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Lakai interview

The headaches from the Lakai Fully Flared premiere after party had just about subsided and Moose managed to get himself over to meet a small but elite section of the team to ask them about games of Skate, waxed ladies, and steroid injections.

Welcome to Crossfire Mike Carroll, Brandon Biebel, Mike Mo and Rob Welsh. I have 3 or 4 questions for each of you, but if you want, you can choose which one you want to nominate to someone else…

MC – No peeking?

No, no peeking. So, first off, Mike Carroll, how does filming for Fully Flared compare to filming for Questionable or Virtual Reality?

MC – Can I nominate some one? For me it is comparable to filming for Virtual Reality. Filming for Questionable was more of a fun innocent experience, I didn’t know I was filming for a video. This one, I realised I was doing it for a video, there was a little more stress involved.

BB – Mike Carroll is the king, straight up. He doesn’t have to film for no video. All he has to do is skate and do what he does. If there is a camera around he is gonna look good and handle his business. If you ask him if there is any pressure or anything about filming for a video, c’mon bro, this is Mike Carroll, do your research man. He ain’t go no problems. He just skates, goes out, does his thing.

MC – [To BB] – You know that raise you were asking for? You got it!

BB – [To MC] – Thanks man! [laughs]

Why aren’t Lakai pushing ‘Mini Me’ teams? Kids Teams, like other brands.

BB – Why aren’t they? Because Lakai is Lakai. Lakai is 100 % skateboarding. They don’t need to. They have the cream of the crop, there is like 19 dudes. There’s no need for fucking mini boards and shit like that. Right Mike?

MM – They aren’t opposed to it, they’re just not trying to.

BB – Nyjah doesn’t ride for Lakai dude, know what I’m saying?

MM – We just out anyone on the team that we think will fit, not because of they are mini…miniest…ness

When is it right to retire?

RW – When Mike Mo tells me to. I’ve talked to him about it alot. I tell him all the time that if I start to become delusional, which I sometimes feel I am, that he should tell me. So the right time is when Mike Mo tells me.

Last one…what trick can’t you do?

BB – Switch back heel flip, I do not fuck with it. I cannot do that trick and I don’t plan on doing it any time soon. I could if I wanted to though, but I don’t want to.

MC – I can’t do varial flips. I hate varial flips, that’s why I don’t do them.

BB – RW can do every trick there is, he is modest. He is fucking modest.

Rob, has the pressure of filming increased your smoking habit?

RW – I quit smoking 4 months ago. I quit because I felt like a pile…

MC – A pile of what?

RW – A pile of shit. I knew it would be stressful, so I thought I should handle it right now.

BB – Rob Welsh had been smoking lot. He is real good at smoking cigarettes, he smokes a lot. Smoking made him real lazy, it’s the worst thing for you. I’m proud of him.

RW – By no means am I in the clear though…4 months no cigarettes. I put a patch on and then I thought, you know what, if I went into a coma and the patch was left on…I would wake up a smoker. So I was like fuck it, I’ve gotta get this thing off me!

What would you throw at Biebel in a manny battle?

RW – I wouldn’t even try, I don’t show up at competitions because of this guy! [laughs]

BB – Welsh can do them all

Is skateboarding a science or an art?

MM – I think it’s the science of art [laughs] Skateboarding is skateboarding man. You get what you put into it. You could compare skateboarding to something like dancing, it’s the same. It’s an art.

RW – I think Mike dances beautifully on his board.

Mike Mo. Mo money, mo problems?

MM – I’ve got no money so I ain’t got no problems. More money, more problems. Sometimes money can solve a problem. You get your phone bill…it’s a problem! You solve it by paying the bill with money.

Do you feel robbed by Nyjah at the ES Game of skate?

MM – No, because he does gay-ass varial flips.

BB – Let me tell you one thing, Mike Mo is Mike Mo and Nyjah is Nyjah. But Nyjah will never ever ever ever have a thing on my man Mike Mo. OK? He better get on steroids and inject that shit into his calves! I’ll beat the shit out of his dad, straight up. Comparing Mike Mo to Nyjah is disrespectful to Mike Mo!

Mike, do you and P-Rod exchange trick tips?

MM – No, we just play SKATE alot. Basically we do like treflip skating. You just keep doing them. Whoever misses it gets a letter (S-K-A-T-E). Sometimes we do an ollie like 50 times in a row and no one gets a letter!

RW – I don’t know if I approve of that game, but yeah, it sounds cool.

[BB disappears….]

[Mike Carroll answering for Biebel]
How much handle rail footage do you have stashed away?

MC – I put it all in my part. Biebel has a bit stashed away.

I think you should answer the question in his style as well….

MC – I can’t do it. I’m not a good actor.

Ok…Instead of Fully Flared, why not Totally Tight?

[laughs]

MC – Haha, totally tight…we are totally tight! That’s going to be the name of our next tour. Totally Tight Tour….triple T.[To Crossfire] You should get a nickel every time somebody says that….

BB – Totally Tight is cool too, but Fully Flared works for this video. It’s cool man. Lakai, Fully Flared.

What helps better with patience. Manuals or Fishing?

MC – Manuals are the worst thing in the world to do. I swear to god. Being stuck on a manual is the worst thing. I fucking hate it. Fishing is better.

Is that BB answer then? Is that what he would say?

MC – Oh yeah, for sure….I mean, no one wants to film manuals, you flip your board…land on two wheels…maybe.

Biebel, where should wax not be applied?

BB – I’m a fan of wax man, if it helps you grind or slide more frequently or grind further, then wax shit up.

What about waxed ladies?

BB – Yeah, waxed ladies, that probably the best kind of wax. Get them, get them all. I’ve got a girlfriend dude, this is European shit.

That’s it then, anything you want to say about the video?

BB – Totally Tight.

Click here to visit the Lakai London Premiere Gallery feature. Go to www.lakai.com and look out for ‘Fully Flared’ in your local skater owned shop…