Author: Crossfire

Rodney is a pioneer of skateboarding. So much so, that the majority of skaters would say he was the single most important skater of all time, and they would not be wrong. Whilst on tour to promote the new Almost video, Zac managed to spend an hour with Rodney in a shop in Soho whilst the rest of the team sat quietly next to us and homed in on the occasion. It is a pleasure to have such an innovative skateboarder in our zine with big thanks to New Deal and Dwindle…welcome Rodney Mullen.

How are ya Rodney?

I’m OK, good to be here in London.

Superb, welcome to our City mate. I was introduced to you when you first appeared in skate videos and saw you on Powell Peralta videos. Freestyle skateboarding was almost sneered at back then, did you ever think that you would one day look back and realise how much of an influence you were going to be to street skating?

No. No idea.

Are you glad that you did not become a vert rider at all like so many other pro riders back then, was there pressure?

There wasn’t any real ‘pressure’. I’m pretty glad I didn’t abandon what I did. If I had turned to vert, at least I would have had some of those skills built in by now.

You visited the UK back then with a demo at Southbank, do you remember that clearly?

I remember everything about that trip. The first international trip I ever took was to London and I remember cruising by Southbank. It’s pretty etched in my mind.

Did being on Powell Peralta set you up as being more organized as a pro skater?

Maybe. Stacy is an amazing person and he had a long-lasting influence on all of us. Being from the East Coast and also being as freakish as I was as a kid, I wasn’t as exposed to Stacy like some of the other guys. But I think even that little bit of influence carried me a long way.

I read somewhere that you had to wear braces to straighten out your pigeon-toed feet? Did these (er) feet have something to do with your success for flipping the board?

Maybe. I notice similarities in a couple of other pro’s. A doctor once told me it was like having a built-in tripod for each leg. Not sure I believe him!

If you found out that kids were having surgery to have these kinds of feet would you feel uncomfortable?!

As long as they could put up with tripping over them from time to time and maybe a little ridicule, things might still work out! Haha!

You grew up and went to the University of Florida. What did you study there? Was it all just a waste of time now? This question comes from a skater who is about to start there in January.

Biomedical engineering and math was where I was headed. I started with Industrial engineering. I have good memories of UF. Lots of anonymity and the atmosphere is good.

Did your studies pay off?

Not literally, but it helped me. Good experience.

Are you gonna start working for al-Qaeda now?!!

Scary. Once you get some basics down you realise you know enough to learn how to do some bad things if you wanted. It’s as though they should give some sort of psychological evaluation before letting you take certain classes, especially in chemistry.

In your autobiography The Mutt, you seem to bare your soul, has this been a long time coming? Do you feel as though you have lifted a weight off your shoulders?

Not really. It was hard to sort of go back into some dark stuff I went through as a kid, then try to write about it in a way that didn’t lose the point of what is important as well as to be fair and as lighthearted as I could. I wanted to back out of it a number of times. If it weren’t for my wife, I probably would have. By now, I’m glad I didn’t quit. But when people tell me they read the book, my first instinct is honestly to apologize to them!

You talk about your Dad and relatives not understanding skateboarding, do they understand now since your fame has reached huge heights?

Maybe, in a way, but the ‘fame’ part is almost a distraction from the real point. He’s happy skateboarding gave me so much, for sure.

What advice would you give to kids who are in the same position now?

I understood my dad wanted the best for me, but it was hard to reconcile with how gnarly things got. There isn’t one little tidbit of advice someone could give that would have really made things better for me, mostly because you’re not in control of anything when you are a kid. The only thing I can say is to do your best and never give up, no matter how dark it seems. If your folks are the hard, confrontational type, just try to suck it up, so you never have to feel shame for words you can’t take back. They’ll know what that means and it makes it easier to live with yourself.

How did the FBI drop into your personal life?

It all started with a girl!

You mention on the Almost website that the first thing that you think of in the morning is to pray, how much has religion driven you in your career from day one?

It’s a real personal thing for me. It’s between me and God. I always pray a lot when I skate and I think it’s driven me a lot to be what I have become. I’ve skated alone since I was a kid, aside from obvious stuff like tours and hooking up and skating with friends sometimes, which is a lot of fun too, but I always go back to the same thing: Fortress of Solitude.

Are there rules for this? Does this mean that Slayer just cannot appear in your record collection?

Nope, no real rules. I’ve got my healthy share of Bad Religion, too! Haha!

What other music do you like to listen to?

Lots of stuff. I’m really into music, like a lot of skaters. I go through phases, so it’s hard to just say a name that sort of ‘means everything’ to me. I like a lot of Nina Simone, Clash, Johnny Cash, Stiff Little Fingers, Dixie Hummingbirds, BB King, Metallica, Beethoven, IZ, Leonard Cohen, Dvorak, Tom Waits, Shostakovich.

Top 5 records ever, stuff you would have to have on a tour like this?

Right now I’m in a Nick Cave phase. Blind Boys of Alabama: Spirit of the Century. Angelic Upstarts: Teenage Warning. New Model Army: Thunder & Consolation. Beethoven: 2and movement, 3rd Symphony.

What happened between you and Converse shoes?

They were good to me.

How much input do you have in making your own shoes models for Globe Shoes?

As much as you want, really. I have a good amount of say in most of my shoes.

Where did the name Almost Skateboards come from?

Daewon. The name is the last thing we came up with everything else was pretty obvious from the very first time we talked about doing it together. Names are hard, even if you have a good one, it’s hard to trademark so you can actually work with it. We’d gone through lists, and nothing great, then Daewon just called me and said, “what do you think of ‘almost?” Right away, it felt good.

How does it feel to travel together with kids like Greg Lutzka and Ryan Sheckler? i.e. Old legend with young ripper and vice versa.

It’s embarrassing skating with these guys. They are so good, and they’re so good to me. They’ll goof around with me and try my goofy crap. Then they’ll walk me up to a little handrail and try to coax me along. Obviously that’s not going too well so far. But I’m on my way. Ryan’s dad made me a flatbar. Such good people.

Have you ever helped each other learn tricks?

That’s what it’s all about.

Is it true that Chris Haslam beat yourself and Daewon at a game of skate?

Not ‘formally’, but it could happen if we tried. Could be a long game.

Have you ever felt jealous of Ryan Sheckler? Ever felt the urge to lock him in a cupboard?

All the time. Seriously, I cannot say enough about Ryan. The other day on the plane, Ryan and I were talking, then when he went back to his seat, the lady next to me thought he was my son. That was the first time I really thought about it, and I couldn’t imagine anything making me more proud than having that kid be my son. On top of being as gnarly as he is, he’s the coolest, most clearheaded and humble kid I may have ever met. He’s got a rotten sense of humour, too. Ryan Sheckler rules!

What is your fave part in the Almost Video?

Hard to say. Maybe Greg’s part. I wish I could fly like that. Even the way he stands on a skateboard looks so good and unique. Chris’ part is fun, too. I don’t know.

Who do you think is the best technical skater, that isn’t on Almost Skateboards. Who would you poach if you could?

I don’t personally know PJ, but I admire his skating a lot. I’ve met Paul Rodriguez a number of times and I really like how he is and the way he skates. It has to be someone who’s not just a good skater; they have to be a certain way and add something to the team, as well. Hard to say right now. Couldn’t be happier with how it is right now.

What is your best demo?

I have done every form of demo you can imagine. The Pork Rib Cook offs in Ohio, it was two 4×8’s laid on and I did a full demo on an 8×8 and all these guy are walking about eating ribs looking at me like I was from out of space and it was funny! Haha!

Wow, I can’t wait to ask you what the worst one was!

Yeah, that was back in the rotten 80’s. I had an agent at the time, I don’t have one now, but I did something with these rock and roll guys. That era was just weird, we all did random crap stuff back then. These guys were all drugged up with roadies and the girls. It was the worst.

Let’s talk tricks. You invented the flat ground ollie and Tony Hawk has been quoted to say: ‘“Every time you ollie you should get on your knees and thank Rodney.” How did you feel about that high accolade then?

Yeah, I guess I did. As for Tony, I write him monthly cheques!

What is the trick that gets you mad the most?

