Interview by Tony Farmer

Dan was born and raised in Oceanside, NY. He’s got a brother named Charlie that does invert fakies and can grind anything anywhere anytime. I met Dan at the L pool on Long Island, along with his band of trogs known as “The Dirt Bags” how original. These are the type of cats that militantly protect their own finds, but pull no punches when it comes to raiding other people’s pools. All’s fair in love and war, yeah? After immediately dislocating my shoulder, Dan asked if I was alright. My cunty response was, “Is that a rhetorical question?” Once they looked up the term on Wikipedia, Dan and co. decided that I was “cut” for throwing around such a flowery vocabulary. After a year or so of tracking down and skating “their” pools unbeknownst to them, we made nice and spent the entire pandemic in bed with each other. Suffice to say we have had a lot of fun. A shared love of the search and destroy ethos, Darrel Delgado, and ice-cold beverages continues to fuel our camaraderie.

Ok, here’s a couple quickies. Hewitt or Hitz?
Hewitt! Come on, it’s Peter!

Gardner or Cope?
Cope! By miles. Respectfully, I love you, John, you’re so rad!

Ok, they get tougher (not really). Ozzie or Salba?
Oh, that’s fucked up. There’s no right answer, I’m gonna plead the 5th.

Delgado or me?
I always tried to emulate the way you ride a pool. But Darrel rewired my brain; he made me realize there’s no pool that’s not grindable, you just got to want to do it, right? I’m gonna say this, for style and flair and general ethos it’s you, but Darrel’s twisted mind and approach were a big influence on me.

What’s your best pickup line?
I’d just look you in the eyes and say, “You’ll do.” And then we’ll see where it goes from there.

And that works?
It has about an 80% success rate.

I don’t believe that for a second. Here’s some easy dumb ones. Favorite coping?
Oh, come on, Anthony. There’s nothing better than smashing some Anthony.

Wrong. Exposed aggregate. Firecracker. Sorry.
Nope, sick rocket pocket Anthony is unbeatable.

Ok, fair. You’re right and wrong. Next, your favorite shape?
I used to think kidneys were marvelous, but then something you said ruined that, “It’s just another boring kidney.” So now I just want a fucked up pool, something that makes you think.

What’s your all time favorite pool?
Oh, L pool! That’s where I learned how to skate, that’s where skateboarding changed for me. That pool changed my life forever. So that’s a no brainer.

Do you have a Napoleon complex?
I’m a little guy, but the “short” answer is no. I’m a pretty confident guy, so no.

You recently whined to me that you’ll never again reach the highs of this past summer. How can you say that, given your love for so many dinosaurs such as myself?
This past summer I went out to Seattle with Pat, Josh & Sam (AKA Back Yard Productions). We had a ripping two weeks there, then Jenn came down from Canada and picked me up in this beater 1985 Dodge Ramcharger. We rolled through Portland, down the Oregon coast into Reno and then things got weird when we broke down in Lake Tahoe. We proceeded to live in the Tahoe Inn pool for two weeks. Finally managed to get back on the road down the West Coast and ended up in Vegas. We skated loads of rad pools and partied pretty tough. It was epic and I don’t think I’ll ever top it cause I don’t see another time in my life where I’ll have four months to travel and skate.

I’m gonna interject here as a 55 year old man and say you got a long road ahead of ya, kid. Are there any grievances you’d like to publicly air? Any beefs, fuck offs, that sort of thing?
I’m just gonna say fuck off to… everyone. I hate you all.

How about the I Love You’s, shout outs, and all that jazz?
First and foremost, Charlie Weiss, best skater on earth. He’s my brother, such an inspiration and he doesn’t give a fuck! Number two, my second favorite skater of all time, Jesse Mac. Best friend 20 years! Backyard Productions: Sam, Pat, Josh, love you boys. My mom, Margred, she knew that I was a freak and allowed me to do that. Tyler Hopkins, Gone Cemental, love you dude. Darrel Delgado, and Salba, of course. Shout out to Long Island! 151 Skateboards and Matt Dyck. Indy and Rhino. Max Hersh, you lined this all up, love you baby! Oh, and BOBBY PULEO!!!