Category: Interviews

2 days into Marseille Bowlriders this year, Kyle Berard sat on the hill with a full can of beer and mentioned that he felt lucky to be there. 2 days and many beers later Zac ran his life through a washing machine for a 20 minute session under a melting umbrella whilst Kyle spilled the beans. This is what went down….

OK, full name sir!

Kyle Edward Berard!

And where are you from?

I grew up skating with my friends in Virginia Beach.

So what age are you now?

I’m 20 years old at the moment

Only 20!

Yeah only 20

Fuck it (laughs)
Yeah fuck it!

How long have you been skating?

Err…. 10 years

First board?

First Board! I had a Bart Simpson but that was before I really skated!

We have not had a Bart Simpson board before!

Yeah I got a real board and I think that it was a Powell like Dragon logo.

So you were growing up obviously around the early 90’s skateboarding?

95 was the year!

95 so what was going on around at the time that inspired you to become a professional skateboarder?

Well originally like just skateboarding with my friends was what I wanted to do like we saw loads of other kids doing it when we went to middle school. So I got into it around 5th or 6th grade but I don’t know man it’s just rad. I grew up next to Mount Trashmore and I heard like loads of gnarly stories about all the big pros going there. But by the time that ’95 rolled around the ramps was a piece of shit and it didn’t keep up with the times.

Which pro riders came out of your hometown like the ones you’ve seen skate or skated with?

Well I grew up watching Sergio Ventura skate Khan Roy, Mike Hanroy, Peanut Brown all the Gutierrez brothers and Henry Gutierrez. There were a lot of good guys coming from that area, definitely transition riders.

So you are riding for World Industries right now?

Yep it’s been a year; I’ve been on for just over a year now.

And you have just got back into normal skating again after your huge accident?

Yep I got in a car accident in 2001 like a week after September 11th happened it was pretty gnarly.

What happened.

I just ate shit man, I was driving around the corner way too fast. 16 years old like dumb kid just driving way too fast, but woke up in the engine! My leg was in the engine and I was stuck in the car with all of my friends for like 45 minutes. My buddy got airlifted to a different hospital it was gnarly man. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.

That’s unbelievable so did you crash into a wall or something?

I crashed into a truck with a horse trailer on the back of it and it was head on! I was going about 55 and they were doing 50mph! Yeah it was gnarly we should have died man it was crazy it’s nuts looking back on it because I have photos from it of course like my dad shot photos of the car when it was in the junkyard.

Is it a good reminder of how you should take care of yourself more when you are young?

Yeah well I’m trying to man it woke me up to how precious these things can be! I mean my friends and everything and how quick you can run into a truck.

You broke your Femur?

Yeah. I broke my Femur, that is what kinda put me out. I hurt my arms, broke my hand, I think I got stitches but the Femur was the thing that really messed me up. I couldn’t skate for 6 months and then I tried to but I had 2 screws in my knees that kinda pinched a nerve so the whole year was terrible. I got the screws and everything out that was almost 2 years ago it still feels a little funny but it was kinda tough getting back into everything, all the travelling and with all the stuff going on back home with my friendly herd and everything it’s been a gnarly couple of years.

At the time were you a sponsored skateboarder?

Yep.

Did all of your sponsors stick with you?

No not all of them I thought that I was gonna be out for good for the first couple of weeks. It was my senior year of high school a lot of things were going on. My buddy was in hospital for a couple of months so I really didn’t think to care about it too much to think about it I wanted to skate but I didn’t care about the travelling or anything. I was just like I man I gotta stay here I’m with my family and it was a pretty gnarly situation, really heavy.

Wow sounds pretty cool that World has picked you up though?

Yeah I met the World team manager Tom Curren at one of the contests I was just doing the contest. I was making a living just going to these contests some of my sponsors dropped me so and I still wanted to skate I got back into it. So I made a living doing that went to college for a few years and met him at a contest in the summer and he was like “hey man you’re good wanna ride for World” and I was like “yeah sure whatever you want!” I was like I will go anywhere.

So who else are you riding for at the moment?

I ride now Excel Wheels, Independent Trucks, Von Zipper, Lost Clothing. I get shoes from DVS. Ninja bearings and Dakine backpacks and that’s it. It’s cool this time round like these last couple of years travelling again. I’ve been meeting a lot more people this time round because I’m a little older and I understand travelling these days. You meet a lot of great people on the road, lots of cool stories you know that’s what it is all about after all of this like you still go home and skate and when you are out with your friends you got stories to tell.

So you like coming to Europe?

Yeah I like it some days

You couldn’t live here though?

No man 3 weeks that’s enough! I’m just not used to it like everyone where the fuck is the ice! Give me a fucking AC unit like let’s do this! I dunno I would have to learn the language maybe it could work.

So have you been to London?

No but I have been to Heathrow and Gatwick

Oh yeah (laughs)

But that was it I transferred got a bus ride there!

What’s your favourite type of skating?

Man, I grew up watching all the transition guys and everyone skate bowls and things like that and that’s where I’m at man I like skating street as well!

So you prefer transition skating to street?

Yeah it’s easier on me and I dunno I’m just better at it.

What’s your favourite trick?

Favourite trick ever: Backside tailslide on any kind of ramp and backside disaster is cool too. Yeah if you get a good back D you’ve got it going on….

What about music?

I like all kinds of stuff man. I like Modest Mouse I like The Dude’s Riff. The Black Keys…er Neil Young, we have been doing that on the i-POD lately and The Rolling Stones, you know, all kind of stuff, that’s cool.

Do you get out to many live shows?

I saw Modest Mouse play in front of 200 people once. They are now packing out big shows but my friend owns a restaurant called Café 11 down in Florida, he got them for 2 nights in a row, it was amazing!

Top 5 Skaters?

When I first started getting into skateboarding it was all the guys from the North East like Donny Barley, people like Kerry Getz, Dennis Busenitz, vert guys like Brian Howard.

Fave Skate Video?

I like anything that Dan Wolfe does. I just saw Closure and that was great. All those skaters up there are ripping.

If you could go to any spot with 3 skaters, where would you go and why?

Mike Peterson is coming with me, we lived together for a while, he is a great guy to have at any session anywhere…Rhino and my buddy Paul from back home, we skate mini ramp a lot. We would go back to Virginia to my parent’s back yard! Yeah!

The future?

I actually think about it all the time. The accident was a big mental scar but I over analyse so much and I need to put some work in to hang out more!

Fave tipple?

I used to do the Red Bull Vodka thing for a while but I like to kick back with a Bud or something!

If you had to fight Mike V, Rollins or Schwarzenegger who would you pick?

I’m claiming that Schwarzenegger is a pussy!

OK, times up!

Damn we fit as much in as possible! Thanks Crossfire.

It’s not often you meet people on the road that have their own thing going on and they encapsulate you, so it’s always a pleasure and never a chore.

This hillbilly outcast is as tough as nails and will skate you into the bar every session, he is also one of the coolest guys you will ever meet when he has a cool head on. Zac did the interview in the coach house on the 25th June 2005. Welcome to the mental world of Benji Galloway…

Ok…are you Benji Galloway?

Yup …

You’re finally Caught in the Crossfire!

This is a year and a half in the making!

It’s taken a little while hasn’t it? Welcome to the coach house!

Thank you for your open door and hospitality sir!

That’s ok mate, I hope my eggs were cooked enough for you!

They were wonderful… fantastic even!

Getting sick of tobacco, tea and eggs yet?

Erm not the tea and eggs! (laughs)

Getting sick of the tobacco though?

Yeah!

Let’s start at the very beginning…What’s your age sir?

I just turned 21 last week!

21?

Actually, i’m 28 years young as of June 13th…

Err of course! I’m brain damaged from Marseille! You had your birthday in England?

Yes actually in this very coach house!

So what’s your full name any middle names?

My full name is Benjamin Lanier Galloway

Where did that middle name come from?

It’s my biological Grandfather’s middle name….

Where were you born?

I was born in Augusta, Georgia from South Carolina in the United States in the south. In the Bible belt.

Do you Bash?

Bible bash? Na no not at all. I’m a Christian and I’ve been brought up a Christian and it’s something that i will never turn back from..

How does it affect your lifestyle?

By letting him open the doors that I’m supposed to walk through and close the doors that I’m not, that’s where I am today. I’m able to travel the world and skateboard and erm …and make money through it and go through europe and come home without a big hole in my pocket! It’s kinda the thing where I don’t feel like I’m the person giving myself a talent and I feel it’s something that will be still in me, So I feel that I should use it and if somebody sees a personality in me which they like and they enquire about it and you know we can talk there. But I’m definitely not one to wave the flag at anybody.

Wow that was a new thing for me that’s pretty cool though there are quite a few skaters like that, that have a similar attitude….

There is a buzz happening in California. Christian Hosoi has a church that he’s a member of called Sanctuary. Pastor Jay is a pastor and he’s a skateboarder. They’re on fire.

What the churches?!

Yeah! They have a youth group called ‘the uprising’ and uh their pretty much taking skateboard ramps to churches and have a pretty much like a youth revival in the United States.

Wow! So do you think this is a way the church can recruit new people by giving them a place to skate legally rather than them being on the streets?

I don’t know as far as their church providing skate parks or skate spots but more or less using skateboarders to spread the word of Christ yeah.

I wonder if it’s going to reach here (laughs) I might have to put my Deicide album cover on the door and say we’re not in! (laughs)

First album of course!

Yeah definitely so erm when did you first start skateboarding?

I first started when I was about 9 years old I cut the grass and borrowed a couple of coins from my brother and rolled them all up and went to the local department store and bought a Variflex board. It barely rolled but that’s alright. I skated that for a while and went into debt like 9 bucks to my dad to buy… he made me wear elbow pads and knee pads in the driveway coz he told me I was gonna skin up my elbows and knees!

Fuck, if I skinned up my elbows and knees no one would smoke it! (laughs)

Haha!

So what was your first pro board, do you remember your first graphic?

Yeah it was for Scum Skateboards it’s a mud black girl graphic. Oh yeah, and there’s a sticker I saw at the first NASS car race I went to in Virginia, I was doing a vert demo there and saw a guy in a truck with a bunch of trinkets and he had a really cool sticker that said Southern Style and we just changed it around a little bit to Southern Scum.

Southern Scum?

I had 2 models with the hot rod chick and another skateboard with a motor on it with a Harley motor with some flames and some gasoline!

So trucks are big where you come from aren’t they?

Trucks? Oh yeah.

Trucks and big vehicles and truckers?

Yeah definitely!

