Interview by Jon Rezonable.

Photos by Chris Morgan.

Every time we film I feel like you end up bleeding somewhere or banged up. Do the students ever ask questions about that?

Sometimes they’ll ask about it, but they kinda know dude. I try to hide it, but htey can tell if I’m moving around slow.

Does the class dynamic change once the students know you skate?

I had a kid who raised his hand to tell me that he looked me up on YouTube. I think they’re more interested in the fact that I’m on the internet. I guess I’m just glad they don’t have a point of reference to understand how bad my kickflip is.

You teach the skate club too right?

Yeah, we’re trying to build ramps for a demo at our school. My principal is stoked on getting the kids stoked. He let me ollie over him last year, the kids loved it. Shouts out Paco!

Is there ever a time when the kids get to see Josh, rather than “Mr. Paz”?

They’re kinda the same, but Josh cusses more. We’re all a little different when we’re outside of work or school.

You’ve been skating with the same people you started with twenty years ago, how did that happen?

Hercules, the best city in the bay. We just all stayed connected. I know a lot of people from Hercules that still hang with the same people from twenty years ago. Maybe it’s the water.

That’s Benal right?

Yup, straight up Benal squad. I’ve been skating with these dudes since I was 11. We made videos in high school, and it’s funny that we’re in our thirties and we’re still doing the same thing. But instead of every weekend, now we’re balancing work and family schedules. Shouts out to Ben L and Waxboy for keeping the East Bay zoggy.

On the topic of people being in your life for a long time, you’re actually marrying your fiance who you met in middle school right?

I met Jackie when I was in sixth grade. We used to only talk through AIM, but we’d never talk in person. After the awkward middle school phase, we figured out how to be human in front of each other. Now we’re getting married!

You’ve had a core group of people in your life for a long time, seems like loyalty is pretty important to you?

Loyalty and reliability are the two biggest things. If you can rely on someone’s word and they’re loyal, then that’s someone who’s down for life. That’s why I’ve stayed around the same group of people.

In addition to maintaining relationships, you are skating, filming, working, being a dog dad, fishing, looking for houses, and planning a wedding. How do you fit all of that into a week?

I kinda like when I’m just doing a lot of shit. I just like getting shit done. I can’t sit still, for better or worse. I think I run my body into the ground sometimes so that I can chill out the next day.

Last words or shoutouts before I let you go?

Excited for the 12 video to drop, Benal video later this year, and Broadways/Pathways 2 coming soon. Thanks, this was weird.