Category: Interviews

Photos thanks to: Styley, Rob Falcon and Troy West
Interview made up on the spot by Zac Slack

Death Skateboards rider Horsey is not actually a horse. Just to clear that up before we go any further. He is bloody good on a skateboard though, evidence of which can be seen in the new Death video Better Than Life and the photos in this interview. Read on for how to make the world’s best bacon sandwich, golden cocks, tattoos and the noise of a frontside grind.

Right, we have Horsey at Crossfire HQ to grace us with his endearing presence, riding for Death Skateboards, is that correct?

Yes that is correct.

Before we go any further with this malarkey I believe you should introduce yourself as who you really are rather than a Horse.

My real name? I shouldn’t tell people my real name, it’s a secret!

Tough tits, we expose secrets on this show!

My real name is Charlie Diggins

No it’s not, you told me it was Scott!

Nah, it’s my other name.

Other name? How many others have you got?

A couple… you want my real real name?

Yes!

It’s Scott Walker.

Like the famous guitar player from the 60s?

That’s what old women always say to me…

I am an old woman!

Oh, then yeah.

So Charlie Diggins, is that another aka?

Yeah it’s another alias.

So when do you use your real name, your alias, your other alias?

It depends on the circumstance.

Give me some examples, when does Charlie come out?

Just now…

You just made him up?

Yep, I don’t like telling people my real name.

I knew it was Scott, but didn’t know it was Walker. Are you related in any way to the 60s marvel?

I don’t think so, maybe. I’ve never heard any.

So, you’re obviously into the 60s, because you have a tie-dye t-shirt on. It came out in the 60s, moved into the 70s, spat out in the 80s and now it’s back again and on your body! Do you normally wear these garish clothes when you go out skating?

Yeah I suppose. I made this one myself.

It looks like it…

T-shirts can be boring though so it’s good to spice them up.

Right, now you’ve obviously be riding a whizzplank for a while now, but how long? When did you start?

I had a skateboard when I was about 6, it had a skull on it I think! I was really little and my mum bought it from a corner shop. There’s a ramp at Saffron Walden where I’m from and I could just drop in, and then I stopped. I remember one day, I’d gone home and painted my board black and then went to drop in and rock fakie but caught my hand underneath my board and got a really big blood blister.

What have you got monkey arms or something?

No! I don’t know, it just happened. That’s the only thing I can remember really, my worst slam ever! Then I stopped and started again when I was 14.

What was your first pro board?

The first board I got, I bought off someone and it was a Kerry Getz Habitat one and had a frog on it.

What year was this?

2000…

So what’s your age then?

22.

22! A young buck!

I’m old in the skateboarding game.

But when you walk in this place, you’re just about the youngest.

Yesssss.

So you’re from Saffron Walden originally, are you super stoked that it has a very large presence of concrete sat in the middle?

Yeah, it’s amazing. I just wish that it was there 5 years ago when I was living there.

So do I. Where do you live now?

In Harrow with Cates and Steak.

So you live at the House Of Doom?

Yeah, the third one. Did you go to the second one?

I’ve been to all of them.

I never went to the second one, I heard it was pretty messed up.

It was a horrible, they’re all disgusting hovels…

Our one’s nice, it’s pretty clean!

What’s it like living with Cates?

It has it’s ups and downs…

What are the downs?

He doesn’t like mess. He doesn’t like it if you don’t wash up, he likes to be clean. He doesn’t like it when the rent’s not on time.

Is he the collector of the cash?

Yes he is.

I hear he’s got himself into a new band recently with the aforementioned Steak.

Yeah, Day Release it’s called. They played their second gig on Saturday, it was really good. Cates is the singer and dances around. Steak is the guitarist and Crazy Pete from Harrow is the bassist and Adam plays the drums.

Is it a right old mess?

It was a right old mess for their gig, but they’re way better now. It’s actually like a band!
They’re getting pretty tight.

Would you class it as rock and roll?

I don’t know what you’d class it as, it’s like a whole new genre. Have you heard Cates sing?

I’ve not been in the bath with him for a while…

It’s something special for sure.

What are his lyrics like?

They’re pretty tight!

But then, he’s the tightest bloke I’ve ever met.

Exactly!

So let’s continue this malarkey with whatever your name is. Do you wanna give yourself a new name?

Nah, Horsey’s fine. In Santa Cruz, I was called Jose because I was introduced to someone’s dad and they thought I was called Jose so that was my nickname out there.

San Francisco ay? Have you been hanging out with many cancer loungers then?

Nah, just Kyle really, he’s the boss.

Who’s Kyle then for people who don’t know him?

Kyle Green. He’s from Santa Cruz originally but lives in Costa Mesa now. He lives with Todd Bratridge from Consolidated.

Does all their graphics?

He used to, I think he works for Flip now.

So he’s not designing bananas! So you and Kyle are obviously good friends, he came over from San Fran, hooked up with the Death crew and ended up on your sofa.

Yeah he turned up with his brother and they knew the people at Consolidated, so they got talking and they came round the house one day and stayed on the sofa for 2 months!

I hear that somewhere throughout the year, you might be on the other side of the fence and interviewing him for this site.

Yeah that’s what I want to do, for about 2 months but I broke the internet and I’ve been away and so it hasn’t happened yet.

Let’s talk about your trips to America. What makes it so endearing to go out to America for skateboarding?

I don’t know, I think it’s just nice to go out there for a month with no plans and just have fun.

Did you ever think when you were a kid that you’d ever be lucky enough to be able to go out there and travel around?

No way, I never thought I’d go to the places I’ve been to like New Zealand, Australia and Dubai, I never thought I’d go there, it’s pretty crazy.

What was the best thing about travelling to America?

I would say Mexican food. Burritos are so good – Taco Bell, it’s quality.

Now you’re talking my language! You know there used to be a Taco Bell in Earl’s Court that every skater would go to after a session?

I heard about that yeah but it closed down before my time.

I can’t think of any old school skaters who’ve never been there after a session, you’d bump into all sorts of people. People doing the London circuit would always end up at Earl’s Court.

Oh man, I wish they had that now! It’s like the bagel shop, that’s the place to be now. You been there often?

I’ve been there a couple of times with Nick [Zorlac] at 3 in the morning when I can’t even see the bagels in front of me. They just look like breasts to me at 3 in the morning! So, obviously its been a crazy year, you’ve had nice coverage from the Xmas jam doing a foot plant fakie on the wall and getting away without killing yourself. What do Crossfire jams mean to you, with you being in the South and being able to get to all out events?

I think they’re amazing. It’s good to get everyone together and always fun, every year.

Do you think more people will come down this year because of the exposure?

They should! It’s not just the exposure, it’s the fun as well and being able to see people you don’t see that often.

This year will be the 8th of December! So, you’ve been sponsored and getting some flow – what are your hook ups?

Death Skateboards, Motel 6 Skateshop, Death Urethane and that’s about it.

Who’s flowing your shoes at the moment?

I’m getting some shoes off the guys at Supra.

Any aspirations? Now’s your chance!

Of who I want to ride for? Oh, I dunno, McDonalds would be a good one. Tony Hawk is sponsored by them, he’s got one of those cards where you just go in and get everything for free.

That’s bollocks, no-one’s got them.

Yeah, he has! Him and Justin Timberlake and I think Destiny’s Child as well.

So if Horsey was up for the 4th member of their sponsorship…

Oh yeah, I’d be down, I’d rep them. Stickers on my board, everything.

Are you really not that fussed about sponsorship?

I’m fussed about it , I’m down for all the people I ride for but I’m not one of those people who try and get themselves sponsored for everything.

If it happens, then it happens naturally…

Exactly, I am cool to just wait for it to happen.

It’s a dream for most kids who are desperate to get sponsorships. Would your advice to them be to just chill with it…?

Just to keep skating and don’t try too hard, because then people know you’re a try-hard and show off all the time. I don’t really like that aspect.

What about Death Skateboards? How did you bump into Nick and the crew?

I first met Nick when I was going to Australia about 4 years ago with some people from Harlow, Nicholson and Dibble with Cates and Nick too but Nick went after like, 3 days. But I met him then and spent 5 weeks there with Cates and made friends with him. Then about a year later, when someone was moving out, Cates asked me to move in with him.

So are there plans now to have a Horsey pro board? Do you dream of that?

I don’t know, it’d be nice but I’m not going to push for it, I’m just going to skate.

But obviously if it came about you’d be stoked.

Oh yeah, I’d be happy. It’s a bit crazy to think about that.

What Death boards do you ride right now?

I’ve got the 8 inch Melcher one with the big nose. The one with the stars and it says “The Peculiar Patrick Melcher”, I think Fos designed this actually, it’s a good shape.

Since you’ve been hanging with Death, you’ve seen various people from across the pond get sponsored. Has Nick got any other arrivals up his sleeve?

New people? I don’t know if I’m allowed to say!

Crossfire is about exclusives!

I’ve been trying to get the Muska on, trying to make that happen.

He’s a good mate of yours is he?

Well not yet, but maybe one day!

That’s who you’d like to see on the team is it?

Yeah, I like the Muska.

What about any UK representatives? Who would you like to see on the team?

I’d love to see Ben Raemers on the team, he’s the best person in the world.

Do you skate with Ben a lot?

Not really, but he was our special guest on The Big Push this year.

How was the Push?

It was good, really hard work, but good.

How much hard work is it, explain. Most kids will see you in a tent every night or in a crappy bus or a crappy motel and think it’s the best thing in the world!

It is but it is hard work. As soon as it hit 12 o’clock on Friday in Wales and we skated til 5 that morning, then woke up at 11 the next day to skate until 3 in the morning. But it was good though because we got to stay in hotels.

Who keeps everyone together on the road?

Captain Cates!

Is he good? Does he demand respect for timing?

Yeah he’s good, everyone pays attention to him. He keeps it all shipshape and makes sure people are doing stuff and not drinking too much.

Who was the most outrageous tour member on the bus this year? Who stuck out like a sore thumb?

Rob Smith, in a good way – he’s constant entertainment. Have you heard his dad’s band?

No, what are they called?

Skrewdriver.

Oh, I didn’t know his dad was in Skrewdriver, that’s quite gnarly! I don’t know if I want to put
this on my website, I could get lynched!

But yeah, I like Rob, he’s funny

He’s a great skater too!

Oh he’s awesome, he did some really good stuff.

I haven’t seen the footage yet, but it’s out now isn’t it?

Yeah you should buy it!

What was your favourite trick out of the Death scenes?

Probably something Raemers did, everything he did was amazing. One day he tried to nose slide a 25 stair hubba and ate shit really bad and didn’t skate for the rest of the day. The next day, the first thing he skated was a 9 stair handrail and he front feebled and nose grinded it. He’s amazing, he’s doing front slide inverts at Saffron Walden too.

He’s looking good old Ben… have you noticed he makes crazy faces when he skates? Next time you skate, keep an eye out.

I’ve noticed he gets really, really mad. Like, he’s a really nice kid but then when he’s skating, he starts swearing.

It’s like famous people who go on stage with their bands – Off stage they could be the nicest person in the world but then they go on stage and could be biting the heads off bats. I’d like to see him in a heavy metal band all dressed up.

Who Raemers?

Yeah! So what about music, what music gets you up in the morning? What inspires you? If you’re going on The Big Push and has a ipod, what can’t you leave the door without?

I’m quite a big fan of The Libertines.

Out of the two new bands, looking at what Pete Doherty has done and what Carl Barat has done, which road do you go down?

I don’t really think about it to be honest, I don’t worry about the bullshit and just listen to the music.

Any other bands you can’t leave home without?

I like a bit of David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust era. Bit of Clash, old stuff. I can’t be bothered with the new stuff and I don’t know where to begin.

And if you had a video part, well, you probably do but we’ll talk about that later, what music would you have in it?

Well, everyone keeps telling me not to use the Libertines, but I’ve got the best song.

Just go with the flow! So, Life After Death is the new movie… wait… no it isn’t, Better Than Life is the new movie!

What’s Life After Death?

I don’t know but maybe we should persuade Nick to do a little trailer called Life After Death…

That’s for the people that get kicked off!

Actually there hasn’t been that many kicked off, it’s like a big family there now isn’t it? But we can get to that in a minute because there’s been a few new arrivals we can talk about. Better Than Life then, everyone’s been filming parts for the last 9 months, I’ve noticed you ring up the Death House and no-one’s in. Where’ve you been skating for your parts?

Mainly in the City of London, Harlow as well. Just because that’s I know everyone from there and all the spots, but yeah, mainly the City, I went to Barcelona, a bit of America I think from a while back when I was there with Cates. Basildon banks. You skated there?

Obviously not, I’m 34…

Yeah but there are big tranny banks!

I’m gay… So, anyway, let us into a few secrets.

What kind of secrets?

The secrets of the film, because Zorlac spilt some beans, so let’s spill some bigger beans, some broad beans. Obviously it’s coming, so what can we expect? You’ve obviously seen some of it.

I haven’t seen that much, just the English people. I’m looking forward to the features section, Richie Jackson and Melcher and Scooner’s. Oh and Wank’s part, it’s a funny part.

Do you all hook up and talk about it or go on the web and chat about parts?

Everyone keeps it pretty quiet. Richie doesn’t tell anyone, it’s all a secret. I’ve heard a couple of things but I’ve been sworn to secrecy…

Like what?

A thing called a Satan Spin. It’s like an old trick that he’s put a new twist on it.

Is it maybe him setting himself on fire whilst pretending to be Natas?

No, but it’s something to do with Natas…

So we’re expecting something lethal coming from Richie Jackson.

Definitely yeah.

Any other beans to spill?

I don’t know, there’s so many people, like about 30!

It’s one of the biggest teams ever, a great big family of death.

Zarosh, who is coming out here soon, he’s got some good stuff.

I’d be worried.

He’s a nice lad, have you met him?

I have yeah, I bought him a pint the first time he was ever over. He didn’t know anyone, came up to me and said “Do you skate?”, I said “Yeah, do you want a pint?”.

He’s a nice lad.