The way I skate there is not a trick really like that. I just try to reach out from what I’ve done, rather than focusing on doing a single type of trick further or higher that I have to practice all the time. I suppose that is why I suck so much when it comes down to doing demo’s as I never just roll around and do generic sort of things. I just try to focus on single types of tricks or movements, try to take them someplace new, then redo the same procedure.

No routines like you used to do in freestyle then?

Nope. There will be periods where I will not do a 360 flip in months, just so I focus on new movements and I don’t get stuck in doing things I’ve already done, unless of course I just have a really good time doing them. That’s where a lot of the joy I have skating comes from, how it stays fresh for me.

What tricks are you working on right now?

The video has just ended and before that I was practicing loads of primo moves but now that is finished I am starting from scratch and learning how to stand on my board different and just cruise around and do things. Switch helps you a lot to learn how to re-establish shoulder settings and stuff so that is what I do after any big thing I am done with. I try to start from scratch and see where that takes me, so I’m now looking at goofing around with a lot of nollie impossibles and seeing if I can grab it really high and turning it and seeing where that takes me. At the end of any video it is always a big stop point in my life where I try to look at things from a newer perspective, starting over.

What is your personal favourite trick that you have invented?

Er….haha! It’s a goofy trick that does not even have a name. It’s just based the freestyle days but the way you catch it has a fun feel and the board just does it’s thing. I will try and explain. You do like a noseblunt on the ground, front wheels and nose touching, and with your back foot you throw the board 180, so it cracks the rail. Your back foot will be standing sort of one-footed primo and you continue the motion behind you, so it’s almost like a 360 and it just goes back to the wheels, or nose wheelie or to whatever.

Is there a trick you have never been able to learn? Was there one that got away?

There are always a couple that got away. In the video I do a casper to nose wheelie and I really wanted to do a casper 360 flip to nose wheelie. That one got away. Another heartbreaker.

Yeah, I have had problems with that trick too!

Haha!

Was the Casper slide an accident?

That was not me, that was Mike Ternasky. I still think of him all the time. He was forcing me to skate for Plan B and do the video and I was like, ‘nah, Mike, you don’t need a part from me,’ so he basically stood by me filming all the way through and it was at the end of the video and I was going, ‘Mike you should not even show this part, what are doing.’ This is for Questionable, and he was like, “Rodney, we are not done yet,” and he took my board and said, “this is what you are going to do.” He slid across like a casper with his hands and said “you are gonna do this…” and he sat there and he made me do it and we did it over and over again. I remember being at the premiere and throughout my part it was so silent – until that trick, you could hear crickets and he grabbed me by the neck, which was a great feeling, and he said, “wait until they see your next video.”

Explain a monkey flip out?

Haha! It’s just a stupid thing you write down, like you grab the rail, you know, like a frontside air and hop out of a trick and flip your board. Haha!

How do find switch primo slides?

Yeah, there is one on the video. Not a big deal, just goes by.

Do you ever ride transition now and again?

I wished. When I was a kid I used to skate parks a lot until I lost my teeth and my Dad had me no more than that and nowadays it’s like a never did it! I’m absolutely retarded on transitions, so that is one thing I wanna learn again.

So I could take you at a mini ramp comp?

You sure could! Haha!

Ok, let’s step outside!

Haha!

You have appeared in Tony Hawk’s video games, have you ever been disappointed with your image on a video game?

Those guys who put those things together are always so funny, I always bring boards to try to bribe them into making me look younger!

What is it like to play yourself?

I never have!

Never?!

I have never played one single video game! They always ask me how I think about the last game and I’m always like, ‘hey I loved it!’ Haha!

It must be strange playing yourself, if you did?

People probably use it like a voodoo doll, my wife does when she is pissed with me!

After this Tony Hawk boom, do you think that kids who play these games expect to pick up a skateboard and skate just like their idols?

Maybe they will, but I know a lot of those kids drop out pretty quickly. If people discover skateboarding through a video game even if it is 2% of the people who get into it and find a love for it, then it’s good. Skateboarding has given me everything, and maybe it can do the same for one of these kids that just started by playing video games. Videos themselves are like the game a little, to an extent they are make believe, you go out there and try all day for one single trick.

There is a barrier of disbelief, and if you see one person do it and get through that barrier it becomes believable. Take Pat Duffy as an example, then you get kids everywhere flying down rails and they can do it. These video games are virtual reality, it’s not real but they make kids believe and it raises that bar of skateboarding. Seeing is believing.

What are 3 fave spots in the world?

I’m such a hermit, I just like a few things around LA that I skate but no particular spots.

If a deceased spot was resurrected tomorrow, which one would you like it to be?

I only went to Love Park in Philly a few times on tour but it had the best vibe. I know it meant a lot to the locals there. It would be super cool if people could skate there again.

Did you enjoy your time in London?

Yeah, like always. It was a little wet, though.

I really want to know if you can do a hang-ten nollie back foot impossible, cos i know someone who can. I would like to see Meanwhile Darren and yourself in a game of skate. Are you man enough for a sesh with him at our local Tesco’s car park?

Hah! I wished I could meet him, that would be awesome..

Any plugs, shouts or links?

Er..I hate these little one liners as they always sound cheap, but I suppose what you see in the videos, it takes over a year to get those things out. Don’t be disillusioned about your own skating and don’t feel you have to skate a certain way by what you see by what is popular. Just skate from what is inside you and this the real thing that will keep you going and that is the beauty of skateboarding. Don’t be dissuaded from what you would otherwise be by what you see and what is promoted so much because it often changes like any other fashion. Just skate from your inside.

Thanks Rodney….

Visit:

www.almostawebsite.com
www.globeshoes.com

Brendan is one of the best skaters around. He has the best attitude and never gets riled (pardon the pun!) like most skaters when things don’t go their way. Skateboarding is fun for him and he makes it look as easy like no other. He is a local London skater who has always come down to Crossfire Jams and supported what we do here so it gives me great pleasure to return the support in my own way. Brendan came into HQ in October to do this one face to face and this is what came of it…..

How are ya fella?

Yeah I’m great, all is good, just about to skate the park here at Bay Sixty6 for a Wednesday night sesh and looking fwd to it as ever.

Lets let people know who you are , where you from?

I grew up in South Africa my whole life and I have been here now for about 5 years now after my entire family moved here. There is more here to skate, better job opportunities, less hijacks etc

So are missing the high jacks?

Well, I managed to escape about 4 of those, being held at gun point and all that.

So what was the worst, if you managed to avoid 4, wanna share it!?

A friend of mine was driving through Johannesburg with his arm hanging out of the window and saw some mad guy running up behind us with a fireman’s axe and he tried to hack of his arm with it to get his watch off him!

Fucking hey!

What else? Er. I opened my front door one day and was confronted by a man holding a gun to my head as he thought I was gonna call the police as he was trying to hang some guy in my front garden was going out one day!

Friendly neighbours huh?

Well, it goes on, we got away from 3 or 4 high jacks, they don’t really want to hurt you, they just want your possessions, but life is worthless, they want your car, watches, cameras etc. Another friend of mine was in a coma when he was attacked by a man who smashed a 4 pound hammer into his head for his camera! So we moved here!

Not much filming goes down in Johannesburg then?

Yeah, but you don’t film or take pics you need to go out with a crew of at least 7 guys to get stuff done. It’s that simple. If you have a flash set up you have a guy standing there. Laughs.

What do you miss about it being here though?

I miss friends for sure, also the weather obviously, but there are also great skate spots like in Pretoria, it’s like the capital, right next to Johannesburg and they have the best spots right there. I miss all of these.

There are loads of SA riders here; did you know many peeps when you arrived?

There is like a South African invasion in London, loads of people here now, but I think that Greg Finch from CIDE, was the first to make the step, he started it; I think he was the first to descend here! When I got over here I tried to find him and once I found him, I found everyone. I knew Greg from growing up back home and we used to skate contests from the age of 10 years old. He is amazing, the same style, and whatever he does he always looks good!

When did you start skating then if you were in contests at 10?

I was about 6 years old when I was bombing hills, and then I started learning to ollie when I saw er.’Thrashin’..haha!

(laughs!) Ok stop right there, that is a first for this website! “Thrashin”!?

Yeah, ha-ha, I saw the stunt double of Mike McGill in that movie when he ollied a car and rewound that scene so many times to try and work out how to Ollie! My first board was a Sergie Ventura, so I was stoked to see him at The Snickers Bowl, we had a few beers and a can of Heinz baked beans.

beans?

