Left: Gettin a little Drehobl. Off
the bricks and onto the bar
Right: Little man puts his nose to
the grindstone and takes it to
fakte back down the bank.
and not worry about getting the
photos or whatever. But I love it-I
appreciate every photographer who
ever shot photos or took video
footage of me.
How did New Deal come about?
I sent them a sponsor-me video,
and it was a small sample but it
had a lot of good skating. It had
these two 32-stair handrails that
were seen in Hillbilly Roadkill.
They were both on there. I sent the
video everywhere, but I wasn't.
worried about it. I was just having
fun skating. But I got a call from
Kingman at Giant and we hit it off
really well. We talked a little about
my plans, and he ended up calling
me back a half-hour later and
offering to send me to Vancouver.
That was about two months ago,
and since then they've sent me to
seven different countries.
Does that make you feel any pres-
sure, like they just threw you on
and turned you pro?
What is that? I've heard that word
before, "pressure."
So you don't feel it at all.
No. I'm trying just to love it.
But don't you feel it living out
here, because you have to
travel kind of far to get photos
and stuff?
Pressure is real for everyone. But
I try to look at the bright side of
things, and help others when I'm
worried about myself. It makes me
forget about me. This is the best.
place to live for shooting photos
and getting out there. San Francisco
is only three hours away, and Los
Angeles is three and a half hours
away. There are plenty of good
I spots and skateparks. The weather.
is bad in summer; in winter, though,
it's perfect.
Do you think you're ever going
to move?
Oh yeah. I know I will. It's a good
place to come from, and my par-
ents will probably always live here,
so it'll always be home. When I get
married I'll move somewhere.
What do people do out here in
Fresno? There are 400,000 peo-
ple living here, but there's noth-
ing to do. And I don't see that
many people skating. This town
freaks me out.
People say it's the heat that gets
to us and makes us angry. There's
a lot more going on when people
are angry.
Are you an indie rocker?
I like everything, but you know
what? I used to like everything except
country, and now I even like a little bit
of that. Like the song in the Consolidated video.
Do you listen to music before you skate to
get psyched?
I do a lot of things to get inspired. I polish my
toenails. It makes me feel real fruity.
What's up with your wrists? I used to see
you skate with two casts on.
Yeah. I had two casts at once. I hope that won't
happen again.
Are they still broken?
No, they're both healed and healthy. One of
them has a metal screw in it, and I have a plate
in my forehead.
How many times did you go back to that
long rail in the Thrasher video?
That rail was the major feat of my life. I went
back so many times.
I remember the first time I was out here,
you went there and tried it about 30 times.
I worked myself so many times on that
rail. One time I
almost hit my
nuts, and I was
hanging on one
leg sliding down
the rail. Then
my leg swung
T POLISH MY TOENAILS.
IT MAKES ME FEEL
under and the oncoming bar put a spin on
my body, made a giant purple bruise on my
hip, and threw both my shoes off. I couldn't
even count how many different times I
went back. I landed the left side first-
that's the one in Hillbilly Roadkill. Then
did the right side.
What do you think about contests?
They're fun. I love going to contests in different
countries; it gets you there, for one, and you get
to meet a lot of cool people. I've enjoyed meeting
all the pros I've looked up to.
REAL FRUITY"
meeting a certain person you looked up
to, because they weren't all that you
expected them to be?
I don't think I have. And if I did, I wouldn't talk
about it. But I've mostly been impressed by
skaters and individuals who were crazy without
trying too hard. Like John Cardiel, Bob
Have you ever been bummed out by Burnquist, and Alan Petersen.
94 THRASHER