He brings the hammers doesn’t he? When he does the acid drop on the advert…

Yeah, and he did it twice. I think he went there once and just did it for a laugh and then went back and filmed it. He rolls straight off grabbing the board and it’s about 40 feet high, but that’s what he’s like, he does stuff without even thinking. I saw him at a skatepark in Santa Cruz, and there was this 13 feet extension with pool coping and he put his board in a nose blunt and just jumped in. That’s what he’s like.

He’s sick, we’re expecting a banging part from him then. Is everyone talking about it within the group?

Yeah, everyone is stoked that he’s coming over and though I haven’t seen much of his part, what I have seen is really good. I think we’re waiting for some people to send stuff, but yeah, should be good.

There’s been a few more additions to the family of Death, one of them being Andy Scott.

A living legend!

And Dave Allen joined this year as well. What is it like to have icons like that on the team, do you look up to them?

Yeah it’s pretty good, I’d never really skated with Dave, just seen him about so it’s great that they’re part of it now.

Do they influence you to have a vert session?

I’d love to, me and Boots were talking about it yesterday actually, when we were at Bay 66, that we should get some pads and learn airs, but we probably won’t. It’s too hard, too scary.

You need big legs for that! You’re going for the skinny jeans look.

I just wear whatever I can get hold of, someone gave me these jeans.

Yeah it looks like someone gave them to you, your bollocks are hanging out!

That’s the glory hole!

Do you normally skate with your nuts out?

Nah, I just like these jeans. I’ll wear something I like a lot, but then get bored of it. Like this t-shirt I have on, I really like but I’ll probably get bored of it soon.

Who do you skate with every week?

Boots really.

He’s on the map isn’t he now?

Definitely, he’s all about mini ramps at the moment. Have you seen his Back Smiths? He does them about 5 metres long.

5 metres!

Well, maybe not that long, but long! He’s learning Miller flips at the moment, trying to anyway. They’re just like backflips on the medium sized ramp.

He’s been filming as well then for this endeavour. Good part?

He’s his own worst enemy, he’s always saying “this is shit”, but he’ll say it after doing the gnarliest thing. He pushes himself all the time though!

What do you want to be when you grow up then?

I don’t wanna grow up!

Well, you don’t have to grow up and give up skateboarding, that’s a myth! Are you expecting to skate for many years to come?

Yes! Well that’s the plan at least. I can’t imagine not skating.

But what about injuries and stuff? We all get battered and bruised and it’s not as if I’m going to see you bombing down the street with pads on!

You can still be old and rip though, like at Steve Cab. And Lance Mountain 50/50’ing that hand rail. I can’t remember what it was in but he was doing some handrail at 40 years old with no pads, he can still do it.

I can see some bruises on you now, but what is the worst injury you’ve sustained over the years?

Nothing that bad. I broke a bone in my wrist and it’s still broken, I didn’t get it fixed, so every time I slam it really hurts.

Is that why you’ve got a tattoo on your wrist then, to remind you?

Yeah it’s a little broken heart.

Is that what it is? It could be a busy bee!

It looks like a pair of balls!

Have you got any other tattoos?

A couple… I’ve got a Death one.

Are you down for life?!

Yeah! I got it on the first Big Push. It says Libertine underneath but it’s all fucked. My friend Munk did it.

Oh we know Monk! Monk the Spunk.

He’s a tattoo artist now.

Looks like he’s only just started going by that! Do you see yourself as one of these rippers covered in tats?

What like Duane Peters?

Well that’s a bit extreme isn’t it?

I won’t be that bad, I don’t wanna look like Monk! I’ve got the bug now, it’s fun.

Did it hurt?

Well, don’t you have any to know?

Yeah I’ve got a big one!

A big one! [laughs]

I’ve got this one and it hurt a lot.

Yeah at the time it hurts so much and you think “why am I doing this?”. I was drinking when I got one of them and I think that’s why it looks shit because you know when you have alcohol in the blood stream it makes it disperse or something.

It looks punk…

It looks fucked!

But you got the Death tattoo down for life, I’m impressed. You not going to colour it in?

Nah, I love it as it is. Why is there a massive gold cock over there?

You’re not the first person to say that and you won’t be the last, but it’s a very relevant point because the golden cock is from the Erotic Awards from 2002.

Who won that?

A deceased friend of mine, that I used to manage who died at Glastonbury. His mum rang me from Manchester and said obviously she couldn’t come down and pick it up, so asked me to go on his behalf. So I went down there in a sailor’s outfit with the missus, saw lots of cock, lots of fanny and it was a night of debauched S&M and I walked away with a big golden cock. I had to go and do a speech in front of 1,000 people. So whatever happens, when you pop your clogs, make sure you leave a big golden cock for your best friend. I have this to remember him by for the rest of my life now! Do you wanna touch it?

Um… maybe later!

Other people have touched it…

Who else has touched it?

Mark Ronson has touched it, Gallows… everyone wants a little touch of it. That’s why we put it on Moose’s desk, because we think it suits him.

Moose: I have it in my face all day.

Do you watch many skate videos? You must do because Cates is stuck on them isn’t he?

He’s got all the best ones in his room, there are hundreds of them. Old ones, new ones…

I can’t remember a time I’ve been to the Death House and there’s not been a skate video on.

Always on, it gets to the point where they’re on so much Cates doesn’t like them and pushes them behind the TV because people just come round to watch them and leave them lying on the floor.

What’s your poison then? You get home, you put on your favourite skate video, what is it?

Flip Sorry. It’s a classic that I’ve got it on VHS. I think that’s the only VHS that really gets played any more. As for new ones, I seem to be watching the new Element video a lot because Boots has been coming round every day and putting it on. I’ll be sitting there watching TV and he’ll come around and just put it on, he’s always round our house!

Knowing there are new videos coming up, like yours obviously, the Nike SB one, Lakai, Static 3… any of those videos float your boat?

The Lakai one for sure, I’ve heard good things.

Anyone in particular? Royal Family, do you know any of those guys?

I’ve met Brady a few times, we’re doing this EA games thing, so we’re going to be doing that
on the road.

Do you play many video games?

I used to, but not really any more. We’re trying to swindle an Xbox out of EA. I think Zorlac is on the case so we should get one!

What do you have to do to promote EA Skate? Have you played it?

Yeah! We went to the headquarters, it’s amazing but it’s so hard. It’s not like Tony Hawk where you just press the buttons. You have the joystick and you have to move it up and down just to ollie.

You really got to think about it!

Yeah it’s crazy! But I think if you played it for a couple of weeks you’d get used to it. But it looks really good.

But do you think it’s better?

Yes! Without a doubt! I think EA Skate is better.

That earned your money, didn’t it! (laughs)

(laughs) Haha!

Fuck, we’re covering some ground here.

What else we got?

Dunno! Talk to me.

I don’t know what to talk about.

What about art? Do you get inspired by art and photography?

I like a bit of photography.

Are there any particular skate photographers you’d like to work with?

I quite like Atiba [Jefferson] and his stuff because it stands out. I was talking to Sam Ashley about it today.

Sam’s a great photographer.

Yeah, Sam’s the best.

I think he’s one of the best in the UK.

Yeah, for sure.

You were shooting something with him at Meanwhile 2 today right?

Yeah, on the janky quarter pipe thing.

That we built!

You built that?!

The one and only Badger built that!

Err… it’s nice! (laughs)

Not so janky anymore? (laughs)

I think it’s a bit weathered now but it’s still good.

Is the gap ledge still there? Is it still in one piece?

Yeah! I 5050’d it, scared the life out of me!

I noticed on the day when we did that jam actually that a lot of people shit it.

What, didn’t skate it?

Well there were a few people. Obviously some good shit when down on it, few 5050s, couple of mannys over the top, nose mannys and obviously Chris Oliver did an amazing backlip. You skate that place now and again- anything else been put down on that ledge?

I haven’t seen anyone do anything on the ledge. Cates wanted to wallride it, but he couldn’t do it. It’s too thin. I haven’t seen anyone skate it, it’s too hard. You should just build a massive wallride, just get a sheet of wood.

Well you know it’s gonna get a complete overhaul for December? The whole park is gonna be re-fit.

Are they smashing it down?

They’re not smashing down the bowls as such, but all the surrounding area where that street area is, where the rollerskate rink is. All of that is gonna be redone and the bowl is getting a bit of makeup.

Have you skated the blocks there yet, the new ones? They’re really good to skate but they put them on the roughest ground, so you cant really skate them, but they look good.

Yeah, I have seen them, that’s Badger’s work I think.

Is it? I like Badger. He’s doing that thing with us for EA Games.

Yeah, he’s a good lad. His heart’s in the right place, and he’s always wanting to push skateboarding forward. So you’ve been staying up in Manchester recently haven’t you?

Yeah, up at Percy Dean’s house.

What’s the scene up there like compared to London?

I don’t really know! I don’t really know that many people from Manchester really. I know Eddie Belvedere and Ollie Tyreman. But I don’t know what they get to up there. They’ve got a nice skatepark.

The Central Park?

Yeah, they redid it. They got rid of that awful banked bowl thing and they put like a street course thing in. It’s really good.

Cool. So anywhere else in the UK you’d like to travel to?

Just Harlow really. Just go spend a weekend at Monk’s house, get to hang out with Dibble and Nicolson, it’s all good.

Obviously the Olympics thing is on ice at the moment, so does that mean Dibble’s knackers are on ice?

Nah, Dibble’s been training! Did you see the website? Apparently, that was their most popular webpage ever, so he has to do a blog for them! (laughs) I can’t remember exactly what he says, but he said he’s been training and working on his backside manoeuvres. And then he said he sustained an injury whilst approaching a tranny backside, or something like that! It’s amazing!

Classic!

Yeah, he said he hurt his pod finger. He didn’t even know about that until it was in the paper. They asked Hemming at the skateshop about it, and Hemming suggested Dibble but he gave them the paper with Monk’s number. So they phoned up Monk, who pretended to be Dibble and said all this stuff.

Ah, it’s all coming out now! Harlow’s getting a new park aren’t they?

Yeah, a whole new park. I think Freestyle are doing it, it looks good.

Where’s your favourite spot to skate?

What? In London? In the whole world? In the whole wide world? Probably St. Pauls, skating the little 3-stair with Kyle. That was always fun, we used to just mess about and skate the curbs. St. Albans – it was good last year.

That video that everyone did was great!

Yeah, that video was fun, for sure. Otherwise the winter would have been so bad, but we get to spend it St Albans.

Favourite tricks?

Of whose tricks? My tricks?

Jimi Hendrix. Who do you think?!

My tricks I like doing? Err, kickflips? Nah, I just like doing frontside grinds on the ramp.

Do you like slashing them up?

Nah, standing on them as long as you can go fast.

Can you explain the sound of a grind?

I can’t, it’s like… I can’t.

Can you explain what a grind means to you in one sentence?

It’s just fun going fast and hearing the noise.

What does the noise sound like?

I can’t do any noises, my throats really fucked.

You have to!

Alright, it’s like ‘kerrrrhk!’

(both laugh)

Man, my throats fucked!

I should ask that in every interview! What about tricks you can’t do? What do you have problems with?

360 flips. I can’t do ’em. I can sometimes, then other days can’t do them. And backtails on blocks, can’t do ’em. I learnt them when I was in France the other week. Like me and my friend, it was the backtail tour to learn them, and I had them! But then I lost them.

What were you doing over in France?

Nothing. Just drinking loads of wine and skating for fun. We went all over, we went to Pigalle. It was good, and then we to Bercy and all the other spots. That blue wave thing.

How was that?

Amazing. I don’t even know what it is. It’s like a big block of flats, and it’s just there.

We made The Whale off the back of that one.

Yeah, I know. I can’t believe they had The Whale and it’s completely unusable now. I had a little go on it the other day. Get rid of a block and get it back there.

Ok, you’re house is on fire. You have to run in and grab your last and only possession…

Well I don’t live in a house so that’s alright. I live in the garage.

Alright, the garage is on fire! God, you’re so fucking difficult.

You’ve got to be precise! (laughs) Err, what do I save? I haven’t got anything good in there. I’ve got some signed boards on my wall, how about that?

You’d grab your signed Tony Hawk board?

I’ve got a few! I’ve go a couple signed by Kyle, the ones he’s done.

With his artwork?

He did a Mark Nicholson Death board, and one with the green goblin people. He did a Consolidated board and one for True Love, so I’d probably grab and a Roberto Aleman signed one. I’m tempted to take my Consolidated blanket as well, I’ve got a leopard print blanket as well, I’d probably take that.

Well you could probably put all the possessions in a blanket.

Ah, so could probably throw a load of stuff in the blanket and take it all!

It would be cheating, but at least you’d save more.

I’ve got a couple of nice hats I’d save.

Do you go down the New Era route? Do you get a bit bling? From Cates, I thought it might have rubbed off.

Nah, no way! He’s got so many hats! Nah, I’m not really into all that.

What hat?

I got it off my friend in Paris, it’s like a black trilby. Nah, it’s more like a Bob Dylan hat. That’s the best I could describe it.

Would you ever wear a hat of meat?

A hat of meat?! If I could eat the meat afterwards…maybe. But why would you wear a hat made of meat?

Because people do. It’s on the web, I’ve seen it. There’s a website called HatsOfMeat.com

Yeah? I’ll check it out later. I don’t think I’d personally wear a hat of meat.

Would you ever try and noseslide a porkpie?

Yes, I like a noseslide.

Would you wax it up with a bit of pickle before?

Nah, I’d just eat the pickle.

Do you like food?

I love food!

What’s your favourite food?

Bacon.

Do you cook?

I cook bacon.

Is that the only thing you cook?

Err, I can cook sausages.

When you cook bacon, do you wax up the pan beforehand or just slam it in?

Err, I tend to grill, it’s healthier.

Do you live on bacon?

I did for a while, but not so much anymore, it’s a bit unhealthy.

Did you feel your feet turning into pig’s trotters?

I just felt like my heart was hurting. I invented the heart attack special sandwich. It’s bacon, you grate some cheese on top, and then you grill that so it melts. Then the other slice of bread you put Philadelphia on it with some tomato sauce, maybe some onions as well. It’s really good. I think I had one every day for two weeks.

What about drugs? Do you do drugs? Do you scramble your brains?

Nah, I’ve been told a bit of acid’s alright. I don’t smoke weed, if I ever do I just can’t do anything. I’m just useless. (looks around) I can’t believe how nice your place is! It’s well nice! Is your dog alright, he’s shaking a bit?

