photos and interview by Luke McKaye

What got you into skating being from such a small town in Ohio back when?
I had a Variflex king cobra my parents got me when I was really young. I messed around in the driveway but didn’t get super into it. Around 7^th grade I met Joe Berry and Kevin Krahel in my neighborhood, we were on top of a huge isolated hill that led to the small town of Bridgeport, OH. The only thing we had to skate up there were ramps they built at this little playground, hill bombs, and whatever stairs we could find. Stairs appealed to me early, a childhood idea of flying and weightlessness drew me to want to jump down stuff. I bought a Tony Hawk pro board with some money I got from my Grandma and those guys gave me some old trucks and wheels. We would watch Hocus Pocus and the G&S videos. Things started to get serious by the end of that first year, I knew all I wanted to do is skate.

Who was your crew when you started branching out to new places to skate?
The area was basically a collective of small towns on the Ohio/West Virginia border. We would search for other skaters in the surrounding towns. There were stories of a guy with a half pipe spine ramp in Warwood, WV. We went looking for it and found Eric Longshaw, Jim Taggert, Buddy Biecorde, Ali Calis, Jesse Hartner, Curt Winzenreid, and their whole crew. A whole new group to skate with who turned into multi-decade brothers. Wheeling was the biggest city in the area, people from all the surrounding small towns would meet at the amphitheater and Water Street. We were really blessed with a lot of quality spots at the time, most of which don’t exist anymore. In Wheeling a few years into skating we linked up with Chad Henry (RIP) who had a camera and started to put together videos. This changed everything. Once you know you’re working towards something, a part that can be stamped in time and mailed around to different crews and companies, it creates a level of motivation and inspiration that drives the whole group to produce something bigger than themselves. Those were some of the best times ever.

What made you move to California? Did you have sponsors or anything lined up when you made the move?
No sponsors. No idea what I was doing in life. I knew California was where I needed to be. For multiple reasons: Skating, lifestyle, sunshine, all of the above. There was a desire to be around the bubble, around the people that were really doing things in skateboarding at the highest levels. I had to go to the Mecca and live the dream. I had no idea how it was going to work out. I took a Greyhound bus by myself with nothing but my board and some duffel bags, but there was a mix-up with a transfer and I lost most of my stuff along the way. There was a casual invitation to stay at Chad Knight’s place, was supposed to be on his couch for two weeks until I figured my shit out. That turned into nine months. Just winging it. A boy and a dream.

What was the Cobra house?
I moved into a house that was wilder than anything I ever expected. Chad Knight and four other roommates. I was the guy on the couch. Larry Mullins, Shane Morris, Josh Kasper, Brian Holt. They partied. Hard. I was really wanting to just skate as a main focus but definitely fell into the crazy life for a while. There was never a day off from partying. You could take a day off from skating, but never from partying. It was THE San Diego skate house at the time. People always in and out. Skating out front. Skating off the roof. It was surreal and majestic, didn’t feel like real life. Nothing but skateboarding madness all day every day. Steve Celentani was in the process of filming Trouble Shooters, we would have footy progress parties and go wild. Harvey Butler and Scott Pazelt were regulars. Nonstop revolving door.

What was riding for Foundation like before switching to Maple?
It really came down to who I was surrounded by. I was so hyped on Foundation. Always a big fan of Todd Swank’s vibe, Josh Beagle’s antics, the graphics, everything. Frank Hirata was really good to me. Mark Waters helped put me on the team. It was the Brad Staba/Daniel Haney era and those guys were going off. But at that time I was mostly skating with Chad Knight and Dave Mayhew, and spending more time with the Maple riders, flimers, etc. Ed Dominick was always shooting photos with us, he was the TM for Maple and offered me a spot. It just made sense to go to Maple.

Who were you fliming/shooting with?
I was so blessed to be surrounded by the greatest talent of that era. Rich Brazes and Steve Celentani were the first filmers I started really working with. Being part of Trouble Shooters that Steve put together was huge for me to get that initial recognition, it was such a fun video with some of the greatest skaters. Later I met Shockus through a mutual friend, Dave McKinney. Things were really picking up at the time for Osiris, he was their filmer as they were getting bigger and bigger. He had the first death lens I ever saw, we hit it off right away at a late night session at the La Jolla doubleset. We started filming together all the time. Most of the Maple and Osiris clips. We became roommates. Shockus is one of my most favorite people ever, someone I love very much and I miss the fuck out of him every day. RIP brother.

The photographers who hung around with us were amazing and really helped me get higher level exposure. Jeff Kula was a photographer from Boston, nomadic type of guy. One of the few people I knew out here from before. He was a character, partied hard. Shot my Big Brother stuff, he got me my first picture in Transworld as part of an article on Ohio.  Pop shove a doubleset in Cleveland, rolled away with a broken tail. I met Michael Burnett when he was working with Chad Knight, he was the nicest guy and helped me get in Thrasher. Ed Dominick shot my first sequence, kickflip back 5-0 at the park in Phoenix when it first opened. Looking back, I was so fortunate to have access to these people.

