Video, photos, and words by Greg Sanocki

Interview by Larry Davis

What’s up with this video and how long have you been working on it?
It’s been like two years now. I started skating with Tyler Miller and Mike Axton a lot right at the end of filming for that Theory video Frame. Then once Carlos got back into the fold and was feeling good, it just made sense to actually go do something. Plus, skating with Devin Colon, Josh Dziadek, Brycen Hernandez, and the Sunday crew.

You only film on Sundays?
We all work pretty ordinary nine to five’s, so it’s pretty tough to do anything aside from the weekend. And me and Devin are both dads, so it’s tough, but we make it work.

Who snapped the hardest?
Every time I skate with Devin, he complains that he feels like crap on his board and then he does something crazy. He’s like, “I’m old, I can’t do this anymore” but he’s getting arguably some of the best clips he’s ever gotten. Carlos is extremely impressive because he quit skating for like seven years and he’s better than ever. He was the missing piece. Mike, he’s the dude who does the stuff you joke about, like you pull up to something gigantic and it doesn’t faze him. He’s on some different level that a lot of people around here aren’t on.

Speaking of around here, how would you describe Western Mass skating?
The scene’s cool. It’s definitely faded out a little bit. I feel like a lot of the people I grew up skating with, they’re long gone. The scene seems mellow, but then there will be little events and stuff that reminds you there are still a lot of people around. It’s just different, it seems like most people are not street skating that much, but, you know, we do our thing and it’s cool.

Is this your first full length? 
This is technically my first full length. I’ve done a couple of videos with Theory. Chump Change, and Theory 7. We did a shorter video for the 20 year party that they did. I contributed a bunch of stuff to Frame, but this is my first time doing my own thing, which is cool.

How much footy you got in it?
I actually don’t have a single trick for this video, which kind of sucks. I don’t know if picky is the right word, but if somebody’s filming me that I’m a little weary on how well it’s gonna come out, I just won’t even bother. Tyler’s pretty good at filming, but also trying to film a trick after being out filming all day… I might be skating a little bit and then someone’s ready to do something. I just drop the board and pick up the camera and then two hours later I’m trying to get out of there.

Put someone on task, dude. You gotta get one clip. You shot all the photos in this piece, do you shoot photos on most sessions?
It’s super funny doing this with photos that I shot. I’m not a photographer. I just have some gear and I just try to mess around and have fun.

Is the video called Craig’s Vid? What’s the story behind the name?
I think it was Nate Greenwood who came up with it, cause when I’d see him he’d be like, “What up, Craig?” Obviously, it’s kind of like my name and then I think when he was home for the holidays or something and I was saying that I was working on a video, and he’s like, “oh, Craig’s vid?” We all laughed and I’m like, you know what, I kind of like that.

Greenwood, local legend, it’s good to have his hand in the video somehow.
Exactly, I filmed a ton of stuff with him and he’s one of my really good friends, so he might not have any tricks, but he’s got a little piece in there.

This one’s a joke, obviously, but, how important was Easthampton Skate Club in keeping everyone’s tools sharp?
No, it was! It really was important. Having that place is key during the winter. We’ve gone through so many winters trying to find a spot and honestly, I was the one managing it for like three or four years. We’d find a spot, we’d put a ledge and a flat bar and maybe build a couple of things, and then they’d sell the building or something and we’d be back to square one once it got cold again. So having that place, and having it be consistent, and having you run it and do your thing is so much better. I like to just go there and skate, chill, and you know, obviously contribute in any way I can.  Being able to skate there all winter, we’re not starting fully from scratch once it gets nice out.

You guys have been crushing in there all winter. When are you dropping the video?
It looks like we’re gonna have it at Easthampton Skate Club. Hopefully on August 22nd. Got a couple more weekends of the summer, trying to really enjoy the good weather, and then finish it up.

Love the summer release.
It’ll be cool to end it in the summer. You never want to stop filming, so you wait until winter where you literally have to give up. So you put out the video in the winter and no one is going to go skate after that. Hopefully putting it out at the end of summer gives people some motivation for the rest of the year to skate while it’s still warm.