No, he’s dreaming of screwing rabbits in the arse. Would you like some dogfood?

Nah, you’re alright.

Any last words?

I should really say something for the kids. I don’t know, just have fun and enjoy life. And skate lots. Just have fun, it’s all about having fun.

Do you want to say thankyou to anyone?

I’d like to say thankyou to yourself, and to Nic Zorlac at Death Skateboards, Hemming at Motel 6 skateshop. There’s too many people to thank!

Do you want to say fuck you to anyone?

Nah, I can’t.

What about saying fuck you to anything? Mine would be cold toast. If you gave me cold toast I’d kill you.

Cold toast? Why do hate it? It’s just like normal toast.

I don’t like it. There’s no point having toast when it’s cold, it has to be hot. If you served me your Scooby snack with cold toast…

Do you want a Scooby snack, the heart attack special? Next time you come round I’ll make you one. Delicious…

I might be round sooner than you think! Any more fuck yous?

I hate rain. I can’t think of any more… errr, nothing really. I’m pretty chilled. I don’t really care too much about stuff. I hate shit talkers! Internet warblers. Yeah, fuck that.

Do you use the web much?

I did, before I broke the internet.

You didn’t break the internet for the whole world, just your own connection.

Yeah, just in the house. Nic bought me a laptop to use to sort out the Death Myspace, and I tried to fix the wireless and I broke it. So fuck BT.

Would you like me to take a picture of you with the Golden Cock?

Ah, yes! Can I pretend it’s my own cock?

Yes, and on that note, goodbye.

Goodbye.

Kyle Green is a stowaway who graces our shores a few times a year and stays at Death’s House of Doom.

Not only can he ride a plank, he also has a firm interest in art which inspired Zac to ask Kyle’s bum chum Horsey to get some words out of him.

You can read a Horsey interview here but this one is all about Kyle Green and his obsession with his fingers.

Horsey: Easy mate, how are you?

Kyle: Is that the first question?!

Well technically it is. I wasn’t sure how to get it started so I thought I’d play it safe!

Oh well I’m doing well how are you?

I’m great thanks. Is this your first interview?

Uhhmmm… Yes, I believe so.

It’s my first time interviewing someone so just bear with me. Let’s start with the basics….who are you and where are you from?

I’m Kyle Christopher Roy Green and I’m from Santa Cruz California USA.

So tell me, what’s the point of art?

Fuck knows. For me it’s something fun to do to pass the time!

I’ll go straight to the big ones. As an artist and a human being what inspires you in life?

Probably my friends first and foremost and then the artists and skateboarders that I admire but are not my friends secondly.

Who really killing it right now and whose been killing for a long time?

Some of my favorites are Todd Bratrud, Devon Green, Travis Millard, George Thompson, Mike Aho, Michael Sieben, Mel Kadel. Oh! And Patrick Jilbert too- I can’t forget him. I like simple ideas that are well executed.

Me too. I’m a big fan of Todd too. So, you and him are pretty tight right? How did you meet him?

Back in Santa Cruz, I was friends with his wife first. She worked at Skateworks and I guess she liked my brother Devon and I, so she set us up on a skate date with Todd. That was like 7 years ago or something.

So, you’re living with him now right? How’s that all work out?

It’s pretty good, it just us two and our friend George. We all share a warehouse space so there’s more than enough room. Plus those two are always traveling abroad so it feels like I own the place sometimes.

Bet that feels good. What’s it like in Costa Mesa? Your place is right near the Flip and Volcom warehouses, do you see them dudes about or get to skate with them?

Yeah sometimes, I never really make plans to go skate or anything it sometimes just falls into place, and Todd has a key to Volcom which is one block away so that’s pretty much the only place we end up skating

Did I tell you I asked Todd for some questions?

No, you didn’t. Lay them on me.

There’s five. I’m just going to say them like I got them: What’s with the sudden fixation with the moustache?

He’s referring to the moustache I had for a couple of weeks. It was off the hook but its gone now.

I saw a picture, looked tight!

Thanks. I got a lot of shit for it but I thought it was handsome.

I had one going for a while but it was pathetic! Question 2: I hear you are not too good on a bike, what’s with all the wipeouts?

I only do bad when I try and ride on the sand during meteor showers.

Is that what’s happening on your MySpace?

Yeah, Todd’s got impeccable timing with that camera of his.

That guy doesn’t fuck about! Question 4: How is it sleeping on the top bunk above the one and ONLY Todd Bratrud?

Oh man, secrets out! Yes- Todd and I have bunk beds, and sleeping on the top is probably way better than sleeping on the bottom with all the cockroaches and spiders.

How’d you manage to score the better bed?

He said “I get bottom bunk. I fucking hate you Kyle.” and that was that. (Laughter)

Yeah, I could see him saying that. Final question: I fucked up, there are only 4. If you are such a big fan of London why are you still in the States?

Well, living in London is great because I have lots of friends that I really miss and I think the skate scene is so much better out there. But, unfortunately it’s so expensive especially for an American. So, for now I gotta stay in the shared warehouse and try to save some bucks.

You’re going to come back one day, right? How many times you been over here?

Like four, I think. Last time really took it out of me

Why’s that?

I had no money it was freezing cold and I was sleeping on your floor for a month straight. Still fun though!

Good times man! Who’s your favourite English person?

My granddad.

So you got a bit of English in you? Thought so.

Yeah, I got a lot of English in me. I’ll tell you who I have been feeling lately though is that Colin Kennedy.

He’s a marvelous skater.

Oh, he’s Scottish huh?

Yeah. Did you see Blueprint’s Big Push edit this year?

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it… Those Blueprint guys know what there doing. I’m still anxiously awaiting the Death one. You know what? I just watched is the Landscape video.

That’s one of the best skate videos ever made!

I’m a fan! Toby Shuall is in my top five for sure.

That guy is amazing. It’s a pity he doesn’t skate for them anymore.

Fos was telling me he seriously injured himself, so he isn’t doing much skating at all, such a shame. I remember seeing him in Santa Cruz when I was a kid, didn’t know who he was it was just some English guy scraping the graphics of his wheels at the skate shop.

Why was he doing that?

How should I know?? Maybe it helps with those frontside nollie heelflips.

So, let’s talk about www.cancerlounge.blogspot.com . What is it?

It’s just a little side project to put some doodles and such up, but it’s obviously turned into a global phenomenon. We got like 4-five people looking at it daily!

Did you ever imagine that that little website would one day lead to this epic interview?

Not in my wildest dreams. Whose idea was this by the way?

Zac’s. He said he was feeling your stuff then I said I could get him a exclusive interview and he jumped at the chance of it.

Oh wow! Tell him to buy some of my drawings. I’ll give him a real good price- I’ll pay him! (Laughter).

Do you ever sell your stuff?

No.

Why not?

(Hesitates) Well, I guess I kinda sold stuff for all the board graphics I’ve done.

Soon as this interview drops everybody’s going to want a piece of you!

I doubt it.

Who have you done boards for?

The Death Skateboards guys mostly.

Which ones?

I wanted to do loads of stuff for a while for different people, but then I realised it was no fun, so I pretty much just do stuff with my friends now.

That’s cool. Which of the boards were yours? Are you doing anymore for us?

There’s always a chance. I did that Nicolson one and the Andy Scott one which may or may not be available at your local skateshop.

The Nicholson one was a very popular, and a high seller I’ll have you know. So, you’re properly rich now right? What’s the most lavish thing you own?

I just got a house plant. Maybe my diamond encrusted I-phone though… The funny thing is it hasn’t worked once since I bought it.

What does the future hold for you, project-wise?

I’m mainly just concentrating on keeping it real right now. I’m trying to do some stuff with Volcom right now, so hopefully that will go down soon, fingers crossed.

What are your five go-to tunes right now?

Lately it’s been The Fiery Furnaces, Animal Collective, Belle and Sebastian, Roky Erickson, and Public Enemy. Let’s do some more fives these are easy.

Ok. Top five skate spots?

Volcom, Santa Cruz High, Canary Wharf, all of Arizona, the curbs in my parking lot.

Top five London eateries?

Ecco pizza, Bagel shop, Tescos, Nando’s, Ecco pizza. I’m a cheap bastard.

What do you miss most about London? Rob Falcon, bagels or street beers?

All three combined.

Top five hot skateboard stunt moves for next year?

I’m not watching another video or reading another mag till I see Pappalardo in the Lakai video.

Oi, I need some footage of you for the Death video!

I was kidding about the Lakai thing!

Are you going to have a good part?

No. Skating good is over-rated.

Look at Rob Falcon, for example.

Or Dan Cates for that matter! (Laughter)

What kinda shit do you need to make a good part?

Camera beaming and tic-tacs, and lots of wallrides.

You’re going to be stoked on my part then! What kinda drugs do you do?

I can’t answer that, my mom might read this!

So, you do do drugs?

Drugs aren’t cool.

Zorlac just told me to say ‘Hi’ and the Andy Scott board is in. He’s going to send you one.

That’s awesome, I love you Nick! So is my Nicholson board the best selling board in the history of the company?

I’ve just been informed that the OG white skull on black board is the biggest seller ever, but the Nicolson is definitely up there. Zorlac says he knows loads of people who swear by it.

Ahhhh! That’s cute. I heard they even sell it at Slam City Skates.

Have you ever seen Tony Hawk?

Yes, at Bay 66 of all places, and Styley was taking photos of him!

Who would you rather hang out with, Styley or Tony Hawk?

Oh my god! Are you kidding me?! Styley any day of the week!

Correct answer!

Styley is boss of all men. Dude is like the happiest man on earth. He’s second only to Troy West. He’s like a Australian Muska.

I don’t know who that is..?

You will soon. dude, I think we’re done here.

It’s 4.34am and I’m fucked. Any shout outs or ‘thank you’s’?

Yes.

Go nuts.

Horsey for putting up with this, Zac at Crossfire for caring, Sam Maguire and Matt Price for the photos, Todd Bratrud and George Thompson for putting me up, my mommy and daddy for making me. Zorlac and everyone at Death/Power Distribution. Anybody who cares really. Check out www.cancerlounge.blogspot.com , www.lordsofapathy.blogspot.com , www.teenagerunawayurethane.com

Interview achieved!

Thanks man!

Words by Stu Zombie
Photos by Jim Walker.

Mark Kendrick, one-man sweat machine, wearer of fine hats, and part of the infamous ex-Denny household in Manchester has been skating since forever. He’s also a thoroughly nice bloke and likes his Johnny Thunders, so our undead friend Zombie caught up with him whilst he made his tea and had a chat.

Start off with the obvious- how long you been skating for then?

About 10 years, a decade.

Decade of destruction. And who you sponsored by?

Baker Skateboards and Venture through Shiner, Innes Clothing, Projekts skate shop and Vita shoes are back now too which I’ve just got on aswell.

You just got hooked up with Innes, how’s that going?

Yeah, I’m stoked. All their stuff is real good quality and hopefully we’ll be doing a couple of tours soon as well- hopefully in Europe.

When you were a little skate rat did you ever think you would be hooked up on Baker?

Ha, no way! It’s so good to get free stuff for just having fun or getting a picture in a magazine. Getting stuff in magazines isn’t deadly serious, I just go out, have fun with Percy or Jim and then you’ll see it and it’s like a little memory, and you get stoked on that photo and it just snowballs. Taking photos with Jim is rad, he loves the Kinks, so we’ll go out and have a bit of a sing along whilst I’m skating, get me amped..

So where you originally from?

Originally from Stoke on Trent, but I’ve lived in Suffolk, Stafford and now I live in Manchester. But I didn’t start skating until i moved to Suffolk with all the Ipswich crew, like Frank and Ben and everyone.

Ha, is it true that your mom once gave Frank Stephens a whole 2 litre bottle of Lilt once when you were out skating?

Ha, yeah it is true and he mentions it every time I see him.

So what you been up to recently?

Just skating the streets of Manchester loads, just skate as much as I can and filming. Just finished my part for the Projekts vid which has just come out, pretty stoked on that. And just started filming for Sean’s new video, no rest for the wicked!

Manchester’s been getting loads of coverage recently in the mags and the new Note Video has just come out too

That’s cause it deserves it, I think it’s one of the best scene in Britain at the moment. All the kids are so keen, but they’re starting to get better than me so i’ll have to take their knee caps out. And there’s Skulls.

Skulls are sick, did you have to get jumped in to be a member of Skulls?

Yeah, you have an initiation, take a shit in a glass and drink it.

What’s going on with Skulls, the website’s gone down?

Not sure, Vic probably is just making it more underground, it’s gone through the centre of the Earth, on the way to China. Big up Skulls yo.

(At this point in the transcription of the interview Mark starts cooking his tea and shows me the world’s biggest oven chip, seriously it’s bigger than my face.)

So who’s ripping at the moment?

So many. Little Nick is on it, absolutely smashes it, super natural and cheeky little bastard to boot.

That’s cause they’ve all been training at the skateparks.

Yeah, Manchester has got two parks now in the city, Central and Pumpcage, which is rad, but we still need an outdoor concrete one though. There’s some talk about maybe getting a plaza in the future. But I’m not too arsed to be fair, prefer skating street anyway. Once you get a park people seem to just want to skate there cause it’s easy. Hassle free. And there’s so many spots here anyway. Having the pump cage is handy though, been coaching kids to skate there recently.

How’s that going?

Sometimes I’ll just have to a few hours working with kids from “impoverished” areas that is done in conjunction with local council and Projekts. I just had to teach two kids recently though, actors from Grange Hill, teaching them to kickturn and ollie, that sort of thing. One of them was really stoked on it, picked it up real quick. The other one would cry when he fell over, pretend he was winded or that he’d broke something and then his Mom would come over and shout at him to stop crying! Don’t take your Mom out skating.

What’s going on with The Gasworks now then?

It’s all bordered off, you can still skate it, you just have to jump the fences. Not too sure what’s going on though, all I know is that they’re re-developing the area. I’m not to sure if they’re tearing it down or what, i hope not- it’s a proper legendary spot. Joe Gavin is doing a short film about it now, using all the footage he’s collected over the years, proper ON Video like when they did the piece on Love park. I know there was a meeting about getting some skate friendly stuff made.

