Tell me about your current living situation, how do you like it compared to other places you have lived in LA?
I have been living in Highland Park for about four years with my girlfriend and our foster dog. I like it. The majority of the spots around me are gnarly so it’s motivating to step it up if I want to stay local but still get clips. Compared to Echo Park, Highland Park is a bit less hipstery but it’s definitely on its way. Jordan Maxham lives right around the corner from us and these guys in our building are fun. They have a cool band called Machine Kit.
What is your favorite part about living in Highland Park?
Living four blocks away from Garvanza skatepark. On a good day I’ll be back in time to catch the last hour of daylight there, skating and hanging with all the G-park locs like Rafael, Chopak, Fos, Eric, and other rad locals that are there on a daily basis. The bowl is the best part, pool coping, awkward transition, all that.
Who was the first skateboarder to have a big influence on you?
Collin Hale for sure. He is the most well-rounded and unpredictable skater to come out of Vermont, Marshall Heath and Dave Abair too. All those guys really set the bar for my friends and me when we first started skating. They were a real group of friends going street skating for the love of it. It didn’t take long to realize that’s exactly what I wanted to do as well.
Tell me a bit about your artwork. I know you used to draw in high school, how did you get into computer animated design and painting?
I started painting to pass the time when I wasn’t skating, either at night or while injured. I enjoy the process and being able to come back to something multiple times. If I film a trick I’m psyched on, I’ll continue that good feeling and draw or paint something that night. And if I don’t get a trick, I won’t want to be creative, it’s crazy. I learned how to animate through a class I took. I’m glad I did it because I now know how to use Adobe Animate, which has exposed me to a bunch of new tools. Half the battle is just getting the right idea, it can be really time consuming. Once I have a rough idea, ideally in a storyboard layout like a comic strip, it’s just making a bunch of drawings that slightly overlap. It takes a lot of patience just like skating.
Did you ever work in a coffee shop and not know how to make coffee?
Yeah when I first moved to LA I got a job at Casbah Cafe in Silverlake, sadly now closed, and I told them I knew how to make coffee drinks which I actually had no experience doing until I caught on pretty quick.
What is the greatest part about rehabbing an animal?
I don’t know what it’s like to rehab an animal but Lindsey and I have been working with a dog trainer because our foster dog has some behavioral stuff and I am learning a lot. We’ll see a ton of progress one day and then he’ll do something that kinda sets it back, it’s hard because we put a lot of effort into the training, but we love him no matter what.
What was your favorite project or part you put together?
For sure Cut and Dry with you in 2013. It was definitely the most meaningful because I know everyone involved. The one person I didn’t know that well at the time was Auby, but now he’s an epic vert skater and that was his last street part so that’s pretty cool to look back on. I enjoyed filming that part because we were able to visit a lot of the east coast spots, from Vermont to New York to Philly and back, and getting to film it with my friend, you, was a real treat because you know a lot about me and would constantly make helpful trick suggestions and bring positive vibes. I was also hyped to have a last trick that wasn’t just a carcass toss, but a ledge to manual trick that was still difficult and very rewarding to ride away from. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sail, but sometimes it’s the low impact technical stuff that gets me motivated to push myself further and think outside the box.
Favorite trip of all time and why?
London. I just went there for the first time recently and it was so much better than I could have imagined. It was supposed to rain the whole time and everyone kept telling me how unpredictable the weather is there, but it ended up being perfect for all eight days. I was there originally to skate a Street League open qualifier but didn’t end up making the cut, so I ran into Clive Dixon at the park and met his friend Mark Burns who ended up letting me tag along on their street missions for the following week and showed us a great time. We wound up skating a variety of cool spots and met a bunch of friendly locals. We even got to skate South Bank, which has been on my spot bucket list for quite some time now, ever since Justin Brock informed me that it’s the oldest spot still skatable in Europe. If I could choose anywhere to go back to, it would be London, or Mexico City.
Tell me about the best party of all time? What happened?
Ty Evans hit me up and then we traveled the world. That whole year and a half was like a party. In a literal sense it was probably my 21st birthday when you ordered a couple strippers to the Silent House and we invited the neighborhood gang up to partake and some of them got kicked out for being too rowdy and they slashed the stripper’s tires.
What are you working on now? What is your mindset when working on a project?
Still finishing this Independent part, trying to mix in more transition skating. Also skating with New Balance homies as much as I can. I like surrounding myself with well rounded skaters because it keeps things interesting, both trick selection and spots.
What would you tell yourself five years ago?
To not give up and don’t slow down. Also you’re skating won’t always speak for itself, you have to speak up too.
What would you tell yourself in five years?
To keep going and eat healthy because I’m sure my metabolism won’t be as generous based on my Ben & Jerry’s intake, and to take care of myself, and to go camping more.