Hamburgers, whiskey, and bourbon all that shit?

Yeah It’s all in there yep with er… grits!

What are grits?

Grits are a wheat product. It’s like instead of cornmeal or wheat meal.

Do you fry it up?

No you boil it in water.

Boil it in water? Grits sounds like couscous to me…

Something like that.

That’s mad so what does everyone else eat hickory ribs? (Laughs)

Barbeque ribs! Yeah barbeque pork… steak, dogs (Zac’s dog barks in background!) (laughs)

So, you have been riding a while and obviously your doing the European circuit. We met in Marseille a couple of years ago right?

Yeah.

How did you get out to Europe? Did people pay you to get out to Europe how did you hook up with all the world cup people?

I originally met Don Bostick and his crew of folks working for Tenpin building ramps and setting up sites for the X games and the B3 events four years ago, five years ago and I was on the work crew and the only way that I could skate was during practice for the pros. The second stop I went to in St Petersburg in Florida, Bostick came by with me to ride in the contest and I told him that I was an amateur and I was just there working he said that he felt I had earned it and that I should be able to ride in the contest if I wanted to.So I did, and I ended up getting like 27th out of 31 people or something so I felt pretty good that I didn’t get like dead last but I ended up doing some ripples in the water with Sonia from the Warp Tour contest and I ended getting kicked out of the following Warp tour that I had qualified for because some unmentioned professional skateboarders were a bit bummed that I had skated in a pro contest and told them that I was a amateur and totally said that I was trying to be a professional athlete and go to amateur contests which weren’t true. I was just skateboarding but it ended up working out that later on the following year I went to a contest in Colorado called the Concrete Challenge. It was the first pro event that I entered and won and so I figured well if I could do that then I might as well start walking the line.

So how about Europe as a whole do you enjoy coming over here?

Yeah! Europe is amazing definitely a different tempo, a different lifestyle and just the vibes are completely different. I like how in Europe all the different communities of people that are around for the skateboard events are all in a brotherhood, they all eat together, and they all hang out together, they sleep together. The guys from the United States are a little bit different they’re all jealous of each other and feel like it there’s no room for anyone else.

There’s room for everyone, it’s skateboarding!

Yeah there is.

That’s Europe though yeah that’s how it’s seen. Everyone shares beds come all over come crash at ours.

Yep That’s how it should be take some photos, shoot some footage, have a session. Have a good time yeah!

So you were just at the Donnington festival what did you make of the Snickers Bowl? Is it similar to the Soul Bowl that they have in the States?

Yeah its pretty much the same thing. It might have a little smaller transition though. They had the hip this year and the 5th corner sort of shaped like a boomerang, plus they put a new skatelite surface instead of just one layer of wood so it’s way faster, way more solid. Super good event, super fun! I even got to see Black Sabbath with all the original members playing so that was properly one of the highlights of my whole year Europe trip this time!

It was a good gig!

Oh yeah it was amazing but the contest was pretty relaxed and laid back as the jam format got pretty good. I ended up coming 4th but Jeurgon Horrworth is stepping it up with the big dogs for sure this year. The guys got his program going on pretty well. He ended up winning the contest and that was pretty much hands down everybody’s idea of that. I went to the Donnington event and then my Birthday was the day after that and I came back to the UK to get ready to go to the next event which was in Brixlegg Austria at the Etnies bowl riders. So I went to that and there was another big party and I ended up in 2nd overall in that contest and felt really good. It was a close call between me and Omar Hassan but he got a 540′ and a frontside heelflip and that’s a tough one to beat!

You gonna be working on those?

Oh yeah! (laughs)

So Brixlegg is a much bigger park on the circuit then?

Yeah that place is huge! It’s a dreamland park (thank you Red the place is amazing!) It’s just so rare to shout it out. They got hand grinders and ground that whole park on hands and knees and went back and painted it so it’s smooth and ready to go slide on your jeans!

So what about terrain overall? You skate anything don’t you there’s nothing that you don’t skate apart from roller-skates?

Yeah, I inline…haha!

You gave up didn’t you?haha!

Yeah! (laughs) Basically I ride whatever. Put on some knee pads and ride a vert ramp, ride a concrete park or you know just go hit some other crazy stuff on the side of the road, you never know.

You like sussing out new street spots?

Yeah I just recently got my licence back after a couple of years so I’ve been doing the renegade drive thing so when ever I was driving out just going some where so as far as sorting out new spots while on the road I’ve been kind of reluctant to do that as of late. But now the licensing stuff is squared away we’re going definitely be more out and about.

So who do you ride with back home where are you living actually at the mo?

I live at ocean side California I skate a lot with my girlfriend Calyn and a fella named Billy Green. A lot of the long board guys there seek the pools and definitely provide a renegade sneak in and sneak out for pool sessions.

Whole attitude!

Oh yeah Old school style! Yeah so been doing that and in Billie’s backyard we are building a vert ramp and got all the foundations laid in right before I left to come to Europe the ramp is strained up and ready to go. So we will see where those guys have gotten while I’ve been gone. I’m going to put up a fun box on the end of it that rolls from one side ramp so you can actually skate from both sides regardless of what foot you are. So it will be pretty fun to go play with the backyard scene rather than being at YMCA all the time.

Do you ever get out skating Tony hawks or Danny Way’s ramps? Coz they’re quite near there aren’t they?

No I’m still rocking with the Southern class I haven’t quite been invited to go to those places yet.

Would you like to there and session?

Oh yeah of course for sure – that’s the gold mine!

What about music? Who is in your top 5?

I led quite a sheltered musical upbringing so the music thing and punk/rock thing while I was growing up wasn’t part of what It could have been in the house. I never really acquired the desire to go out and buy new music I usually just had what I had and that was about it. But I guess I need to step up. I just brought a new computer so the I-pod craze is in so I might as well start picking up the new things. But I’m definitely into collecting music and ranging from Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash to jazz to Slayer and Metallica and some harder stuff like Deicide. I like a lot of different stuff I guess it just depends on the
mood.

If you were to put a soundtrack to your skateboard park of you ripping up a bowl what track would you use?

I would properly use Hayseed Dixie. They are a band that does AC/DC cover songs.

Do they fuck them up?

Oh its hillbilly style! (laughs) The story that I heard was when they were kids, they didn’t have too much music. A guy that lived at the end of their road had a big Camero car and would always be blasting down the street in it. One day they heard a big wreck and ran down there and everyone was gone and the only thing in the car was a AC/DC album so the guys took that home but all they had was a 45 player so they heard it on four times the speed it was supposed to be played! Then they broke out their banjo and started making HAYSEED DIXIE remissions of the AC/DC music so it’s definitely an interesting twist!

They have cds out as well do they?

Yeah they do, go check it out!

So the whole hillbilly thing…..I mean you see it from 50’s films over here but we never get chance to check these places out but is the banjo ripping stuff kicking off ?

Definitely! That’s something that’s in the mountains and blue grass is definitely affected a lot of mainstream music.

Is it still alive and kicking!

Oh definitely

Do you go to live shows and stuff when you are out there?

No not too much.

You don’t like going to a bar listening to a banjo playing getting fucked up?

Oh, there’s not too much of that in California! There’s more of that up in the mountains from the rolling hills in South Carolina near the river which goes to Georgia even that type of music there is a little bit risky I think. Not too many people there are in to the blue grass music.

A lot of bands come from California. Do you ever think of just jumping in a wagon and going to check something out?

I’m usually too busy to running around or too tired in the evening from skating so I don’t know. I’m not much into lurking in a bar or something and if I do it is usually a dive bar and go and have some whisky and a beer!

So what else do you do outside of skateboarding you like playing pool?

I play pool a little bit. I’m a carpenter by trade so I like making things. I just made a set of cabinets for my neighbour out of birch. In the backyard I have a trailer full of woodworking tools and I just try to get my mind off everything else and make something it makes me feel good to put my energy into a stack of wood and create something. So a part of me is still standing in someone else’s house! (laughs) All I did was recycled some off of a fence that I tore down and rebuilt. I made the trim for it asked the guy to just pay for the materials and do some work on my motorcycle for me and get it running.

Wicked so there’s some bartering going on!

Yeah a little bit, a little less money changing hands.

Keeps the world going around?

Yeah!

So what’s coming up next, what happens when Benji Galloway leaves Europe and goes home?

I will properly rest for a little bit and then there’s the Gravity Games contest that’s going to be in Philadelphia and park under the bridge called FDR. That’s going to be in 2 weeks, I’m gonna go home and rest up, go skate a little bit get ready to go to the first Gravity Games event that I’ve been invited to. So that and I have demos to do with my shoe company and more Soul Bowl contests and it’s just a whole summer, winter fall and it starts all over again. It’s like the last 3 years have been a constant skateboard travel….

Which is cool though because there’s a bit of cash to be won and you can just keep going.

Yeah!

What about injuries? I noticed in Marseille that you’re the kind of skater that just wants to skate and you’re out there at 2 in the morning annihilating the vert bowl whilst everybody’s watching going off. You injured yourself pretty bad out there but you were in the finals the next day, so how do you contemplate going out there and not annihilating yourself till you cannot skate?!

Err..Just try to keep your head on and keep your radar going but you know there’s the injury thing is usually kind of a taboo conversation but its like you know something that comes with it and I mean you gotta deal with things as they come basically.

Do you prepare yourself for there sort of slams as in do you take vitamins and look after yourself with good food and stuff?

Yeah definitely. I have to eat good food if I don’t I’ll get cranky (laughs) and get grumpy so we don’t need to much of that. Yeah, I definitely take vitamins and take glucosamine pills to help with the joints and re-grow the tendons and what-not but yeah try to look after myself as much as possible.

What so you’re telling me that if I get some of these glucosamine sulphate is gonna help me roll better joints (laughs)

Yeah something like that! (laughs!)

Do you watch many skate videos?

No not too many.

Is there a particular favourite from the old days or new?

The new Blind video has a Jake Brown part in it that’s absolutely amazing! That’s one of the most recent ones I’ve seen. I have a couple of old Blockhead videos and the Shredding for Heddings event in Washington Street in San Diego so we watched those there’s were pretty interesting. I just kind of do my own thing go along at my own pace and don’t really chase the whole industry or the magazine scene. Just kind of look at it cool alright look what that guy’s doing and then go about my merry way.

Is there any particular trick that you are working on at the moment or is there just a trick that you find particularly difficult and haven’t quite yet mastered?

Backside smith grinds (laughs) they’re my nemesis!

So you just can’t put them down?