And Joe’s been pretty supportive about sorting out this whole “Free Krek” campaign.

Yeah damn right, TJ, this really nice guy who skates and a mate got busted for graffing. He got 15 months, which is pretty crazy considering the amount of crime that goes by unnoticed and the punishment completely doesn’t fit the crime. There’s been loads of stuff about it in the Manchester Evening News, like almost everyday, and Note have done some Free Krek and Mert T-shirts. He did loads of work with youth offenders and stuff too, getting them involved in Graff, even did a piece for the city centre for a recent festival. Everyone’s got Free Krek written on their boards round here. Argh!

(Mark gets a static shock cause he’s chewing on my laptop screen. Don’t ask)

What’s your favourite stuff to skate?

I love flat banks, just really simple, just do a trick you can do but on an angled piece of floor, haha. Satisfying. I’m well into mannys as well. I don’t normally stress on them. I know loads of people that hate doing them, get real stressed trying them, but they’re just fun, messing about and you always end up creating new tricks, stuff you never though about doing. I like stairs and stuff too, but you have to chill the next day if you sesh a big set for a while. Never really got into big rails, get put off by all the little kids throwing themselves down them like lemmings, we’ll see.

Leave that to Lewis (Threadgold who lives with him). How’s it living in a proper skate house?

Yeah it’s rad, always someone to skate with, apart from Lewis cause he moans a lot, haha… and the little mini ramp is almost done. stoked.

What’s your favorite part to watch before you go out skate?

I don’t know, don’t really watch that much, I prefer listening to some powerful beats before i go out. Just anything loud, got to be loud- I’m well into Sonic Youth at the moment. Motorhead is good to, gets you pumped.

How’s it going with Thrust at the moment?

Yeah it’s good playing with all them rawkus lot.

Ha- MCR SK8 Punk

Haha, nah, don’t say that. Treacherous. We’re just getting started at the moment, just trying to found our sound (check out www.myspace.com/thethrust), pretty shambolic at times, but fun. Out of control gigs, haha.

I feel like i should say something about your farts.

Yeah, I can’t physically burp so I make up for it with farts. They’re pretty much the most powerful farts in the world. They don’t stink, just really brutal, long, girthy.

So who do you want to thank?

A big thank you to Baker Skateboards, Jerome @ Shiner and Munson for the Innes and Vita stuff, Projekts Mcr, friends n family. And Crossfire for sticking some pretty pictures of me on their website. Pump it

18.09.07

The Boss, also known as the legendary Andrew Reynolds has been one of the major names in skateboarding for well over a decade.

With Andrew being involved with Baker, Emerica and Birdhouse throughout his career and now launching his own brand Altamont, as well as becoming a father recently, we decided to get a 10 minute Quikfire out of him.

Daily routine?

Starbucks, cigarette, playing with the kid, a bunch of nothing and maybe some skating and guitar playing in there somewhere.

Is Baker looking to launch the first toddler squad?

Being a dad fucking rules.

Reynolds and the infamous frontside flip. Help or a hindrance?

It helps because they think of something rather than nothing.

What do you want people to know about you instead of that – a love for Mozart? A keen gardener?

I listen to the goat and I pay people to take care of the yard.

Are the people arguing over style missing the point?

Not really. A person’s style is what sets them apart. I think it’s important.

Main inspiration for putting together Altamont?

A bunch of bad skate clothing companies inspired me.

Altamont conjures up images of a fallen generation. Explain your view.

Names don’t matter. Look at the name “Baker”, it makes no sense.

How did Mark ‘Fos’ Foster become involved with Altamont?

Fos rips at skating, I’ve always loved the Heroin stuff and he rules.

What does he bring to Altamont?

Everything.

What made you sign up Bryan Herman, Kenny Hoyle, Sammy Baca, Sir Theotis Beasley and Garret Hill?

Sammy Baca picked the team.

European visit for Team Altamont?

I hope so.

Influences on and off board?

Stella.

Which foreigner would you love to session with and what would you do afterwards to wind down?

I would take a walk with Ali Boulala.

Funniest rumour you ever heard about yourself?

I think some kids think Bryan (Herman) is my son, which means he would have been born when I was about 8 or something.

The Emerica mansion. How/Why?

Everyone was out of a place to live so they hooked us up.

Now that Jerry Hsu is on the team do Emerica feel indestructible?

Pretty much.

When a new skater joins the Emerica team does the discussion of a new member arriving take place before they are appointed?

Yeah the team talks about it, we all agreed Jerry is the shit.

The upcoming young skater in the US right now?

Sammy Baca

LA in one word?

Traffic.

Kids want to be on Emerica or Baker, what do they have to do to get recognition?

The stars have to be aligned.

If Baker didn’t work, what was your back up plan?

Baker not work. Hahahaha! You guys are funny!

Obsessive compulsive 3-taps disorder?

It makes me get tricks.

Do you think you’ve started a trend with it?

I hope not because a lot of kids are going to be wasting time.

Problem tricks

360 flips.

Style or stair count?

I just skate.

Being so young, how did it feel to be part of such a legendary skate video like The End?

I was stoned.

Gershon Mosely. What was all that about?

When you’re an alcoholic like myself a lot of bad shit happens. 5 years sober now. Haven’t gotten beat up since, weird huh?

World’s sexiest vegetarian rumour?!

I ate a meal today that had three kinds of meat in it. It was so good. I’m not a vegetarian.

After pro skateboarding has run its course for you, you will……

…do kickflips on flatground.

Biggest regret?

None, nothing, never.

Biggest aspiration?

I just want to be a good dad and kill the streets.

Tunes you can’t leave the country without?

Lil Wayne, and Nick Cave and the Goat.

Future video release?

Stay Gold coming soon

Favourite quote…

Hahahaha, Baker not working!!!!!

Stevie Williams is a name that all modern street skaters should know. From his upbringing skating the streets of Philadelphia to owning his own skateboard company DGK, Stevie is a man whose name carries a lot of weight.

Zac took some time out with Stevie on the London leg of the DGK/RBK tour to chat about travelling, youth projects and being good to your lady.

So Stevie, how long have you been on the road now?
About 11 days

Are you missing home?

I flew my girl to London, just for two days so I could be a good boy.

Haha nice! And when was the last time you were in London?

Probably about four years ago.

Four years and it’s still pissing down with rain!

Yeah but I like London. I come from Philadelphia so it’s kinda the same type of weather, grey clouds hanging over the city.

None of that Cali sunshine burning in the heat.

Well I live in California but I was born and raised in Philly and it’s sorta the equivalent to London in a sense.

Tell us where you’ve been on these 11 days so far.

We’ve been to Serbia, Munich, Berlin and now London. We’ve still got another 11 days to go.

Another 11!

Yeah, this is the middle of the tour right here.

Worldwide domination…

We’re working on it. Growing the brand and having fun with the kids.

So tell us a little bit about Reebok/DGK collab.

Well, I own the DGK company and I licensed it to Reebok for shoes and apparel so we’re repping Reebok here and DGK as a whole to inspire the kids that really don’t come from anything and wanna be a pro. You know, it’s not really about being the best, it’s about inspiring the kids to let them know they can have fun and stay out of trouble.

What do you think you’ve achieved today at Bay 66, have you been teaching kids how to skate?

Nah we didn’t really teach any kids how to skate. But we skated for them and then we’re gonna see which kid is the best and get him some products so he can inspire the other kids and keep them skating, that’s what it’s all about.

So are you looking to build a worldwide team?…

I am, I am. I’m looking for a UK team.

How do kids get in touch with you so you can see their talents.

They can get in touch with the Reebok or with the distribution people out here, High 5. Send a sponsor-me tape, you can hit me up on MySpace at www.myspace.com/dgk215 and send me a video, tell me to look at your footage on YouTube, I’m always on the internet looking for footage. I’m always looking for music or anything – Anything where someone’s doing something positive and looking to get out of a bad situation, I’m all ears and I’m looking for it!

What about the future of DGK – Any video stuff coming up?

We’re working in a video right now with everybody from DGK. We’re actually doing our first trip right when we get off tour. 4 days after we get back we go to Canada and start working on our video for 10 days out there and then just going around the world, skating and having fun and filming. Like I said, it’s not about being the best, it’s about doing your best and being motivated enough to share it with the kids – that’s what it’s about.

Who’s coming up on your team right now?

Lenny Rivas, he’ll be turning pro next month. Little quiet assassinator. Wade Des Ormeaux, he couldn’t make it because he’s having some passport issues in Canada, they’re really strict right now. But just DGK as a whole, look out for us, we’re out there doing it.

And if we wanna go check you guys out, outside of MySpace, what’s the URL?

You can go to www.rbk.com and you’ll see the DGK section, they have a whole documentary section on this trip. If you look at Kingpin magazine, you’ll get a free DVD that comes with the magazine with this whole tour and everything. So we’re doing a whole bunch of stuff, you caught us in the action!

How important is Europe to you guys on the worldwide scale?

Europe is always important, it was important before I started skating and now I run a business and own a company, it’s all the more important y’know, both the financial side and also making sure the kids are motivated towards the brand, just like the kids in the US because they all come from the same situation – in the ghetto or having messed up skateboards, they’re the kids we look for. Not the dudes that think they’re the best. We’re here for the kids that don’t have anything, just look out for us, you don’t even have to try too hard, we already see you. Just have fun and be safe.

We wish you all the best Stevie.

Thanks man, peace.

20.08.07

You may not have heard of Willow, but the Etnies and Flip sponsored skater from East Germany has been causing a stir.

His recent part on video magazine Hello 21 blew minds with how big, fast and technical his skating is.

He’s also a really nice bloke and was quite happy to chat with Moose about shit, coffee, hairy women, and spandex. Read on.

Photos courtesy of to Gentsch

So, who are you, how old are you, and where are you from?

I’m Willow, 24, from East Germany in a little town called Ludwigsfelde, bojakka!

How long have you been skating for?

I started in 1996, damn it’s a long time.

What was your first skateboard?

A skateboard.

Where did you grow up? What is it like?

Ludwigsfelde. It’s a big fucking über stumpf city. It is not the city where I actually want to get old.

What is the skate scene like there?

There’s no skate scene. When I started there where a bunch of people skating. That impressed me so much that I started to skate.

How much travelling have you done?

I guess every month I’m on tour, so I really appreciate it to come around.

Which country was your favourite to skate?

Romania

What were the women like there?

Dirty, no water and hairy

Romania has hairy women then? Are hairy women a good thing or bad thing?

Actually I don’t care, I got a monkey girlfriend at home.

How did the deal with Flip come about?

Gentschy baby (German photographer). He’s a friend of mine who helped me a bit to get in contact.

Have you met any of the team yet?

I met them all, we’ve been together at the Feast tour last year and the recent European tour.

Have you met Harry Bastard yet? Can you understand his accent?

No I didn’t, but I met Ian Deacon. He’s got such a crazy accent, too. But I like it so much, even when I only understand half of it.

Which skater impressed you the most?

Tom Penny, I love his behaviour and everyone is fucking uber. There are different things that can impress me.

Who is the strangest skater on the team?

Tom Penny. The SloMoMan

What was the best story from that trip?

That the guys went crazy when they ate German schnitzel.

What trick blew your mind the most and from who?

Red Bull coffee joint trick.

Do any of the Flip team have monkey girlfriends?

I don’t think they like monkeygirls, they prefer tiger lillies.

What country was the best fun to visit on that tour?

Germany of course.

Who do you get on with most on the Flip team?

I like Arto and Ewan trying to talk German. But I also like the accent.

Whose skating do you appreciate the most?

Sami Harithi, he used to ride for Flip back in the day.

I hear you’re a big coffee and cigarette fan, me too. Why do they go so well together?

The German triple king. Kaffee, kippe, kacken = Coffee, cigarettes, shit.

The triple king, haha! In the UK we call it M.A.P.S (Morning After Pub Shit), or The Shit Trigger. It really is the best way to start the morning though isn’t it?

Yes, that’s my fucking routine. The chocolate commander knocking on Hells door.

What’s your daily routine like? What would you do in on average day?

Get the triple king, watch out of the window and pray for good weather, feed my cats and fish, and hope to go out and have a nice über day.

What’s your favourite thing to skate? Stairs, blocks, rails, etc.?

I like everything, but mostly I like to jump from buildings like Spiderman…

Jumping like Spiderman? You don’t skate wearing spandex costumes do you?

Only wear it at home with my monkeygirl. You should see it.

We had a German skate website ring us the other day and none of us can speak German. What phrases would we find useful in life?

Get stumpfed, mein stumpf ist rot, rote rackete, eine kleine führer bitte, über vibes.

My German is very bad. I can’t translate all these, so what do they mean?

Get stumpf is not really a German word. It’s mixed from English and German. A stumpf is a stumed or a stub, rote rakete = red rocket my penis, eine kleine führer = the little conductor, and I forgot okolyten the most stylish word = tits or big pickaxe.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen?

Coffee without cigarettes.

Black coffee, or coffee with milk?

If everything is on charge at home, I put everything in. Milk and 3 cups of sugar

Sugar?

French skateboard mag in my coffee? Me no like.

Your name is Willow, so what is your favourite kind of tree?

Cherry tree

What music are you into?

Folk, Bulgarian trance, Russian gabba and of course Finland’s finest hardcore

There have been rumours of you having beef with Bastien Salabanzi. Is this true?

Come on man. Never heard such stupid things…that’s the first time I’ve heard that. I’m not the kind of character that get beef with other guys. Why?

The rumours about Bastien came from him leaving Flip and going to Alis, and supposedly this was because you two did not get along. Is this just stupid internet rumours again?

Of course…

Lots of people in the UK have seen your Hello 21 part (below) on Youtube now and were amazed by it. Has it helped you be recognized in the UK more?

Oh they know me? That’s über stumpf good. Nice that they like it.

Do you find it hard to film stuff?

I don’t know. No, I like to see the footy at the end.

Do you ever get stressed whilst skating?

Many times, stress with other ignorant people. I get stumpfed so bad.

If you could skate with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?

Johnny Depp on a board. It would be crazy if he could skate like he acts.

Which possession would you take quickly if your house was on fire?

