So how’s yr room working out for you?
It’s good, it’s uhh, a lot of work, but it’s good.
What kind of work?
Well there’s always something to fix, or there’s always the next thing that would make it better aesthetically, or functionally, there’s always some fucking thing to do. Whether it be like filling something with wood putty, or cutting some weird piece of trim that’s supposed to sit in an area. It’s crazy, its like a boat or something. There’s always something to figure out or tighten up.
When did you move to NY?
Well I guess I kinda moved here three years ago, but I was back and forth between California and New York. Then I got sick of being on the road all the time, so I built my bedroom and I’ve been here for about a year.
I saw yr art in one of the new Thrashers, it was fucking sick. I didn’t really know you did that. How long have you been doing art?
I kinda got into it in high school. I’ve always kinda liked it, and then it just swirled, but I’ve always kinda done it.
You do paintings mostly?
Yeah, kinda, but sorta starting to realize that everything I do sort of seems to be classified as art. It’s kind of like a disability, you know, another thing that’s not gonna make me any money but it’s gonna take up all my time. And then you’re just like shit, I guess I’m a fucking artist.
You ever try to do anything with yr art? Have a show, or sell any?
Sometimes I’ll sell art, but not on the regular. I’ve had art in a couple shows, there was an Orchard show, and occasionally somebody will buy something, and that’s pretty nice. Stefan bought one of my paintings, that was fucking rad. And then before that I had a family portrait commissioned. I don’t even know if I really want to try to get my shit in galleries. Cause I know it doesn’t make sense, I mean, unless you’re in the one percent of artists, it’s almost like a hassle trying to sell it. It might just be a bigger bitch than working a job, and you might not even sell it after trying real hard. So I don’t know if I want to put my energy into trying to make money off something that’s next to impossible.
Yeah it’s tough, there’s a lot of politics and stuff to it too…
Totally, it’s scary! Its like this fucking cool corral, where if you wanna do it, I guess there’s all these hoops you gotta jump through. I don’t really even know what the fuck they are. So you’d have to go out, figure out what they are, start jumping through em… I just don’t know if I wanna go down that road. I feel like I should focus on trying to be a electrician, or something that’s gonna work a little more. But I can’t seem to stop making it, so I’ll keep making art. I don’t know if I’ll try to really sell it. Fuck I hate work though, like selling art for living? That’d be the fucking dream.
What are you doing right now for work?
I’m building roof gardens in Manhattan. It’s alright, it’s pretty cool. I like it.
Do you consider yrself healthy?
Uh, no. I gotta get on it. I gotta really make a push for health. Its hard! Money, time, diligence, and it seems like every time you start to get healthy, it’s so easy to fall off. Like I was on this regimen, doing pull ups, sit ups, and I was starting to not drink every day, and I was all fucking pumped. And then I was partying a weekend or two ago in Vermont and everyone fell on top of me in the mosh pit when I was trying to get my car keys and I bruised my ribs. So now I’m trying to heal, and in NY all you wanna do is drink beer, eat pizza, and get coffee, and do everything that doesn’t make your body run well. But I’m trying, I gotta.
You ever do yoga or any shit like that?
I do, but I got a fucking spur on my hip bone and it causes the bones to pinch. The tough thing about yoga is you look over and you see fucking grandma Jo doing something and you’re like I’m gonna fucking do that too, even though it’s not supposed to be a competitive thing. So you go after it and it’s just bad for you. I was doing that shit twice a day in California, cause I had free yoga on the beach, and it was fucking tight. But I definitely hurt myself.
How were you able to build yr room, do you have a background in carpentry?
Yeah after high school I went to a furniture school, and I’ve always built shit out of wood at home. You know my dad had a couple tools and we built ramps and stuff. I just was kinda going through a breakup and didn’t have a place to live. I started collecting materials and just went for it. I had no idea how to do it, so I just puzzled it together. And it’s alright, it was a good learning experience cause it makes you aware of how much work it is. Cause I used to be like, I’m gonna build a fucking boat and sail away. And now I’m like, I don’t know if I could even do that! Building shit takes awhile.
Who are some of yr favorite painters? Anybody that inspires you?
I dig Andrew Wyatts paintings, and I dig that dude Turner. I forget what his first name is. He’s like a hot shit painter from way back when. Nicolas Cherelsa, I forget but he’s a really cool surrealist painter, Wimblow Holder, and Michelangelo a lot. Dude I dig fucking art stuff man, that shit’s cool. It’s fun to go to the museum and trip out on what other people have done.
You plan on being in NY for a while? What do you think of it?
I love my roommates you know, and it’s hard not to be with my family. I don’t know how long my bedroom will last, I mean my landlord hasn’t even seen this shit. But I dig New York, it’s a lot of fun. This is the first time I’ve tried to settle down since years ago. It’s pretty fucking cool, but I was here last winter and I got pretty fucking bored. Like I wanna leave and go to Hawaii and work and then come back maybe? Come back when it’s nice, reassess my situation. Make sure NY is where I want to be.
Do you go out much in NY?
I’m such a grandpa man, people have to drag me out of the house to do fucking anything, cause I got 201 projects. If I’m not working, I’m fucking working on one of my projects. And now on the weekends we’ve been going on these road trips camping and skating. I don’t really get sucked into the bar scene too easily. I don’t like the bar, I can’t stand not hearing anything people are saying, and I don’t like feeling like I’m putting in a fucking shift with people at a bar and my feet start to hurt. I’m a grandpa.
You down with group texts?
The initial group text is always sick, like you go on a trip and everyone’s joking around but eventually the material gets so old, people just repeat the same fucking jokes over and over again. It’s like I gotta get out, yr blowing up my phone, my battery’s dying, the material isn’t even funny anymore, and I can’t think of anything to spice it up.
I never even participate in those things.
It can be pretty fucking fun man. Like I filmed myself taking a shit the other day and sent it to like eight friends group text and they were so horrified! It fucking ruled. Like I pissed, pulled my wiener out of the way, then filmed and watched it, and I was like “oh my god! That’s disgusting!” I captured it so well. And I sent it to everybody and everybody was beyond mad. I think that’s probably my greatest moment on group texts.
What’s the longest you’ve ever spent traveling?
I did these trips with Elliot Vecchia, Xeno, and Doug Moore. We got a van and we were so hyped on the skating that we drove across country, but then we just kept it going. We just had people flying in and out of the van, like Randy from New Orleans, he flew to SD after we drove through NoLa to meet us there. It was just never ending. Every time you go to a new town and everybody’s fucking hyped on the energy. When you get visitors it brings the energy, just like “sick! I’m gonna show you my town,” and then you remember why you like your town, and you’re either crashing in the van or sleeping on someone’s couch. We drove to California and back. Maybe two months, three? It’s hard to say.
Do you feel like you tried hard to get sponsored? How did you get the sponsors you have?
Yeah I definitely tried hard. You know when I grew up watching Sorry and all these types of videos, I was really at an impressionable age. So that to me, was how you got sponsored. Film these sorts of video projects. It seems like such a good idea cause if you can do it, and pull it, there’s the chance that you might not have to work. But you can put work into your skating. And I definitely thought the idea of that was pretty badass. I definitely tried. I look back and it was kinda weird that I tried to document it all, and all that shit. But I guess that’s just fucking the way it goes. The people you’re watching, you try to imitate them.