I don’t know. Whenever I try the backside smith grind I end up on my ass all the time! Maybe I need to hang out with Mattias Nylen and get him to show me how to
do them right.

Definitely, he has got them down, he stands up for those!

Oh yeah all those English boys got the best backside smith grind going on!

Is there a particular trick that you love, what’s your favourite trick?

I like backside tail slides and as of late I’ve been enjoying putting those in where ever I can.

Do you like reverting them?

I’ve never reverted backside tail slides. The last time I tried that I was in a vert demo and I knocked my self out! I got caught on the coping and woke up seeing stars so I don’t know maybe I just kind of hold off that one for a little bit (laughs) and go in forwards, but yeah, I do a lot of skating, skate park skating. The last year and a half I’ve been travelling around all over California and then making the first editions of a magazine called, the Skate Park Guide and we made a California edition that was published by our first publisher and for some reason they felt that they saw no future in the magazine and decided to drop it after we went from California to Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona!

We went and skated all the parks that were worth going to and found some that weren’t, found some that we didn’t know and compiled them showing places to skate and having a map in it so you can throw it in your backpack and now we have a second one called Best of the West Edition. It’s produced by Concrete Wave and its basically a magazine you can throw in your backpack and have directions and look and see where you want to go, plan road trips. It’s definitely something to check out you can get those from www.tailtap.com and definitely see the fruits of my labour and what I have been doing travelling, skating and trying to make a magazine versus going to the same skate park everyday and training on the same tricks. I’ve been trying to work and document and make something out of it yeah make a good product out of someone’s idea that doesn’t
have the exact follow through.

Would you always say that people if they are haven’t travelled yet and they are thinking about it a getting old enough to let loose. That they should get the fuck out there?

Oh yeah. Just pick up the skate park guide and sit at home and leave it on your coffee table and the more you open it up and look at it the more you are going to be itching to go and take your trip over to the States and ride some concrete skate parks!

What’s the gnarliest thing that happened on that trip?

Err don’t let your dog get skunked! (laughs) Check this…I had four people in my pathfinder with a weeks worth of stuff and my dog. I have a 130lb rottweiler that’s been travelling with me for 7 years and we get out of the skate park in Oregon and skate. Right before we go to leave he decides to chase some vermin into a bush right beside the car! The little vermin ended up being a skunk and sprayed it’s face! We had to give him a bath with tomato sauce (laughs) and he smelt like rotten, dead, burnt tires! (laughs) It was just absolutely ridiculous! Then we had to throw him in the car and deal with that smell for the next 5 days we were on the road. It was pretty intense! (laughs)

That’s a funny story!

I mean you always have people’s feelings getting hurt and being too close to somebody for too long on the road, rubbing elbows too much your gonna have some vibrations like that. But I think the funny things are better!

Superb! So who are you riding for at the moment?

I skate for a shoe company called Nice Skate Shoes and they provide my travel budget. I skate for Random’s hardware and Rockets bearings they have ceramics sets for like $35 so that’s pretty cheap pretty inexpensive for a really good product. They a lot of Motto grip tape and they do stencils with skulls and flowers and chains (sigh) You can go to www.emotto.com and pretty much design your own griptape. They make stencils to. I have a wheel coming out on Cowboy Punk Wheels. It will be a 54mm wheel, like a skate park formula style wheel with a hard core. We are gonna have a special edition Tracker truck made cut here shortly to so I will pretty much have a new board offered.

Cool. You got some hook ups then?

Yeah, so just doing that and I also skate for an energy drink company called Kronik Energy and has nothing to do with the skunk! (laughs) Yeah it’s pretty good stuff. They make energy drinks that taste of grapefruit soda instead of medicine!

Do you want to say thanks to anyone?

Yeah definitely thanks to Mike Genero from Nice skate shoes, Matt Moffett from Random’s, and Rod Rauly from Motto and everyone who’s put efforts into give me travel. It keeps things under my feet it’s pretty good. Bodie from Tracker trucks and I definitely want to thank my girlfriend Caylin because without her I would have been puking on the floor still and I wouldn’t have made my flight to the UK!

For some reason we decided it was a good idea to go to Tijuana the night before we left and I didn’t have anything packed and woke up an hour late feeling sick! Maybe it was the food, maybe it was the booze I don’t know maybe it was both! I don’t know but I was in the hurt locker literally throwing in the cars still puking being driven to the airport. I had no idea what I was bringing, no idea what was packed the only thing that I accomplished that day was to lay on the floor and take my board apart! (laughs) Other than that, thanks to you Zac and your hospitality and hook ups with Crossfire. Caught in the Crossfire! (Woo Hoo!)

When the DVS Shoe Team hit Europe to premier the brand new Skate More DVD in Paris, we sent Ralph Lloyd Davis out into the middle of the action for a well earnt cultural piss up with the lads who were on the tour. The interview below includes words from Keith Hufnagel, Colin Kennedy, Torey Pudwill, Daewon Song, Steve Berra and Mike Taylor. Enjoy!

How long did ‘Skate More’ take to make?

Keith Hufnagel: The idea of doing the video came about 2 years ago.

This is the first ever DVS video, so was it hard to live up to any expectations people might have?

KH: Sure, yeah! (Laughter)

Colin Kennedy: DVS hired me about 3 years ago on the premise of doing a video. I approached them because I wanted to work with the team, and they were like, ‘Yeah, we really want to do this video!‘ So, the initial idea was about 3 years ago, and it was only in the last couple of years that we have got together and really worked on the project.

Often skaters will be working on several projects at the same time. Is it hard to sit on footage or even lose it to another ongoing project?

KH: Oh yeah! Obviously I have to share a lot of my footage with REAL, but some of the stuff I wanted to keep specifically for the DVS video. When I had to film a part for another companies’ video, I found myself picking bits out of my DVS footage which is tough. Then you have all the footage that doesn’t even get used.

Keith, you’re known for putting out clean, powerful video parts. Is this intentional, or are you secretly stock piling a load of manual madness and after black handrail hammers somewhere?

KH: (Laughter) No! Well. Yeah we’ll be dropping a special edition DVD with all that stuff in there! (Laughter)

Growing up in New York and living in San Francisco, would you say those environments have helped mould the way in which you skate i.e. cruising the urban landscapes of the Big Apple and learning to control the speed of San Francisco hill bombing?

KH: Definitely. I mean it makes you skate that way with the hills, and if you ride them then you’ll learn to go faster. If you don’t learn how to control it then you fall! You can’t look like a pussy on the hills! (Laughter)

Steve Berra: That’s why I live in LA! (Laughter)

Who came up with the Monty Python style skits?

CK: Actually it was the previous DVS art director guy, him and his right-hand assistant that still works with us. One guy came up with the name, ‘Skate More’, like Nike has the slogan ‘Just do it’, and you can translate it however you want. For instance you might just want to ‘skate more‘ often or you could just want to ‘skate more‘ ledges, rails whatever. The art director that came up with the Python idea wanted to make the video more light-hearted and not too seriously, and I mean what is more light-hearted and tongue in cheek than Monty Python?

What would you say is your favourite Monty Python movie?

CK: I’m a big fan of the ‘Search for the Holy Grail’.

Torey Pudwill: I’ve never even heard of them! (Laughter)

Mikey Taylor: Me too. I have no idea who they are.

KH: Yeah, I used to the watch the ‘Holy Grail’ one a lot.

SB: Which is the one where the fat guy blows up?

The ‘Meaning of life’.

SB: That one was kinda sick.

CK: That one has a great song that we used in a commercial.

Do you guys ever get worried about your footage of the video being leaked onto the internet? It happened to Chris Cole and his part from the new Zero video.

CK: We made sure that our video doesn’t get on the internet. It isn’t there yet, and even if it is it’ll just be a bad bootleg from somewhere? It doesn’t worry me that much because the kids who want to see it will buy it.

I recently watched some old videos that date from the early 90’s and you see these guys doing these really long lines, and the camera is all over the place. Do you think it would be possible to put a part like that out nowadays?

SB: I don’t think it is possible to do that anymore. I think it would be career suicide to try and do a video part in 3 days, filmed by your mate. Skating has changed so much since those days, which is sad because I wish we could do a video in a few days. That would be amazing! (sighs)

Looking at you own video parts, is there anyone in the team you would like to swap with, or perhaps swap with a person from an old video?

SB: Ah shit! I don’t know. Maybe someone’s part from the Blind Video, ‘Video Days’.

KH: The Gonz in ‘Video Days’.

SB: Hey Torey, have you ever seen the Blind video?

TP: Yeah! I have seen the Blind video thanks! (Laughter)

Daewon Song: I don’t think kids get the same feelings we had when we used to watch those old videos.

TP: I understand it Daewon!

DS: Yeah, I know you do, but I’m just saying that when we saw the Blind video it had a massive impact on us.

KH: ‘Video Days’ came out before you were even around!

Daewon, you just got voted Skater of the Year by Transworld, how does that feel?

DS: Oh, someone really fucked up with the voting! (Laughter)

Well who do you think should have been Skater of the Year then?

DS: Uhhh.

KH: Daewon! (Laughter)

SB: I think I’d have been pissed if he didn’t get it!

DS: Tyrone Olson.

T-Bone? For real? Are you kidding me?!?

DS: I don’t know. (Laughter) Nobody! I don’t even know who decides these things. I mean, I’ll take it- I took the trophy and it’s at home. It was awesome and I feel privileged. Don’t get me wrong I’m stoked. I’m not like, ‘What? Transworld? Piece of shit.’

You have some European riders on the team, notably Paul Shier. Can we expect to see a part from him or any of the other foreign riders in ‘Skate More’?

SB: I think there’ll be some footage in the DVD extras.

CK: We’re going to release a limited, extended edition DVD later on around Christmas, and they will have their own section in that, like all the international riders. We have a lot of Australian riders, and guys from New Zealand, Europe and maybe even South America, but I’m not sure anyone rides for DVS over there. In any case, all those guys will get a segment in the extended DVD.

How do Americans perceive Europe ever since the Barcelona Blowout phenomena and all the companies and riders over here that are unknown abroad but killing it at home? Did that come as a shock, and how are you dealing with it?

SB: Well look at these spots they get to skate! Such places will obviously churn out sick skaters. It was just a matter of time for Europe to catch up with the level of skating and stuff. Europe and its skaters have always been good, but it was just a question of time. Now you have guys like JB Gillet and he’s unreal!

Speaking of JB, and many others, he had to do the annual pilgrimage over to the States in order to build up his career. However, now the tables have turned and lots of American pros are spending a good 6 months each year flying over to Barcelona and Europe to get things done. Did you ever think such excessive travel was going to happen?