My boards, get my cats, and get my monkeygirl piggyback.

Which 80’s pop artist took the piss the most?

Boy George or Wham

Do you feel as though you have much in common with David Hasselhoff?

I’ve been looking for freedom, and Pamela Anderson

Is it true that he has a grip on the new generation of German children?

No no no.

Last words?
Stumpf.

Any links, thanks or plugs?

Mom, Dad, monkeygirl Nikki, Flip Family, Ian, Gentschy baby, Jeremy Fox, my cats Emi and Emil, my Berlin and Cologne crew, Timmy, Schnu, David Hasselhoff, Moni, Etnies, Asiootus, Livin Company, Split, Rockers

PROST WILLOW

Danny Garcia is one of those rare nonchalant characters that simply being in the presence of eradicates all thoughts of stress. In fact, he is so laid back, he’s horizontal. You can see the evidence in his casual skating style, especially how he managed to put an apt ending to one of my personal favourite skate videos, Mosaic, without seeming to break into a sweat.

On the London leg of the European éS tour, I had the pleasure of discussing the finer things in life with the fellow over a glass of red wine, or in my case, a miserable excuse for a banana milkshake. When I say the finer things in life, naturally I’m talking about the upcoming Habitat video, goth haircuts, Camden market, ultimatums from Death and of course, all that whiz-plank nonsense. Sit back, and enjoy, and leave yourself feeling refreshed and perhaps knowing a little bit more about Danny Garcia than the average bear.

Skate shots: Courtesy of éS
Portrait:Tim Mogridge
Words: Joe Moynihan

So Danny, you’re on the last leg of the Europe tour right now. How has the trip been?

It’s been ok. It was kind of hard for me to leave home, because I had a few things going on you know? It’s going alright though. The turnouts have been a bit whatever at times but that doesn’t really bother me. Going to Italy was really cool though; I’d never been there before, so just being able to be in Italy and admire how beautiful it is was awesome. We didn’t get a chance to do anything that interesting because we were driving a lot. But then of course we got to saw a lot of the countryside while we were driving, which was great.

What sort of shit has gone down skate wise? Any stand out moments?

A couple of things. We haven’t got to skate much street hardly at all, but we did yesterday before we got on the plane. We went to this really nasty ditch in some beach town in Italy, and Rick ollied into it, that was sick.

You’ve got the demo at MK Plaza tomorrow. Have you been there before?

Not since they’ve built the ledge complex. Before, it was just a big open space, and not quite as interesting. I’m looking forward to skating it, definitely.

Why such a short stay in the UK?

I don’t know really. Though, being able to stay in one city for four days is kind of a lot for us. A couple of times we just did one night in a city, and two days, so yeah four days is pretty ok for us. It gives us that extra little time to cover a lot of ground, quickly, but that’s how it is. I kind of set a rule for myself, I really can’t do anything over two weeks on a trip. More than 14 days is just too hard for me to deal with. I’d kind of go crazy.

What’s the major difference between European spots and spots in California?

I think the weather makes spots a little easier to skate. Weather does a lot of damage to the ground y’know? As opposed to California, the east coast is a big difference because everything is so harsh and rough. And I think weather has a lot to do with it. But Europe, it’s got a lot of marble, and the materials used are really good, and we don’t see variety like that back at home.

Which do you prefer?

I just like granite, marble and plaza type spots. Just like the bus station at Milton Keynes.

More of a ledge man then?

Yeah, usually. Lately I’ve been trying to skate a little tranny here and there. That’s the thing too, in California public skateparks are everywhere, so it’s becoming unavoidable.

Would you ever bring the session to a vert ramp?

I drop in for sure. I dropped in on vert for the first time a couple of years ago. It was great. So I guess anytime I come across a vert ramp, I’ll definitely drop in and pump around for a while. But then I’ll just hop out and go back to the street course.

Inhabitants is getting close to wrapping up now, are you happy with your footage?

Hmm. No. Not really. Though I’ve never been happy with my footage for anything. You never get to call when you’re done for a part. You never reach that stage where you have all the footage you want, and can say, “I’m done with the part”. When the video is out is when you’re done.

You had the closer for Mosaic. And that went down really well.

Yeah, I’m glad about that. It was the same thing with the whole ‘I’m done with the part’ but I’m not scenario. This time around, I don’t know what’s happened. Maybe I’m just being lazy.

There’s a poll on the Transworld site right now, so far your section is the second most anticipated (behind Janoski). Not to put any pressure on you or anything…

Uh oh. You know, I should be able to respond to that poll, and tell them to calm down or something. (Danny laughs), that’s funny, ah I guess it’ll be ok, it’ll turn out fine. We’ll see.

Are there any surprises in the video?

Surprises? I don’t know what Joe (Castrucci) is planning to do yet. One good thing that we have talked about, is that this time round we won’t have to get the rights for the music because we won’t be making over a certain amount of copies. We’ll be able to use any song we want without it becoming expensive, stuff like that caused difficulties in Mosaic.

In Mosaic you had a fair amount of specially recorded tracks by The Greenhornes.

Yeah, they helped a fair bit with intros and stuff. But there was a love song they wrote that they were a bit possessive over. Kerry wanted it for his part, but they didn’t want it being used, which was a shame. But this time around things like that won’t be such a hassle. We’d be able to use whatever we want, which will be awesome.

Do you think you’ll have a song involved again like you did in Regal Road?

Hmm. Maybe, I’m not sure, I know that Joe mentioned it to me but I’m not sure. If we do, it’ll probably be very subtle.

How long have you been playing guitar?

I’ve been playing all sorts of music my whole life, but I only really got into playing guitar seriously when I was about 20. So about 7 years of taking it seriously. I played piano when I was a kid, violin, saxophone and some other stuff but never really got that into it you know? I kind of just did it because I was around it. But the guitar is a keeper.

Tell us about your new shoe on éS.

Yeah, it was just a shoe I wanted really (laughs). I went for the most basic design ever, just to make myself happy really.

Was it your decision to have a Hi Top version made?

No, actually. I didn’t really have much of an idea what was going on, in terms of what seasons everything was coming out and what. They had the plan completely sorted, and I just agreed with it and worked on the colours and materials and took it from there.

Does it skate well?

Yeah, for sure. I like it a lot, mainly because I was skating vulcanised soles for about 6 months beforehand so it was a nice change. But my next shoe is going to be vulcanised, as I am quite partial to them.

Does it not ever feel weird to be rolling around with a shoe with your name on?

Not really. I kind of forget it’s there now. I mean, maybe the first time I was riding a deck with my name on, yeah I thought that was a bit trippy, but I got over that feeling pretty quickly.

I always thought it would be like when you were in the early days of school, and your mum would sow a label with your name onto your clothes in case you lost them.

(Laughs) Thankfully it’s nothing like that.

If we take things right back now Danny, what made you first pick up a skateboard?

Probably the group I started hanging around with. I was in junior high, young and naïve trying to figure out what I wanted to be, what crowd I wanted to hang around with and shit. At first I was trying to be like a tagger, or graffiti kid, but that didn’t last long. Probably because I sucked, I dunno, I couldn’t figure it out I guess. I think I moved and started hanging around with a couple of kids that had skated. I used to ride my bike everywhere, and I remember that it got stolen, but these guys hooked me up with some old parts of a skateboard so I could get about still. But I was competitive at that age too, I would see them skate and I’d strive to be better than them. So that was what pushed me at the beginning.

What made you keep going after all that?

I don’t really know, it was something new I guess. It was exciting, and it just kind of took over. No one was really doing it at the time, compared with nowadays anyway. To me, that was really thrilling, and I just kept going.

Did you ever see it becoming a full time job?

I don’t know, I never really knew it was an option. Whenever I saw guys in magazines I just thought they were the same as any other skater. I didn’t think you could actually make a living from it.

Now that you are making a living from it, can you imagine doing anything else?

Yeah, I’ve thought about it. Sometimes I actually want to do something else. Like, I need that refreshing feeling of something new once and a while. Skateboarding has become a different thing for me now; it’s not necessarily as exciting as it was when I first started.

So do any recent videos inspire you as much as back when you first started? You said once that Goldfish was one of your favourites. Do you ever get hyped on newer stuff?

Goldfish was one of the first videos I saw. I loved it. I don’t watch as many videos these days, if a new video comes out I wouldn’t go searching for it like I used to. I still watch the older stuff though; Goldfish will always be a fond favourite.

What about skating with other people then, do they inspire you?

Yeah, definitely. That’s kind of my main inspiration now, when I travel I get influenced by a lot of the new skaters, and non-skaters for that matter that I meet.

Who’s the raddest skater to skate with?

I don’t think I could single anybody out really. I do love skating with Anthony Acosta though, a photographer. He always pushes me to do something, or taking me to new spots. He’s got so many, man, plus I’ve been skating with him since forever, so it’s good for me personally.

My mate influenced me with this question. Being one of those sorts of bizarre things he would regularly pounce on me with on any given day. If Death paid you a visit and told you that you had one week left to live. What’s the last spot you would hit up, and who with?

Hmm, I don’t know. I haven’t been there yet, but maybe those ledges here in London.

East India Quays maybe? Are they grey and marble, near a lot of buses?

That’s the ones. I saw Alex Olson skate them in a Girl promo, they look perfect. Yeah, I’d definitely like to skate those. As for who I’d skate with, I couldn’t name anyone right now.

You could skate them today! But let’s say that that didn’t happen, and you live for a long time, what are your plans for the future?

I don’t know really, I think I’m just going to let it happen, whatever it is. That kind of worked for me when I was younger. I never had a plan, and I would never like, sit down and think about it or whatever. I just did what I wanted to do at the time, obviously with respect to the people around me, and hoped it’ll work out really. Yeah, I’ll be doing that in the future.

Speaking of doing whatever falls in front of you, would you ever consider getting another haircut like the one in KOTR?

(Laughs) no, no, no. That’s funny though, I was thinking about that the other day. If I went on a king of the road right now, without doing the first one, if it was now, I can safely say I wouldn’t have got that done.

How long did it last?
I think I shaved it all off on the last day, it was just getting too much for me. But then I hated it even more, because before I had a little bit of hair and a baldhead. But after shaving it all off, I just had this huge head, like a full on meathead, which wasn’t cool. Even with a hat on, I dunno, I looked like a cancer patient or something.

(Laughs) well it’s been a pleasure to speak to you Danny; I wish you all the best with the rest of the tour, and of course with Inhabitants!

Thanks, and no worries. Easy man.

Check the Crossfire competitions page for the chance to win a signed pair of Danny’s new shoes and an éS tshirt signed by Danny and the rest of the team.

In skateboarding there are friends and the there are friends and the latter are the guys that will stop skating if you break a kingpin and help out. Nick Zorlac is one of those lads – someone who will go out of his way to accomodate you even though he may have just met you.

Death Skateboards may have an image of destruction, punk rock and annihilistic crusade but deep down the fire burns from a warm heart and the guys on the team have adopted that from the boss.

Death started whilst he was working at a distribution company who forced burn out on him and left him for dead. From there Nick has quietly stuck his fingers up at the people who used him, got on with his life and won. He may be a practicing vampire who loves 80’s music and he may drive for 2 days flat to skate a bank to wall, but he is one of the best out there so we thought we would drop him a line and see what g’wan in the world of Death, a company that has managed to arguably become the most dedicated skate team in the UK.

How long has Death been going now? When did you start out?

Death started in 1998. So it will be a ‘Decade of Distraction’ in 2008 next year. I can’t believe it, time flies.

What made you start Death?

One thing was that I was being a bit self indulgent, I wanted a board that said ‘Death’ on it! Mainstream media loved pronouncing that skateboarding was ‘Dead’ after the late 70’s boom, and after getting sick of people reiterating this year after year in different ways when they see you skating, I thought fuck it we must represent Death then. Also it was a protest vote against companies that were springing up that were started by non skaters with the sole purpose of making money. Suits sitting around trying to think of non offensive names and concepts that everyone would like. Instead of having a cool idea or vision of what they wanted to do they were just trying to find a commercially successful formula.

To me, that is not what a skate co. is all about. With Death I wanted to do something that was a reflection of I liked, and what skating was to me. It started as a very limited thing, I didn’t actually really have plans to sell the boards commercially. I did some stickers and tees for myself and some friends. I thought kids would hate it. I put a sticker on my mate Hemm’s shop door (Then it was called Big Worms, now its called Motel 6). A couple of weeks later he was all ‘kids keep asking for those Death boards, when will they be ready?’ This was echoed by a lot of shops all round the country. So I went with it.

Did you ever think it would last the time it has so far?

I used to have a drinking problem. If you’d have asked me when I started Death what I would be doing in 9 years, to be honest I’d have been surprised to still be about myself, let alone my company.

Who was the first pro rider?
Cates. He wrote some bollocks or other on my griptape one time when I set a board up, so I jokingly said I was going to do a board with ‘Cates is a Cunt’ on it to get him back. Then I was winding him up one day that they were nearly ready. He believed me, but strangely seemed quite stoked on it. So I went ahead and got some done. They sold out so I did him another board that had felt material on the graphics and you got these massive joke sunglasses with it too. And then I just carried on bringing out Cates Pro models and people kept buying them. All cos he wrote on my griptape, ha ha.

Have you always used the same wood manufacturer?

No. I work with a number of different woodshops simultaneously. Ones I consider the finest in the world by the way, and I’ve been around for a while. I find certain strengths from each manufacturer more suitable for specific models in our range dependant on what we are looking for in each one. This means that whatever my riders like in terms of weight, concave, responsiveness etc etc there is always something for them within our range of boards. Generally the pro boards are a bit longer wheelbase and deeper concave than the team boards. We have good relationships with all our manufacturers, which is important to get our boards exactly how we want them. I don’t skimp on cost, I’d rather make less margin but have the highest possible quality boards. If I wasn’t happy riding my own boards then what would be the point?

For people that ride your boards but would never know, where are they made and what is the process?

The best wood, the best glue, years of experience and a sprinkle of magic dust. I could tell you more but then I’d have to kill you.

How many models have you released now to date?

Some of our obsolete boards are on our website in the ‘past products’ section. I’ve lost count. But it’s not as many as you might think, because some of our graphics run for years. I don’t like withdrawing a graphic when I still like it, and people are still asking for it. Some of our first graphics are still going strong today.