Yeah, he just pulled them out of his backpack and started eating them at this comp!

So beans aside, you must be about 27 years old now?

Nope, 28.

I was close…So you came over here and what happened?

Well, I was lazy when I first got here in November 99 and the weather shocked me at first so i did not skate for about 3 months, so basically I started to hook up with Greg and the legend Clint Van der Schyffe (Panic/Emerica) who is back in SA now. In fact he ripped, he used to do switch back lip down kinked handrails and stuff, and I got to know the guys at Slam as Greg was working there.

It took about a year before I really started getting into it as SA was full-on all the time as there was only about a handful of really good skaters out there and you would get kids following you all the time. It’s more relaxed here. I’m no Danny Wainwright here, that is for sure!

So let’s talk Ortega Skateboards, what was the hook up?

Well, due to the lovely weather I skated Meanwhile 2 at Royal Oak a lot and then Ricky noticed me skating, I sent him a tape before he set up the company and that is when he started it. He had not pressed any boards then.

So who else is on the team now?

John the Brickie aka Ivan Rodriguez just joined us, Tom Crowe has been there for a while, Trevor Beasley aka Ronaldo, Team Manager Jamie Harrison, Ramon Thackwell and Sam Bruce.

Crowe? Is he still on Ortega, did he not wobble in the summertime?

Yeah, but that is Tom isn’t it!

Yeah, I suppose he flies and never comes down huh! Great skater and good mate..

Yep! That is a good way of putting it. Mike Sutcliffe was in there. Mike is like Willie Nelson man! He is there but nobody really knows what’s going on. He just cruises around loves skateboarding and does not want to be associated with anything. He rode for Ortega for a while and decided he wanted to skate with no pressure. He still represents, he is one of the crew and he is an amazing skater.

Yep, I agree, we love Mike and I know he checks this site weekly so big up yo’self bad man! So back to you. I hear you have a pro board out now, are you proud to have your name on your board?

Yep, here it is right here. As for proud, it’s very cool to be part of a company that you have input in. It would suck if Ricky phoned me up and said hey I wanna do a board and stick your name on it. That is bullshit. So it’s cool to ride for a company where I can ask for concave, shape etc, not just a name on a piece of wood.

So the inevitable question is this. Why are there plug sockets and forks all over your board!?

Well, I stuck one into the other when I was quite small. I grew up in a farm back in SA and I was 2 years old, I watched my parents stick things into the sockets and I decided to plug my fork in there and from the current of the conductor, your muscles contract and was basically frying myself, the lights had dimmed etc and my Mum came flying in and obviously she knocked me away as she could not touch me otherwise she would have been stuck too.

So I went to hospital and I had fried my pigment cells that are connected to my nerve endings and because you nerve endings are under such tension when you have been fried like that it has to be released somewhere the same as when you have a car accident and they get a white patch, it’s the same thing that happens from your body and I got left with a white eyebrow!

That is why you are known as White Lightning then?!(Laughs!)

Haha, Mark Brewster’s a wanker! (laughs!)

Did Brewster make that one up then?

Yeah, it was the first Meanwhile Jam and he was on the mic which is always amusing and he did not have a clue who I was and I was skating quite fast and he saw the white eyebrow and called me that and then it stuck. After that it appeared in Sidewalk and it has gone on from there.

Did you design your own graphic on this board yeah?

Well, the thing with small skateboard companies is that nothing really happens that quickly and Ricky mentioned he wanted to do a pro board and I kept sending him these graphics going ‘this is the one, this is the one’ and time ran out and he said, right, it’s time, which graphic do you want, and I was like, I have changed my mind, I have an idea of forks and plugs and he was like ‘what?’ so 6 months of stuff went waste and here it is. But there is a new series of boards just out for 2005 and they all look fresh.

Ricky is a bit of a legend really, he ripped Meanwhile with Crispin and American Steve and that crew, have you seen any of that footage?

Yeah for sure, I saw some classic footage with him skating with Boma from years ago once. Did you know he skated with Jamiriquai as well?

I didn’t know that but Matt Sanchez told me Jamiroquai used to sell dope to other skaters back in the 80’s. Small world huh?

What?!

So, talking of graphics, your love of art and the way things look through a camera is part of your everyday job right?

Yeah, I work freelance as a photographer and I also assist other bigger photographers cos that way I get to travel and see the world on other people’s budgets. I got into photography through taking skate shots of local riders in SA. The mag at the time had crap photography in it and I though I could do a better job and soon became their senior photographer.

So when I moved here to the UK i decided enough of that and just skate. But I think that some people do not actually realize how much hard work it is. It’s unbelievable how much work that goes into one photograph that gets printed.

So what are you working on at the moment?

I’m quite lucky right now. I have been shooting some semi-naked women for lingerie shoots.!!

Hey, do need some assistance with that!?

(laughs!) yeah maybe..it’s fun, but it is a job that I can do for the rest of my life and as a skater, you cannot expect to be a pro skater for life. A lot of skaters think that and never think about anything else. I think it’s important to have something to fall back on. You need a sideline. Only so many people can start up a new skate company, the market is saturated, and it’s not the only thing in life.

Too true fella, let’s start talking filth it’s far more interesting! (laughs!)

Haha, yeah lingerie shoots are fun. Sometimes it’s classy, sometimes not, it all depends on the client. I just assisted an Anne Summers shoot.

So you are like the Thierry Henry of the lingerie shoot world? He assists in every game! More than Van Nistelhorse!

Yeah, I’m like that! Arsenal are my team to. Not just since I came here either, I actually have supported them since I was about 12, one of my friends was a gooner and brought it back. So I moved to North London!

I agree, there is only one team in London..but let’s talk tricks, you love annihilating a rail, what is you fave trick?

Difficult question..if it’s a rail, currently my fave right now is backside overcrooks.

You love doing 2 tricks at a time as well down a rail huh? Ive seen you do feeble to 50-50’s a lot..

Those are just party tricks! Ed Templeton taught me that trick. He came over with a team once and I was riding for a shop there. I had to do the tour with them and he was the founder of feebles to 50-50, and he showed me the basics and it was easy, all those tricks, feeble to back lip, feeble to front blunt and it’s like riding a bike, you never forget them.

So what is the trick you love most, you love a frontside flip right?

Yeah, but I hate hardflips, they are the bane of my life! Yep, that trick drives me nuts. I suppose that any grinding trick is always good, I love to grind.

What about vert, ever got into that?

I like to warm up on a vert ramp but not to ride one any more. I had an experience where I hooked up once and my knee went sideways and that was the last time. I can do back lips on vert and stuff like that but I prefer street.

If you had to pick 3 spots in the world to skate for a day where would you go?

The first one would be The State Theatre in Preturia in SA and it has the best marble forecourt, that is so huge, in fact if you were to film a line you could include about 15 tricks. There are 9 marble ledges that are a little bit lower than vic benches and twice the length and the water fountain is quite wide, perfect marble, with a 4 set and rails. It’s the best spot in the world for me. Secondly, England is weird, there are good spots but no great spots.I suppose anywhere in Milton Keynes, you can spots everywhere there. Not Southbank, it’s a good spot but not great, in fact I would rather skate the water trough in Aldgate.

What about tunes? I have noticed that whenever I DJ at skate events you are always going through my boxes of records and CD’s to see what I have on offer…

I have been into music my whole life; it’s one of main driving things. I DJ’ed in a club, I played bass in a band that released 4 albums in SA and also go to bury the bass into a Nazi’s head once!

What?!

The shows always had nazi punks beating up skaters and one day I was sick of it and I just took him out!

What kind of punk did you play?

Ska punk really. Operation Ivy crossed with Face to Face.

What was the band called?

Leek.

What, that is my surname!?

No way! That is funny! Yeah we used to play a lot and in front of good sized crowds too.

What was the last CD you bought?

Hmmn.I like to buy from i-tunes, not CD’s, but the last thing I got was something like Led Zepellin b-sides record.

So what track would you use for your part if Ortega put a video out?

