Whatʼs the biggest thing youʼve noticed about your  lifestyle changing because of quarantine? 

My lifeʼs pretty much the same. I canʼt socialize outside of skateboarding and that  sucks. My work is nickel and diming me more and more everyday. 

How would you envision you would approach the  situation weʼre in now a year ago versus the reality of it  today? 

Honestly, I think I would have gone about it the exact same way. Calm down the  people that are tripping out and try and just live through it. I did immediately ask  myself of what my parents would do in this situation and God knows I donʼt think  they would have a good answer. I think that every boomer that would have run into  a pandemic and lost their jobs earlier in life they would have shit themselves. I  donʼt think I would have done anything different. We skated the backyard, we  made a video. 

Letʼs talk about the video “Skits and Friends and Yeah”  by Rocco Caravelli. Do you think the pandemic actually  helped move it along? 

It definitely helped for me. When I was back home in Portland I had more reason  to not see anybody else and just go skate stuff. I went back two times during  quarantine and pretty much went to a spot everyday with Rocco. I think  that solidified finalizing that project. It was my first part. 

This video was a few years in the making, right?

Yeah, I think Rocco went four years on this video. Which is pretty rad in my  opinion. I donʼt think people do that kind of stuff anymore, and I like the way he  put it out. He hasnʼt put it online, kind of expecting the culture to not just rip it and  put online immediately. 

Do you think releasing a project like this adds to the  credibility or passion associated with it? 

Honestly, I think that full video parts come out every year and I donʼt remember  them. Because they get put straight online and I never have to put any effort into  seeing them. They become laborious after-work viewing. I think putting four years  into a video says a hell of a lot about it. And releasing it in a way that you make  people aware of your work and hopefully they have to work to view it too. And it  shows a little bit of mutual response and participation before actually viewing. If  you know the reason to watch this and you want to watch this, and you take the  time to get the DVD, youʼre already so many more steps up the staircase towards  enjoying the video. There was a central theme that tied the video together that you don’t see in skate videos as much anymore.

Do  you think thatʼs just because of the way weʼre presented  media today or is it just a thing of the past? 

I think for Rocco, itʼs what he wanted to make. I  think it works for other people in different ways. It comes down to the creatorʼs  eye and what theyʼre trying to communicate. Because skateboarding is not a  sport, itʼs a way of communicating. Itʼs a way of expressing yourself to others and  showing that to a community. Sometimes you want to communicate with a larger  basket of ideas tying it all together, and sometimes you just want to throw stuff  out and have more of an avant grade type of thing. Itʼs art. I think people can find themselves in skateboarding in a way that they usually  donʼt have an opportunity with in other activities. To be a part of a culture and  community that expresses itself on a less-linear “score-based” or “value-based”  structure. It gives people an ability to understand their human nature through this  dance and communication of skateboards. Itʼs cool, thereʼs no conformity if youʼre  just understanding yourself.  

We have to talk about the concrete bowl in your backyard. How many different eras have you seen of your  house?  

Probably seen fifteen roommates and seven editions of the bowl. The bowl is a  dream right now. The coping is as sauced as you can imagine. 

How did you even hear about the bowl before you moved  in?

My friend Maurice and I were skating down the block and Fritz was drunk on the side of the street and was stoked we were fire-crackering a set of stairs. Then he  invited us to go hang out at his bowl, then we went on a trip together and he asked  me if I wanted to move in. 

Whatʼs been your favorite outlet during quarantine?

During quarantine I got really into painting again, I get into painting about once  every two years. Watercolors, I try and maintain that. Getting into more into the  drawing side of it, in that I like the drawing side of it to develop my abilities on the  painting side of it. Playing blast beats on my drum set, got the double kick setup. Got my VHS camera rigged up with a wide angle lens, been ripping that guy. We  did a backyard edit for Skate Jawn and did all of the music in-house. We did a  music video for Hershguy. I was kind of blessed with a creative upbringing. I was brought up very musically,  my dad started playing music when I was born. He was into the avant grade jazz  scene as a beat poet through the ’70s. I went to an arts middle school and took ballet. And I got into video editing there, making stupid stuff with my friends. Itʼs a  skillset that makes my life more fulfilling. For two years I did ballet, one year I did  tap. I think I also took African Dance, but Iʼm clumsy. I was terrible at  sports, I canʼt get a ball in a hole to save my life. I was good at being a goalie,  because Iʼm good at throwing myself in front of things. I can figure out where a  thing is going to be and put my body in front of it. I think I had to trick myself to  learn how to be graceful on a skateboard. I donʼt think it came naturally to me. I donʼt think it comes naturally to anyone. 

Are you kidding me? Have you seen kids these days?! Where do you see yourself with your relationship to  skating ten years from now? 

Remaining involved in my community and skating cool stuff as much as I can.  Never really wanted anything more.