74 THRASHER
Colby Carter
INTERVIEW BY MARK GEBHARDT
AND MICHAEL BURNETT
Old skaters don't die, they just become construction
workers, right? Not always. Many will remember Colby
Carter as the Arizona kid who ripped in the H-Street videos
of the early nineties--nose drives, half-cab handrail board-
slides and cactus graphics. No, this isn't another nostalgia
piece. Don't get all misty-eyed between bong hits, all you
ex-skaters. It's not time for "back in the day" talk, either,
because the book is not closed on Colby Carter. After laying
low through the pressure-flip fiasco of 1992-93, this 22-
year-old is poised to lead the emerging school of all-
around board riders--skaters applying their skills to the
snow. Colby Carter Part II.
How are things going?
Things are going good--better than
ever. I've been skating a lot more, snow-
boarding a lot. I'm taking a break from
school right now. Been going to NAU for
the last two years. It's been good.
Studying Environmental Biology. It's
interesting. Right now I'm working at
Windell's Snowboard Camp as the
skateboard coach.
How is Flagstaff?
Flagstaff's all right for a couple years,
especially if you're going to school. It's
cool because the school and the hills are
right there, so you can snowboard and
get all your studies done. Other than
that, there's not too many places to
skate, so I'm packing up and moving on,
hopefully to Colorado or Utah, maybe.
So you can snowboard?
Yeah, so I can live somewhere where 1
can do both. Maybe get some school out
of the way, as well.
All right, let's play word association.
Ready? Arizona.
What do you mean, word association?
First thing that comes into your mind.
Arizona... Um, the first thing that comes
to mind is the heat. Stoked to be out of
there because of the heat. It's wack.
What about the whole place as a
scene?
It's all right. A lot of my friends are
stuck in a rut. Hopefully they can get
out of there.
Rollerblades.
I can't watch anymore. I have to turn
my head.
Old school.
When I think of old school, I think of
the Bones Brigade and just people like
that that I looked up to--Tommy
Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain
and Cab, Eric Dressen and Natas and all
those guys.
Pressure-flips.
There was pressure to learn pressure-
flips. Fuck those things.
Well-rounded.
That's definitely the best type of skate-
boarder to be. Strictly street or strictly
vert is not good. If you can skate on
everything, that's the best way to skate.
Snowboard like that, too.
Colby clears the
glacier trolls living in
a dirty Hood kicker.
tigs
A little pop off the coping
yields a lofty alley-oop
half-Cab at Windells.