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180 NOSEGRIND
Daniel Harold Sturt 2001
Tough on the team? Like what? I try to keep
everyone motivated, but I don't ever have to
be tough on the team. There's no need to say
anything negative to anyone on the team. It's
just a matter of keeping people motivated. I'm
a skateboarder myself and if someone came
up to me and said, "You. Nollie heelflip lip-
slide that 40-stair handrail, now!" I'd be like,
"Fuck you. I do what I want, when I want."
Because that's what skateboarders do. You try
to do that, you'll lose your motivation in
about two weeks.
How do you keep them motivated, then?
Just like how I would want to be motivated.
You just get them into skateboarding and the
fun of it and the travel and that part. Get peo-
ple amped on the fun of it. It's not a job
where you can plan things out and stay on a
production schedule. I can't do that. If I try
and do that I go crazy and don't even feel like
skateboarding anymore.
How much shit do you have to eat before you
give up?
To the point of no return.
Clifford: Like John Rambo?
Like who?
Clifford: John Rambo.
Nobody knows Rambo's first
name.
Clifford: What? It's John.
When you can't physically
jump on whatever you've tried.
That's the end. When you can't
move.
if you never started skating and still lived in
Liverpool?
No, I never sit around thinking about hypo-
thetical situations, but if I wasn't skateboard-
ing I'd probably have shot myself in the head.
Other people my age there, they have kids.
What? They're probably working down at the
boats or something. Selling weed or some-
thing. Selling weed and taking E's. Taking the
weeds.
Who was your first skateboard hero?
Natas Kaupas. Natas Kaupas. Or Danny
Way. It might have been Sean Goff.
Who's Sean Goff?
You know who Sean Goff is. He's a skate-
boarder from England. He's amazing. He's
kind of a filthy pervert, but that's ok. Who
among us isn't?
Were you always better than all your friends?
No. I wasn't.
When did you start to pull ahead, though?
Probably when they started smoking the
weed. No. I wasn't any better.
But you were good at a young age. I remem-
ber your check-out.
first night I got here I walked out of the apart-
ment and the cops are all, "Get in the house,
now! How old are you? Where's your I.D.? Get
in the house right now!" That was my first
experience. Fuckin' cops. Bastards. Kill a pig. I
say that with pride. No, I came to America
first. I was going insane in England. I was
pretty much having a breakdown -like, with
my family and that. My dad wanted me to get
a job. I said, "Fuck that, I'm going to
America." But it took like a year to get here. So
my dad was doubting me. He wanted me to
get a job. I was trying to grow up and I kind
of broke down with my parents. If I stayed in
England, I would have lost my brain. It's not a
joke. If Jeremy and Deacon hadn't come I was
going to get on a plane, come here by myself
and sleep in the bushes. The insanity is no
joke. I've had a couple of friends go mad.
They're fine now, but it's not that uncommon.
What were some of the biggest shockers
coming over here?
That whole fucking shooting photos all the
time and video and all that stuff. I had no
experience with that. It's getting ridiculous
IF SOMEONE CAME UP TO ME
AND SAID, "YOU. NOLLIE
HEELFLIP LIPSLIDE THAT 40-
STAIR HANDRAIL, NOW!" I'D
BE LIKE, "FUCK YOU. I DO
What's the worst beating you've WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT."
taken?
It hasn't happened yet. You'll
know when you're taking me to the hospital.
I think your worst injuries are when you're
younger. When you're less experienced.
That's not what my face is telling me. If
that's the case, I should probably not be skid-
ding on my face so much.
When you hit your face trying to fakie
nosegrind the Belmont rail, you tried to get
up and try it again.
That's 'cause I had more left in me.
Sturt had to come and cover you with a robe
and lead you away like James Brown. Why
are English people funnier than Americans?
I don't know. They've got fucked up teeth. It
gives them more flavor. Yeah, In England you
need a sense of humor, otherwise you'll shoot
yourself in the head. It's not as easy there to
make a living. Here it's more laid back. Over
there people have to work really hard for what
you've got. And when they come home from
work, they better piss themselves laughing to
release the energy. Or otherwise they're going
to be 24, 25 and they are going to get home
one day and want to shoot themselves in the
head.
Do you ever think about what you'd be doing
The one-footed 5-0? It said, "He's a vegetar-
ian, but not the art fag type." There's plenty of
people in England who were good at that
time. They were way better than me.
Then how did you pull ahead?
Like I said. They got into different things.
They got into music, or LSD or shagging girls.
And I just stayed into skateboarding.
Were you a hometown hero?
No way. No. Loads of people hate me in
Liverpool. That's my object in life. To gain
hate from people. Who wants everyone to love
them?
Was there a breaking point where it all came
together?
No. It was never obvious. It never came
together until the last couple of years. You
might think I have an ego or whatever, but
I've had no confidence. Even when I moved.
over here I had no confidence whatsoever. I
was used to just skating with my friends and
now I'm supposed to come here and bust out
something gnarly. I had no confidence and no
motivation.
What was it like moving to America?
It was fucking scary. It was shit scary. The
lately. It's like every time I go
outside I have to shoot a
photo.
You don't have to. That's the
program you've put yourself
on.
Yeah, that's the program I'm
on, but it's making me go
insane.
Is it feeling like a job lately?
No. Fuck knows. I've
never had a job, so what
would I know?
Were Fox and Deacon's enthusiasm for you
guys a help or a hindrance in those early days?
That was bullshit. That's what I'm saying.
You might think I have an ego or whatever,
but I thought I sucked. Whatever they wanted
to say was up to them. They were just trying
to hype it up. They have skateboarding's best
interest at heart, but meanwhile I was over
there freaking out.
Did they get you into uncomfortable situations?
Yeah. They always do. But they're good peo-
ple. I don't want to talk about it. Deacon's
mouth needs to be a bit bigger.
I'm not trying to suggest they're dicks, I just
like the scenario of them going with you
guys to the handrails. Or kicking Sumner off
because they thought he was going to be as
big as Ben Schroeder.
That's great, though. It's good when people
can say what they think, for once. Nobody
else does.
Has there ever been any consequences to
your bad-mouthing other people in print?
Have you ever got into fights over it?
I regret talking shit on Transworld magazine.
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