because when I
moved back, skating was in its
peak, and a lot of my old friends
started skating again or picked it up.
for the first time like Todd F, Will,
Polchowski crail snatch
wallride off a deserted
loading dock in the
heart of the South Bay.
Jared, Tim B, Shawn M, Jason, EGR, Salman and
so many others.
Where would you go?
The curbs. I remember seeing Gavin and
Corey O'Brien skating there. Gunderson "by
auto," as Tim would refer to it as, and Longs
Drugs, to name just a few.
Wasn't Longs Drugs like a meeting place?
Yeah, those days were some of the funnest
days we've had. We would go to Carl's Jr first
and raise hell. Get empty cups from the trash
can, fill it up with soda and smoke cigarettes in
our little corner. Shawn would put hair in his food
to get a free hamburger. We would all start food
fights, then after they kicked us out, we would all
posse up and take the bus downtown and just
Who else do you ride for?
League, NC Board Shop, Krux, Speedwheels
and Simple.
Did you ever think that you'd be pro?
No, I never really thought about any of that. I
was seriously too worried about where I was
going to get my next board.
Now that you're pro, is it everything you
thought it would be?
It's definitely put things into perspective for me
on how people are, but I'm pretty much satisfied.
Where do you see skating going?
It just seems to keep getting bigger and big-
ger. Now it's good to see so many new kids get-
Below: Serving a
chicken wing
frontside over the
hip at Pleasanton.
What was life like before sponsorship?
It was totally crazy. I was staying at Jai's
house, and I would skate all day and party all
night. I'm not really like that anymore, though. I
also remember skating the shittiest boards
because I didn't have any money to buy new
ones, so I would scrounge around to get one.
How did you first hook up a sponsor?
My friend Roger started this company called
Rebate, and he hooked me up with boards. I was
totally stoked just to get free boards. I didn't have
to scrounge around for boards anymore.
Then what happened?
I was at Go Skate one day, and Simon asked
me to ride for Sonic, and I was stressed over
what to do. But I decided to ride for Sonic.
ting into skating and ripping.
It's like the best I've ever seen it.
All the old tricks that we used to
do are progressing more and
more. It seems like skating's on
a whole different level than
when I first started. It also seems
like a lot of good things are
happening today like skate
jams and demos, and
skateparks are starting to open
up all over.
What do you think about
injuries?
I've had my share of injuries
just like anyone else. I broke my
foot and wrist a few years back,
but I haven't broken anything
lately (knock on wood).
What made you keep skating
after you broke your foot, or
any other body part?
Skating was so much fun. All
my friends would be out skat-
ing, so I had to be out there
skating too. I couldn't just sit in
my living room and play
Nintendo all day. Sometimes
my mom would search for me
because she knew I was out
skating, and she would take
away my board. But I don't
think she understood how
addicted I had become to skat-
ing at that time. If I didn't skate, it seemed like I'd
start to go crazy.
I remember the burgundy Mustang searching
the neighborhood looking for you. Didn't you
used to come home with ollie holes in your cast?
Yeah, the cast made a good ollie patch.
Did you cause your mom a lot of grief?
Yeah, one time she locked me out of the
house, so I cut a hole in the wall from the garage
just to grab my board. I also used to sneak out of
the house late at night just to skate. I would put a
football helmet and pillows in my bed so it looked
like I was sleeping. I want to say sorry, mom, for
all the grief I gave you over the years.
Do you go to school or anything, or just skate?
Yeah, I'm just finishing high school. I kind of
CRABTREE
51