Backside tailslide.
And then you went exclusively into film-
ing for the Plan B video?
That's what I did.
Did you have a lot of raw footage, and did
you go over your part?
No, I had footage. I used a lot of footage I
had just lying around. Some sponsor-me
shit, and then I went down to San Diego
and filmed a bunch of stuff with Mike
Ternasky. Then they came up and hung out
while I went to school, and filmed.
Did you graduate from school?
Yes.
And that was in Marin?
Yes.
we'll just go show it to you." Then we all
just started skating it.
What were they trying? Just like
boardslides?
Yeah, boardslides.
'Cause nobody had ever made 50-50s-
they weren't popular like they are now.
No, not what they are now.
When you think about 20 years of
Thrasher, do you look back and think
skateboarding's changed quite a bit?
It's changed a hell of a lot, yeah, because of
its ups and downs. It's on an upswing right
now with all the coverage and the hype, and
everyone wants to skate. You see jocks at the
People have already blown away what I've
done, it's cool.
Do you think Thrasher still matters?
Definitely.
Why?
Because that's the first skate mag that
anyone usually ever sees. Everybody
knows Thrasher.
It became a lifestyle. The name became
synonymous with skateboarding.
Salman said skating has taught him
things about himself that he can take
into the rest of life. Do you feel that way
when you look at it?
Yeah, I feel like that. I feel like the deter-
EVERYONE WANTS TO SKATE. YOU SEE
JOCKS AT THE SCHOOLYARD TRYING"
What year?
1992.
When you first had your breakthrough
part, a lot of it was filmed in San Diego,
like the 50-50 and the big double kink.
Did you go down there knowing that shit
was there?
No, no, no. I didn't know anything was
there. We were just skating.
That's a pretty hefty rail; you just went
there and said, "Hey, I'm going to 50-50
this"? You know the one, the double kink?
Yeah, the double kink. I was with
Jordan Richter and Oscar Jordan and
Dave Schlossbach, and he said, "You
want to see this thing?" I was feeling sick
and didn't want to, but he was like, "Oh,
schoolyard trying.
The same dudes who used to jump us and
beat us up wear DC clothes now.
Yup, and now they wear DCs and are try-
ing to learn how to ollie up curbs.
When you look back on what you've done
in skateboarding, how do you want to be
remembered 20 years from now?
Um... whatever.
You certainly had a great impact on skat-
ing at a time when it was freestyle. You
were an unknown am and you came
through with a breakthrough part-that
was pretty heavy stuff. When you look
back 20 years from now, what would be
your thumbprint that you left on skating?
I'd say if I am remembered, awesome.
mination factors in-you try something
over, you get bummed if you have to
leave, and you didn't do it, or if the pho-
tographer has run out of film and you're
still there trying it.
That's what it takes to be a skater, just
getting it done. That's what you said in
the rain that day, that you did that one
for you, right?
Yeah.
It's like you against that thing.
I get mad at myself when I'm trying to do
something and then I kinda feel bad for it,
like, fuck, I didn't used to be like this. I used
to just want to be like them.
Just bust, right? That was the whole thing.
Yeah. Jake Phelps