You like to use holograms and silver on your boards, do these make the boards more expensive to manufacture?

Yeah they do. But they are limited runs so its not a big deal.

I read on the internet that if you scrape off and smoke the silver graphics on your Death boards, they can sustain a high as powerful as crack in a pipe? Is this true?

You ‘read on the internet’ did you?? I wondered why you keep asking me for the silver graphic boards.

Why do you think people choose Death over another UK or US brand?

You would have to ask them.

Who designs your graphics?

With the longstanding team boards, I have an idea in my mind of what I want and Jaybone translates my ideas in to something on a computer that we can use. With the pro boards, a few different people have done graphics. Like Fos, Chris Bourke from Spine, Kyle Green, Toby Walker, Mark Ward, Alex Duke, and Jaybone. Sometimes my ideas again, sometimes the pros, and frequently 100% down to the artist. Thanks!

Was there ever a rider who submitted the worst artwork ever to you for his board graphic?

Nothing bad, Art is subjective. Ha ha.

What is your fave Death board graphic to date?

The original skull. It was the start of it all, still does good today, never fails to provoke some kind of reaction and I’ve never got bored of it.

Which current pro would you love to see on Death if you could steal one?

I’m not into stealing pros. But I can tell you this – my favourite skater of all time is John Cardiel. I thought I knew what skateboarding was. Then Cardiel visited Harrow. Seeing him skate redefined my perception of skateboarding. Pedal to the metal is an understatement. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Cardiel footage is gold dust.

Which old school pro skater ever would you have loved to have seen ride Death and why?

I always thought Grosso was sick. Well I still do. Big airs, massive loud lein to tails and bodyjars, solid tweaked and stalled inverts, the longest boardslides in pools. Always facing adversity. Finally learning Mctwists at around 30 years old. And I always thought his interviews in Thrasher, Transworld and RAD were the best. He gave away so much in those interviews. Brutally and refreshingly honest. Also, Jeff Phillips (RIP), Duane Peters, Alan Petersen if you can call him old school, Ben Schroeder.. I could go on and on.

Will we see any girls sponsored by Death in the future?

I’ll never say never.

You love the internet don’t you big boy?

I don’t mind it. It has its downsides though. It keeps you connected with what’s going on, yet isolated at the same time cos you are staring at a screen instead of interacting with other humans. It’s a time vampire I know that much.

Do you feel as though you have to come out sometimes and put things right much in the same way that Jamie Thomas has done recently in a recent online interview?

If people don’t like our graphics or anything else about us then that’s fine. I never expected or would even want everyone to like us. But a couple of times I have had to go on there to set things straight when people have got facts wrong. I’m not into telling people what to think, but they should at least be using the real facts to be making their own minds up. And yes I have had to confront people because I have thought they were out of order. Same as I would confront someone if they were being out of line in the street, in a skatepark or in a pub. I don’t see the difference although a lot of people seem to get a bit carried away when they get behind a keyboard and think that it somehow doesn’t count.

What is the difference between the skaters of old (pre internet) and now?

When I was a kid, we used to study every magazine word for word, and watch videos until they wore out. Now, skating is everywhere. On the internet, on TV, new cheap or free dvds every month, there are more magazines too. So I think kids have access to a lot more skateboarding media than we did. This is a good thing for them, but I think that maybe we appreciated what we had more. Also I think in general we made more of an effort to go to comps and demos, you would get a large chunk of the UK’s skateboarding population under one roof which was sick. But none of this matters, times change. As long as people keep rollin’, having fun and don’t get cliquey then it’s all good.

Do you think that the skateboard industry is taking the web more seriously now as opposed to 3 years ago?

Of course. Its not just mags and vids anymore. The power of the internet is huge. It does seem that the skate industry has been a bit slow to catch on to this. Including me. But I have trouble just getting through my emails let alone, I get thousands of the buggers.

You are crocked right now right? Explain what happened and where it’s going.

On Feb 10th I busted my arm at the top and displaced my shoulder. Fucking nightmare. Wasn’t even doing anything, just a freak slam. Rolling backwards, something stopped my board, I fell backwards into the transition and SNAP. It’s a big bone so it took ages to heal but I’m getting stronger by the day.

Being a man that skates as much as he can fit into a week, how have you coped being on the sidelines?

By working a lot. It’s the longest time I’ve had off my board for more than 20 years, It’s not been fun. But what can you do? It makes you realize how much you take being able bodied for granted. I used to be like ‘fuck I do too many frontside airs’. Now I’m all ‘I wish I could go out and do a frontside air!’

Does it look likely that you will be sessioning the summer of 2007?

I hope so, the cast is off, and I’ve started physio.

Where would your first spot visit be?

Probably the ramp in our garden. We found some ply in a skip so we’re going to fix it up nice. But anywhere and anything really..

Where is the best spot you have ever skated?

Don’t have a single best spot really. It was really fun at Snoz’s creation ‘The Ripped’ just before I got hurt. I have a lot good memories from Southbank, Marseilles, the old Uxbridge mini ramp (where we held Herricks wedding reception!), St. Albans and Harrow Skatepark.

You also run the Power Distribution Company with various brands on board such as Consolidated, Heroin etc it must be hard running this kind of job with so many shops closing down in the UK?

It’s pretty gnarly at the moment with people buying stuff and doing well with it but trying not to pay. It goes in cycles though. You have to survive the bad times to enjoy the good times. It’s a miracle, but somehow we have done so far. Our brands are super strong which helps. So many people give up so easily. I did two jobs for over 4 years when I started Power (Distribution) to fund it. Some people want to make money and not even get their hands dirty. And then when they discover its not that easy they just walk away from the mess they have made leaving other people to pick up the pieces. That is the worst part of being a Distributor.

How could life be easier for distributors and the industry if shops changed one main thing from their operation? What would it be?

It’s not up to me to tell people how to run their business. But it would help if people paid their bills on time and took responsibility for what they have committed to.

Could skater owned shops do more for the scene?

Some do more than their fair share, some don’t.

Which one UK SOS shop is your favourite to deal with and why?

There are loads. Support your local skateshop!

Is it true that Consolidated are going to issue a rollerblade boot?! Ha!

Yeah, and pigs fly. Actually, if it was in the form of some elaborate piss take, you never know. They once did an advert once promoting Consolidated Cowboy boots that didn’t exist if I remember rightly. Consolidated are good for democracy in skateboarding and their ads are wild. The first Consolidated video is one of my faves of all time.

I heard they are stoked on Ben Raemers who is filming a part for their up coming DVD?

Yeah, Ben rips. I hope he goes pro on Consolidated one day. They are stoked on Olly Tyreman the other UK Con rider too, and he will have stuff in the new DVD as well. I think its going to be called ‘Going Bananas‘.

What did they make of your visit this year to Con HQ?

They hated us. Ha ha, nah I don’t know I think they thought we were mad cos we insisted on getting Mexican food every day, for every meal! We had the best time. I’m stoked they are distributing Death stuff for me in America and other countries cos I totally trust them. I had some bad times in the past with someone else who distributed Death in the U.S for us.

Is America starting to get used to seeing Death Skateboards now with the introduction of new team riders?

It’s hard to tell. Melcher and Zarosh are so rad. To have them as my US riders, and have adverts in Thrasher is the best thing. I never imagined things would go this far. Who knows what will happen..

Will you be taking on any more US riders?

If the right rider appears, then yes. I’m not in a rush though.

What are your thoughts on what the International Association of Skateboard Companies are saying regarding the shop board situation? Do shop boards kill the industry somewhat?

Blank boards and shop boards rarely support pros, magazines or the industry in general. It’s a downward spiral for skateboarding. But I’m not going to tell people what to do either. I just put out stuff that I like, and support my riders and customers as best as I know how. Some people must like quality and attention to detail of our products and graphics etc to like Death enough to pay the little bit extra rather than buying a blank board. Personally I can’t stand blank boards. I think they are boring, meaningless, and a step backwards. When there is no branding, or professional endorsement, a product has nothing to prove or live up to. And there is seemingly not much to choose between one blank and the next. So people are tempted to just go for the cheapest.

In turn some manufactures feel the need to offer cheaper blanks to be competitive. Corners are cut. Cheaper materials and techniques are used in manufacturing. And you can end up with something that is a pig to skate as well as boring to look at. If blanks help kids to afford to keep skating then you have to take this in to account. But when we were young kids we’d buy a second hand pro deck over a blank any day. And then when we got a bit older and earning a bit we’d spend days looking at shapes and graphics.. planning and saving up for the deck we figured was the one for us. Nothing else would do! I think that pro board graphics and shapes are an important part of the magic that makes skateboarding the best.

Is Death registered as a UK Skate Company with the IASC?

No. No one from there has approached me. Rightly or wrongly I feel under the radar of that kind of organization. I feel pretty isolated from that kind of thing. Maybe because I am based in London not California.

Do you think it is necessary?

I don’t know the answers. I’m still that kid with the skateboard; I don’t feel like I’m ‘Industry’.

Do you think that the skate industry should have some sort of governing force?

It has always had one. Skateboarders! We choose what we buy.

Rumours floating around the internet mention that the only reason that the IASC have set up their ‘club’ is because US brands no longer dominate the sales of skate shops in Europe due to their own homegrown industries – do you think this is true?

That does make sense. Skateboarding has definitely decentralized, and it must be difficult for companies that used to dominate worldwide to lose a lot of their market share. Nothing lasts forever though.

Does this body have a right to tell other countries skate companies that they should not be stocked in skate shops if they are not members?

It sounds complicated. I always thought skateboarding was about breaking rules, not making them. I don’t think shops will take kindly to being told they can’t stock their best selling brands!

Does this affect Death Skateboards in any way?

Not at the moment. Time will tell.

What is the most fun thing about running a skateboard company?

Getting ideas and turning them in to reality (which I am addicted to). Riding and putting out products that I’m happy with. Giving shops products that do good for them and they make decent margins on. Stoking riders out and helping them to push their skating. The process of making videos and adverts. Traveling. Pulling surprise moves, like having Ricky Oyola on the last ‘Big Push‘ tour. Working with some really cool people. Not being part of the 9-5 world. Living a life that if I wrote about it in a book, people would think was fiction. Being involved in skateboarding full time.

And the downside?

People who you help out but in return stab you in the back. Shops that sell and make money on your stuff but don’t want to pay for it. Accounting and paperwork. Timewasters. Long hours. Responsibility. Stress. Finding out what certain people are really like after years of thinking they were the best.

You guys seem to support the UK scene quite a lot sending riders to demo’s etc how important is this?

There is nothing like seeing your favorite riders tearing up a spot. Hopefully our riders have inspired some skaters somewhere along the line.

Tell us about the Relentless energy drink hook up? Is this a continuation of what Eastpak have done with Death riders over the last few years?

Eastpak have helped us get to some amazing places over the years, e.g Goa. Relentless are doing the same. We also get a load of drinks to keep us energized to skate and go on missions to find insane terrain! It’s cool as well because they are putting in to skateboarding but not taking out, i.e they don’t sell anything that skater owned companies sell. Well I don’t know of any skater owned drinks companies anyway!

How do you pick your riders as you seem to have doubled the size of your team over the last 12 months!?

In their own way, each of my riders represents the essence of skateboarding to me. It’s never been about being ‘the best’, which is a concept a lot of people have trouble with. Same as some people will never understand starting a company which you think has little or no chance of ever being popular or actually making any money.

How did Melcher get hooked up on Death, as it seemed to be a surprise to most?

He emailed me and asked to ride for us! I was as surprised as anyone. I think he had been asking Niall from Kingpin about us, and Niall encouraged him to get in contact. I’m glad he did. His footage on ‘Better Than Life‘ is going to be mental.

When you first saw Richie Jackson’s part in the Escape From Boredom DVD, did you have to grab your crotch to believe what you were seeing?

I was so stoked. I love that section. The first time I saw Richie I knew he had some unique shit going on but was really not prepared for that section turning up!

I heard he was almost stolen from your team last year at a US trade show, how would you feel if that was possible?

Shit happens. If a rider gets some crazy deal that would be really good for them then I’d totally understand if they left. In fact in certain cases I’d encourage them. But what I would say as well is that there are some companies who may be committed to a rider whilst they are at their peak of popularity or when they are the new thing, but then will drop them as soon as they are no longer a money maker. I don’t think like that, Death is a very stable and long term home for our riders. And now we have worldwide distribution, if a pros boards are demanded in whatever country, we now have a channel to get them there.

Will the US and OZ connections ever be flown over for a full tour in the UK?

Bloody hell that would be expensive. But yeah it would be sick.. I need to think about a way of making it happen!

How do you personally Escape from Boredom?

By skating, watching skating or doing something else to do with skating! Of course I am in to other stuff. But skating has consistently been there for me, and always held my attention.

Death seems to have a fantastic amount of energy and fun as an identity compared to other UK skate companies; do you think that other UK teams are too serious about their steez?

Nah, people should do what they want and how they want. It’s good that there is different approaches and styles.

Dan Cates’ interview in Document Magazine this year was definitely one to read. Deep down are you proud to have such a good bunch of riders on the team?

Yeah it’s a good crew. We have a lot of fun times. I like the diversity of skating we have. My riders feel part of something too; it’s not just about getting given boards or whatever. Hence the Death tats.

Who gives you the most grief?

It changes. Everyone has bad days/weeks/months! They always snap out of it though. Cundall has turned over a new leaf recently and is skating really good, shooting loads of photos and filming tons.

Which rider gets through the most boards in a month?

Probably Boots. But he does some gnarly stuff though, and eats loads of fried chicken and 5 trifles every time he goes out so it’s no surprise really!

We have seen the trailer for the new DVD scheduled for November called Better Than Life, tell us what you have planned for it?

Ground breaking (literally!) full sections from our new pros Patrick Melcher and Zarosh. And of course the inimitable Richie Jackson, Mark Nicolson, Dan Cates, Rob Smith, Horsey, Carl ‘Potter’ Wilson, Boots, and many more. Insane Terrain worldwide, tricks you have definitely never seen before, fast times, good times, you know what we like. As far from the 9-5 world as we can get. All the shit that makes skating Better than (normal) life!

