O where are you now?
I'm in Tucson, Arizona.
You went all the way
across the US, and you're
not going to Amarillo?
I couldn't. We're trying to get to
San Diego and LA as fast as we can,
and I just got evicted from my place
in SF so I have to get back there to
find a new one.
Where were you living here?
I just got a room in the same apart-
ment as Brad, but they raised the rent
to like a grand each.
It's that live/work shit. San
Francisco's getting taken over by
kooks anyway.
It is. The apartment's in the Mission,
so they're just going to turn it into some
yuppie flat.
You have to go to Tempe. The
park is sick. Did you go through
New Mexico?
Yeah.
Through Albuquerque?
No, we came from El Paso.
I just saw photos of the new park in
Albuquerque. It's insane.
Yeah, they've been trying to get one
for a long time.
Have you been to Evolve skatepark,
the indoor one?
I don't think so. I just went to all the
ditches there.
That one ditch, Indian School,
where you start at the top and
just shoot down through those
tunnels? That is so awesome.
No shit. You could just stay there all day.
How old are you?
23.
You've been skateboarding since...?
I was ten.
What were the first boards you had?
I rode my neighbor's banana board for
a while, and then I had a Variflex. I got
an electric guitar for my birthday, but I
traded it after a week.
You wanted to be a rocker before
you were a skater?
Yeah. But I traded it and got an SGI
Steve Steadham board with Ventures. It
was stolen like two weeks after I got it. I
was so bummed.
So what did you skate?
I was just doing bonelesses and trying
to learn how to ollie, and dropping off
loading docks and stuff. I skated this old
folks' home by my house.
Do any of your old gang still skate?
Totally. Of the guys I grew up with
around town, half of them still skate.
That's pretty incredible. I've gone
through like five sets of friends in
skateboarding.
Yeah, these guys are still doing the
same stuff, skating the park up in Rhode
Island. I'm all for it.
Sid's park. I've known Sid since I was
a kid. When I was like 15 he was the
old dude. There are a lot of strong
roots up there in New England-they
keep skating fun. Skating should
always be fun; otherwise, what are
you doing it for?
No shit. Those guys know
what's up. That park is just
filled with good energy.
How did skating progress
for you?
I just kept skating all
through high school, and I
never really thought about
getting sponsored or any-
thing. I stopped for a little
while my junior or senior
year, because boards were.
really thin and I broke like
three a week. I just couldn't
afford it. I chilled out for a while, and
drove out west with my friend and my
dog. After that, boards started getting
wider and shit started getting rad
again. I went to California, stayed in
Sacto, met up with Matt Rodriguez and
those people, and started skating more
and more. I got hooked up through
Donny Barley.
Donny's the man. He's so crisp on
his board.
He's awesome. I love watching him.
Dealing with the weather back east
is such a buzzkill; do you think
people in California have it a lot
AXION
easier than people who have to
earn it back east?
Definitely, but it's similar now,
because in California you get kicked
out almost as much as we have shitty
weather. I'm glad I grew up back
east, because it pushed me.
Whenever it was the littlest bit nice
outside, I skated.
Where did you first do a handrail?
In Mystic, Connecticut.
That's where the Mystic Seaport
Museum is, where they filmed
Moby Dick.
Yeah, and Amistad.
10-stair hurricane.
San Francisco, CA.
68 THRASHER
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