Hmnn.probably a track from a friends band who was in Leek, his band is called The Slash Dogs and I would definitely use a track from them. He calles it Monster Trucker Rock, like ska punk meets Motorhead! (laughs!). But I love vintage rock like ACDC, The Stones, I like a lot of Jazz, some hip hop like older Wu Tang, Public Enemy, not all these new MTV faux pas creations and I just appreciate good styles really.

So who is your regular skate session?

Depends on where we are going, but if it’s demo’s etc it’s the OG lot and if it’s a local session probably Irish Steve and Alan Christensen who you know well from his great contributions to this site, let me see… Mike Sutcliffe, the man that can ollie a beer can and look good!

Mike, i f you are reading this, i think you owe us beers! So what is coming up next Brendan, any plans?

I have been lucky. I have a good life and my whole life has revolved around skateboarding but I could never see a career in it.

You should blame Thrashin’ for that mate!

haha!

Any last words.

Thank you for this interview, keep Crossfire rocking and big up to everyone i know and rock to Ortega!

I will do. Cheers

Video Director

(Menikmati, Sorry and Bon Appetit)

How do you feel about the abundance of footage that’s getting done in Europe at the moment? Do you feel you played a part in this rush of visiting pros to Europe?

Europe is definitely getting over exposed which is not a good thing because the more it gets exposed the more it gets over exploited. It works as a vicious circle: there`s this new amazing spot that people find, people want to skate it after they see photos and videos of it, then it gets over skated because every one go skate it which causes damages and disturbs so neighboors get tired and ask the city to skate-proof the spot which then become unskateable, which in the end doesn`t really matter since nobody wants to skate it anyway as all the tricks possible have been done on it. then people look for more spot around thecity and same stuff happens again and again until there`s no more good spots to skate in town. So then people get forced to travel to foreign countries to find skateable spots, until the same stuff happens again. That`s the situation we`re in right now. Every team is going on filming trips across the world to get their job done, and then they go home to chill. That`s just the way it is. You can`t blame anybody for wanting to skate stuff and contribue to kill the spots. We are all guilty. Maybe in 20 years street skating will die because of no more natural spots remaining anywhere.

How and why did you start filming?

I first started filming with my friends Yves, Hamid and Lorenzo so we could check us out on TV to have an outside view of our skating. And to have fun. It was not serious and I didn`t have any idea it would later become my job. Then about a year later two things made me consider makinga local video: At the infamous spot of Hotel de Ville I met an american who I think was working for Transworld, and I told him that there were a lot of good skaters in Lyon and that some of them were may be good enough to be sponsored, and asked him what we should do to hook them up with sponsors. He replied by saying: “make a video and send it to companies”.

And at the same time 411 VM was starting and after 3 issues I was dissapointed not to see any french skaters in it, while there were so many people shown and these videos. So I talked to the skaters in Lyon and everybody was into starting filming. We filmed for a month and a half, got a 55 minutes video 5not possible anymore these days!!!), and I sent the tape to Steve Douglas as he was working for 411 and Giant. That`s what we called a “coup double” in french. I got good feedback from him and from everybody in Lyon and the local shop who was supporting us wanted to sell the video which I was not into, thinking the video was not good enough for resale. We sold 80 copies which was amazing and everybody in France was amped on it so it gave us motivation to make another one. I sent it again to Steve who was blown away by JB`s skating a pretty much straight away got him on New Deal.

That was a complete success for me as the original reason to make the videos worked out. That`s how it all started and from then I was into trying to push it further.

If you had to choose between the camera and the skateboard, which would it be and why?

Well at the beggining as every kid my dream was to be sponsored but I quickly realised this would never ever happened, and at the same time I realised I was the first guy in France and one of the first in Europe trying to take filming seriously so I took my chance and jumped into it hoping it would work. you know for a skateboarder the ideal is to work in the skateboarding industry, so I`m so stoked to be where I am right now.

Did you really mean it when you said ‘Fuck USA’ in Thrasher some time ago?

During that interview I said it as a joke but I really think that way. Before going there I wanted to go so bad, and once I got there I got super quickly dissapointed as I was expecting it to be like what the american propaganda make you think it is. The so-called land of freedom was everyhting but free, and I got shocked with the real culture and the way of thinking. I`ve been travelling so much, discovered so many cultures, and seriously only the american culture I think is made of pure stupidity. The perfect example to illustrate this argumentation is New York: it`s safe to say it`s the best place in america, it`s so rich because it`s basically a mix of all the cultures in the world. Every single country is represented. More than half of the people there don`t speak correct english, or not at all!!! It`s way more down to earth than fantasy land California. But don`t get me wrong, I`m not saying France isthe best either. Not one place is perfect, but yeah I think America is the worst place on earth.

How’s working on the Cliche video going?

It`s so rad I`m so stoked. I get to be home and do the job I love, and on top of that with good conditions. the team is great, no big heads, no rock stars…and it doesn`t feel like working with pros, but amateurs. not because of their skate abilities, but because they are not on the same level as pros on major companies. they still have to push themselves a lot as they are not as much exposed to the skate world, so there is so much motivation from everybody. the atmosphere is so good.

What would be your ideal filming session?

Rad looking spot, rad stylish trick, perfect light, most amazing unseen angle, no security guards or hungry people, and a veggie barbeque!!!

For all the chat room nerds and groms out there, will PJ get a part in the ‘Sorry’ DVD?

All these guys will be happy, it will be xmas again!

Is there such a thing as a camera-ho (like pro-ho)? If so, is it worth it?

Not that I know. it`s impossible, we are just in the shadow of big rich stars!!! It`s better this way anyway.

Your first and last skate video/DVD purchased?

The first video I ever saw was H-Street`s “Shackle me not”. It was a shock, I didn`t know skating was that far. Right after I went out skate,with the biggest motivation I ever had. It was so inspirational (c’est bon on dit comme ca???). The second big shock was Plan B`s “Questionable” video. I couldn`t believe my eyes. I just bought the Zero video, it`s a classic.

Do you really like those rice cakes you’re always chomping, or is it just product endorsement?

I don`t eat those as much, I found new veggie snacks. I try to be healthy, and if you don`t eat this kind of stuff then basically you snack crap.

*Bonus question* After your career in the skate industry, will you pursue your dreams of shooting porn?

I can`t see myself into this business, hopefully I`ll travel and shoot photos, photographer sounds like a good job to me, but it`s more a passion.

peace yo je file a plus

In a time when you’re only as good as your next leap of faith of fashion accessory, it’s hard to spot the skaters that keep it real in every sense of the term. Somebody that understands company loyalty and doing what they please is the not-so-young-anymore Brandon Turner. Brandon is often looked over by the media but they are quick to forget how good this guy really is. As a change from the norm, Crossfire tracked Brandon down in Europe and asked him about San Diego, japanese food and strippers. Brandon knew a bit about all three, and more…

Hey Brandon, how are you doing?

I’m cool. Where are we? Lyon? Yeah, I’m just chillin’ in Lyon right about now, trin’ to score some weed… (Laughter!)

You’re touring with the Osiris team, travelling all over the place. Where were you before this?

We were in Paris right before Lyon, and before that we were in London and that whole side of Europe.

Was it cool over there?

Yeah it’s cool, I like the people, man. It’s all some different experiences and shit!

This isn’t the first time you’ve been to Lyon, though. The Osiris team came once before about 2 years ago.

Nah, the last time I came out here was with Shortys. I like the spots in Lyon, the people. Shit, I just want to party! Just skate, chill and party with some, you know, special people. (Smiles)

Are you guys still tight over at Shortys? Do you hang out together a lot?

Yeah, we hang out. Actually we’ve been busy filming for the new video. We got some new riders so we’re just taking our time with them and the video, so it can be the best it can be. Not comin’ out any time soon.

Osiris has changed quite a lot over the last couple of years, but you’ve been on the team since day one. How have you felt those changes?

Well, it changed a lot with the style and the people. I mean, definitely the whole team is different. Me and Jerry Hsu are the only original people on the team since day one. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. So far as me, I just keep doing what I do, it’s not like I can do much about it.

Where are you living at the moment?

I’m living in San Diego.

Have you lived there all your life?

No, not all my life. I lived in Japan for 5 years! That’s like my second home. It’s real different from the States! The culture’s different, that’s the main thing, besides that, you know.

What are some of your favourite places you’ve travelled to?

Japan, fo’ sure! I like Canada, Barcelona, Paris. I had fun in Belgium, too. I’ve got my favourite places! (Smiles)

Belgium?

Oh, I’ve just got good friends there, ever since we first toured there with Shortys. I just like it, you know! (Laughter) The people are cool and we have good demos.

Do you still see Peter Smolik a lot?

Yeah! That’s one of my best friends!

What’s he been up too lately?

He’s busy running Skate Mafia, and he just had an interview in the Skateboard Mag. He’s just doin’ his thing. He was injured for a while and that’s why nobody saw him skating. He had like a chip in his ankle or something, but it’s fixed now.

You’ve had a couple of bad injuries in the past. Tell me about them.

I broke both my legs!

That’s kinda harsh. How did you deal with not being able to skate?

It was only a couple of months that I wasn’t going to be able to skate on each injury. It sucks, but it’s something you have to go through.

Are you looking forward to continuing this tour?

Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. My shoe just came out, so I’m busy tryin’ to promote that, you know? I’m just tryin’ to get my interviews going, and film a part for Digital while I’m out here, too. With that, I think it’ll be me and Zered Bassett, and a couple of other guys.

What did you think of skating in New York?

It’s weird. It’s different. I like New York, but as far as skate spots go, I think it’s kind of a hassle. But I liked it out there, it’s cool!

Have you got any plans for the future?

Just keep on skating! I’ve got my shoe comin’ out. Eventually own my own shop or restaurant, or something, in San Diego. Like a Japanese restaurant or something. Try and travel as much as I can.

Have you got any crazy stories of things that have happened during this tour?

Yeah, actually I do have a crazy story! Where was it again? . Bristol! Yeah, in Bristol there were these crazy girls that wanted me to strip for them! We were eating at this restaurant. I guess it’s the town where people have their bachelor parties, or something. Anyway, we’re eating at a restaurant and a girl comes up to the table, and I guess her friend must have just got married because it was all girls at their table! They wanted somebody from our table to come over there and act like a stripper! You know? (Laughter!)

A gang of English girls let loose at night can be pretty dangerous Brandon!

Yeah! So, they were all like, ‘One of you come over and act like a stripper and ask for Lisa’, or somebody. So, I’ve had a couple of beers by now and I was up for doin’ it. I just walked over there and acted like, ‘Who ordered the stripper?! Where’s the Lisa Duet party?!’ The girls start getting all embarrassed, and I’m walking up in there shakin’ my shirt and shit! (Laughter) The girl was wearing some roses over her, so I took one of them and started ticklin’ her, she goes all red and I’m just jokin’, you know?! (Laughter) The whole table went crazy. I’ve never met the girl in my life, but I posed for like a hundred pictures with her and her friends, you know! Her memories of her marriage will be of me, but she brought me a couple of drinks, so we’re cool. (Laughter)

That’s wicked Brandon! Cheers!

Cheers to you and cheers to Crossfire too!

The last time we met, you were filming for the Cliche video, Bon Appetit. What have you been up to since then?

I went to Barcelona for a little bit, and then I went on a Kingpin trip to Israel a month ago which was pretty cool. Then the last thing I did was tweak my ankle pretty bad! I tore the ligaments in the front part of my foot, so that sucks. I’m just starting to skate again, right now.

Tell me a little more about your injury. How did it happen? What have you been doing off your board?…

I injured myself doing nothing special, just skating flatground at a skatepark. I guess I wasn’t really paying attention and I wanted to get going, and then it happened. I was pretty bummed just laying on the sofa, with my leg in the air for a week, icing it. I went to the doctor, but he said he couldn’t really do anything. Luckily this happened just as the European Football Championships started! (Laughter) So I ended up watching that quite a lot. I spent time with my girlfriend and we went to see some exhibitions and stuff.

Did you find yourself picking up any new hobbies at all?

Umm. No, not really. Nothing worth mentioning.

Were you disappointed that the German team got taken out so fast this year?

No! I wasn’t expecting any better really! ( Laughter)

After this experience, do you think you’ll try and take the time to heal properly, or are you itching to get back on your board as soon as possible?

It sucks, you know. It’s always a hard decision to make. On the one hand you really want to skate, but on the other you really want to get fit. For myself, I always try and start to skate too early. It’s a tough decision between not skating at all, or skating half fit? My foot still isn’t completely healed, like right now I feel like I can skate, but I’m too anxious to really do something. Being anxious skating is not always the best thing.

What were your first memories of skating?

My first memories of skating were probably of all the kids in my neighbourhood, Gottingen in Germany, doing the jump ramps and stuff. Seeing them fly off that and cruising down the street made me want to do it too.

Did you ever think skating would take you this far? Travelling the world and stuff.

No! When I started, not at all.

Today, do you ever feel the pressure of skating being your profession and looking at it like work?

For me, it only works if I enjoy it to a certain point. If I start to look at it like work, I get so bummed and lose the attraction.

What’s the best place you’ve been to?

Skate spot wise, I think the best place was Prague. The Stalin Plaza is so good! But, the same thing there: I went there for the contest two years ago, and injured my knee only two days after arriving there! So, I couldn’t really skate there, so I was bummed.

You mentioned earlier that you went to Israel with Kingpin. Tell me a bit about that.

The scene was pretty good over there. I wasn’t really expecting to see so many people skating. Unbelievable! There were lots of kids, but lots of older people too. There was myself, Niall and Benjamin from Kingpin, Alexis Jauzion, Hugo Liard and Kenny Reed.

You’re filming for the Cliche DVD. Can you feel the pressure?

Yeah! It’s always hard to film! Especially when standards are fucking high.

What’s it like filming with Fred Mortagne? He’s quite specific in what he wants, right?

It’s hard work, but it’s cool. For this DVD, I haven’t really filmed much with him. Instead I’ve been getting footage with Chassignole, but I haven’t got much footage so I’ve still got work to do!

Apart from the Cliche tour, do you have any other plans for the future?

This year, Cliche is supposed to do a tour in England which will kind of interesting for me because I’ve only been to London so far. Then. I really want to move back together with my girlfriend because we lived together for quite a while, but then we both moved to different towns. Now it’s a long distance relationship and it fucking sucks!

Alright, do you have any shout outs or thank yous to give Jan?

I’d really like to thank Cliche for sure! Everything we did over the last couple of years. Thanks DC! And my mate Stephan who’s doing a cool little t-shirt project. That’s it for now.

Well, thanks a lot Jan, and heal the ankle!

Thanks Ralph and thanks Crossfire!

Steph Morgan has been getting recognised for his skateboarding skills in London for a while now. His skills have led him to be on the CIDE skate shop team and he is also one of Blueprint Skateboards flow riders.Ralph Lloyd Davis caught up with him on the phone and this is what went down…

Ok Steph. This is your 15 minutes of fame so let the people know.

But first, how old are you? Where are you from? How long have you been skating?…

Uh.(Hesitates) 18. I’ve been skating for about 5 years and I’m from South Africa, man! The ghetto!

The ghetto? Whereabouts?

Johannesburg, then I moved to Durban where it’s a bit more chilled out. Just machetes, no guns! (Laughter)

So, how long have you been living in England for?

I lived in Bromley for the first 2 years, but now I live in Longfields. I’ve been here for about a year.

Why did you move over from South Africa?

It was because of a job opportunity for my dad and he figured it would be better than staying back in SA.

Right. Let’s try and get back to some skate questions. Tell me about how you discovered skating.

Well, it’s mainly because of my brother, Gavin. He was already skating, in fact he still is, and he told me that I should try it out, so I was like, ‘Why not? I’ll give it a go.’ My first board was one of those crappy supermarket budget boards but I was super stoked and got right into it and loved it from then on!

Gavin had been skating for a while already, right?

Yeah, he was already skating. I think he’s been skating for about 10 years now.

Not many people know this, but you and your two older brothers, Gavin and Andy, are both skaters, and it’s not like any of you suck either. Is it in the genes? Was your dad pro and never told you about it?

(Laughter) He probably was, eh! (Laughter)

Apart from skating, were you ever into anything else as a kid?

Yeah, I used to mess around with body boards and stuff, but I’ve never been into something as much as I have with skating.

What was it like growing up and skating in SA?

