Interview by Sean Bendon.
sw bs flip p- Chinner
You rep Buffalo pretty hard. What’s up with the City of Good Neighbors?
Yeah I definitely love Buffalo. I spent a lot of time growing up there. The first years of my life skating were there. But there comes a time when everyone has to do something different, and with school being done I had nothing really tying me there.
When did you move to NYC?
November of 2020.
Did your brother move out here with you?
Nah he’s been out here for a couple of years.
He’s also in a lot of the videos you’ve been a part of. Like a Justin clip plays and then a Nate clip plays right after.
Yeah growing up with Nate and having him around to skate with was amazing. Like best friend/brother type shit where he’s always there. Literally roommates at a young age. We moved out of our parents’ place and went our separate ways, but reconnecting here is amazing and just having that similar interest with a brother makes you grow tighter.
Did you guys start skating at the same time?
It was damn near the same time. I got a board and my dad took me to the park and then I told Nate about it and he wanted to get into it. And then year after year we had each other to bounce ideas of of – woah did you see that dog hop the fence!?
bs noseblunt p- Eammon McBride
Oh shit! We’re doing this interview next to a dog park. Shoutout Irving Square Park. What’s the significance of Xtreme Wheels?
Xtreme Wheels indoor skatepark is like the first place I ever skated. It’s where we were forced to grow up skating because in the winter in Buffalo you’re not skating outside. Slim chances. So we would just go there in the winter and try and get as much shit as we could.
Would you say Buffalo skaters are a bit gnarlier because they have to skate in such shit conditions?
I would say so. From November to March you’re not going to skate outside. The lake effect snow shit is no joke. But in the summer there’s no place I’d rather be.
You told me the other night that Buffalo summers are one of Upstate New York’s best kept secrets.
For sure, all of upstate summer is. But definitely Buffalo. We’ll leave it at that.
You’ve put out quite a few parts in the last few years. How have you managed to finagle that around Buffalo winters and full time school?
We’re just out skating man. There’s people in my crew that just keep bouncing ideas off everyone and before you know it you’ve got a clip. It just goes to show, if there’s a will there’s a way.
Who do you film with mostly?
The last year has mostly been with Tristan Mershon, but when I was back in Buffalo I would film with my boy Andrew Maholsic. RIP Sunday Skateshop. He made A Stones Throw and Bouquet.
nollie bs heel p- Kyle Hofsass
Were there certain Buffalo skaters you looked up to growing up?
Dan Plunkett and Jake Donnelly.
Blow the whistle.
Jake’s a beast, watch out for the left hand.
Fuck, I gotta get to Buffalo. Get some wings and hit a Bill’s game.
Don’t forget about the beef on weck. That’s the real underrated food.
Beef on weck?
It’s a roast beef sandwich on a kummelweck roll. Salt and caraway seeds on the bun. It’s amazing.
When was the first time you saw a Skate Jawn?
I originally heard of Skate Jawn through Sunday Skateshop. They used to get them there and I was a kid hanging in the shop and I would see it. I was hyped because it was black and white and real raw and I could tell it was made by skaters.
bs tail p- Kyle Hofsass
Most memorable Jawn moment?
Tyler Stier getting the cover of Issue #52 was really special for me. He’s my homie from Buffalo and in that same issue there was a Moms Skateshop article. That one really stands out to me.
How’d you start getting hooked up by ScumCo?
Ty asked me who I was skating for last summer. It seemed fitting, and the way Ty asked me about it was very welcoming. I’ve heard of Nick since 2012. It’s cool to get the thumbs up from those guys. It means a lot to me.
I heard you broke your hand two days before a ScumCo trip to Puerto Rico. What’s the story behind that?
We were driving out to Coney Island and found this rail, it wasn’t even the spot we were going to skate. It had this weird skinny curved run up to it, but for some reason I was like “Yo I can do it.” In the back of my head I’m like damn maybe I shouldn’t. I had just booked my tickets the day before.
It was your first ScumCo trip right?
Yeah! The rail was rusty and I thought that it was gonna stick, but when I put my board on for the boardslide I just slipped out. There were stairs on the other side and the way I fell was like having a rug yanked out from under me. I put my hand down and it just got crunched in the corner. As soon as I stood up I knew something was wrong. I tried to make a fist and I couldn’t do it at all.
fs nosegrind p- Trevor Culley
Sounds terrible.
I was pretty grossed out and bummed that I did that. My boy Tom drove me to the hospital and they re-broke my hand and put me in a temporary cast. I fell asleep with my fucking hand in the air and the next day they reset it. The following day was the flight to Puerto Rico and I was mad nervous to go with a fucked up hand. I told them to double wrap my cast.
How was the trip?
The trip was great. We got clips. Medallas were flowing. Alcohol doesn’t affect you the same way there.
How were you rolling up?
The homies! The first few days they were tying my shoes for me cause I couldn’t use my hand. I took care of myself the best I could but the homies looked out and made sure I was comfortable. I took my cast in the ocean too.
Aren’t you not suppose to do that? What if a wave hits?
Exactly what you think happened totally happened. But I had the cast held up and a spliff in the other hand.
fs wallride p- Josh Bowser
What have you been up to since you got back? You got your cast off and shit?
I went to Tampa with the ScumCo homies, hit DC on the way, ran into the Skate Jawn homies in Miami after that. The ceviche at their spot was amazing. got to skate with KT and Ty and Downey.
I’m really stoked to see what the future holds for you. Shoutouts?
Everyone in Buffalo, Moms Skateshop, Nick at ScumCo, Ty Beall, Halsey Street homies, the boys at Tenant, you know Skate Jawn. Noah, Marcus. I love what you guys are doing. Thank you!
Oh yeah, how do you say your last name?
(Jeh- Ho- Vee- Ack).
