Photos and Interview by Matthew Fabiano
What’s up!? Tell me about Marone the skate video you’ve both been working on? Ryan: Marone is a SF/Bay Area based video with skaters from New Jersey. There’s a handful of exceptions but that’s the gist of it. Paul and I live in San Francisco, and the majority of the parts were filmed when out of towners made trips out here. The video features Zach Gesko, John Gardner, James Pitonyak, Harrison Hafner, Robb Estberg, Joe Marchese, Chris Sarte, Rob Fraebel, Piero Saurez, Sergio Rodas, and a handful of others.
Paul: The video title is a little nod to Jerz and the Sopranos. It should be about 20 minutes long.
What’s it like trying to film this video in your mid 30’s? Is this an early onset mid-life crisis for both of you?Ryan: Free time is limited and friends are living far away, so the whole process is pretty slow at this age. I don’t know about a mid-life crisis but the chiropractor visits after hunching with the fisheye have been making me feel pretty old.
What’s the process with sharing the workload? Are both of you filming and editing? How on earth does that work? Paul: From the earliest conversations of Marone, we’ve always been on the same page about the style of the video and how we want it to feel. We share similar tastes with skate videos which helps our vision. It’s as close to 50/50 as it gets when it comes to filming VX. I’ve been having fun filming some 16mm as well. I think that it will cut nicely with the VX footy. Ryan’s been taking on the edit.
Ryan, this is the first time you’ve ever filmed and edited a skate vid right? Ryan: Yeah, first time. It’s really satisfying digging in and trying to learn more about both. But the whole thing has really been a split effort.
What’s a Chipotle spot?Paul: When a spot is generic looking on film with a boring backdrop. Like a ledge spot in front of a Chipotleor a manny pad with a suburban baseball field behind it. Chipotle can still be good, it’s just basic.
What’s a Spitfire spot?Ryan: These are the spots that get shown to every batch of visiting pros. The prodigies run through these and the clips are all over Instagram. They usually come in waves and take over your feed.
Paul, your videos have always been sick! I’m hyped for this one!Paul: It’s fun to have a video to look back on that captures different times/ eras of your life. I always think back to the early Philly years as some of my favorite times ever. Out of those years we had Totally Nector, and the Bruns videos. Fast forward 10 years later, I’m living in San Francisco and this is the video from my first few years living in a new city.
What sacrifices are made to produce a video in your 30s? Paul: Relaxation, recuperating back to 100% after a hectic work week, and girlfriend time.
What keeps the homies from being productive while filming? Paul: Lunchtime burritos and no spot ideas.
Ryan: Too much fungi.
What’s the best thing to eat when trying to stay productive with homies in town?Paul: We try to save the burgers and belly buster foods for the after sesh meal. Two tacos or an overpriced acai bowl is always a safe bet.
Who’s got the best pizza, New York or New Jersey?Paul: I’m going to have to go with Jerz.
Ryan: I’m biased, New Jersey.
What keeps the homies on track when filming?Paul: Hitting the park or local TF during the week to stay on point.
Ryan: I was making spot PowerPoints for the visitors.
When can we expect to see this video?Paul: Online in early November or some shit? We’ll also make about 50 DVDs for those that are interested.
Any shoutouts?Paul: Shoutout to Kevin Winters. The Soulmaster.
Ryan: Bruns 1 & 2, NJ Skateshop, Skate Jawn, Wilkie Forever.
Watch the full vid here:
