HEADS NIKHIL THAYER
W
HERE ARE YOU
originally from?
I'm from New
Hampshire. I grew up
in the woods and there wasn't a whole lot
to do.
What motivated you to move to San
Francisco?
I finished high school in the spring of '94,
and a month after that I was so bored living
in NH that I decided to move to SF. All I
wanted to do was skate, so I called some.
friends here and we left a month later. We all
skated, so SF was where we wanted to be.
How does your hometown differ
from SF?
My hometown is the stereotypical small
more, sleep.
GREW UP IN THE WOODS
What's your favorite song of all time?
"The Lung" by Dinosaur, Jr.
Do you like to skate pools?
Yes. I wish I had more pools to skate. Pool
skating is about as raw as it gets. Some guys
are so good at it.
Why is Eric Koston so good?
When he wakes up he sweats to the oldies.
He convinced himself that he's master in the
board/skater relationship, so his board does
whatever he tells it to.
What kind of music do you like to
listen to?
I listen to so much different stuff, but on an
average day it's probably hip-hop or some
type of rock.
to have one favorite, but Mark Gonzales,
Gino Iannucci, Pat Washington, Mike Carroll,
and my friends.
What is your ideal terrain?
Union Square in SF is my favorite skate
spot ever.
Aside from skating, do you have any
hobbies like welding or modelmaking?
No, I don't. I hang out with my friends and
my girlfriend. I have never welded, but I used
to make models when I was younger.
Have you traveled anywhere outside
the USA?
Yes. I've been to India, China, England,
Hong Kong, and Singapore. India was
the craziest. The poverty there is so
overwhelming. There are naked people
B
Left to right:
Switch crooks at the New
Spot. "It's a supply com-
pany, dude." Planter flip.
Backside flip deep in the
heart of dot-com country.
town in America. Everybody knows your
business. Most everybody looks the same,
does the same things, listens to the same
music, etc. But here there are so many dif-
ferent people and things to do. You can
live here and do what you want, but there
it seems people get sucked into the same
shitty jobs and let their dreams dissolve.
Do you believe in heaven or hell?
Sometimes I think I'm in hell. Sometimes I
think I'm in heaven. But as far as what hap-
pens when we die, I'll have to tell you when
I'm dead.
What's an average day for you?
Wake up too early, go to school, eat, skate,
eat, spend time with my girl, eat, watch skate.
videos, sleep.
What's an above-average day?
Sleep late, eat, skate and land every
trick, eat, hang with the lady, skate some
Do you play any musical instruments?
I've been known to pluck at the guitar, but
I'm not very good. I wish I could play an
instrument with control and precision.
Music is an amazing thing. It can control.
your emotions.
What mall do you go to and why?
I try to stay out of the mall.
What's the worst slam you ever took?
I was in NY and I was trying to 180°
nosegrind this ledge off some steps. There
was this bum messing with me and he tried
to hit me with a hammer. Then he poured
beer on the ledge. I tried the trick again,
slipped out on the wet spot, hit my grundle
on the corner of the ledge, and then hit my
face on the ground.
Who are some of your all-time.
favorite skaters?
There are too many sick guys out there
on the streets with nothing, not even
clothes on their backs. Seeing that type
of stuff will really make you thankful for
what you have.
If you had to spend the next five years
in some foreign country, where would
that be and why?
It would probably be France, because all
the skate footage I've seen from there looks.
so visually pleasing. Their skate spots look
like so much fun. I also want to learn to speak
French, so what better way to learn than to
move to France?
Have you entered any contests?
I entered an FTC contest about two years
ago. I hate contests. My legs turned to jello
when they called my name. Sweaty palms
and all of that.
Rap or techno?
Rap. -Skip Towne