SB: I think that from the very first time I came to visit Europe, I could see that it was going to be inevitable because the spots and architecture were just mind blowing. Plus, the fact that so many pros live in California meant the place got bled dry pretty fast, so it was pretty natural that we should start coming out here. But, the pros still keep California as their home and base because like that you can maintain a profile as a pro by actually being there. It’s hard to be an American pro and just go and live in Barcelona forever. I mean, you can come over and film but you still have to be around at home.

KH: Some people are doing it, but others have family at home and other priorities. If you don’t have any of that then you can just go live in Barcelona for however long you like.

Do you think there is a stronger medium that touches the public and the kids more than videos? On a personal basis, how important are demos and getting out there to meet people?

SB: I think magazines and tours are just as important because you can have guys that film video parts, but no kids have ever seen them! If you take someone like Jamie Thomas for example, a guy that all he did was tour for years and years, and create a demand for his brand, his name, to a point where every kid across America had some idea of who Jaime was and how good he was on a board. So I think it is equally important to film a good video part but then follow it up with tours and demos where the kids can actually see you live.

CK: I think that from watching these guys on tour and seeing how stoked a kid is as they turn up at a spot, like ‘Is that really Berra?!?’, and then actually shaking hands with the kid.

SB: Do kids actually call out for me? (Laughter)

CK: Yeah they do! The moment where they actually cross that line between fantasy and reality is great. I see it from an outside perspective and it’s cool to witness such scenes, It’s very important. The kid will ask some random question and when the pro answers, they’ll just be blown away! I think its times like that that have more of an effect than a video part because you get a taste of the skater’s personality.

Some of you are veterans of the touring circuit. When a new young amateur like Torey here is doing the first rounds, are there any good words of advice you can give the kid before his travels?

CK: Don’t drink the water in Spain.

TP: Yeah! I learnt that the hard way! (Laughter)

CK: He’s a good kid actually. Torey has got a good head on his shoulders.

TP: Thanks!

SB: Don’t forget your wallet either!

TP: Yeah, I tried that one too, surprisingly! (Laughter)

I heard you had some awful experience during a DVS tour in Phoenix, Arizona. Care to divulge?

TP: Oh the Phoenix trip!

MT: It sucked! We had our gas tank siphoned so we were nearly stuck in the middle of nowhere with no gas.

TP: So many things went wrong over those couple of days, like every time we got the cameras out and were about to film it would just pour down with rain!

CK: Yeah, the weather wasn’t great! Every time we tried filming it would rain, so when it stopped and dried we’d get psyched to film again and it would rain. Again! (Laughter)

TP: Oh! We also went to that bird poo spot.

CK: That spot was like an old abandoned car racing track with a roofed seating area that you could skate, except all the pigeons had their stoops up there so the floor was about 4 inches thick of bird shit in places! And Torey slipped out and fell in it!

(Laughter) So what Torey? Have you got a third arm growing out of you hip or something?

TP: (Laughter) That sucked so bad. Our lungs were hurting after that experience.

On a random note, I remember seeing a fuck-off massive DVS sticker on Joey and Chandler’s fridge in ‘Friends’. How did that get there? And which of the two skates?

KH: I think its connections, like one of those guys knows Kevin, Brian or Tim (Gavin), and someone in the show throws it on. (Laughter)

CK: It changed over the years as well! (Laughter) I think it started of as one DVS sticker, then two, probably some Matix in there also for good measure. (Laughter) I think was through connections with somebody. Just a little product placement for free.

For you Steve, can you think of any actors or actresses you would like to see skate?

TP: He knows a lot!

SB: (Laughter) No. But some people skate, like some actors for instance the kid in ‘Almost Famous‘ can skate and he does kickflips down some big sets of stairs.

KH: Dave Chappelle skates.

SB: Oh yeah Chappelle!

With your career in acting, have you ever found any parallels with skateboarding, in other words does one help the other say with concentration, or emotion..?

SB: Basically my skating would help me with anything else because I learn things through it. I found myself doing jobs that I didn’t really like, and it didn’t parallel with what I was trying to build in skating, so that is one of the main reasons why I kind of stopped acting, unless it was something that I had a lot to do with in so much as developing it. Gosh! I haven’t acted for something like 5 years now because I’m just more focused on my skating.

I’ve seen footage at the DVS website that was filmed at Steve’s skatepark and it is clearly replicated from various original street spots, for instance the blue wave in Paris or the USC ledges. Was that done on purpose, and are they exact replicas?

SB: I’ve never been to any of those spots! (Laughter) They’re not exact replicas. That whoop-dee-whoo thing, the blue wave, I had seen in the new Stereo video so we tried to build it a few times and replicate that, but it actually turned out like shit! (Laughter)

TP: That thing was horrible!

SB: Then those pillars that Jason Dill does a backside 180 fakie manual on are 15 minutes from my house and I’ve never even been there! (Laughter) We just guessed at maybe what size they might be. Then the big barn door place, like barn yard roof type thing, we just came up with that.

Seeing as it’s pretty hard to street skate in America nowadays, did you find yourself suddenly making ‘new friends’ after you had built the park?

SB: When I first opened that park I got a bunch of ‘new friends’ so to speak, but not really, I mean I’m kind of friends with everyone anyway. But it’s true that there were a few pretty crazy people just showing up that I didn’t imagine I’d ever see.For sure! (Laughter). Anytime a new spot appears, especially in Los Angeles where it’s getting so hard to really street skate, people always want to try it out. There were some visitors at the park who I actually ended up becoming good friends with like Brian Lotti, who lives nearby and comes to the park all the time. I’ve been friends with Brian since, and I only knew him a little bit before. It’s weird because 12 years after meeting him for the first time, he comes down to the park and we hang out together.

With street-plazas popping up everywhere, do you think they will become the norm? Do kids not want to skate tranny anymore?

KH: Well, I think we already have a lot of skateparks built in the States.

Yeah, but don’t you think it’s strange how they are always replicas of spots long gone, for example the DC Plaza recreating Love Park, or the Vans Combi pool..?

CK: It would be cool if there were replicas of places like Love Park everywhere, but truthfully there aren’t that many huge skate plazas in America. We have hundreds of transition parks in California, so if you want to ride quarter pipes or a bowl there’s no problem. It’s the open space reconstruction that is the hard part.

This was more a question for Jason Dill, but seeing as he’s MIA, perhaps you guys could answer for him; Skateboarding comes across as being very image orientated with ads coming out showing the newest rider rocking a gold chain and striking a pose. Some might even go so far as to say that the companies will favour sponsoring somebody because of their marketability. Do you agree? Are you influenced by such phenomena, a victim of it or playing along?

KH: Yeah, people definitely go through with such plans if they know they can make money off it, but you also have to know how to skate- it’s the skating that should get you noticed.

SB: I’m sure some people have thrown in the extra bit of flair to get noticed, but other times that is just their shit. I mean I’ve seen a couple of guys do that, like throw a little something extra on and flair it all up a bit.

But when you have companies with team line-ups that read like an 80’s glam rock band, surely they can’t be relying solely on the skater’s talent..?

SB: That’s definitely. (Laughter) But seriously that’s what’s great about skating-

it’s known for that kind of stuff.

CK: I think it’s all about substance. If the person has a stupid name or a stupid gimmick, but they can back it up with substance then its fine. It all boils down to the skating. In a way it is the end all and be of the situation, like ‘Ok, you can have this stupid name blah blah blah.’ But then if you see the whole team doingthat then you know it must be a gimmick and the company probably sucks.

KH: It happens in other sports too; Tennis, for example with Anna Kornikova.

Yeah, but she just changed career altogether and grabbed the modelling money.

CK: Yeah. She never even won a tournament!

SB: What? She doesn’t play tennis anymore?

KH: Nah, she’s just hot!

SB: She probably makes more money than Venus and Serena Williams just through the fact that she looks hot and sells the image. But now there is this new female tennis player who is super good and super hot, so watch out Anna! (Laughter) I think she’s Russian.

Alright, now we are going to do a bit of word association. Just tell me the

first thing that comes into your head. Brussels?

SB: Waffles.

CK: I think political institutions.

KH: Fries.

Speed?

CK: Chino. Meth labs? (Laughter) No, Busenitz!

The Osiris D3?

MT: Rage!

CK: Retirement money! (Laughter)

KH: Yeah, the money.

SB: Ravers. A gimmick.

Keenan Milton?

(Quiet)

CK: The bomb!

KH: Keenan just makes me laugh when I think about him.

SB: Not the last time I was in Europe, but the time before, Keenan and I were sharing a room in Prague. We had a really important flight to catch the next morning and he just wouldn’t go to sleep. I’m there trying to convince him to get some rest and he’s just playing his music super loud. I’m so tired and all I want to do is sleep so I can wake up and catch my flight home, but Keenan just won’t stop! He’s like, ‘It’s alright. I’ve only got 2 more hours to stay up, it’ll be fine!’ So, I’m up the whole night listening to his crazy music, and then 15 minutes before the alarm goes off, he falls asleep! (Laughter) Now I’m the one that has to wake him up so he won’t miss the flight! (Laughter) No sleep because he’s been blaring music in my ears all night with his little DVD player or something.

Finally, what does DVS stand for?

KH: It just means ‘devious’ I think.

Is that it? Have you heard any bizarre acronyms of it over the years like ‘Dodgy Varials Suck’ or something..?

SB: Dae Von Song! (Laughter) Hey, DVS- Dae Von Song? (towards Daewon)

DS: People really believed that for a long time! (Laughter) I swear, I’ve seriously had over a 1000 people come up to me and ask me that! Is it Dae Von Song, or something with my middle name in there..? I’m like, ‘Dude!’ I told them, ‘Yeah. sure.’ (Laughter)

TP: DVS doesn’t stand for anything?

CK: It stands for ‘Devious’, that’s it!

DS: I wish it had been my name. (Laughter)

Alright guys, that’s it for me so thank you very much for answering my questions.

All: Thank you! And thanks to Crossfire.

SB: (Looking at a magazine) Holy Shit! New Plan B boards!

So, explain Eothen to those who don’t know.

Eothen is a small independent UK skateboard brand.

Why Eothen? Where did the name come from? What does it mean..?

I wanted the brand name to be toned down, subdued but still distinctive, not as obvious as your average branding, particularly American branding. I also wanted it to have a loose meaning with no connotations, so that I could create the meaning with my own marketing. It came from the title of a book that I found in my Granddad’s house, A.W. Kingslake’s ‘Eothen‘. It is a book about a travelers journey to the east and Eothen roughly translates from Greek ‘from early dawn – from the East‘, so I was stoked with the meaning, and started working on the graphics .