It wasn’t difficult but you need a car because public transport isn’t all that good. Plus, when you drive you can go and find loads more spots and stuff. It’s pretty chilled to skate in SA like people wise they’re pretty mellow. No hassle, it’s completely different. No rude boys! (Laughter)

You really hate those guys don’t you?

Ah! If I could, I’d nuke every one of them!

Come on, it’s not their fault. Anyway, what’s a typical day like for you?

Get up. In Kent! Get my mom to hook me up with some good sandwiches, hop on the train and meet up with Lucien (Clarke) and Rich (Hardy). But, Rich is in a bit of a drinking mode at the moment so. (Laughter) Then we got hit uploads of spots and at night I go chill with my girlfriend.

Oh? Is she done with your skating?

Yeah, she loves it, eh! She just lets me go skate whenever I want to as well!

Damn! When I was your age, girls wouldn’t give skaters a second glance. We were the scum of the Earth. So, when you go skate, what kind of spots do you hit up? Do you skate everything?

Yeah! Well, I try and skate everything anyway. Like, I don’t skate parks that much because I mostly just skate street, but I have been to this one park in Rochester that is pretty good. I prefer to skate street though, and I know it sounds gay but you get a real sense of freedom! (Laughter) You’re not just confined to one area with a bunch of people you don’t want to be with, like rollerbladers. You know you get those cock rollerbladers at skateparks?

Yeah, I know what you mean. But, do you have any transition skills or are you just hitting up the banks and ledges?

Oh, I skate mini ramps. I’m not amazing but I can flow by doing all the basic tricks and stuff. If you drop me in a harsh skatepark, I won’t sink I don’t think.

Has your skating taken you to foreign lands yet, or are you still waiting for the call?

Well I came to London! But, that was just because of my parents I guess.

Then, I went to Barcelona.

What did you think of Barcelona? Did it live up to your expectations?

Yeah definitely man! There were more spots than I actually thought, eh! You just get off at any metro stop and there are just spots everywhere. You’d think the architects were skaters. Like, you know that one spot Fondo?

The one with the pyramid hips, ledges, banks and fountain.

Yeah. It’s so stupid, man! It’s just like a playground for skaters. It’s so good!

How about London? Do you the spots as hard to skate as they are reputed to be?

There are new spots popping up everyday now, but some of the older spots, like the Barbican for instance, are becoming real bad busts now, like the worst in the City! You run into a lot of cops in the City, but there are so many other spots to skate outside of the City, and the new ones popping up, that’s it isn’t too difficult. When I was on the train to college once I spotted this red handrail. Seeing as I was on the train, I had to figure out the whole route of how to get to it. With Andy in the car, we eventually found it in some industrial estate. It wasn’t easy to find, but in the end it’s this perfect rail that’s nice and low, a bit steep but it is a good rail.

Do people skate that new spot in B******** at all?

Uh. Not really because all the residents have moved in now. Like that one time we went, we sessioned it for 2 hours without any hassle, but then we went back another day and got kicked out by security in under 10 minutes! It’s a good spot though, eh?

Definitely, I found it! As a young amateur today, do you find it hard trying to make a name for yourself when the level among your peers is so high? Is it quite competitive in the amateur ranks nowadays?

It’s weird. I kinda just try and skate and do as best as I can do, you know? I mean, there are like so many good guys out there that for some of them, I don’t even understand how they get that good? (Laughter)I just skate and try what I can, pushing myself.

Does having brothers that skate help?

Yeah! Having Andy there with his camera helps a lot because we can work off one another to get things done.

Would ever consider an image change if your sponsors were all Hip-Hopped out or rocking to the punk scene?

(Laughter) Oh, I seriously wouldn’t give a damn about stuff like that! It’s just stupid, I reckon, changing your whole image and stuff. That’s got nothing to do with skating, it’s just proper selling out, eh? It’s dumb.

So, how would you define a professional?

I’d say obviously it has to be someone that’s really good at skating, with their board like skill wise, but also they have to be a rad person that’s friendly. You need to be able to go up to them and talk to them without worrying. You know how some pros can be all patronizing and full of attitude, like they look down on you? A real pro is someone who’s really mellow and out to have fun.

Who do you look up to?

Pro wise, I’d say Mark Appleyard, Lucas Puig because when I saw him skate Southbank, he was so good! There are so many. Danny Renaud! I like all those Habitat guys with the East Coast skating thing, hitting up loads of different spots.

Tell me about your sponsors.

Well, I just got on flow with Blueprint because I filmed some stuff with Ian Passmore, Ches and Dan McGee liked the stuff so they started sending me some boards. I’m trying to film some more stuff for them and then they might stick it in the video!

What was going on before Blueprint? How did you get boards then?

At first, I got some decks from Vehicle, and then this guy, Bowman, who works with the Spanish company Jart skateboards started flowing me that. But, at that moment the Blueprint thing happened, so I had to kind of weigh out my options. I’d didn’t want to piss anyone off because they’re being rad giving me stuff, but I had to choose Blueprint because it’s a great opportunity. I couldn’t really believe it at first. It’s kind of like a dream. (Laughter)

And how about Cide skateshop?

Greg Finch is a buddy from SA, and he sorts me out with shoes when I need them and anything else I might need, so that’s rad. I had skated with Greg once or twice already in SA, but he was a good friend of Gavin’s so we knew one another like that.

Sticking with the Sponsor topic, how do you feel about competitions? Do you like them or avoid them?

I used to skate comps a lot in SA because I was a real local at this one skatepark. I don’t mind them but I do get mad nervous beforehand because they call your name out and your just standing there with everyone’s eyes on you. But, then you land a good trick and start to feel better and relax a little.

According to my sources, you’re a bit of a healthy living dude. Why?

(Laughter) I don’t know! I seriously don’t see it as ‘Healthy living’, I mean when I came to England it just seemed like people don’t eat as well here as they do back in SA. Look at Lucien (Clark). He won’t even eat a salad, or vegetables! Eating vegetables to me is like a normal part of your meal, it’s weird.

Then, what do you suggest? What can we find on your menu?

Well, my mom cooks really good pasta dishes like macaroni cheese but with tuna! Then, a really good feta cheese salad. Yeah! That’s a good meal. (Laughter)

Seeing as you’ve only been skating for 5 years, this might be difficault to answer, but if you could travel back to a specific period in skate history, when would it be and why?

Uh. Shit.(Hesitates) You know like back in the day when Girl’s ‘Mouse'(1995) came out? When they’re skating the school yards and Keenan Milton switch flips that picnic table, it seems like they were just skating and enjoying themselves. Nowadays there are always cameras involved and everybody has to perform. It seems like everything is already planned, but when Keenan did his switch flip, it seemed like he was just skating regardless. It just seems a lot more original and rad.

Talking about how seriously people seem to take skating today, do you think of riding your board as a career?

I wouldn’t look at it as something to make a living out of, but if you are then you’re damn lucky because you’re doing something that you love! It’s hardly like an office job. If you’re making it skating than you’re lucky. I’d love to just get up everyday and just skate?

Seeing as you’ve started at college, what career would you like to pursue?

Probably something to do with art because I’m studying graphic design at the moment. I dig art, so something to do with that I’d say.

Alright Steph, what are your plans for the future?

Skate and die! (Laughter) Yeah that’s all. Oh, and travel a lot. I want to visit Prague and Paris and anywhere that’s good for skating. I think I might head back to SA for a little bit in the future to visit all my old homies.

Steph would like to thank his parents, Andy, Gavin, Greg, Badger and Alan at CIDE, Blueprint skateboards, Ian Passmore, JP, Rich and Lucien, and his girlfriend.

Interview by Zac

I have wanted to ask this fella a few questions for years. His unique style on a skateboard is quite phenomenal. So when he finally visited the UK this summer on an eS tour, I managed to get just over an hour with him in a tent at the Urban Games on Clapham Common before he signed autographs with the rest of the team for hours on end.

It was relaxed, the weather was overcast in traditional UK style, and we sat on 2 plastic chairs! The photo’s on this page are stolen off the web and credited to Atiba. They are great shots and i had to use them, sorry!

Ok Let’s start with the CV…Full name please.

Eric Lee Koston! (laughs)

Qualifications:

Erm, I was a boyscout, I don’t remember what badges I had though!

You could not have been that good then?