How long did it take you to film your Logic Part?
Video magazines were huge then. Heath Brinkley I met through my buddy Tennessee Mike and he would sometimes stay with us. We seriously filmed that whole part in 4 days after I got off work. Super low pressure, fun skating. Heath was such a rad guy to film and chill with. So grateful to be a little part of that.

With the hype of The Storm did you feel pressure?
Looking back I don’t remember feeling pressure at all. Skating was just so fun, it felt like childhood playtime. We were just aiming to please each other and ourselves. It was all jovial and light, just friends having the time of their lives together. It was all about being out and skating whatever we wanted, there wasn’t much structure or major goals to outdo anyone or anything like that. In hindsight it’s wild to think I was skating on a team with these giants like Dave Mayhew, Kanton Russel, Peter Smolik, Brandon Turner and the rest. Tyrone Olson was one of my tightest homies in that crew. We would later be on Germ together. The hype he had from his part in Evol’s Still Life made it almost overwhelming at times to be around him. He’s got an energy that’s unmatched and needs to be experienced in real life to be fully understood. What we were doing felt like pure San Diego. I was so young and dumb at the time I didn’t realize the full scale of what I was participating in. Forest through the trees type of thing.

Who were the most underrated skaters on Maple and Osiris?
I recently re-watched Maple Blackcat. Jesse Erickson (RIP) stood out as such a strong skater and someone who should have been more remembered as a household name. At the time I didn’t recognize how phenomenal his skating really was. He got his dues but was definitely underrated. Osiris, Rodney Torres was amazing but at the time he was in New York and didn’t get quite as much spotlight as he deserved. Could be because he may not have had access to the same level of filmers. It’s always harder when you’re not swimming in the same soup as the rest of the team.

How did Maple end? How was dealing with that?
It was shitty. It kind of happened due to my own ego inflation honestly. At the time I was maybe looking for something better where I could come into my own a more. I always felt a little like Chad and Ed’s stepbrother. I was in their shadow, which was a great place to be but I felt like I may be able to shine brighter with another group. There were rumors that I was shopping around looking for something new and I essentially got kicked off. It felt a lot like a breakup and I wasn’t emotionally developed enough to deal with it. I was drinking a lot at the time, physically exhausted often. I thought something better would come along. I had some great opportunities with Avera and Germ, but nothing that ever compared to the energy with Maple. Much love to Jim Benson, Brody, Ed Dominick TM, Zack from 151, Nate, Brian Krezel, everyone involved with Maple and Imperial Distribution. Super honored to have been a part of everything, some of my most cherished memories for sure.

What’s up with Slizza slick tape and Juice Boards?
Slizza came to fruition back in 2000ish. It’s a laminate tape that goes on top of your board. I just wanted to have something to put over my board, mostly to keep the stickers on my board visible for photo incentives. I brought a bunch to Woodward one year and sold it. Never made much out of it. Recently I’ve been doing it again, just for the love. Sometimes I sell it, but I mostly just hook up the homies and some people are really hyped on it. It’s a passion project, more of a concept than a company. I think it makes skateboarding more fun, and for old guys who like to do boardslides, easier. Juice boards is rocking. Quality boards by Oscar Jordan. So grateful to be part of it and all that he does. He’s been keeping me skating for a while. Down for the homies.

Have you ever been arrested for skateboarding?
Yes, one time. Shockus story. We were in Pasadena with Jim Kappell and Tom Krauser, maybe Gil Marin and some other people. We got caught sawing knobs off a double kink handrail. Shockus took the blame, got arrested and they took all our names. At the time I had a warrant for a jaywalking ticket in Long Beach I never paid during an ASR tradeshow. I got let out pretty quick after we were handcuffed and taken the station. Turned out to be not that big of deal but any day you get put in handcuffs and taken to the police station is a bad day.

How often are you still skating?
As much as physically possible. Right now the weather is tough here in Columbus, OH. Three times a week is the average when I’m able. I’m always skating in my mind, there’s no time off. I’m at least scoping out new spots and thinking about what I want to do. The obsession is inescapable.

Which Always Sunny character do you relate to the most?
I’m a little bit of all of them. Most people compare me to Charlie Day. Sometimes I find myself playing with trash, under bridges, in sewers, that type of stuff. Go watch season 17!

What else keeps your interested?
Exploring consciousness. Trying to understand why people believe what they do. How we can help get everyone on the same page that we’re not alone in the universe. I recently joined Citizens For Disclosure, which is part of the New Paradigm Institute. It’s basically a group of people who believe consciousness is key. Being more collectively minded is where we need to head to get to a better point of living. We’re all on a planet where we could be more self sustaining but we’re not. There’s tons of technology and resources most people are unaware of. We’re kept in the dark about a lot of things. I like to seek answers on UAPs and psychic phenomenon. Evolving consciousness. Building a better world. Sustainability. Helping people wake up out of duality.