What were you doing before Eothen?

Ralph, I lived down the road from you in Chelsea! It was important for me to discover London, as it is the most important city in the UK and one of the most influential cities in the world. I had several retail jobs, which were not much of a challenge and on my days off I would go exploring. In the Summer I gave up work to concentrate on starting Eothen. I was already broke, so I spent the summer in a cheap room in Holborn burning the midnight oil.

I met you for the first time down in Brighton. I know you went to the Art school down there. What was your specialty? Has your time down in Brighton at Art School or the certain techniques you worked at helped you with Eothen?

I studied Fine Art Printmaking. I worked with the screen print process so this helps for skateboard and t-shirt printing, but I value my study in Fine Art much higher. I became interested in Eastern aesthetics and my work became very minimal. I practiced reducing things down to the fundamental basic elements of creating. I felt that I was very focused at this time and enjoyed my work very much. The lecturers at Brighton are very positive so the environment is really constructive and confidence building.

What sparked the idea for you to have a go at starting your own company?

I had been skating for 13 years. I was watching young people get in to skating for the first time, and it was a reflection of how far skateboarding has developed in the time that I have been a skater, which made me realise that there is still a lot of room to develop the world of skateboarding further. The opportunities skateboarding has to offer are really amazing, and I felt like I should open up a bit and encourage it. I had been studying art for over 5 years, and could see my design skills helping me to make a unique brand.

Were there any other names or ideas floating around before Eothen?

I played with the name ‘Vertigo‘ for a bit. The sickness, a fear of heights. It worked graphically and I thought I was going to learn to skate vert, but I never have and a French company own the trademark so it ended there.

What differentiates Eothen from the rest of the British skate companies?

I know that you are a bit of an all terrain vehicle, does this reflect in the company?

My aim for the Eothen brand is to build a high level of communication that can encourage people to be enthusiastic. I hope to provide quality products and ethical graphics of a sublime nature. I am not trying to associate the brand with other popular movements, such as punk or hip hop, but am focusing on the nature of the present moment and people’s potential. I think that the all terrain business is something that is definitive to UK skating and not just myself. Of course, growing up as a British skater, I have a lot of respect for British companies and have always tried to support them, but this is my own project and I want to see it grow.

You grew up in Stafford, moved to Brighton and finally London. What differences did you notice in these various scenes?

The scene in Stafford is the same as in most small towns. There is no single spot that is that amazing, so it encourages you to explore a lot. As there were no skateparks, we were always street skating. The older skate generation died out so we were all doing our own thing and had no preconceptions. Most of us went through art college and then on to university, and have remained a good group of friends. Brighton was different because it has a lot more skate industry and skate history, going right back to day 1. People would always tell me about the vert ramp and old ghosts likeLuke Mckirdy. The first Rad magazine that I bought had a Brighton section, issue 101 back in 1991. I guess it was subconscious that I ended up there. It was rad skating at the Level skatepark. You could go down there at any time and there would be someone there to chill with, and a lot of good skaters as well. When I moved to London I wasn’t even skating because I had an ankle injury that put me out for over a year. I felt really lucky to be back on a skateboard again but it took me a while to feel comfortable again and I was working full time, so only skated once a week. In the end I settled to going to Meanwhile bowls on my days off, because that place is amazing. London is so big with so many people that you couldn’t some up or experience all of the scenes.

As Eothen’s creator, are you the only person involved or are there other people helping out?

I started Eothen with nothing but 2 pennies to rub together. Now I have a great big factory with umpa lumpas and a glass elevator! I did a lot of designing in the previous 2 years before it started, so now I am concentrating on building up a customer base. My mum is retired now, so sometimes I give her a little puzzle to deal with and Paul Haywood (friend, skater, photographer) helps me out a lot. It is a small company, so I am a jack of all trades.

You mentioned that you went on a trip visiting loads of parks. Where did you go? What was it like? How have people taken to Eothen?

I have trekked all over England and Wales and Scotland to visit skateboard shops and I always try to get a skate in if I got time, so I managed to catch the new dreamland bowl complex in Penzance for example. I keep it low key with the Eothen promotion as I am still in a start up period, so there is no point making out that it is the biggest thing since sliced bread. It keeps me inspired to skate different places all the time. Sometimes kids come up to me and say that they have seen my design on a skateboard in a skateboard shop, which makes it all worth while.

Did anyone give you any advice before you decided to start a skate company? What advice would you give anyone with the same desire?

I knew that what I was doing was competitive and that it would take ages to build up a plan and get the cash, so I kept it largely to myself. Some would say that there are too many skate companies in the UK and there is no room for another, but I think that this goes against the nature of fashion and the creativity which makes skateboard products so unique. I see it as healthy competition and people should always be encouraged to be creative. The Princes Trust helped me to keep it nice and small, so I have done it without a bank loan. My advice would be to do 3 drawings every day for a whole year and to go skating.

For the moment, Eothen has no pro riders – will it stay that way i.e. just Eothen boards and no names screened on them? Are you looking for riders, if so who?

Signature models work for marketing, because you can associate a person and their story to the product, and in return, the rider gets support for their talent. I would like to take it that way eventually, but it requires a lot of commitment from the rider. I hope that I can find young or undiscovered talent as well. I am open to sponsoring skaters, and I have a budget for sponsored riders. Some kids have approached me to ask for sponsorship, but they need to send in a video. I am not going to give out things for nothing! If you show that you are committed enough to put together a video, then you are 90% on your way to getting a sponsor.

Seeing as you’re the boss, who gets the teas on?

I am chilling with my 2 dogs most of the time but they don’t know what a kettle is.

What are you plans with Eothen? How can people contact you? Shout outs…

As long as I can inspire someone out there then that is cool with me. Check out www.eothen.co.uk. Ask your local shop to stock Eothen products. Thanks to all Stafford skaters for your support. Shout out to the Level Army and to everyone else that I have ever skated with. Thanks to Haywood, Crossfire and my mum.

See you on the streets!

He has only been riding a skateboard for a short while now but Chris Cole seems to have made a massive impact over the last 12 months hucking out gnarly tricks when it matters. With a brand new section recently dominating Zero’s New Blood video we caught up with him ahead of a Zero Team demo at the Southbank.

This interview took place in the Skate of Mind shop on the floor. Questions come from Zac, Ralph and many forums posts.

Welcome to London Chris.

Thank you….

Full name please mate.

Chris Cole

Oh, you don’t have a middle name?

Yeah, I have a middle name, it’s Chris.

So, you are Chris Chris Cole then?

Chris isn’t my real first name.

So what is your real first name then?

Haha, er, ok, pardon me, *cough*. I like it that way.

Do you have a passport in your pocket?

Nah, (wry smiles) I was not born Christopher Cole.

So why did you change your name?

I didn’t like it since Kindergarten. I dropped my first name.

Why? Is your first name like Augustus or something awful sounding then?

Nah, it wasn’t bad, I just liked my middle name with my last name as it sounded better. It just turned out that my Mum actually liked my name as my middle name. My Dad gave me my first name, and it turns out that I like it anyway.

So did you go down to Lloyds in Bristol yesterday?

Yeah, we skated there, I sucked at Lloyds! I did not go there with a plan, so went there and realised its one of those spots that gets better the more you skate it. It rained on and off just like every time I come here.

Yep, us Brits get tougher with it mate it makes the grass grow. Have you ever wondered why some of the best of British Heavy Metal was so well backed up with long hair do’s?

Haha, yeah. In fact, that reminds me, I gotta find the local Metal area here in London, we have not had a chance to check it all out just yet.

Well, there’s loads of it round here in Soho.

Cool, I need to find it all.

So, you just completed a pretty healthy section for the New Blood video on Zero, is the heat becoming unbearable?

Yeah, there’s heat. There’s pressure not to out do other people, but more to outdo myself. Because outdoing other people is like..you’re never gonna do it. It ends up happening because every time you grow into something different and you like your part a bit more because maybe you are not doing a bigger one of your trick that you already have, you just do something that you like to work at more. Instead of 15 stairs you gotta do something cool that you’ve gotta deal with.

Did you approach this time different from before?

Well, this time I wasn’t really filming for the video, it was just filming, and it ended up with people saying, hey you know you should do a full part, because I was gonna have a smaller part, and at the last minute it was decided I should have a pretty decent part. Then I had to kick up to high gear in the last 3/4 weeks and stay in California to finish the section and try to get a trick all the time. It was hard. Your body ends up hating you!

So you are thankful there are no major injuries in between the rush?

Yeah, there was nothing major. I hurt my heel real bad, it was the worse I have ever had and it keeps getting hurt over and over again. Other than that I have not done anything too bad you know.

With bad heel bruises, do you have any advice for others who get them?

It’s funny that they are called heels because they don’t heal! The last thing you want to do is to sink it into a bucket of ice, cos that is like more painful than the heel bruise. All you can really do is try your best to ice it and elevate it as much as possible. Every time I was hanging out helping Jaime edit the video or whatever, I would put my foot up on the desk all the time. That’s it, it’s all you can do.

So can you call Cali home now?

Haha, nah, Cali is absolutely not home, Cali is work! Home is where you hang your guitar. So home is just outside of Philly on the East Coast. I miss it, and then i go back and get fed up with it. I wish I could take all of what I like back at home, like my friends, my comfortability. I know every road; I know how to get everywhere. It’s weird not being someplace where you don’t know where you are.

So do you not like traveling then?

I don’t like flying. I do like travel, but I don’t like flying. I freak out inside. I can’t do anything about it. You guys have a really good train system in Europe, so it would be great just to do that, but we are flying on this trip so what the hec.it would be nice to see the hillsides and other scenery.

Love Park, is this a special place for you?

Yeah, I’m not very much known for skating there which is odd cos I was there a lot, but I hope it comes back. There are rumours but it’s definitely not open, whether it is going to open I’m not sure.

What age are you now?

23, I started skating in 1990. My first board was like a K-Mart board, an obscure one to. The Variflex ones and the Nash boards back then were shaped like a skateboard, and mine was weird! Then after that, i got my first real board, I’m pretty sure it was a blue Powell Ripper and I got it off this guy Jason Mcallum. He taught me how to ollie and stuff. I still see him, he is a rad dude. I bought a couple of boards off of him. I bought a Vallely Elephant off him, he plays in a band now.

What is your fave board graphic?