Yeah I was down! Can you remember which badges you had on your arm?

Actually – nope! – Ok, try this one…any crappy jobs taken on whilst needing money before being paid for skating?

Erm..oddly enough I have never had to have a crappy job!

Never?! (laughs)

Not one job, apart from yard work for the parents, and house cleaning for a little bit of dough, but I got sponsored young, at about 14 years old, so I think from that point I was able to sell boards and get enough money to get by!

What are your earliest memories of skateboarding, what board, what color lapper etc?

Yeah about 1986, white lappers, jump ramps, Powell, all that good stuff. Mark Gonzales was like my guy. I remember the Thrasher interview with Gonz all over my bedroom walls. That was my first board, it was a hand me down from my brother. The face graphic, the OG!

Did you skate when growing up in Thailand?

I was born there and stayed for 9 months, so I have no memories from Thailand.

Have you been back since?

Yeah, a couple of times..I have an aunt there.

Is she accustomed to riding with 4 people on a motorcycle on a motorway?

Yeah probably!

Let’s talk skateboarding: Is skateboarding still as much fun as in the beginning?

I’m still able to kinda do it the way I used to enjoy it, but it’s obviously not the same. I wish I could bottle it up you know, drink it, and go right back to those times, but I think when I go home, is when I can skate like that, with my friends, with guys who are not sponsored that I just skate around with and find a spot down the street and just mess around, those are the finest times.

But even like on these demo trips, it’s still fun. Sometimes they are not fun, like if we go to a demo in a crowded skatepark when there is no ventilation, smoke filled, you are boiling hot and you are trying to skate and all eyes are on you, and you try to land tricks and nothings happening.that is when it’s not fun

It’s pressure huh?

Well, yeah, it’s not so much the pressure, but it’s just annoying having a battle with yourself and having to have that battle with yourself in front of like 500 kids! Sometimes you just give up, because sometimes you just make yourself more upset. Some kids understand, but some kids don’t. Like for example you go on tour and you hear ‘The Zero Team came through here and did a better demo’ etc, kids will say anything, and it’s funny, every kid has their own opinion, you know, you always have your favorites. I always had my favorites back in the day, but it’s changed. For me, like watching Tony Hawk at a demo or wherever, it was cool just to be there watching the guy skate whether or not he landed a trick, he could have done anything and I was stoked.

Do you look at it as a job sometimes, or is that just impossible?

Yeah, there is work to do. I spend about 2-3 times at the most in a week doing work stuff, aside from being on a skateboard, which is good.. Sometimes, it’s all at once, but it depends on what needs to be done.

Is there a daily schedule or just whatever is going on that week?

A lot of times it’s harder to skate during the weekdays because kids are schools and a lot of skating is done around schools, there are only a few spots locally before we get kicked out of spots and harassed. Aside from that it’s night time, around midnight, light them up and skate.

Do you always shoot all of your sessions?

Yeah, depends on where it is, you know. If we find a giant handrail for example, maybe it’s somewhere I think I should film something, as it’s not as if you are gonna be skating that for fun for a couple of hours, or all day. If so, you are gonna be crawling away from it! So you have certain spots all the guys will go skate and fuck around at, or get some shots out of and get the work stuff out of.if you can call it that! (laughs)

Do you put a lot of input and creativity into the companies you ride for i.e. Girl, Es, Fourstar? If so, in what ways?

Fourstar especially, but with Es yeah I try to do a lot. Especially with my shoes, but also I’m trying to do a lot with other shoes on the new lines that are coming out, not my shoes, but team shoes, like going to meetings, going over the samples and designs etc. I wanna not only be able to back my shoe but also have as much of my personal input into everything in the brand.

You seem to be loyal to your brands and another new eS shoe out this year huh?

Yeah, the new K6 is out now, it’s cool to have so many models out and that the brand is very supportive. I have everything I need so the loyalty aspect just rolls with that.

How much input goes into your shoes, how many shoes do you go through until they are right?

You know what; the samples are never the same! (laughs) Sometimes it could be a year long ordeal and samples go back and forth, sometimes you can get a pair back and I’m like, all you gotta do is change this and this and then it comes back it’s ready, so it’s hit or miss.maybe I should fly to China more often or something

(laughs).

Have you been out there?

No, never been out there, but sometimes there are communication breakdowns or whatever, and that’s when things go bad, but roll the dice and you never know what comes back!

Let’s talk about video parts. I heard on the grapevine that you were not entirely happy with your part in Yeah Right?

Yeah, I felt I could have done a lot more, but I feel I feel like that all of the time. You always feel as you could do more but sometimes you cannot do it physically. Yeah Right had to be released, it took 3 years to that point and sometimes it just has to be made and finished, you can’t keep waiting, because you are gonna out skate stuff you started. If you see footage later and don’t wanna use it cos it was 3 years old, it’s really annoying.

What about the twisty rail at the end of that part, how many times did you try that?

Er.about 4 times. I did not manage to slip out of the back of it thankfully, and jumped off into the stairs a couple of times, and that is never fun, but better to do that than to fall out of the back of a railing and drop down!

Has that ever happened?

No thankfully! (Laughs)

Do you have the final say over what goes in the part?

Yeah, I have the final say, but sometimes people disagree, we toss it round, see what happens you know? Making video parts is hard, it’s hard to keep going sometimes, to keep making one better than the last one.

Is there a new eS video being shot at the moment?

We are working on one right now, trying to get it out for next summer.

You have appeared in a lot of skate videos ‘ do you enjoy filming them?

After my part in Yeah Right, filming has just continued. I have totally been filming video parts for like, 12 years of my life now, it’s like they do not stop. There a couple of gaps here and there but there is always another one, it’s crazy you know ‘ I’m gonna call it quits at some point.

Do you watch them back at all?

You know what, I rarely do. I go to the premieres and see them a couple of times, or I will be in a shop doing a signing and it will be on a TV in the back ground. I hardly ever watch skate videos, I don’t really get new ones, I don’t really go into shops to get them, unless somebody has it right there you know.

Would you ever consider putting out a video part with no street skating, just mini and vert?

Haha, I wish I could! I wish it was that easy. Mini ramps are cool, and I can still skate vert, but only with a couple of friends behind closed doors, not in front of a crowd, just fucking about. It’s hard skating vert. The last time I padded up and skated vert was at the skatepark in Tampa at one of their contests a long time ago, I just dropped in you know, but they are a killer on your back!

What about injuries, have you had your fair share of them?

Well, I have been very fortunate with injuries so far, there have not really been that many. Badly sprained ankles, no breaks but I did dislocate my little finger once! (Laughs!)

Maybe we should not hoodoo this then and move on!

Hey, talking of hoodoo, the Italians say that if you do bring stuff like that up, you do this (he does the heavy metal fingers!); it’s like their version of knocking on wood you know!

Wow, in my book that only means Slayer is on the stereo!

(laughs) Yeah, strange huh!

Talking of Italians, you have just been to Italy on this tour right?

Yeah, we just went to Rome, and also Basel, Rotterdam, and Brussels also, but Rome was the best. The food was obviously amazing. Seeing Rome in the whole day and half we had, we were like power tourists! We went down to the Coliseum, I’m glad we went there; we had to get up early to do it. It’s the only time we had.

Did much skating go down?

Not much, we kind of skated the day we flew in and fucked around. We went to The Vatican, and then we had the demo the next day which was a street course by the beach, pretty good place. I was thinking it was gonna suck, you know, being outdoors by the beach, it could have sucked, but it was a fun park, fun demo, not a lot of kids and everybody had a lot of fun.

Who is the character on the tour so far?

You know what, it’s definitely not that kind of tour, it’s been pretty mellow, we have not really been partying, and we don’t really have a party crew either so it’s been mellow. In Rome we had this weird press conference that was really strange. Imagine what we are doing here right now, but they took us to a meeting room like in a hotel, they had chairs lined up with tables at the end of the room and people fired questions at us like we were a basketball team or something! It was really funny! I was like, Man; you have the wrong group of guys!

I did most or all of the talking, PJ chipped in, which was surprising as he is quite shy, but it’s not a natural setting for skateboarders, not like this, this is personal, this is the way it should be, 2 people shooting the shit! But that is the way they wanted it..

