Words and photos by Lance Dalgart
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in California near Fresno and
lived there until I was four-years-old, that's
when my family moved to East San Jose,
and I've lived there ever since.
Who first got you Into skateboarding?
My brother had a board, and he would
keep it in my dad's truck, so we would take
turns riding it. I remember watching the
very first Bones Brigade video with my
brother, then after we would bomb the hills
by my house, not standing up at first, but
sitting down on our butts. Then my mom
noticed I was totally into skating and went
to the flea market and haggled a deal to get
me my first skateboard, then me and my
brother would both go out and skate.
What did your parents think about your
skating when you first started?
They were pretty worried that I would
come home with a broken leg or something.
They weren't that supportive at first. They
always wanted me to stay home and do my
homework instead of going out skating.
Now what do they think?
When I first turned pro, they were
stoked for me. Now that it's been a couple
of years, they're starting to pressure me to
go back to school.
How come you aren't going to school?
I plan on going back this fall. It seemed
like I kind of needed a break, but now I think
I'm ready to go back.
Where has skating taken you?
It's taken me many places that I don't
think I could have been without it. I've been
to Japan, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Europe, so
many places.
Where are some of the funnest places
you've been?
Hawaii, and Amsterdam definitely was
super fun hanging out in all the cafés and
cruising around. It's definitely like no other
place I've been.
How did you hook up a sponsor?
I was skating in a contest, and Justin
Girard came up to me and asked me if I
wanted to ride for Circle A. I was totally
stoked. Then the next day Bob Schmelzer from Circle
A and Joel Gomez from Sessions called me up, and i
went to the shop, and I picked up a board. I was
stoked for everything that Joel did for me at that
time. He got me on Venture.
Were you stoked?
Yeah, totally. The next thing I knew i had three
sponsors. it seemed overwhelming at first, because i
had only been skating for about two years, and i
was getting free boards and stuff. After Circle A
went under, I got on Dogtown, then I finally
ended up at Santa Cruz.
Didn't
't you also ride for Real?
Yeah, Shawn and Salman hooked me up.
What happened with that?
I quit because it didn't really seem like i fit
into their whole team, so I left Real, and Justin
Girard asked me to ride for a company that he
was starting called Mad Circle.
Where do you see skating going now as
opposed to when you first started skating?
it seems like it's getting a little more creative.
You don't have to do certain tricks to be labeled
"cool." You can do pretty much whatever you
want. Like a wallride, that was a trick I learned
when I first started skating. Now you can extend
all your old tricks; you can do a wallride and
kickflip out. Skating will never stop progressing.
What do you think it means to be pro?
it means that I have to skate everyday and be
cool to the kids that I see at demos.
Do you like touring?
Yeah, it's totally fun to go and travel the vari-
ous states, but the last couple tours I've been on
haven't been that fun. The most fun i've had on
tour was in '93 when I went with Real, because i
was with all my friends who were riding for them
at the time. But when you're with people you
don't skate with everyday, it makes things kind of
weird. Hanging out with people you don't really
know at demos gets on your nerves after a while.
Who Influenced your skating?
Hosol, Tommy & hitting up all the launch
ramps, Natas, Jason Lee. There are too many to
even list.
dwar
Edwardev
What about all the companies out there? How do
you think it affects skateboarding?
it's good and bad. It's good because it can be
cheaper for the average kid to buy a board, but i
question the quality of some of the new companies'
boards, so in that way it's bad.
Any favorite places to skate?
Devera
Going to
Vancouver, BC,
was super fun,
skating with Colin
DeDeve
and Moses, they took me to super good and clean
spots. We all had fun skating there.
When you turned pro, was it what you thought it
would be?
It seemed like when I was amateur I had a
lot more to prove. Now that I'm pro I have
less responsibilities, but I still stress a lot.
What about just skating for the camera?
If you just skate for the camera, I don't
think you could be that good. But if you go
out everyday and skate, and it comes time
to skate for the camera, you would be more
consistent.
What do you want from skating now?
I just want to get more motivated and not
stress as much. It seriously seems like I'm
starting to get back in the swing of things.
What else do you do besides skate?
I've been starting to take care of myself
lately. I got a membership to 24 Hour
Nautilus gym, so I go there now every once
in a while. I also like to listen to hip hop, but
I pretty much just skate.
There seems to be an East Coast - West
Coast rivalry. What do you think of that?
It's just people talking. I think that every-
one should just get along. It's just people
trying to start something that's really noth-
ing. We're all the same. We're all skaters.
Who do you want
t to thank?
I want to thank Mad Circle Skateboards,
NC Board Shop, Justin Girard, Steve
Douglas, Greg Carroll, Brian, Alex, Adrianne,
Rob at Airwalk, Jim Thiebaud, Salman and
Shawn for hooking me up at Real, and my
whole family for being there for me.
Anything else you want to add?
Skate for yourself, not for anyone else!
The kid from San Jose is equally confortable on rail, ramp, or manual pad
Clockwise from top left: Handrail 50/50-Padless backside air - Switch heelflip nose manual. All in San Jose.
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