Apart from my own graphics, I would say the Hosoi. It wasn’t even my generation though. I dig Hosoi stuff. When I see that graphic I get psyched. He is sick.

I was lucky to skate with him in CA once, have you skated with him since he is back?

Yeah, just recently he had a Spitfire advert doing a judo in a pool and I was there for that. It was awesome. It was the first time i had ever seen him and it was just a couple of weeks ago with Jamie and our photographer Joe. Hosoi was my favourite when I first started skating and when I was a little bit older and I remember when the first 411VM came out, Pepe Martinez had an amazing section and I would slomo a 3ft he did at the end of the video. He had a line with the camera so close to him and I would slomo it for ages and learn how to do 360 flips behind my couch and that’s how I learned them.

If I said to you we are gonna get on a flight to anywhere right now and you could pick up a crew of skaters to roll on your favourite spot, where would you go and who would be in tow?

OK, I would take a couple of dudes from Zero, couple of dudes from Mystery and all of the Fallen team, plus the Fallen team manager and my friends from Hot Wax. I would probably go to Spain. I haven’t been in Spain for long. We skated there for Dying to Live and then didn’t skate there again, but we are gonna go back there for the Fallen video.

Explain Hot Wax?

It’s a big band with alter egos but it’s not really anymore. I’m friends with How Wax and we go to costume parties. We had a Goth theme party before we came to London, you could probably tell by these black nails!

So what trick are most proud of so far?

The 360 flip at Wallenberg. It seems easy right now to pick it but it’s the hardest I have ever worked for a trick, like ever. It was more mentally and physically pushing than anything I have ever done, ever. For sure. That and that front board I did on that long ledge in Dying to Live. It was mentally testing but it wasn’t as killing as Wallenberg. I wore a different pair of shoes just for Wallenberg than normal so that my heel wouldn’t get hurt more. Normally I wear a thinner shoe but had to wear a bigger shoe as it was already hurt. I would land on my toes every time and not my heels after that.

Why did you wanna do it?

Er. I got a shoe coming out! And for me to feel that I have deserved it in any way, I really have to work for it and have to make it make sense. Like, if Fallen are giving me a shoe then what am I gonna do in return? I had unfinished business and it would make me feel good to know that all of those people that saw me trying a trick that I have never made saw it done as everyone was asking when I was gonna go back. I don’t think any of those people knew how hard it was. It wasn’t very cool but I did it.

So when is your pro shoe coming out?

About October 5th in the States.

Did you design it yourself?

With Jamie. I helped but not too many people design their own shoes. Jamie has huge knowledge of how shoes work and what they are consisted of to actually fit it all together for you. He drew it up and I told him what I liked and what I didn’t and we ended up with a real good shoe.

What about tunes what is your top five?

In no particular order, I guess: Kiss Greatest Kiss, Smashing Pumpkins Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness, er, Children of Bodum – Hate Crew Deathroll, Children of Bodum, Hatebreeder and er…Children of Bodum, Pull the Lever!

Do you go to many live shows?

I did see Bodum, Bowie and the Who but I don’t see a lot of bands live as I have social anxiety. I don’t like to go out in public too much, if people look at me it freaks me out.

What skaters, or just people?

Nah, just people.

Do you get paranoid?

Yeah, paranoia, everything…

Wow, how do you deal with doing demos then, you are known to be a bit of a demo killer..?

Sometimes I feel like they are all jacking me and like down you know? But it’s our own community so it’s not that bad. When everything turns up to see you skate you have to turn it up. It depends on the place, the people in the crowd etc. If they are psyched and we are all psyched, a good session starts up and you do tricks that are really fun but are really hard, and when you know that people have your back sometimes you can skate better. I do enjoy them. If you don’t kick it live, kids can get bummed, but that is why interviews like this and videos are so important. Videos are studied, and if you can kick it live then that is a bonus.

Do you smoke the herb?

No, no, I don’t do any drugs at all.

Gimme a fact about you that not many people know about you?

Er…I do some Thai Boxing with my friend Justin. I help him train.

What trick is your bogie trick?

Right now it would be inverts. Just your basic handplant on ramp. Fuck they are hard! I can’t do street stands or even handstands so I have been trying them so much but Jon (Allie) is on this trip right now and he has them down, so hopefully he will help.

What is your fave trick?

I would say going pretty fast and ollieing a gap that lands you really smooth so you don’t take a lot of impact. That is THE best feeling!

OK let’s rap this up because you have to go to Southbank for a demo and film some stuff for this page. Anyone you wanna thank, plug etc?

No not really….actually, yeah, thanks to you and Crossfire for doing this interview.

If there was an award for the happiest looking skater whilst riding then this kid would probably scoop it up and leave the rest with egg on their faces. Devine was one of 3 US skaters that visited the UK during April on a DC Shoes Tour alongside the full UK Team. With a beamer that big we had to take 15 mins of this little fellas time to see what makes him get up in the morning and this is what went down. Questions were written by Ralph LD and thrown at Devine by Zac in the UK team wagon….

Full name please sir:

Devine Jerome Calloway! Haha!

Age:

20 years old.

Do you know where you are right now?

Er.Heathrow, .no London, Playstation – no..Bay 66..yeah!

So when did you get in?

A couple of days ago now.

Have you sessioned any London delicacies so far?

Yeah, Southbank! I like that spot a lot, it’s like one of my favourite spots. It was my first time there and I had just seen footage, so wanted to skate there a while.

Have you been here before?

Yeah, once, on a stop over though on the way back from Barcelona, but we did not get to tour the town, we chilled in the hotel.

So where are you from?

Bakersfield, California, all my life, and still there now.

Not tempted by the beach then?

Nah, I love Bakersfield. I like home!

How long have you been on DC Shoes now?

About 7 months now. I rode for Action back in the day and also DVS, but now I’m on the DC team all hooked up properly, it’s pretty cool, especially as we get to travel to places like London to skate!

So, you are now hooked up on Chocolate?

Yeah, it kind of happened at the same time as DC really, it all happened quickly. DC took me on tour, they hooked me up and put me on the team, then Chocolate followed and it all happened the same time.

So, do you get up every morning and crack out backside flip, fakie 5-0’s on the bench in 7th street?

Yeah, you know, first try everyday! Haah! Nah..i get all my moves from Heath Brinkley the DC Team manager! Haha!

Let’s open up one of your fave tricks. What is the secret to frontside 360 pop-shuvits?

Oh, that is a tough one.ok, here we go, it’s back foot placement pretty much. You have got to have it right in the center and it scoops perfect and it won’t flip over. A lot of times when most people try and do it, it will flip cos their back foot is not placed right, but if it’s right in the middle, it keeps the board centered. This is definitely one of my favourite tricks. Ralph did his homework then huh!?

What is your all time fave trick then?

Ah, frontside flips, I do that one a lot, they feel great.

Is there a particular style of skating that you can’t skate and would like to?

Probably vert.I can drop in! But that is it, I can’t skate it..i can skate mini ramps..in fact my friend has one in his backyard and we skate that all the time. My fave trick on mini ramps are smith grinds, they are the most fun tricks ever!

So, if Danny Way phoned you up one day and said to you, in order to cement your place on the DC team, you will have drop into the megaramp at Point X Camp and pull a trick over the gap, what would you do?

Aha! I would get all padded up, and go for it. I would probably try a frontside flip, no grab, or a straight kickflip, that would be sick!

Have you ever been out there?

Nah, not yet, I would love to go though it looks amazing!

So, when you left Bakersfield for Europe, did you pack some tunes to get you through the trip?

Oh yeah, I got an i-POD with various music on there. I got Curtis Mayfield, there is a song called Freddie’s Dead, and I can always listen tto that no matter what.loads of old school shit, but also stuff like Fifty Cent and some rock shit to like Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, The Smiths.I like the English stuff to.

Fave skaters?

Right now? My brother, Everett Stallion, Lyndsey Robertson, Jerome Rogers, Mike Carrol, and Rick Howard.

Any shouts?

Yeah, thanks for this interview, thanks to DC for hooking up the tour and bringing me out here, Mum and Dad and the family back home, all the Bakersfield homies and all the kids out here that came to see us skate.

Related links:

www.dcshoes.com
www.chocolateskateboards.com
www.hubbawheels.com

THE LOST AND FOUND 5 MINUTE INTERVIEW

WITH VAUGHAN BAKER AND COLIN KENNEDY

Since the release of the Blueprint Lost and Found DVD we thought it would be fun to ask Vaughan Baker and Colin Kennedy some words about the current state of affairs. Ralph asks the 5 minute questions whilst the boys were on tour.

Do you think it’s necessary to go Stateside for skateboarding like it was 10 years ago?

Vaughan: It depends on what you want out of skateboarding really, if you want to be a superstar or if your sponsors are based in the US then that’s what you have to do. If staying in Europe and riding for companies over is what you want then you can get by skateboarding here, which is great!

What was the hardest thing for you to do for Lost and Found?

Vaughan: Having surgery and other injuries in the time the video was being made was a bitch ’cause as soon as I could skate the camera was back in my face! Still hurting and trying to get back on it that was the hardest challenge I’ve ever faced in skateboarding, plus not having any self-confidence. But all’s good now I’m fixed and getting back on it.

What are you’re plans now the video is done?

Vaughan: I’m going to concentrate on doing some things for some of my other sponsors as well as Blueprint, maybe visit some friends abroad and get some stuff done there. But mainly a lot of skateboarding and decorating my flat!

What was the last skate video that you really enjoyed, and hated?

I don’t watch them too much, so I couldn’t really say. I saw Him’n’ Bam, that Scotish video recently, I enjoyed that a lot, and the new Toy Machine video.

As Europe is the hub of skate trips today, where was your favourite place to visit and why?

Vaughan: To be fair I haven’t been to that many different European countries, I’ve been kinda stuck in the Spain vortex, so my knowledge of Europe is quite small.

How long did you work on your part for? How long did the video take in all to complete and what was the first trick you filmed, and what was the last?

Colin: Total filming period for the video is going on 3 years.so, off and on for that whole period. Ah filmed most of my part in the winter times though min, the summer’s weren’t really doing it for me, ken? The last trick I filmed was at London bridge two weeks ago, first trick? Ah day ken, Ah’ve nae even seen my part yet.

If you could share a part with somebody, who would it be and why?

Colin: Neil Blender. We could then re-create the section he shares with Jason Jesse in Full Power Trip, a cheeky wee whoor an a half lang Gullwing trucks video from the early 90s. I could play a poor Jesse impression, but I could definitely pull off a pivot fakie somewhere and hopefully Blender would be stoked, that’d be good for me.