Is that how it is in the States with all the XGames stuff these days because we don’t really have that stuff here in the UK, is there more demand now than back in the day?

Well, back then, when I first started, that demand was there. I remember a TV show called ‘That’s Incredible’ that would have some guy doing magic, or have a weird story, death defying stunt etc. I remember seeing Rodney Mullen on that thinking whoa, what is he doing on TV?! But it was cool because you could see skating on TV, and it was rare but what those guys were doing is not quite on the scale it is now, but it was close to that just before it went dead in 89′. And now you have Tony Hawk on talk shows, and all sorts of commercials, Andy Macdonald on late night talk shows, it’s in the public eye and got to strange level.

Even I’ve been on local news channels, most of the time you are trying to describe what skating is, how it works, you just try your best.

Whilst we are on the subject of fame, have you seen the Stoked.Rise and Fall of Gator movie?

Yeah, definitely. Obviously this movie epitomizes the rise and fall of fame; he was definitely a random example. In fact he got into Christianity and if you remember Eddie Elguera, he was the guy that got me first sponsored; he kind of set it all up for me. He was a born against Christian also from San Bernardino and I remember going up to a mini ramp content in San Jose with him, and he is like ‘hey Gator is coming up here later’ and they were gonna read stuff out of the bible and discuss it, and it was the first time I met Gator. I was tripping out, as he was the most famous skater alongside Mark Gonzales and Gator came down, hung out, watched TV, skated that contest and the fact is, Gator had already killed that girl before this comp, and I remember finding out exactly when he did it and remembering that it was before the time I had first met him. I was tripped out, I was 15 then, I found out later on at a skate camp, you know, like Woodward in Wisconsin and I was there as a skate councilor and Gator was the guest pro for that week, and he did not show. Eddie had to tell us what had happened, that was when he admitted what he had done, that summer. It was bizarre, he had already done it, and I was tripping out!

You mentioned the Gonz being a major influence back in the day, are there any up and coming skaters that are ripping out there right now in your eyes?

PJ Ladd for sure, he is really fun to watch, how good he is, how consistent he is, but there are other guys like Bryan Herman. It’s great to watch people progress quickly, they go from being small, good and then go bigger, they grow up and blow up. Paul Rodriguez is another person I like to watch skate.

Let’s talk about tricks, what tricks are you learning right now?

I feel like I’m done with learning tricks, they just come out, you know, you try to create, by throwing in old stuff with new. I guess I don’t work on a specific thing; I just have a thought, and see if I can do something new with it, that is how I go about things. You throw it around and almost pose it you know, sometimes you get a mental image of what you could really be trying and things fall into place, but no real dairy of when I should get stuff done. If I try and set my self up for something I would get disappointed.

What about videos do you see others do tricks and ask yourself if you can do it?

Yeah, sometimes things look fun and I ask myself if I can do it, and try it out.

What is with the hardflip Eric?!

Oh, the hardflip! Yeah, that is my bane man! I don’t know why, but my body has a problem with them. I can do them but they are really ugly! I feel awkward, I feel like shit when I do them and I have been doing them for like 12 years, but sometimes I just get em. I feel like throwing in the towel with that trick, they do not feel natural for me, that trick is very humbling! (Laughs!)

Outside of skating, what are you up to.I hear you like Golf?

Yeah, I like golf, every week I play golf. I try and sneak in a 9 hole at the local public course for a couple of hours!

Who do you play with?

Attiba Jefferson, the photographer, and his brother who is the graphic designer for eS, and Tim Gavin at Podium, DVS,. In fact he is the one that got me into it!

You like basketball too?

Yeah, the Lakers man! It’s all about the Lakers!

So, who’s a bigger Laker fan you or Rick Howard?

Well, er.that is tough question, let me think about that for a second. (pause) you know.I think I am, and you know why?

Why’s that?

Well, Rick was over here with you for your Bay 66 Jam on the Girl UK Tour when the play offs was on! I was like, how the hell are you going there, you are gonna miss it! I was scheduled in for that tour but I did not have to go, disappointing for him though! But you guys don’t have a lot of basketball here in the UK no?

Nah, it’s all about Football over here, or soccer as you Yanks call it. It’s huge. But, here is a basketball connection for you. – I actually got into skating through basketball as there used to be weekly school trips to watch it at a place called Crystal Palace and they had a ramp out the back

that people like Lucien Hendricks used to ride back in the day and I saw that and was like, screw basketball and swimming, I’m getting a board!

So I can relate to basketball somewhere along the line..!

See, you gotta love it…That is cool.

Anyway, let’s talk about music. What format do you play your music on when you are on tours like this?

Ah, the IPOD of course.

So what’s on it then, what do you listen to?

At the moment, the new Morrissey album is on a lot. I had not heard him in a while and the new album just came out and I was listened to The Smiths growing up. I like Morrissey a lot, I had to get that record. Also Modest Mouse, Kanye West.I listen to Bowie, Hip Hop, loads of different artists really.

So which 5 essential records would you pick, if you had to?

On shit, I go through so many cycles and come back to stuff all the time..er.

Ok, lets narrow it down, one essential record then?

OK – Radiohead – The Bends, it reminds me of so many good times..but maybe also NWA – Straight out of Compton, as I remember coming back from school in 7th Grade and was all hyped on it, I’d do my homework to it, as I always had to do homework before I was allowed to go skate, so maybe that one too, such a great record, full of attitude. Music is a part of my life, it’s an everyday occurrence.

So, Mr Eric Lee Koston. What future is in front of you, for you and your skateboard?

I er…….I just want it to end! (big laughs).

I just wanna be able to skate for as long as I can, no matter what. I don’t know how much longer that will be. You know I’m 29 years old, and I’m sure there will be a time when I will look at myself on video and think, maybe it’s time to hang it up as a pro, you know, you could be the guy at the park that cruises around the bowl. I see myself turning into that guy at the local skate park, it’s a lot of fun stuff just cruising around as there are a lot of cement ones where I live. That urge will not be there for a long time, but I’m still gonna stay in it, I will be around working on the other side of the skateboard, but sometimes I feel like it’s the thing to do, quitting being a pro. You know, sometimes I’m trying tricks filming, and I can’t make it, I think about it. It feels fun but everyone has a time and we all know when that is eventually.

Ok , here are some Rapid fire questions from various website forums around the UK :

Would you rather skate a rail with Rick Howard or a Big 4 with Jereme Rogers?

Er..a rail with Rick.

How Ghey was that Konami Video ‘ King of Whatever!?

Oh, it was bad! I have not even seen it!

Game of SKATE with Guy Mariano or Paul Rodriguez?

Guy Mariano!

A week at OG EMB or MACBA?

OG EMB

Tickets to every Laker match or a 6 week journey wherever with your friends?

Haha! (you should see his face!) well, you know what, I love the Lakers but I’d go for the 6 months with friends, we just went on a friends bachelor party and that was great!

A demo in front of thousands at the DC skate plaza or a regular session at Southbank, London?

Southbank for sure, I skated there last night in fact for about 4 minutes! I hear it’s closing down in the future, which is a shame. It’s like Love Park in London. It’s part of UK skate history.

Do you feel any responsibility for the thousands of kids trying in vain to K-Grind?

Somewhat..but it’s not all my doing! (laughs)

Name 3 interesting facts about yourself.

Oh boy, er..I have a t-cup Yorkshire Terrier called Tiger.(laughs).er.I’m addicted to reality television! I have Tevo so it just stores it for me, I don’t miss any of it, so I watch a lot of it, I’m a junkie for it, and the third.er.I’m not a big car guy, but food, I love exquisite foods, really expensive restaurants, for example i love going out for food that you don’t get anywhere else accept for that one place you know.like Nobu.

Yeah, you like sushi then?

Yeah, you know Nobu?

Yeah I have been there for a meal in London.

Is there one here?

Yeah, near Hyde Park inside the Metropolitan Hotel. Check it out if you have about two hundred quid to spend!

What do you still want to do, as far as skating goes, that you haven’t got round to doing yet?

The Loop for sure, maybe one day I will get around to doing it.

Ok, that is all I have to throw at you. Thanks for coming out for the interview, do you wanna thank some people?

Yeah, obviously thanks to you and Crossfire for hooking this up, A4 UK, eS, and all of the kids that have come out today to see us here for supporting skateboarding!