74 THRASHER
A7
ROWLEY
Meager beginnings, part-time tea-leaf and full-time scally-
Geoffrey has maintained his little bastard attitude, and it's
served him well. He doesn't spit at people who get in his way
anymore, but he should. Don't be soft, have a fight! -Clifford
Daniel Harold Sturt 2001
SKATER OF THE YEAR 2000
GEOFF
ROWLEY
Interview by Michael Burnett
I've got a theory.
I don't care.
You've got an ego about you.
Yeah.
You made those shoes to hurt people, didn't
you?
Intentionally, yes. That's the whole point of
them.
Because there's really no reason to have them
like that, is there?
Apart from fuckin' pure grip, so you enjoy
skateboarding.
But what about when you're jumping down?
You have to pick one or the other. You can't
have both. You either wear some big fuckin'
baseball boots that don't feel comfortable and
you can't feel your board, or you hurt your
feet.
Is there no middle ground?
No. There isn't. If you don't like them, don't
buy them. In fact, fuckin' burn them. You
can't fuck with Vans' sole, though. They're
amazing.
Are your feet just broken?
No. Well, yes, but that's not the point. I was
wearing the old waffle soles a good year and a
half before my shoe came out. Once you get
used to the old school feel you can't go back.
Now my feet are just fucked so it
doesn't matter anyway. You can't put another
shoe on anyway or you feel like you've got ice
boots on.
But in a way, are you trying to make every-
one else feel your pain by putting out these
shoes?
Yes. Wait. What the fuck are we talking
about? Shoes? Next question. Let's talk about
my big ego more.
Ok, where would you rank yourself in the
world of skateboarding?
Where would I rank myself? Like if the
gestapo came and told me to rank myself?
Yeah.
Top twenty. I would hope. Top twenty at
least. Well, it depends what you're talking
about.
Are you ahead of Kareem?
You bastard! Absolute bastard! I fucking
hate that question. Move on to the next ques-
tion. I don't want to talk about egos. That's
bullshit.
You're the one who wanted to get back to it!
Not now. Now you've scared the fuck out of
me. The rankings of what, anyway? I don't get
up in the morning and think, "Oh, I'm mov-
ing up the ranks."
I know, but I thought I could maybe get you
interested in doing that.
No. I get fucking pissed sometimes. There's
a lot of good skateboarding going down and
some of it doesn't end up in the right place. It
doesn't get seen.
Why is that?
Different reasons. I'm sure it's the same in
anything else. No, I'd probably rank myself
300th or something, 'cause I've never won a
contest.
That doesn't matter.
Of course it matters. There's nothing wrong
with wanting to win a contest. There's nothing
wrong with wanting to do good. Winning a
contest is rad.
If it matters so much, then who does Rodil
ride for?
Who the fuck is that?
The guy who always wins the X-Games. Do
you have to go to contests now?
No. I go to a few contests-the ones I I get
enjoyment from. I go to Tampa, Vancouver,
Munster, and the Triple Crown contests 'cause
Vans makes me.
What's your contest approach?
It's just like skating any other day. You're
either on or you're off. You're great or you're
shit. I doubt if I could ever win, though. I def-
initely don't have the balls to pull it through.
Do you ever have to be tough on the team?
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