In normal film genres, what film would L&F be?

Colin: It would be equivalent to a Michael Palin travel documentary, a microcosm of ‘Around The World In 80 Days’ of sorts, a cultural learning experience, hopefully you will come out the other side inspired and refreshed, you might even feel warm inside.

Where are you trying to take your skating since the last Blueprint video? Are you switching up the spots, toning down the tricks, turning up the heat?

Colin: Taking it to the cleaners and back, trying to keep up the pace, few new things thrown into the mix because ah forgot how to do all my old tricks, definitely switching up the spots though ken, just for inspiration and fun, nowt like riding a fresh wave on a fine summers morn.

If you could skate with a famous person/musician, who would it be and why?

Colin: Tom Weir, he has a TV show called ‘Weir’s Way’, he has travelled to the far reaches of this fine country for the benefit of the viewer, he might not be that well known outwith Scotland, but he truly is of open mind so he would certainly try his best to learn and embrace the experience.

Visit www.blueprintskateboards.com for all info on team tours, product, footage and more…

Greg has worked his way up into the ranks of being one of the Almost Skateboard Teams top riders with his unique flair and big balls. Zac went to meet the Almost team during November 04 whilst they were in London for the premiere of Round 3 and armed with questions from Ralph LD and a few others on the web, this is what went down….

Full name please sir…Gregory Robert Lutzka haha!

Age: 19 years old

OK Gregory, let’s start at the beginning. What was it like growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin?

Haha, no one calls me Gregory, that’s funny man!

Anyway, growing up there was really unique and as a kid and we played hockey, we started playing that at an early age on skates and that led to skateboarding, just because the fact I wanted to do my own thing, you know, if you lost a game you could always blame the goalie or something and I always wanted to be a part of something where if it didn’t happen it weren’t my fault, and skateboarding brought that to me, it’s different and you can’t blame your shoes, your board or whatever, it comes down to you and that’s what made me want to skateboard.

It was not big back there as it’s cold and people snowboarded and in the summer you would go to the quarry, and jump of cliffs and stuff. One day me and 3 friends were driving down the freeway and saw the Turf Skatepark and we went there and got into skateboarding. It took me a good 3 months to learn how to ollie at first, but you could only really skate seriously about 6 months of the year because it is an outdoor park and then the park got shut down as it was not as popular as when the bowls were there back in the day. So there was no skatepark in Milwaukee for about 4 years and you would skate in the summer and snowboard in the winter only and then we had a new park and learned how to skate tranny. I like skating all year round now in California.

Parks are important to learn at the beginning huh?

Yeah, everything I learned was at the skatepark, they are very important.

Did you ever get to skate with Paul Zitzer?

I met him and his brother owns a skate shop in Milwaukee that I used to ride for called Faze 2 Skate Shop and he moved out years before I started really skating and we hook up now and then and share stories of skateboarding. He used to skate a barn to develop his skills, a great vert skater and there were no vert ramps in that area..

Is Beer City an appropriate nickname for the city?

I used to ride for Beer City Skateboards, Mike Beer hooked me up and that was my first sponsor. Back then everybody wanted to represent their home town. I sent him a video, they hooked me up, I went to Tampa Am, I ruined myself there on a flat bar, went to hospital. Then the next year, I got back home and there was a pile of boards on my door step and I quit, and they were like “what is going on here, why are you quitting?” and that is when I met Al Partenen and got hooked up on Illenium, then met the Globe guys and it all fell together after that.

Do you still hook up with the Beer City and Illenium crews?

Illenium is kid of retired now, but Al Partnen is still my team manager on Globe. But the Beer City guys are a good crew man.

Steve Firstner used to ride for Illenium, have you heard from him, he rides for Antiz and lives in Lyon now?

Oh wow, that is a good name to bring up! Is he still skateboarding yeah?

Yeah, The Antiz Team are rocking France right now you should see the DVD.

That is ace, he is awesome, I think he is Austrian, he stayed at my house for 2 weeks with s broken ankle or whatever and we hung out a lot.

Why did you quit Krooked?

Ah, man that was a weird deal, you know sometimes things don’t work out how they are planned out to be but I think it’s better off to be this way, so I’m really stoked to be part of Almost and these guys treat me amazingly compared, what else is there to say?

How many times have you been to Barcelona? You state it as your favourite city…

Only actually the once but it was amazing. The scenery is amazing; you can cruise around there with all the spots. There are signs that say “no soccer” but you can skateboard, it’s great! One of my favourite spots out there was the Library, the ledges were cool, manual pads and they even had a graffiti area where you can share your artwork, it was pretty unique. Europe is amazing.

What do you do when you can’t skate?

Oh tough question..when I get hurt I play pool, go to the beach, hang with friends, hit the quarry back at home, snowboard and stuff like that.

You like to snowboard?

Yeah, I like to cruise, not really tricks as such, I can do them but cruising around is so much fun.

Do you ever get tired of being referred to as The Lutzka?

Oh man! At the beginning it was weird but I don’t mind it I guess.who gave me that name? I think it was Burnett in an interview.

So would you go down on Paris Hilton?

haha! Oh jesus! I think I might have to, don’t tell Chad!!

What’s your approach to contests? You’ve won loads, and skated in loads too…

When I ride contests I just try not to think about it too much and mentally return to the skatepark at Milwaukee, blank out the people around me with a little help from my headphones.

You enjoy riding in headphones because I can’t do that?

Yeah, some people freak out and they can’t hear their board, it makes me relax and I can do my own thing.

What do you listen to whilst you skate then?

I like a lot of different music really. I like a lot of classic rock, a lot of hip hop, reggae etc

What are your top 5 artists?

Ok, Jimmy Hendrix, I used a track on my video part for the Almost DVD, er. Nirvana, Wyclef, and ah.RJD2, have you heard that stuff?

Yeah, new instrumental album is about to be released here soon I hear. So what are your fave and worst contests?

European contests are great, they are so different to the US ones, you are free to skate there with no pressure, but Germany Dortmund and Prague were great. The worst is probably the X-Games, you have to wear a helmet and it’s corporate hell you know.

What was it like moving to Huntington Beach?

At first I moved there with 2 of my best friends so that made things easier, but getting used to the freeways and stuff was a bit weird but it’s great. I’m by the beach, amazing skating so all is good.

Is Jan’s Health Bar still there by Huntington Pier?

Yeah man!! It’s such a good place, they do the best smoothies..

And the turkey sandwiches are the best you will ever find.is Wahoo’s still there?

Yeah, that place is a legendary spot for food, that is awesome and for a Brit you know where we eat man!

Well I spent 2 months there skating a while back so I should know where the best smoothies are at! Haha!

Do you ever use that little bottle of lube that comes with your bearings?

Haha! You know what, no I don’t as I change my bearings a lot so I don’t need to but you know what, if you use the lube in the trucks and they move smoother, there’s a tip.

How did you once break three toilets in the space of one night?

Oh man, you know what, maybe, after a drunken session sometime on tour. maybe I just shit myself! Haha! (Chris Haslam is laughing hard at this in the background!)

If you had no choice, would you fight a grizzly bear covered in fish oil, GG Allin covered in shit, or Mike Vallely on Viagra?

Ha-ha! If it was Haslam then I would choose the grizzly bear! Definitely not Mike though!

Any shouts?

Just everyone that supports me, and it’s a pleasure being part of what is going on right now at Almost and everything.thanks everyone and thanks Zac, good luck with Crossfire man, this was fun!

No probs, you are welcome mate, welcome to the UK!

Related Links:

www.almostawebsite.com
www.globeshoes.com
www.independenttrucks.com

When I first met Ali Boulala, the first thing to hit me was that his reputation preceeds him. Ali wasn’t pissed out of his head or breaking boards every five minutes. Ali was having fun skating. Over the years, this flame of youth burns strongly within the young Swede and his desire to do something or have something are stronger than your average person’s, that’s sure.

This interview took place at Ali’s apartment in Lyon over a couple of beers. Ali was trying to learn new riffs on his guitar whilst giving advice to his mate, Steve Forstner, on purchasing a scooter, and trying to tame his crazy dog.

Oh, and Ali was wearing tracksuit bottoms, grandpa slippers, a theatrical shirt and a bandana. True Ali, the Ali that’s always been and always will be.

Alright Ali, man, tell me about how you discovered skating?

I don’t know, fuck. I guess, just seeing people in the street skating, and its like, ‘Wow! That looks fun!’

How long ago was this?

Oh, a fucking long time ago! The first time I ever rode a board, I don’t know, but maybe I was 10 years old with a blue banana board.

Can you remember what your first proper board was?

Yeah, I think I was in Mallorca and it was some Toxic board- that was the name of the company. My brother bought a Dogtown deck and I had the Toxic. Those were like the first proper boards or whatever.

Was your brother already skating before you?

No- that was like how we both got into it, just in Mallorca seeing kids there skating. All we had was the banana board, but it was mainly my brother’s idea, like ‘I’m going to buy a skateboard’, so I’m just like, ‘Fuck yeah, me too!’

Does your brother still skate?

Yeah, sometimes. He was into vert skating later on, but he doesn’t really skate that much anymore. I’m sure he would just cruise around.

Did you grow up in Sweden?

Yeah, pretty much! I was there till I was 15 or something, then I went to the States and England. (Phone rings- It’s the WE clothing guys who are about to pass by)

What was it like growing up and skating in Sweden?

It was fun, but there was never that much to skate. I mean, there still isn’t anything to skate there, but somehow there’s a scene, I guess.

What about the skateparks out there?

Oh, there are some indoor parks, but no that many. Maybe like one in every town.

So, how did sponsorship come about? Who were your first sponsors?

This skateshop called ‘G-Spot’, which is now owned by the same guy who owns WE Clothing. That was probably the first skateshop in Sweden- G-Spot.

So, how did you go from a small skateshop in Sweden to Flip?

It was mostly Rune (Glifberg), because he would come to Sweden, and I don’t know. I guess he told Jeremy (Fox) about me. Then, I went to the States with some Swedish friends and met up with Rune again there. All of a sudden they (Flip) said that I was on the team, basically. (laughter).

What’s it like at Flip? It seems pretty laid back with everybody free to do whatever they want.

For sure! They don’t send people wherever, they know that we’re gnarly! (Laughter) No pressure!

Who inspired you in the beginning?

I don’t know. I guess it was different people on different days. When I was younger, I definitely used to like Mike Carroll and all the Girl skaters, I don’t know about anymore. But, I mean of course I’m still amped to see skating, but it isn’t the same as it was before. But definitely, different days and psyches mean different people.