Are there surprises in store?

Of course!

Where have you filmed so far?

UK, Australia, USA, Israel, Sweden, Bulgaria, Spain, France, India and more places that I can’t think of right now.

Is Nicholson behind the project?

Yeah, Nicolson is so good at video stuff. Amazing skater too. Toby Batchelor helps me out with video stuff as well, and there are loads of contributors too.

Are there plans for Death Skateboards summer tour this year?

Document magazines ‘Big Push‘ takes up most of my tour budget. It’s worth it though. We’re going a bit mad on this years one, should be even crazier than the last two. Don’t miss that issue!

What are the 3 key things people need in their lives to survive?

Tacos
Quesadillas
Nachos

What 3 tunes can you not leave the house without for a road trip?

More like 30,000 tunes with the advent of the Ipod! Although some older guys are not at one with recent technology.. Herrick quote from a recent road trip ‘No way, is all the music we have been listening to today come out of that little white box?’ as he nods towards my iPod.
I must say I’ve listened to Devo the whole time I’ve been doing road trips, that’s always been on the play list.

Any thanks, shouts & links?

Thanks to…well you know who you are! Full list will be on the vid.

Our website is www.Deathskateboards.com

Also www.myspace.com/deathskateboards

Video links:

Interview and portrait by Zac

All photos courtesy of our drinking pardner Rhino.

Pat Duffy exploded into the skate scene with his obnoxious video part in Plan B’s Questionable back in 1992 and played a major part in putting the company on the map with his unique style of skateboarding and the best back lipslide in the biz.

After Plan B closed its doors Pat delivered bangers for Think! and then World Industries until the latter became a joke brand, but fortunately Danny Way and Colin McKay reignited Plan B and have now built one of the most sought after teams in World Skateboarding taking Duffy with them on their quest for fun. We met Duffy on the latest Plan B UK Tour in newly built Saffron Walden skate park in Essex and this is what went down…

You got a little recorder there?

Yeah, and it’s happy to see Pat Duffy back in the UK!

Yes, I am! Back in the UK, I’m psyched!

It’s been a long time huh?

It has, since about 1997 or ’98. If it’s not a decade, it’s just under, maybe 8 or 9 years.

Who were you skating for then, can you remember?

The last time I was here? I was skating for Plan B on tour. I didn’t even come here when I rode for Think at all. Actually, did I come here when I rode with Think? You’d probably know better than me! I just remember the few times I came over with Think to Europe it was to places like Germany, Switzerland… that’s about it, the mainland.

So, tell me what’s been going on starting with this injury of yours because obviously that’s why you’re not skating. We all saw the pictures on the web and it looked nasty. Do you wanna take us through it?

I was over at……..Hey Sean! What’s up man?

Sean Goff in the mix.

Goff: How’s the leg now man?

It’s OK, hanging in there.

Goff: Yeah man I saw on MySpace! Just thought I’d come over and say hello.

It’s good to see you man, only been about 15 years! The first time I ever came to England it was myself and Sal Barbier and this guy.

Goff: Man, that means I must be kinda famous if he remembers me!

Sean Goff is the most famous skateboarder in England!

Leigh-On-Sea right?

Goff: Leigh-On-Sea and Radlands as well I think.

Joe Burlow, Alvin Singveldt….

Goff: He’s still about. So when you getting back up skating again?

Well, my summer’s fucked, but soon after that I’ll be good to go.

Goff: Excellent. I did my arm in a couple of years back, same sort of deal.

It just takes a little bit. You gotta rest up.

Goff:Anyway, I’ll leave you with Zac and his pointy thing. That guy there wants you to sign his board, Craig.

Craig’s one of the best mini-ramp skaters you’ll ever see in your life.

That’s what I heard about Sean Goff right when I got off the plane!

Goff: He’s really good so just slag him off and say he skates shit or something.

Yeah, you suck balls dude.

Goff: Do you suck balls or arse Craig? I can’t remember. We need to get it right.

Craig: Balls!

Goff: “To Craig, you suck balls, lots of love – Tony Alva”.

I can’t remember where we were!

OK, we’re gonna get back to the interview. So yeah, what happened?

Yeah, the slam! I was skating Bob Burnquist’s Megaramp and it took me a few tries to actually get myself to roll down that thing, but I finally rode away from making that 55 foot gap or whatever it is, I flew a little too far out on that giant quarter pipe and came down and got my knee real good. I broke my tibial plateau in four places….

“YEAAAAAAAAAH“. (Smedley lands a frontside flip distaster in the bowl and catches it 3ft out!)

Who’s that dude again?

Craig Smedley.

Dude, he rips! And, yeah so for the last few month’s I’ve just been rehabbing.

No skateboarding at all?

I’ve been rolling around. I’ve been riding my Cruiser board around. I’ve been getting my range of motion back, which is almost all back now. What I do is, instead of going to a spot and skate it, I go cross-country skating from spot to spot.

Just to build it up…

Just to build my stuff back up man.

You must have found that after they’d stitched it up and you were in rehab that your muscles just deteriorated, so it’s all about building the muscle up?

It went to complete shite. It’s still pretty bad. I’ve been working really hard at it for the last complete of months but your bone has to heal in order to take the workout that your muscle needs to have. It’s coming, it just takes a while. I’m an old fuck, man. You know that, how long have I known you?!

Long enough! Last time I saw you, we were in Marseille together and you were sugar-caning it around that bowl like you owned the joint. What a trip!

Oh man, I loved it. Yeah, that was such a good trip, Kyle Berard killing it, Chad Bartie, I was with my buddy Tom Curran, we saw you guys. As soon as I didn’t have to skate the next day, as soon as I sucked that bad that I didn’t make the cut, you know exactly where we were… the Red something?

Red Lion!

The Red Lion! I was just in there a little too long for my own good!

So come on, tell us about Plan B. Obviously you’re back on the team and rocking it. It obviously wasn’t a difficult decision to say yes…

No, not at all. I had talked to Danny about it a long, long time ago before it came about and he really wanted me to be involved as far as picking the team and stuff. I mean, he and Colin had their reasons for not immediately putting me on the team and when they got back to me about it, it made perfect sense.

What were the reasons?

Well, they just wanted to make sure everything was solid before they started to bring everyone in.

From their point of view, did they think that publicity wise that if they’d had the original team members on board from the off would have been getting up and running too quickly?

Obviously you’re not going to have the best team ever without the best riders. And I’m not saying I’m involved in that but y’know P-Rod, PJ, Ryan Gallant and my involvement is I’m a street vet. Danny and Colin, we know what they concentrate on – Danny is a fucking megaramp skater and Colin really, really concentrates on his vert, so from that standpoint, they wanted me to come in and my role is hanging out with these dudes on a daily basis. And even if I don’t feel like doing shit or I’m hurt, I’ll wanna go and see what Paul’s doing for the day, see what PJ’s doing for the day or go down to San Diego and check out Ryan.

So everyone’s based in California now?

Almost, everyone except Wenning – he’s in Jersey.

As for the office, the hook ups, the whole running of the business – where is it based and how does it all happen on a daily basis?

On a daily basis, we have our brand manager Tom Jones who is the new school Mike Ternasky, he is a genius man. He comes up with graphics, he does most of our day to day things and as of right now I’m gonna be moving down there and helping him out because he’s complete overwhelmed. Only for the pure fact that Plan B is doing so well, we’re miles ahead of where we expected to be at this point.

I mean, me being hurt right now, there’s nothing for me to do in LA. I go out on night missions with these guys to be cheer leading. But I’ll be going down to help him and our team manager Sean Hayes out.

Fantastic. What about boards, do you have any pro models coming out?

I have three of them out right now.

Talk us through the graphics.

For the first little bit, we wanted to keep it real uniform.

Plan B branding only?

Plan B branding man. Because you know what, we work as a team, we travel as a team, we talk to each other all the time. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing and we wanted to reflect that in the look of the company so right now we do series boards. Eventually, if someone wants a certain board or graphic, if Captain America Danny Way wants an Indiana Jones graphic, of course he can have one, but as of right now it’s a full team vibe.

That’s amazing. You’ve been on tour for a little while outside of California so take us through where you’ve been and what’s been fun.

I went from my house in LA to Wilmington, North Carolina for Eastern Skate Supply, Reggie Barnes really pushes the project. Everyone was really busy and I obviously was NOT really busy, so I kinda bit the bullet and was like “you know what? I will go out there!” Obviously not to skate, although I did skate a little out there but Reggie Barnes wanted to do a 10 day, 6 demo tour with maybe 1 or 2 people from a couple of his brands. So it was me from Plan B, Chet Childress, Jason Adams, Kyle Berard, Adam Dyet, Mike Peterson, Willy Santos…

Oh my God, that’s a top team you had there!

Man, the tour was AMAZING!

Everyone was repping themselves and their teams?

Reggie Barnes is the biggest distributor on the East Coast and he’s been hook us up and selling our boards for years (est 1985) so we may as well go and give a little bit back. And it was such a good tour for 10 days, and then in Wilmington, which is where the distribution is, I met up with the whole team and with that crew plus the Plan B crew, we did a huge Reggie Barnes-Eastern Skate Supply demo. It was INSANITY.

So where from there? Europe?

Yeah from Wilmington to Madrid, where we hung out with our distributor there, Francisco and had the best time ever. Both the demos were amazing, a bunch of good street stuff.

Were there a lot of kids waiting for you when you got there?

Yeah, there were a lot of kids, but what sucked was that as soon as we got there, it started raining!

Oh no, in Madrid!

In Madrid man, it was raining all the time. So as good as the weather is here now, (75′) was as bad as it was when we were in Spain – the complete opposite.

And then from Madrid to where?

From Madrid we went to Germany, Hamburg where we hung out with Richie. He’s got a shop and distribution out there, they took good care of us, there was about a thousand kids at the demo waiting for us and everybody killed it, especially Danny Way.

Oh was there a vert ramp?

No, no! Danny killed the streets, especially. And then from there we went to Rotterdam for 3 days.

I bet that was a blast. Was it raining?

Yeah it was raining so we were indoors the whole time. The demo in Rotterdam was amazing, they have a really good indoor park there.

What’s the set up?

They have a gnarly clover bowl. It’s one of those parks that looks like it has no floor y’know, it’s all the same wood.

Everything is interlinked…

Yeah, everything, so you can just roll everywhere. It’s amazing. That demo was insane, all the kids were stoked. Then we went to Amsterdam to get fucked off for one night!

Come on, what happened in the ‘Dam? What goes on tour stays on tour right?…

What goes on tour DEFINITELY stays on tour, especially where Amsterdam is concerned!

And then Amsterdam to here…. What do you think of this park? Because obviously Dreamland have just finished it.

It looks really good to me. There’s a pretty good street area over here because PJ Ladd was killing it earlier. This park looks amazing to me because I love just cruising around, popping out of bowls and rolling into them. This is my shit right here, I love corners. I mean, I love ledges and rails and shit like that, but I REALLY love pumping around a corner with pool coping. I’m ashamed that I’m hurt right now!

You can’t be ashamed!

No but I am, I wanna be able to roll around. It’s frustrating y’know.

But at least you’re here with the team. They could have left you at home and said “fuck, we need to save some dough” and that shows the family value of what’s going on with the new Plan B team.

We’re a team man, that’s all there is to it. Everyone comes. Wenning was going to be here but he had a prior engagement that he could never have gotten out of.

And Sheckler?

Sheckler was here but he had to leave because he had school, he’s only 17, you can’t argue with that. So when we left Amsterdam, he had to fly home.

How was it for you, looking back in the day, how was school and pro skating for you because your skate career exploded over night?

I finish my high school career and went to half a year of college. My family being “whatever”, it was either me getting a job or keep skating around. So it was either I got a job to pay for college or I’m going to keep travelling. I couldn’t do them both, because skateboarding takes you out of town. But it’s important to lay your foundation before you make that kind of decision. It’s good to get a high school diploma and then see what you wanna do after that.

So tell us what the main difference between the old Plan B and the new Plan B. Obviously things change over time, people change, but how is it for you, because you play a massive part in this team.

It’s the same feeling, we wanna do the best for skateboarding. We want to make the image the best we can, as far as skateboarding itself and we don’t wanna be hip hop or punk, we just wanna be skateboarders. We want to show that skateboarding is a positive thing wherever you are. It doesn’t matter where you are, but if you’re riding your skateboard, it’s a whole lot better doing that than if you’re a hoodlum. That said, I was a bit of a hoodlum when I was little.

Weren’t we all though, you get your release out on urethane….

You know what, go get a skateboard, start riding it and feel the vibe!

So how many people are there behind the scenes at Plan B compared to the original set up?

It’s different because we license it out now. We’re a licensee of Syndrome, so they work for us but as far as Plan B itself goes, there’s about 10 people involved and maybe 35-40 people involved after that. But 10 for just the brand Plan B.

And people forget about this sort of thing, but it’s important that when you come out here, you have someone to meet you and make sure you’re taken care of.

Sean Hayes, our team manager, set this whole thing up. And on top of that he’s a ripping skateboarder, an amazing rager, just a good guy in general.

So how long do you reckon it’ll be before you’re back on a board again, what are the doctors saying?

My knee has finally gone down, so I can finally bend it again. I kind of took it a little too early on the last tour [in the East Coast]. I skated 3 out of 6 demos and started to feel really good and started doing shit I shouldn’t have been doing and towards the end of the tour my knee started swelling up and I realised I had to start taking it easy again. But as far as a time frame goes, I’ll say I’ll be jumping down the nearest 10-stair in around the middle of August!

I saw an amazing picture of you actually, doing a backside ollie off of a set of stairs into a really tight bank shot by Bradford. We were stoked to see that shit going down. You’ve still got your pop!

I try to maintain my pop. It’s tough, I’ve been around along time but truthfully I couldn’t live without it and I will skateboard until I am completely dead and that’s the cold hard facts.

Knowing that Sheckler was the last person to join the team, are there any other skaters that Plan B have got their eyes on next?

I was out on this tour and I was looking for it, really keeping my eye out because Danny and Colin and I talked about it. We have no Ams, we are a team with no Ams which is weird these days. But we haven’t actually seen one that catches the eye and we’re not down to steal people because that’s not how we are.

