Smozz
"Oohhhhh!"
Peter Smolik is here.
You can't miss him.
"I'LL BE PIMPIN
Like the horn of a car or the bark of a dog.
WHEN I'M FORTY"
Smolik's presence is announced by either the famous "oohhhhh!" call or the equally recognizable
"West Sidel" cheer that comes from him or any member of his tight-knit crew.
As in "Oooohhh!" Peter just invented a trick.
"Oohhhhh!" Peter just polished off a twenty-trick line.
"Oohhhhh!" It was all switch.
"Oohhhhh!" Peter Smolik might just be the best skater in San Diego.
et's talk about the box.
What about it?
It seems like it's always with you. When did
the boom box start coming along on the
skate missions?
About a year and a half to two years ago. This is
my third one. right. I had my OG first one from
sixth grade and shit. It was gone and then I found
it again, and I was like. "Oh shit!" So I started using
that. We used to be able to scratch on that one-mix
tapes. Then I was at a party all faded and that one
broke. Then my homie Jerome gave me this other
one and it was a piece of shit so I had to break it.
Now I got this s one and it's sick.
What
plays on it?
Fuck. Hip-hop. punk. anything you want.
whatever. Mixes from all the homies, all that.
Have you ever had any accidents skating with it?
Nah. If I do. I'll just battle roll out of it.
How come you bring it along?
'Cause it's fun. dude. It hypes you up. Like Marc
Johnson said. "Bring a boombox: you'll have a party
everywhere you go.
If you could just have one mix tape, who would
have to be on there?
I don't know. everybody. Oh shit. Too Short! Ohhhh!
When did you and hip-hop meet?
Must have been around ninth grade. eighth grade.
'Cause I was totally into punk before then. That's
my roots and shit, dude. When I was in sixth grade.
we were totally punk rockers. Punk rock. death
metal. We had a death metal band called Slarge-
satanic death metal. That shit's the bomb. We did a
show at a place called Soul Kitchen. They shut off
our amps. We were on the stage for fifteen min
utes. My homie's band. he was a Christian and all
his youth group was in there. and we came on. They
were freaked out. But as far as hip-hop. you just lis-
ten to the words. If you don't listen to it, you don't
understand it. Basically, that's the shit. The words
are knowledge. It's just a better vibe. I'd be into.
76 THRASHER
punk rock, but all new punk rock is just bitch rock.
The shit's for fourteen year old girls.
Every time I see you out skating you're always
laughing and yelling and having a good time.
Do you ever get pissed off and freak out
when you skate?
You mean like nervous breakdowns
and shit? Sometimes. Hell yeah. That
all comes with skateboarding.
Nowadays. I just chill because I
find myself landing more tricks
more consistently, you know what I
mean. Sometimes, when you try a
super-technical trick just fuckin
twists your brain in a knot and
then it's like. "Snap."
Why do you sometimes throw
your arms around and scream
after you land a hard trick?
Fuck it. dude! It don't even
matter. You know what I
mean? It's all fun and games.
How do you stay so relaxed and
flow when you skate?
It's all your state of mind. It's
just all about having fun. It's
about finding the fun in your head
and the fun on your skateboard. If
you eat shit. fuck it, that's just part.
of the experience of skateboarding.
Then your trick's got a point on you.
and then you land it and you get a
point on it. It's like a game. I'm
serious. It's like a puzzle.
WORDS
AND
PHOTOS BY
MICHAEL BURNETT
LIKE BUSHWICK BILL SAYS,
"SIZE AIN'T SHIT." SMOLIK
TAKES HEED AND OLLIES AN
OVERSIZED RAIL INTO A
ROUGH CLAIREMONT BANK.