ROOKIES
Chad Knight
Interview & Photos by Michael Burnett
How old are you?
20.
Remember back when rider profiles included weight?
Yeah.
That was good, wasn't it?
Yeah, that was great.
The kids deserve to know how much the pros
weigh. So, how heavy are you?
About 180.
How tall?
5'10", 5'11".
You've really filled out nicely, Chad. You're following
a strong tradition of large skateboarders. Ben
Schroeder was a big guy. Who's your favorite large
skateboarder?
Ben Schroeder was rad. Danny, Sheffey, Caine's pretty
big, Alfonzo...
He's big?
Alfonzo? Yeah, he's large.
How does your size affect your skating? Do you crush
those decks left and right?
Actually, I don't break boards ever, but it helps, because
I fall constantly-slam really hard.
It helps you fall?
Yeah, 'cause you've got more padding.
Is the whole Knight family big?
My older and second oldest brothers are, but not really.
My parents are normal size.
Have you ever played football?
In 3rd grade.
I heard rumors in the South Bay that you worked out
with the local football team. Any truth to that?
None at all.
What about ass kicking?
Never been in a fight in my life. Never been punched
and never punched anyone.
What's hi in the middle and round on both ends?
I have no idea.
0-hi-0.
Oh, yeah, they had a commercial for that.
Then how come you didn't know?
It's been a while.
Where are you from in Ohio?
Westerville, a suburb of Columbus, the capital.
What is Ohio's slogan?
The Buckeye State.
What's a buckeye?
A nut that grows on a tree.
Do you eat them?
No.
Then what do you do with them?
Nothin'.
How many hours of your life would you estimate
that you spent at Sunsports Skatepark?
Well, I spent the first 5 years of my life skateboarding
there-never skated street, just mini-ramp-and I'd go 4
times a week for about 7 hours.
So, that's 28 hours a week. 112 hours a month times
52 months would be 5,824 hours a year. Multiply that
by 5 years, and we have... let me write this down. OK,
you spent 29,120 hours there.
I practically lived there.
What was it about the park?
It was a a super nice park. They had a mini-ramp with an
extension, a street course, and the guy Kenny who ran it was
a super nice guy. It was just fun to go there and hang out.
I remember seeing a snippet of you in an old H-Street
video. How did you end up getting on the hottest
team of the early '90s?
I sent them a sponsor-me video when I was 13 and
got cosponsored through Sunsports by Dave Andrecht.
Then I went to Woodward, and Mike Ternasky was there
with Danny Way and Mike Carrol, and I ended up filming
with those guys.
You must have been freaking out.
Yeah. Danny Way was like my god then. Then they put
me on the flow list, then all went to Plan B.
Then you got bumped up?
Yeah, then I was on the team.
Wasn't there like a 900° kickflip involved somewhere
in your video part?
No, but I did do the Alley-oop 540° to fakie over the hip.
I did some crazy, ridiculous shit.
Did you get nervous the first time you shook Tony
Mag's hand because of his missing fingers?
I didn't even notice. I was too nervous.
But you're twice his size.
I wasn't that big when I first met him. I was only 17.
Did you ever get caught staring at the missing fingers?
No. I've only met him like 3 times.
Does this mean you're just one of those park kids?
Yeah, sure. I've only been skating street for like 5 years.
I think it's paying off.
Yeah, it's starting to. I had to overcompensate for not
being able to skate street real well by jumping down
things, but I'm learning. I skate with Dave Mayhew all the
time, so that helps.
Here's a question I can't ask too many 20-year-old
pros: how did you learn McTwists?
Skate the same ramp for 6 years and see what happens.
It was like a 4', wasn't it?
No, it was a 7 1/2'. No vert, either. I just spun 540°s at
first, then you get real comfortable, and you start to get
the flip down.
You can do them on quarter-pipes, huh?
Yeah, definitely.
So, after H-Street, what was the move to your present
home at Maple like?
OK, this is what happened. H-Street turned into
Evol, and Brian Barber was doing it then, and they got
a new team manager, Ed Dominic. Then Ed got an offer
to be team manager at Maple, and Dave Mayhew and
I went with him.
So he swiped you! You were swiped right under
T-Mag's nose! Insult to injury!
No, Evol was so bad. It was really bad news. It was all
snowboarding. We were just like, there.
Who are some of your favorite skaters, past
and present?
When I was growing up skating mini-ramp, my main
influences were Danny, Chad Vogt and Alfonzo. Now,
there's too many people. I'm influenced a lot by vert
skaters, even though I can't really skate it. I look up to
Marc Johnson, Dave Mayhew, Caine Gayle, Tom Penny,
Geoff Rowley and Chany.
What kind of music do you listen to?
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