STEVE OLSON
D
id you really used to live in a treehouse?
Yeah.
What was that like?
It was cool, man. I had electricity and a lock
on the door. Carpeting on the floor and walls
and ceiling.
Was it actually in a tree?
Yeah. Twelve feet up.
How old were you when you lived in the
treehouse?
Thirteen to fifteen.
Did you bring girls and stuff up there?
Yeah.
Do you miss anything about Washington?
Sometimes. I moved back there and then I
lived in California and went back and forth.
Washington's cool, but San Diego's cool too.
What do you like about living out here?
I'm comfortable here. I'll probably move
some day.
I hear you have a good relationship with some
of the security guards here.
I did for a while, with one of them. He's not
really cool with me anymore, because one time I
came down with Dirty Aussie and he told the
security guard, "It's cool. We're Steve's friends,"
and he let us skate. It was like that for about a
month or so, a long time ago. I either skate.
around Pacific Beach, to all my different spots,
or I go lurk somewhere else. I skate with my
friend Tommy probably more than I skate with
anyone else and my friends Dan Hessler and
Ayla. I either skate with them or the other
Shorty's riders when we all hook up.
Do you feel pretty detached from the pro
skate scene?
I'm different. Everyone's different. I just
respect other skaters. I don't really look at peo-
ple as pros, but just as skaters.
Do you go to trade shows and video premieres
and other things involved with the pro scene?
I would. I went to one of the trade shows before.
What have been some of your favorite trips?
Morocco. Thomas Campbell took me, Donny
Barley, and Geoff Rowley to Morocco. It was
probably the first trip ever to Morocco by pro
skaters. It was crazy. They just thought we were
like friggin' yogis with magical powers when
they saw us skate, because they had never seen it
before. They saw us doing crazy stuff and they'd
gather around. There were these ancient cities
with 100-foot-tall walls all around, and hardly
any cars could get in because, they were built a
thousand years before there were cars there. We
were at one of the gates to the city and there was
like a 50-foot-tall door that everyone would go
in and out of, and there were these concrete
launch ramps you could skate. We were skating
them and friggin' 200 people stopped to watch
us, until the cops came and made us move
because we were blocking the gate. I saw a snake
charmer, man.
Is that a skill, or are the snakes messed with?
I don't know. They might take their teeth out
or something.
How much of your personality is reflected in
your Shorty's ads?
Well, The Olsonator, they kind of busted out
without really telling me. I was like, "Whoa!"
but it was cool. I was chill with it, because
that's how you have to be sometimes when
you skate. You have to be like the
Terminator-you can't really think about it.
That's why they made that. I wanted to make
an ad where I was on that tree stump and I
was levitating, but I wanted to take a picture
of another tree and superimpose it so that I
would be inside that other tree; but then they
switched it and put that ad out without telling
me too. They made me levitating and I was
stoked. It was similar to my idea. I wanted to
have skating in my ad but they didn't have
photos or something.
Who are some of your favorite skaters of all time?
Tom Penny. Muska. Smolik. Toan and Sammy
really messed around with any drugs that are
manmade. They're unnatural and will proba-
bly fuck you up. I just look at it like a shaman.
I don't think anyone should use drugs if they
don't want to.
What's your favorite trick?
I like backside tailslides, 360° flips, and 50-50s
on handrails.
What was the first Thrasher you ever saw?
I don't really remember what was on the
cover, but it was probably Natas. I remember.
Natas and Salba, and fuckin' Rob Roskopp.
Gonz. Just really, really old skaters. Gonz isn't
that old, but those other dudes are. They're not
really around anymore.
Where do you' want to be when Thrasher
turns 30?
Feeling good, living independent, and creating
something. Not working nine to five, not being
a slave to the system.
Is there any advice you wish you'd gotten when
you were younger?
My advice to the kids would be to give up all
mental structures. Just be.
-Michael Burnett
GIVE UP ALL MENTAL
STRUCTURES. JUST BE"
and all the Shorty's riders. There was
this one dude I grew up skating with:
Mark Shellnut. This dude Tracy Irish,
my friend Dan Hessler, and Joe.
McClellan. There are just too many
sick skaters.
What do kids ask about at demos?
They just want to know about the
next video. Or they want to know,
"Are you really who I think you
are? When does the next video
come out?"
What's the worst part of your job as a
pro skateboarder?
There isn't really a down side,
because if you try to see one, you
create it. I just try to keep moving
forward in all situations. Just
move ahead.
What's your opinion on drugs
and alcohol?
I don't think there's anything
wrong with a drug that comes from
the Earth. You should never be
dependent on something, though-
you shouldn't need something that
doesn't come from you. I've never
360 flip.