sta
Stay out of the gossip.
with the trees. Do you have an appre-
ciation for Mother Nature?
Of course. You have to. This is Mother
Earth. We can live off of it and grow food
from the earth and live off of that. The soil,
the sun, the rain.
Did you say you were growing some plants?
I have a garden at home. It's pretty big.
Squash, lots of squash. But actually I have
squash bugs. I went away for like a week, and all
my squash plants were dead, and they had been
like four feet high before I left. So anyway, a
week later, they start coming back to life. I don't
know what happened.
Who takes care of your garden now, when
you're not there?
My brother Lucas. He's younger. He's 18.
But now my plants are thriving, producing
big squash.
Does the food from your garden taste
better than the food you get from the
grocery store?
Yeah, definitely. It's fresh. I walk right out my
door and get fresh peppers, onions, lettuce,
broccoli, cauliflower. The feeling of going out
and picking food you grew makes you appreci-
ate it a lot more. I like to work in the garden.
What do you think about bad drivers?
You gotta be careful when you drive. Take your
time. It's not worth driving fast, like this guy
from Ohio to our right. Take your time, you'll get
there. Everybody's got to get somewhere and
everybody's in a hurry.
You seem like a pretty patient person.
I've learned to be patient.
From your mom or through your own trials
and tribulations?
Through my own trials. Everything happens
for a reason. It's easier to get by that way instead
of being stressed all the time. It's not worth get-
ting caught up in little irrelevant things.
Do you see a lot of people getting caught
up in skateboarding?
Yeah. They get caught up and forget why they
started. Remember that feeling you first got on
your skateboard?
You still keep that feeling within you?
Definitely. Just feel it. You can't be caught up
in "I gotta make sure I look like this," or "I gotta
make sure I do this right." You just gotta feel it.
That's what I think. The money will make you
funny. Don't get caught up in the money.
Gossip is for
littlest towns with nothing but a curb.
Do you think that makes you appreciate
skateboarding more than those people in
California who grew up having good
weather all the time?
Yes. It seems like in California you can walk
out your door and skate the best stuff.
We just went to Woodward. You seemed to
I have a pretty good time there, Jake, so
why don't you tell us about it?
This one night I went to this farm. It was like a
commune and it was way back in the middle of
the woods. We went through all these crazy
roads to get there. They had a huge bonfire and
there were these people there from France.
They were actors and they did a little skit.
They had a burning ring of fire, and they did-
n't really do anything that crazy, but they
stress out that much. Tell me about
yourself in that aspect.
When I wake up in the morning, I remem-
ber to give thanks for life. I know that's what's
really important. That I'm alive, that the
O Creator, One Creator, has put us here.
Is that the Lord or is it somebody else?
That's the Superior Being. One Creator.
People take that Superior Being and twist
it up sometimes.
You can't take it and form it to your own
ideas. It's the universe. It's just there. We're part
of the universe; we're in a giant cycle. Trees
live and die.
Are there any skaters who influenced you
in any way?
Mainly my brother. I used to skate with him
when I started skating. He just flowed so natural-
cl ladiesa
Do you find also that skateboarders get
involved in other skateboarders' shit
too much?
It's a whole industry. It's like, it's gonna be
there. You can't escape the big companies and
the monopolies and everything. But I try to
stay out of that. Stay out of the gossip. Gossip
is for old ladies.
You live on the East Coast; do you worry
about that East Coast/West Coast thing?
I have a lot of pride that I grew up skating on
the East Coast. I skated all the time, even in the
winter. I skated in gloves, skated ice patches as
street gaps and did stuff over them. Skated the
Opposite: Round? Tall? Rupp's on it with a frontside bluntslide transfer
into a big bank. Above: A fat tweaker at Ocean City shows that his snap
control translates to the tranny zone as well.
walked through it and did some funny stuff.
They had European punk rock music playing,
and that was funny. We slept outside under
the stars and saw the sun come up in the
morning. It was really mountainous. I like
Woodward. It's peaceful.
It seems that for a 19-year-old, you've
got a pretty good head on your shoul-
ders. You seem to be calm and you don't
ly. It got me psyched.
So you had a good
childhood? Are you
pretty satisfied
with it?
I'm pretty satisfied.
There were some
bad things that hap-
pened, and a lot of
good things, but they
formed who I am
now. Trials and tribu-
lations shape you
and make you who
you are.
I remember last
night we were talk-
ing about TV. How
do you feel about
television? Do you
watch a lot of TV?
I watch some
shows. The Discovery
Channel is pretty
good. I like that. But
some stuff is just
irrelevant stuff that
goes into your mind
and flips it all around.
So you think the
media creates
drama?
Well, we live in a
fake society where
we worry
about the
rich and
famous.
We feed
on other people's
fake lives.
Well, I hate the
whole shout-outs
thing, but is there
anyone you want to thank?
First and foremost, I thank the One Creator,
Most High. For food and life. I want to thank my
mom; without her, I wouldn't be here, and she's
given me so much love. I'm full of love and I
want to give it and receive it. I want to thank my
stepdad Dan for supporting me a lot and always
being there. Peace.
-Chet Childress and Cairo Foster