000
HEADS DAXTER LUSSIER
Y
OU LIVED ON AN INDIAN
reservation?
Yeah, with my grandparents, in
Ignacio, Colorado.
I thought it was in Idaho.
Nope, Colorado.
Are you Native American?
Yeah, I have Sequoia Indian on my mom's side.
You don't look very Indian.
That's the French side of me, I guess.
What was a memorable moment living on the rez?
Swimming in these gutter ditches they had.
What were the other kids like?
I never got to hang out with them much. My
grandmother lived up on a hill outside of this
really small town. I went to school with a
bunch of them, but they didn't really talk.
What percentage of your thoughts are devoted
to thinking about skateboarding?
I'd probably say at least 70 or 80 percent.
You talk about skating more than any grown
man I know.
No way. What about Greg Harris? Any car
ride with Greg and he can talk about it as long
as I can.
Is there anything else you're interested in?
Yeah. Hanging out with my wife. We go golfing.
We watch movies, hang out. We get interested in
lots of different things.
I've seen you
I up someone's old used board
rather than ride a new one. Aren't you sponsored?
It's just more functional. I don't have to break
it in.
What do you have to break in about it? Scrape it
EATS SHAMPOO
skaters to sell their extra goods?
I don't know. I've sold quite a bit of stuff when
I needed the money.
What's the largest on-hand supply of skate stuff
you've ever had at one time?
World helped me out with rent and a car pay-
ment once. They sent 20 boards to me and 20 to
my mom's house, so 40 in one month.
What other jobs have you had since
you've been in California? Didn't you sell
vacuum cleaners?
Yeah, Kirby did me good. I was working as a
host in a restaurant in Encinitas and I couldn't
get enough hours. I was looking in the paper. I
didn't have any money and my wife was paying
for my share of the bills. It was one of those
misleading advertisements that say, like, $1600
Left to right: Switch heelflip at
speed. Dax fall down, go boom.
Bigtime 5-0.
with me, you know? I'm not, like, Indian so...
you know.
Were they unfriendly?
Yeah. They would basically make fun of me
because I was white and lived on the reservation
with them. They all had their new Nike Jordans
and their monthly government checks.
Did you ever cash in?
No, I never got any checks. My mom was
going to check into it for me, though, but we
never have.
I thought I heard that you got government
checks and bought your own trailer.
No. I got money from my dad and lived in my own
trailer my senior year. I didn't buy a trailer, though.
Do you have an Indian name?
No.
What do you think would be a good Indian
name for you?
Big Bear.
a little bit?
New wheels don't turn.
Don't turn?
New trucks stick and new boards feel like two-
by-fours, they're so stiff. I can't get them to bend
and flex when I ollie.
Some of your wheels are so old they look like
they're made of ivory.
I get used to riding things and I don't want to
have to get new stuff, break it in, and then spend
a week getting it back to how it used to be.
How often do you change wheels? Once a month?
Probably less than that. Well, they're never even
new 'cause I trade Frank Hirata new for used
ones. I give him a new set for a used set.
That sounds like a terrible deal.
It's a little arrangement we have.
I could help you out with that, too.
That's what the little kids say.
Do you think it's unethical for sponsored
a month, something like that. Then you get
there and you realize you have to pass out all
these fliers and try to sell vacuums to people.
Were you good at it?
Yeah. It was easy. People like to be told what
they need.
Who bought the vacuum cleaners?
Marines. There's nothing better than a Marine's
wife. They love spending money, especially when
it's not theirs.
Did you have to do in-house demonstrations?
Oh yeah. During the shampooing section, they
had us eat some of the foam to show it was safe
for children.
You'd eat it?
Yeah. After you put it on their dirty rug, you'd
get a little handful of it like pudding.
What did it taste like?
I can't remember. It's been awhile since I did that.
-Michael Burnett