Video by Dean Kubasek and Mason Tabet.
Photos by Alex Cole.
Interview with Jake Alsept by Zach Moeller.
How close was this trip to not happening? What allowed it to end up working out?
This entire trip was actually made possible due to Grandma receiving COVID recovery grant money from the city of Albuquerque. There were 5 business sectors eligible for this particular grant and we qualified under the “Arts & Entertainment” category. In the application I explicitly stated that the funds would be used for filming skate videos. Honestly thought it was a long shot at the time but, to my surprise, the city approved our application. Funny enough when I went to pick up the check I met the city worker that reviewed our application, dude’s a hero.
Agush Agushi, 50-50
Covid has been crazy for everyone. How has Grandma been affected?
Since Grandma started in September 2019, it’s actually kinda hard to say. Basically the entire time Grandma has been a thing we’ve been dealing with the rollercoaster effects of COVID. On one hand, the lockdowns and mass layoffs were unequivocally bad for not only the business but our personal lives. On the other hand, Albuquerque really took care of us in terms of small business COVID recovery grants. I’d say everything has broken even to an extent, hard to truly quantify though.
For those who don’t know, what can you tell people about Grandma Skateboards?
Grandma is a D.I.Y. skateboard company based in Albuquerque, NM. All of our boards are manufactured by hand in my garage. We do limited board releases seasonally but most of the boards we make get skated by the crew.
Bryce Sowards, gap to bs wallride
How stoked was the crew when the trip worked out?
So stoked. For weeks before the trip we were all sending spots back and forth in our group chat. Honestly the trip didn’t even feel real for me until we were all at the airport. The whole experience was a blast.
Who all was in the squad that came out east?
The crew was comprised of Agush Agushi, Alex Paz, Bryce Sowards, Jack Justice, Jon Rogers, Miles Turner, and Thomas Bowers. The homies filming and shooting photos were Alex Coles, Mason Tabet, and Nicky Glaser. As well as myself and Joey Martinez, for emotional support.
Miles Turner, bs tailslide shuv
How long was the trip?
We were out in NYC for about a week.
Was it anyone’s first time in New York?
About a third of the crew had never been to New York previously. It’s honestly super fun being with people experiencing the city for the first time. I’d say we definitely did it right.
You guys stacked a lot of clips. How did you stay so productive?
Given that we were pulling up to the first spot around 1 or 2PM every day, our productivity is truly a testament to how good these dudes are. There were only about 3 or 4 clips we got that were battles. Other than that, I’d have to credit the dollar slice spots for keeping everyone fueled up and in peak skating form.
Jack and Miles, 50-50 
Miles Turner, bs lipslide
Did the crew party at all?
These dudes were pulling double duty between skating and partying. Homies drained the margarita machine at the Italian restaurant around the corner from our hotel almost nightly. Shotgunning White Claws in hallways of the hotel, smoking about an ounce of weed broken up into a couple dozen joints, these guys are pros.
Did you link with anyone while you were out here? Any shoutouts?
We met up and skated with a couple NM homies that are now living in Brooklyn, shout out to Dart and Khalil for sure. Big shout out to Andrew and Daniel Lutheran, true Albuquerque skate royalty, got to skate with them for a couple days. Also got to skate with Daniel Vargas and Ryan Lay for a bit, nicest dudes. Last but not least gotta say what’s up to Brad Cromer a.k.a. Bradthew, dude was honestly putting on a demo at Blue Park while we were there.
Agush Agushi, fs nosegrind 180
Did you see anything crazy while out in the streets?
Bryce and I saw a dude casually pooping on the sidewalk one night while getting dollar slice, that was pretty wild. Jon watched some homie try to instigate a fight unsuccessfully. Dude ended up getting his bag snatched by a random passerby, kinda justified I think. Other than that, I’ve gotta say it was surprisingly tame.
What are the biggest differences between NYC and Albuquerque?
Oh man, there are so many. In a lot of ways, Albuquerque is the antithesis of NYC. Everything around here closes by 8 and our nightlife options are confined to about 4 blocks downtown. You could actually fit Albuquerque’s population into Manhattan 3 times over. Everything here is really spread out with limited public transportation options, there is no hopping on a bus / train to the next spot. Don’t get me wrong though, I love Albuquerque, it’s just another world entirely.
Skate spot wise, Albuquerque is known for its ditches, notably, the spots along Indian School Ditch. No buttery marble out ledges, no corporate plazas with perfect manny pads, we’ve just got crust. It’s honestly no wonder these dudes put in so much work in NYC.
Jon Rogers, ollie
Does Grandma have any projects in the works? What’s in store for 2022?
We’re currently stacking clips for a full length. Shooting it all in VX, really hyped on that. We’ve also got an L.A trip coming up in March, definitely gonna get some quality clips out there. Other than that, we’re just working on the Spring release stuff right now. Really optimistic about Grandma in 2022.
Agush Agushi, fs nosegrind