Now that you are pro and you have grown up in skating, has your perception of it all changed, or are you still young at heart like the kid you were when you started?

Yeah! It’s always like that, I just want to skate. It’s different now though because we have to film and capture everything on film!

How do you feel about that? Back in the day videos dropped once a year, maybe 6 months, but now it’s two every week.

Yeah, it’s too much. Like, you can’t just make a video to make a video- it has got to be something that someone will actually remember and see for a while. Filming wise though, I used to film myself all the time anyway, just for the hell of it and the fun.

Are there any moments when filming that stick out in your head as memorable? For example filming for ‘Sorry’, or with your friends in Huntington Beach, or back in Sweden at the local spot.

I don’t know really. It’s always just been filming for nothing in particular, just seeing what you have done on tape. Sometimes the process can be good and sometimes its shit.

When you moved out to the States to join the other Flip guys, did the country live up to your expectations?

The first thing that I remember is that I just laughed at how small all the spots were! I just couldn’t believe it. Like as a kid, the first thing was like. ‘Yeah, I want to go to Embarcadero (Legendary San Francisco spot) and skate all the ledges!’ But, you get there and it’s like, ‘What?! This is it? Holy shit!’ (Laughter) You just think that it’s more than it really is, but that was just like a typical thing. It is smaller, the rails are built lower. It’s better for skating though! (Laughter)

With California being the hub of skateboarding, was it ever hard to deal with all the industry bullshit?

No. I never even thought anything about the ‘industry’ or that there was anything like California being the heart of the industry or anything. I didn’t really care all that much or worry about there being a center for all the industry.

One of the things that you are most recognised for is your transition from baggy trousers to tight ass jeans and leather jackets with the punk rock attitude to kick. What happened there? Do you feel like the instigator to the whole ‘Piss Drunx’ phenomena?

I don’t know. Whatever, it’s just clothing basically! Whatever you want to wear that day, or year. Whatever! (Laughter) It’s just clothes basically, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever ideas, I guess, like new style or something. I mean, sure, it created some whole new ‘thing’ in skating with this style shit like ‘Hesh’ and ‘Fresh’, whatever! (Jim) Greco definitely had a lot to do with it, too!

But, don’t you feel like you have given guidance to some of the kids because before, when things were ‘Fresh’ so to speak, rock kids were left on the side unable to truly express themselves. Today it’s the rapper

that gets laughed at.

Yeah. It’s all skating, you know? I don’t care.

Now, your situation with the States is a bit difficult today. Do you want to talk about it?

Yeah, I don’t mind. I mean, they want me to go back and I really want to go, but. Flip paid for the work visa to prove my status. I have to go to the embassy to get questioned, but who knows? Even if I get it, once you’re at the US border you are alone with no help. The visa doesn’t really matter because they can still say ‘No’. I’m not sure. You never know. Loads of people fucking over stayed and got back in whilst others didn’t. Some people can never go back! It’s like a gamble, basically.

Have you got ay crazy stories from your visits to the States?

Well, I don’t know what’s ‘crazy’ as such, but Huntington is so crazy, like somebody is always looking at you! If you step over that line, then they stop you and take you away to jail or whatever. It’s just so ridiculous and that’s why I don’t really want to go back. You feel like you have to be careful where you step, if you step there then that’s wrong! I just don’t like it.

After leaving the States, you have been travelling around Europe, you spent some time in England, and you ended up in Lyon. Why Lyon, of all places?

I don’t know. It was like, ‘Fuck!’ I was just going all over the place, just travelling all the time anyway, I came to Lyon a few times and decided to stay. It’s so easy here- you can just be skating down the street and there are spots. However, it feels like there are less and less spots now! (Laughter) Lyon isn’t huge and massive like Paris or London. You can get to Barcelona, London, Paris etcetera really fast from here- It’s a ‘middle point’, if you want to call it that. (Laughter)

Since you live in France, have you learnt how to speak the language?

Well, I guess I could if I wanted to speak, but I don’t know. I understand when people talk and shit, but I just don’t want to speak it for some reason. I don’t know why. (Laughter) I understand, but I won’t talk.

What do you do when you aren’t skating? I see you like to collect scooters, guitars, remote control planes.

Oh yeah! The whole broken hobby dream! Fuck man. (Laughter) I mean, it was fun, but the remote control things are only good for a few minutes, or days even. But, the guitar, I guess, is the thing that is going to stay. Somehow, I’ll keep doing that, I don’t know. The other toys are just impulse purchase. It’s fun for a few minutes, but then its hell! (Laughter)

Which was your favourite toy?

Well. (Hesitates) The helicopter is the best thing, but it’s also the most impossible to fly! So, I guess that makes it the best and the worst thing. It would be good if I knew how to fucking fly the thing! But, I think the guitar is probably more fun. (Laughter)

Do you play any other instruments apart from the guitar?

No, not really.

If you could play something else, what would it be?

There are loads of things I’d like to play, like a one man band. (Laughter) I don’t know, just the guitar. I like the guitar.

Are you thinking of starting up your own remote control toy shop?

Start a band?

(Laughter) No. I just want to play for myself, like with my skating, just learn tricks on the guitar basically.

What’s your axe then?

A Les Paul. Gibson Les Paul. But I have many guitars now! But, this has to be my favourite one.

What are your musical influences? What do like to listen to or play?

Oh, like play? I just try and play anything I can! (Laughter) I can make my own songs, and it’s all inspired by the different things I listen to all mixed up.

Well, for instance, what CD is in your machine right now?

Uhhh. Maybe it was some Pink Floyd that I tried to learn the song. Led Zeppelin songs I try to learn because it’s so complicated! I feel that if I can play one Led Zeppelin song , then I can come out and say it like, ‘Yeah, I can do that!’

All their songs are so gnarly. There’s so much random shit, like ever since I picked up the guitar, I have become receptive to any songs with guitars playing in them, like, ‘Yeah, that’s good!’

Alright.. Another thing that stands out in your career is the jump to Osiris. Osiris was so Hip-Hop based that you were probably the last person we’d expect to see wearing D3s. Tell me about that?

I didn’t have a shoe sponsor for a long time. It was through Dune (Pastras), without him I don’t think I would have ridden for anyone. He doesn’t work for them anymore, but he was the contact there. I tried to ride for Vans, and they just didn’t want to give me a good deal. I don’t know.

How is it with Osiris because they like to do really big tours and stuff?

Yeah, it’s cool! It’s good that they do that. All of a sudden they changed their team, and they’re still changing the team, making it better. We’ve got John Rattray and stuff now!

Do you get together with the other team members much?

Well, whenever there are those huge tours, then yeah, I guess we all get on and go. Apart from the tours, though, not really because everyone else lives in the States.

Do you have any crazy tour stories? Brandon Turner already told me about stripping for girls in England once.

(Laughter) Yeah! There was some funny shit going down in South Africa and New Zealand with that crazy huge tour. There are always stories, but you can’t really go into them here. (Laughter) (The recording stops and then picks up again.) Uhhh. No particular stories right now! (Laughter)

Now that you have travelled around most of the globe, what has been your favourite place to visit?

I must say Australia. I always like it when I go back to Australia. It’s so fucking far away, but it’s worth it, for sure! Every time I go there, I just want to stay there forever, I guess.

What would be your dream session? In Australia perhaps.

What…..like skating wise or just hanging out?

Well, if you had to choose between a session anywhere in the world for a day, or a trip with friends and no board?

No board?! Definitely without my board! I must say, no boards, Dustin (Dollin) and his homies around there maybe.

Do you miss not being able to go back to the States and chilling with your homies? Do you still keep in contact with them?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure! I mean, I talk to them, and if it was guaranteed that I could get back into the country, then I’m sure I would think about going there more often. It’s too much of a gamble, I don’t know. That’s the only reason I would ever go back is to hang out with all my friends there. Then, I guess they come over here, or to Australia..?

How would you define a professional seeing as today the definition is hazy between super ams and lazy pros?

I don’t know, it’s hard. Ok, I mean it was so obvious before, like you’re a professional, you get money. Now all the ams get fucking more money than I do! (Laughter) For fucks sake! (Laughter) I don’t know.

Well, looking at today’s pros, who do you think applies best to the definition of a pro?

Well, I don’t really think there should be such a thing like that really! Everybody is all different in their own way, or whatever. It’s just skateboarding, there are no rules!

Who isn’t pro and deserves to be?

Steve Forstner: That’s a good question! Me..?

Yeah Steve, but you’re pro already for Antiz!

But, what do you mean? Like a dude with his name on a board? I can’t really say.

Ok, how about inversing the question then? Who is pro and doesn’t deserve it?

Oh. I think there are a lot! (Laughter) But, I don’t think it’s my liberty to really say!

I heard that some skaters claimed to have landed the 25 set.

No, no, no! Nobody tried that. I’m the only one to try the 25 set (Ali speaks clearly

straight into the mic).

Tell me about it. What was going through your mind?

I still think it’s possible to do, not that it’s so much fun to fly through the air and land on the cement ground! (Laughter) I just saw it and was like, ‘That’s one of the gnarliest, shocking things you could do!’ If you can.

Did you have to hype yourself up to do the jump? You left it till the very last minute, didn’t you?

Yeah, of course! I waited till the end because I wanted to film other stuff first because I knew that that if you don’t make it then that’s it, you won’t be able to skate for a while.

You had some badly bruised heels after that, huh?

Oh yeah, both! I had blue heels for like a month at least. I basically waited for the last possible moment to do it. Of course it was raining on the last, last day of filming, Fred (Mortagne-the filmer) was leaving and the video was now over like no more filming, it’s raining. Still, I don’t know, I just tried it anyway. It wasn’t pissing down with rain, but it was wet.

Didn’t you make any calls beforehand to make sure you’d be insured in case anything went wrong?

I don’t know, but there was money on the line! It was after I had already tried it and failed, that money came into the equation. They were like, ‘If you do it, you’ll get however much money!’ There was talk of thousands being put down if I did it again. Then it all kind of died down, and I was like, ‘Well, I don’t want to jump down there for money!’ Like, I’m not going to pay somebody to jump out of that window to the flat, just to see someone get hurt, just because it’s shocking! Whatever. Of course I want to do it because it’s shocking, too, but not for the money.

Ok Ali thanks for your time, let’s go skate!

Thanks Ralph…bye bye people!

Ali Boulala rides for Flip Skateboards, Etnies Shoes, WE Clothing and Wall Street Skateshop.