You’ve gotta find fresh blood.

Right and I came across a couple of them, who shall remain nameless right now. But in the next little while you might just see the most ripping little Plan B Am you’ve ever seen.

Oh really, there’s something special coming up!

There might be!

Is this person American or European…?

We’ll see, we’ll see. We’re keeping it under wraps for now.

There you go, he’s giving nothing away to Crossfire.

Nothing at all.

So what about when you get up and running, what’s the plan?

Just film. I’m going to help out with some day to day operations with Plan B, mainly making sure the team is good with the product. If there’s something about our concave or wheels or graphic, I’m the one that’s going to know.

What about a new video?

We just put out a promo Live After Death.

Everyone’s waiting for the end product.

It’s a difficult thing with videos these days. I mean, years can go into a video but if the payout isn’t there, we’re left wondering if there’s a reason to do it or to just do promos because the internet and magazines.

Who killed skate videos? Was it the internet or magazines putting them out for free on the front cover?

I think the internet killed skate videos. There’s nowhere for it to be fresh anymore. As soon as you get a trick done, there’s Joe Schmo filming you in the bushes and goes on YouTube anyway. So there’s this debate – on one end we think we should just do promos but then Danny Way is saying “forget it, we’re going to keep our stuff under lock and key and we’ll do a full video“.

The whole skateboard industry should set that as an example again because its gone out of the window.

Exactly, and it’s no-one’s fault, it’s just a sign of the times.

It’s going the same way the music industry did. As soon as music was made available to download as mp3s, they are copied and sent to people, all of a sudden, the industry started to die. The skateboard video went through exactly the same thing and here we are where people are putting skate videos out for download only or a subscription thing.

Or like we did, we gave them out for free with our boards. Which is good, but if you’re going to do a full length video which is going to cost so much money, it’s hard on a business standpoint for it to be worth it.

How much time and money goes into making one video for a skate company?

It’s tough to say. Obviously the amount of money that Plan B would put out would be a lot because we want to make the best product, go to the best spots and make sure it’s the best possible thing we could put out. I mean, you could do it cheap for sure, but you’re gonna look cheap.

What’s on your stereo at the moment?

I pretty much still just listen to The Grateful Dead!

Yeah! The old shit’s still rocking it.

Isn’t it the weirdest thing ever, I became a DeadHead a couple of years ago and can’t get it out of my system. Jerry Garcia is just magical!

Any new bands in America we should check out for the site?

Gogol Bordello?

Ooh yeah…

But that’s some gypsy punk – I love that stuff man, I love it. Do you know Spoon? I love those guys.

Yeah, Telephono is one of the best records I’ve ever heard.

Man, I love those dudes. And I’m going to plug my buddy’s band the Mother Truckers, the sickest rock-slash-country band ever. Mothertruckers.com! Download some of that shit.

What’s your favourite skate video of all time?

It’s a toss up – it’s either Sick Boys or Hocus Pocus.

And who are your homies that you’re still riding with?

I live in Hollywood, right in the mix. So, PJ Ladd for one because he lives right by me. I see Brayden Szafranski all the time, I call Mike Carroll, I call Scott Johnston, couple other of the Girl dudes – Alex Olsen. I love skating with the Nuge, Justin Roy, Richie Belton, Roden the photographer. Me and the PJ usually go out and skate flat ground.

You got any last words?

All I can say is there are a lot of things you could be doing but go buy yourself a skateboard man and give it a shot. Don’t end up in the gutter, ride a skateboard – FUCK rollerblades!

Visit www.planbskateboarding.com for more Pat Duffy and treat yourself to some new and old Plan B footage here…

Sam Bruce, one of those names you’ve probably heard knocking around the block for many a year now.

Sam shot to screen fame a few years back on the Vans Groms Tour but many of the London locals will simply know her as that Meanwhile local ripper, the girl who by her own admission would spend many an hour, day, week at the outdoor bowls just honing her skating. She placed 1st in the under 18’s comp at the Meanwhile Jam a few years back beating off stiff competition from the guys.

Never one to shirk the party scene, you are always sure to find her at all of the skate premiers and the most exclusive parties – you could almost liken her to an IT girl of skateboarding, however she has the added bonus of having real talent. Jenna Selby recently grabbed some time with her to find out how she’s been keeping.

Easy Sam, I would say let’s start by you introducing yourself but I think if people don’t know you by now they should be struck on the head by a rubber mallet! Well, ok, better do it anyway: Full name, Hamster’s name etc etc:

Tee hee… ok. My name is Samantha Bruce aka Trouble.

Actually I reckon your opening line should be: ‘Hi. I’m Sam Bruce. You may remember me from such skate programmes as ‘The Vans Groms Tour’ and RAD, Stupid!‘

Ha ha… nah, I wouldn’t want to come across as a dick, it would just be, hi, I’m Sam, I’ve lost my mojo, can you help me find it?!

Did the fame from your on screen appearances go to your head and you began to demand your own separate dressing room, little sandwiches with the crust cut off , amps that went up to number 11 and skate parks only to be used by yourself?

Ha, jeez no. I mean on tour I got my own room and tent, but that’s only because I was the only girl on tour, and a girl needs her space. To be honest I was quiet thankful to be elected to go on tour. There are a lot of better skaters out there, so I guess I was the fortunate one.

Which countries did you visit with the Groms again?

Well the first one was to America, where we toured 4 states, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Oregon. Then the second trip was to Australia, we went to Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Queensland.

You must have seen some pretty amazing places along the way though, can you share your most memorable and tell us why?

Well all of it was pretty amazing, but I have a memory like a fish, so I’ve probably forgotten a lot of things. With both countries, just driving through uninhibited land was quiet cool, just seeing everything in its natural state. Scuba diving in Oz was amazing, getting to see all the fish and coral and seeing a massive turtle just chilling on the sea bed.

What was it like to experience something like the tours you went on with Christian and the others on the team?

It’s a once in a life experience to have done what I did at such a young age. I’ll be traveling again in the future, but to do what we did was immense. I liked everyone on tour including the media crew and it was a lot of fun to skate and to watch others skate. It was like a fun packed adventure week, all this adventure was crammed in to such a short amount of time, and to venture away from skating and trying other things like surfing and snowboarding was amazing! Bad thing about it though was that we’d always have a schedule of waking up super early and going to bed late and of course there were always little disagreements on both tours amongst people as would happen on any other trip.

What’s the funniest thing that happened?

Having Ben Raemers on tour was always a laugh; he’d be the comedian on tour. In Oz when we went whale watching, I was the first to feel ill so I went out to put my head down for a bit, woke up and everyone else was feeling a bit ill too. Christian was the first to be sick and the smell from that was the catalyst for everyone else. It was like a comedy sketch.

Everyone was running over to the same side of the boat to be sick and when they thought they had chucked it all up, someone would be sick and set the next person off besides them. I even remember hearing someone say ‘urgh, you’re being sick in my face!’ then seeing Ben try to take of his jumper, fall over and be sick again. It cracked me up, especially when Wayne was the only one filming and was trying to catch everyone being sick, and there’s me and Kingy, our photographer, buckling with laughter watching it all.

Do you have the yearning to go on one again?

The next tour after that was the Baltics tour, and I decided to sit that one out. I had my studies to focus on and also I thought I’d give up that place for someone that was a better skater and deserved it. The tours were amazing and I love to travel again, but I’m a lazy bum when it comes to skating, and its time to make way for those who are really passionate about it.

After the honeymoon was over did it become a bit difficult to go to skate parks for a chilled session when people were always expecting you to perform like they had seen on TV?

Well, people had seen what I could do on TV, the expectations came more from knowing that I’m sponsored and seeing me on TV. People expect you to be able to do all the same tricks as everyone else. Kickflip, Tre flip… that kinda thing, which I have to admit street is not my forte, but I’m working on it. All I ever like to do is chill and have fun on my board, so what other people think doesn’t matter. I mean it’s cool, when I get props from people; I appreciate it a lot, so if I’ve made them happy, I’m happy.

How many times did you get asked ‘Can you kickflip?’

Loads of times. Not just from kids who have seen me off TV. I get it from all the chavvy kids and the rude boys who play Tony Hawk.

Grrr…why do people always ask that, or did you get ‘How good are you?’ like there’s some special spectrometer to assess your ability!

Ha yeah. Do people expect me to say I’m really amazing, watch me do a back flip! I suppose its people making conversation or people who are interested but don’t have a clue. When I see they’re really interested then I have time for them, if not and they’re being arses… I run.

Ha ha anyway enough of the teenage angst, how did you get hooked up with Vans in the first place?

I used to skate with a bunch of girls and one of them got hired by Vans to become a scout and start up a girls team for vans UK, she’d seen me skate at comps and place in the top 3 so she thought I was worth putting on flow. A year later I got a call from her and was told I was on the official team. I was so stoked! Thanks Emma.

There’s a pretty strong Vans girl’s team growing in the UK now – do you ever get a chance to skate with the others?

I suppose there is. It’s taken a long time too. Personally I’ve seen so many girls get in to skating then drop out just as they’re starting to get really good, which is annoying, but that’s life. I don’t really get to skate with the other girls seeing as I’m a student now, I’m broke and don’t drive yet. I think that when I lived in London it was a lot easier for me to skate with the others because London was the central meeting place and has quiet a few spots. Now I’m down south, there’s nowt. I haven’t even seen a girl skater down this way.

I hear Powley’s running the show now?

Yeah. I think that’s pretty cool. I know he’s done a lot for skateboarding, organising comps, that kind of thing. He’s been moving all around the country too, so I think that’s why I kinda lost contact with him for a while. We used to get on really well, he used to drive me to comps and events, it was amazing. Vans is going to be a lot different now that Christian’s not running the show, but people have different methods and tactics and I can only hope that it goes well for Powley.

I’ve been looking up some of your old interviews on the web. Girls skate interviews done by non skate companies always come across slightly daft when you see them asking questions like:

“Would you only go out with someone into skateboarding?”

What has this to do with skateboarding? What do you think when you are required to answer this sort of question for promotion sake?

Shall I tell you what… I don’t know… it was pretty random. I just remembered her calling me and interviewing me over the phone. I wasn’t thinking about it too much because I was at the pizza place ordering a pizza and trying to walk down the street with a phone in one hand and try to munch on the pizza with the other. Food comes first! When I looked at the interview afterward she had changed some of my words a bit and made me sound like a mong! I suppose she only asked that question because she had the stereotypical view of those girls who hang around skateparks to flirt with boys and don’t skate. Unlike me, who can manage to do both at the same time. It’s a gift.

I think the best one is though: “Do you think there’s anything wrong with grown men still riding around on skateboards?” Surely they should have asked you: “Do you think there’s anything wrong with grown women still riding around on skateboards?” – I guess there is going to be a generation coming through now of the older lady, it’s going to be interesting what do you reckon?

Yeah it’s funny that people still think that skateboarding’s just a fun activity. They don’t even stop to think that people actually make a living out of it. I just read my answer. She so wasn’t listening to a word I was saying! But to be honest I don’t think the generation of old women are going to last too long. You know gravity takes its toll on people and for some reason old people don’t wear bra’s. So I could see a lot of injuries and broken backs from ‘things’ getting snagged in the wheels.

Surely the likes of Sue Hazel have already paved the way?

Well yeah, I remember seeing her at one of the annual St. Albans jams. It was pretty sick. She’s one of the few remaining old school skaters around, and it’s a lot tougher for girls to stick at it then guys. So I give her props.

Now you’re the slightly older lady at university, what’s your favourite daytime TV? Diagnosis Murder should surely be up there.

Of course. I was in to that before Uni! But the funny thing is. I’ve found is that my DVD collection has grown. It was all skate DVD’s and now I find I’ve got about 20 films and series. But TV reception sucks where I live, too many hills!

How’s Winchester bearing up skating, partying wise – what do you study?

I study Psychology and Theology & Religious studies. The skate park here sucks because the council use all their money to hide all the hobo’s away during the day. Winchester is a proper posh place, full of grannies! Partying wise, it’s a bit boring, there’s like 3 places to go out in and it’s the same stuff. I basically live in Southampton, its not too far, I work there, I party there and I skate there. It reminds me of London.

What else are you up to these days?

I’m on the Women’s Basketball team at Uni and we came back from a tournament in Spain not so long ago, we came 3rd! I work in Route One in Southampton to earn money to eat rabbit food. I’m recovering from 2 sprained ankles too, but slowly skating again. Depending on how hard my 2nd year is at Uni, I’m also considering taking up a sign language course to be an interpreter, I’m already pretty good at it, so I should be able to skip the basics.

For many years you were bit of a Meanwhile local it must be quite strange not to be a yokel ‘it’s my park, sod off you strangers” anymore?

I was a Meanwhile local, my mum lives literally round the corner. I remember skating from 10am-10pm without eating on some days, I was that besotted by skating and learning, especially having a mate to skate with too. But I was never territorial about the park whatsoever. In fact I hope I more was inviting about it. I didn’t mind BMXers or inliners as long as they were nice and didn’t snake people and it was always nice to meet new people. I’m a very social person.

Do you miss it?

To be honest, I don’t. It was a lot of fun, but then I grew up and noticed that it was a lot about people’s ego that went down there. The atmosphere changed, and there were a lot of false people, then you’ve got the problem with the bullying and the muggings that happened down there. I still go there occasionally with friends but now there are new parks being built and I look forward to skating them more often.

Yep I did catch up with you at the Cantelowes opening the other day, that park wouldn’t you say has to be the best in London at the moment?

Yeah it was nice to see you briefly. Cantelowes is definitely going to be the hot spot for lots of comps. So far it’s been one of the few good parks built in years, but hot on its tail is a park being built in Saffron Walden which is being built by dreamland which is going to be off the hook!

Ok let’s wrap it up there…any last words for the kids?

Um, let’s see. Don’t smoke. Further you’re education because it will help in the long run, honestly! Skate for fun and not to impress. You can impress as long as you’re having fun and doing it for yourself and not for the wrong reasons.

Ta’s /shout outs to:

My best friends Glenn, Alasdair and John who have helped me a lot in life. Vans and Ortega Skateboards. My mum feeding me and to the people who care about me. Oh and Jenna for this interview!