Photos by Nathan Rowland. Interview by Jawn Coltrane.
bs smith
What have you been doing today?
I’ve been skating a little, filming a little, checking spots out, and getting food. I’m about to go film right now actually.
Nice, where you at?
I’m in Denver right now. We’re like DTC area, Colorado.
What’s the best thing about Denver?
To be honest, just nature itself. You’re surrounded by mountains and stuff. You can go to the city, go out and camp, you can go snowboard. You can do a whole bunch of stuff out here. It’s super sick. I like the skate spots and the people out here are dope. They got good people out here for sure.
Do you snowboard?
I have a lot of friends that snowboard and a lot of opportunities to go, I just haven’t really taken the chance, but one day. That will be sick.
Do you camp?
Hell yeah, camping is sick. Just chilling with the homies, you know. Eating good, grilling, making a fire with sticks and stuff.
What do you do when you’re not skating, besides camping?
I do video shoots and stuff. I’ll be making clothes, playing basketball, soccer, I just do a lot of things.
kickflip
You make clothes? What’s up with that?
Recently I haven’t been doing too much of that. I have been trying to find different stuff to work with, but I just make hats and stuff, shirts, pants. It depends on what you like and want.
Have you ever gone on a skate trip outside the country?
I’ve traveled pretty much all around the United States. I haven’t been to Europe. That would be so sick. I’ve been to Cali. I fuck with like Nebraska and stuff like that. They got spots in a lot of places that are sick. Phoenix is dope and Kansas City for sure.
If you could go to any country to skate where would you want to go?
Australia is sick, Brazil would be super dope. Copenhagen for sure. Germany would be sick too.
What about Colorado’s skaters? Some of the greatest of all time or some of your favorites?
What do I think about them?
Yeah sure, that too.
Honestly, they’re gnarly dude. I don’t know, some of the spots out here are fucked so if you skate them you gotta be like, that fucking guy to hit that rail or hit that spot you know. But for sure, Julian Christianson, Tanto for sure, a lot of homies I know. A lot of OGs that I looked up to, I grew up skating with them and shit like that. David Reyes is sick, Windsor James and them, they’re dope as fuck. I don’t know, Andy Torres is sick.
Is 303 making a video right now?
Yeah. It’s like the 25th anniversary or something like that.
bs noseblunt
You’ve been trying to film for that?
Yeah. I’ve been trying to keep that shit steady. Filming for that for sure. I would be hella stoked to have some stuff in that.
What do you think about contests? You ever watch them or skated them?
I fuck with it, contest skating is dope. It’s fun as fuck watching everybody get down and have fun. Watching that shit, you have your favorites or whatever and you just want to watch the gnarliest shit go down. I fuck with it.
You ever do one though?
Yeah, growing up I was for sure hella into them. We always had local contests and like a year or two ago I did a Tampa Am. Best Foot Forward, things like that.
What do you think about filming for IG?
Honestly, if you want to do the gnarliest shit and publicize one Instagram, it’s whatever. It just depends on how you feel about it. If I hopped on that rail and posted it on the gram, it’d still be sick, but me personally, I’d rather film in the street. That’s what I grew up on, just skating in the streets and filming on cameras. On the phone, it’s super sick to film stuff with your friends, to keep galleries of stuff like that.
How much you be hanging out at 303?
I’m down there like every day, or every other day. It depends, I go in there and say what’s up to the guys and stuff like that. Or if I’m on the read a magazine and look at a board type day.
What’s up with Colfax Ave? That’s where the shop’s at right? Got any stories about that street?
That street is so gnarly. Skating through is pretty sick. Skating over the bums when they’re laid out and they’re just chilling.
boardslide
What’s the worst place that people like to skate in Denver?
The skatepark, the park is pretty gnarly. I don’t know, it just gets so packed.
What’s up with your phone man?
I kinda fucked it up so now I can’t play music through the aux. So if I’m trying to play music in the car. I can’t do that. That shits fucked. Hopefully I get a new phone.
Alright, but you do got one.
I got a temporary, very fucked up phone.
What’s the worst job you ever had?
I was like 14 or something like that. I had to go door to door with these frames and candles to sell. This one kid I met in school was like, “Hey bro, you want to work?” I was like, money, that’s dope you know, no problem. I started working there, turns out you gotta get into a whole van and I had basketball practice too. I’d get off basketball practice and go straight to work and get home and barely sleep and wake up and then go to school. So that was for sure not one of the funnest things to do, but I had money in my pocket if you know what I mean.
What do you do for money?
I do a lot of things, honestly. I’m modeling and stuff like that. I make clothes like I said, but haven’t really been making clothes lately. Small things here and there, working on cars and stuff.
nosegrind
What’s your favorite thing about skateboarding?
Favorite thing about skateboarding is being yourself. You don’t have to go out the way to impress anybody or anything like that. Just do you, you know, that’s what I fuck with about skating for sure!
You want to do any shout outs, last words, thanks. Anything like that?
Thank you to the fam you know what I’m saying. Shout out God, I mean shout out everybody for real. Stay positive and keep moving forward. Do everything with love behind it.
