W
HAT WAS YOUR FIRST PHOTO
in Thrasher?
I had a gap ollie on Market Street. Bryce
Kanights shot it. It was like '92 or '93.
Were those the visor years?
There was only a visor week. It was pretty
much right after I moved to California.
What was the first Thrasher you ever saw?
I'm not sure, but the one that stands out for
Ime was the Pushead cover. That's the one I
remember. Probably in the late '80s.
Is 'Skate and Destroy' still relevant?
I'd say it's old fashioned, but that doesn't.
mean it doesn't exist anymore. Obviously peo-
ple who want to put themselves on the line and
just get gnarly still follow it. There are people
who somewhat think that way. Sometimes I
time when I'm hurt because it's so depress-
ing. As it is, I get so busy I often forget that
I'm even hurt. I'll find that I'm not even
hurt anymore but I haven't gotten back to
skating because I'm having so much fun
working on other things, the graphics and
getting involved with the things my com-
panies are doing.
So you're doing trucks now?
Yeah. I'm not doing them, I just help
design them.
Is this going to be another new truck company
where the people on the team really ride Indys
or Ventures?
Nah, I don't think so. I got a group of guys
together who are versatile and can ride differ-
ent stuff. I kind of got all their views and ideas
getting into fashion?
As I get older I've been seeing more things
that look interesting to me. I also see every-
body looking the same in skateboarding,
and it's fun for me to try some different
things. I think it's strange that other people
care what I wear-other pros and other peo-
ple like you will always comment when I'm
wearing something different. I don't fit the
bill, I guess, for them. It's kind of funny. I
don't want to look exactly like everybody
else, I guess.
I didn't take notice because you were looking
different from everyone else; I was just sur-
prised to see you in the Nike chill shoes.
I've always worn runners or whatever when I'm
not skating, just because your feet get so bashed
wondered if I was supposed to retire.
Retire?
No, but I wondered if I really had a place in
skating anymore. Being a Christian and hav-
ing Christian beliefs, I wondered if my lifestyle
was good for that. Being a Christian is basi-
cally acknowledging that life doesn't revolve
around me and I'm not God. In a lot of peo-
ple's worlds, they act as though they are God,
that life revolves around them and they can do
whatever they want. I feel as if it's selfish
sometimes to wreck somebody else's stuff or
to skate at somebody else's expense. I asked
myself how strongly I feel about it and what
my place in skateboarding was, and I came to
the conclusion that my place is to be in skating
because that's where I'm most influential. And
you can't damage a normal steel handrail too
much. If it's just a matter of a slight amount of
paint, I don't feel too bad. But skating some-
one's house or at a church is a different story.
I've definitely slowed down on those situa-
tions. These days, if I feel like I'm definitely.
putting someone out by skating something,
I'll probably just not do it..
Did you have to retire some of your metal?
I don't have to. I never took the lyrics too
seriously, anyway. Most of Iron Maiden's.
music is about the devil, but that doesn't
mean you're a devil worshipper if you listen.
to it. It sounds cool. It's just too bad the guy's
not thinking about something else. When I
first became a Christian, I felt like I really
needed to get focused and not listen to too
Prophecy, so it doesn't seem to be steering
me from focusing on being a Christian. I'm
not super extreme about it. If someone's
playing it in the car I might hum along to it
or something because it is part of my roots,
you know? It's where I come from. I'm not.
telling someone to turn it off or anything. I
just feel like, in my car, in my privacy, I
shouldn't clutter my mind with that stuff.
I've got enough cluttering my mind with
skateboarding and work and everything.
Will you get more tattoos?
It's not really a focus for me. If I did, I
would want it to be about something that's
really important to me: my devotion to God.
It's just not something I've put a lot of
thought into lately.
feel like I do. You put yourself out there and
face the wrath and get destroyed. It definitely
still circulates.
With your own board, clothing, and truck
companies, are you becoming a businessman?
Slowly but surely. Whenever I get hurt or
take some time off-and I pretty much only
take time off when I get hurt-I tend to
some of the things I've been neglecting over
time, like board graphics and other business
stuff. I sometimes neglect some things when
I'm skating all the time, because I kind of
can't deal with both. It gives me time to get
focused on business things when I'm not
skating and vice versa. It's a good balance,
because if I didn't have all these other
things to do, I'd probably have a tougher
on a truck together. There are only four dudes.
on the team, so it's not very hard to please
everybody. It's not like it's a big team, like Indy
or Venture, where it would be hard to get
everybody's opinion on what a truck should be
like. Everybody's basically on the same guide-
lines: they want a strong truck that turns good,
is solid, and looks good.
Are there any special challenges to working
with Heath Kirchart?
No. He's really mellow to work with because he
doesn't care. He'll ride whatever you give him.
He just has to get used to it, and he'll ride it with
no complaints.
I always kind of saw you as a jeans and t-
shirt kind of guy, but lately I've seen you
in some more elaborate get-ups. Are you
up when you are skating that it's nice to give
them a break.
Are you trying to take more pride in your
appearance?
I don't really think of it like that. I just had
some time out, and I went to New York to try to
find inspiration for this clothing line I'm doing.
I wanted to see different clothes besides just the
same old jeans and t-shirts.
Would you ever shave your eyebrows off again?
No. I found it wasn't very practical because the
sweat just runs straight down my head. I figured
out that that's why they're there.
How do your Christian values mesh with some
of your activities such as destroying property
by skating and listening to metal?
I've had some serious thoughts about it. I
"I
180 nosegrind come out forward.
WONDERED IF I WAS
SUPPOSED TO RETIRE”
I figure that obviously it's not my time to
retire. I got together some rules, that made
sense to me. It's not to justify it, but if I skate
a spot that hasn't already been skated, I'm
somewhat skeptical about it. But if it's a spot
that been skated and is already to that point, I
don't feel as bad skating it. And handrails-
many things that were un-Christianlike. It
just didn't want to be taken away from what
I feel like I should be focused on. I kind of
phased out Iron Maiden and The Misfits,
and older Slayer as well. With something like
Metallica, there's not really that much curs-
ing at all and some of the songs are about
Who's the most stylish skater of all time?
That's a tough one. It depends on what
kind of style you're talking about. I like guys
who are very on edge and very intense, but I
probably have to give it to Gonz. There's
nothing to even explain there. Gonz has the
most flowing style of all because he can