Interview by Jonathan Becker
What are you up to today?
Nothing much, just ran some errands and normal day to day stuff. Now I’m waiting to link up with the homie Matt to try to get this line later on.
Where do you guys plan on skating?
I don’t know, but I’m obviously going to start off at Black Box per usual I’ll probably try to go to this other spot too far. It’s these two ledges back to back, I’ll try to get a line there with a fakie flip tailslide.
What’s it like to have BlackBox be your backyard?
It’s pretty sick. Not gonna lie but before I moved over to downtown I definitely took it for granted. now I appreciate it a lot more because I get to go there everyday, warm up, and generate new ideas as I’m there. Every time I’m there I try to think of different ways I can skate it. It is one of Atlanta’s historically know spots so it would be cool to make my mark. It’s super hard to skate so it’s a pretty humbling spot. The ledges are tall, short, and chunky. I’ve never had an easy day skating there, never.
Craziest thing you’ve seen there?
Travis Glover. We were there one day skating and tis is when he just got a dog and it was a little puppy still, he literally had the dog on a leash and did a back smith gap to the sidewalk still holding the leash the whole time. I wish that clip would come out already. That was probably the sickest thing I have seen because it was so casual and your dog is just running next to you and you do something like that first try. Just why he is an Atlanta legend honestly.
When did you start riding for Stratosphere?
I started riding for Stratosphere probably around four and a half years ago. My homie Jay, he is kinda the reason I started to hang around at Strat more often and then I moved to the city and started hanging around there while I was injured. Those guys are sick, they treat you like family. Rest in peace Tom, he definitely looked out. Every time I would come in he would always make sure I had everything I needed and stuff. One day he just got up and asked me if I had everything I needed and I was like ” Oh I’m good today.” He went back behind the counter to grab those bones swiss ceramics, the expensive ones. He grabbed those, shoved it in my pocket, and was like “You’re good now!” Thats when I was like alright this is the place for sure.
How did World Formation come together?
Shit man, honestly Jourdy already had the name. we would all see each other at Brook. I convinced Jourdy to get a camera because we all needed footage and there was no one sick to film with at the time. Then Jourdy just progressed really fast at it and we dropped videos pretty quick. It was like me, Jourdy, Elijah, Devin, and we got Zay and Jay. It was all the people that would see each other at the skatepark and we gradually all started hanging out more. When we dropped our first legit video we realized we had something going on here, so we all got hyped and kept going. Ron came into the picture and now it is what it is today. We actually have a platform and how it all came together was all of us hanging out and deciding we could do it.
I heard something about a BNB on a World Formation trip to New York, what happened with that?
I mean that was just fucked, basically we almost got scammed. We all went to NYC together to try to film some stuff and the airbnb guy, I guess he over booked or was just trying to scam us because as soon as we all show up to New York the guy wasn’t answering the phone. Then he is saying that he overbooked and we were pretty much just beat. Then we were all just sitting there like “What the fuck” because we just flew into New York and there are like eight or nine of us. Then we finally got up in this Jewish hotel, we walked in and they were looking at us all crazy because we were like “Yeah can we just get one room?” And there were like nine of us. So we pretty much had to beg this woman to let us get this one night so we could figure out the rest of the week. Eventually, she ended up fucking with us and letting us stay. Shit was hectic just carrying around our suitcases all night. We didn’t get the hotel till almost midnight and it was almost a last resort at that point. We still skated the rest of the time and everyone got footage so I guess it is something to laugh at now.
You’ve been thrifting a bunch, how long have you flipping stuff from the thrift for?
That’s pretty recent to be honest. You know, life is hard and everyone needs money so I was just thinking of another way I could be able to skate without having to work a job I hate. I still have a job but I do this on the side pretty much whenever I have free time. I got into it really quick because Atlanta has all this Olympic stuff from 1996 that I am really into and there’s is just so much of it.
What’s your favorite restaurant in Atlanta and what are you ordering?
Recently my girl and I have been going to this place called “Gaja”. It’s a Korean restaurant, underground and in East Atlanta village. Every time i order the bulgogi, that shit is so good. A breakfast vibe is anywhere that has a good bacon, egg and cheese croissant which is easy to come by in New York but out here we usually go to this coffee shop called ” Aurora” that is right next to Stratosphere.
What makes you skate the way you skate now?
I like ledge skating so I guess the root of my skating is just straight street and ledges, just pushing through the city. I have never been a fan of throwing myself down stuff because it just hurts. I don’t want to just call it raw street skating but if you are just in the city every day and just skating city spot and everything is not perfect with crusty ground and stuff, that is what I am into. Black Box is the root of my skating.
In which phase of your skating do you wish you could have pushed yourself more?
Now. I definitely push myself but you get older and you become more cautious. You also know what you can and can’t do so it always gets frustrating when you kind of know that you aren’t pushing yourself all the time. When you are young you are just trying whatever without even thinking about it, so it’s kind of easy to push yourself at a younger age.
How is skating in the South different than the rest of the U.S.?
Skating down here is different as far as our spots are crusty and everything is kinda spread out outside the city limits. You can go skate where there are no buildings in sight and there will be perfect spots with trees surrounding it and you won’t see any city life at all which is cool because you have two different perspectives. Southern Georgia skateboarding I think is different because there is no industry. In New York or LA, you skate around pros or whatever and here you kind of just see homies and everyone just does their own thing. We all meet up and skate and sometimes people have their own different missions and stuff. Skating in the south is more relaxed I think. It seems like here it is relaxed and New York is fast paced and LA is like everything is happening out there. Here you just go at your own pace and there is no pressure.
As an old man, what do you see yourself doing?
Fuck, hopefully skating. That would be cool. Hopefully having a nice place and maybe owning a company or maybe still something in skating. Maybe just on some retirement shit skating and doing side hobbies but it is hard to predict where I will be when I am older. Hopefully not much will change besides me being old. It would be cool to still just be active and not act like I am too old for anything.
What’s next?
Finishing up this part I’m working on. Traveling more with skateboarding and vacations to see different things. Being able to see friends in other places and figuring out where I want to be in life is what will be next for me.
Any last words?
Shout out World Formation, my mom, my girlfriend Rachel, Atlanta, everyone that hooks me up, and all my sponsors that take care of me. Shout out Tom, rest in peace forever. And fuck it shout out you!
Check Justin’s part for World Formation below:
