Interview by Nnamdi Ihekwoaba

Photos by Owen Basher 

Alright Rashad, I know we just got back from a Carpet trip to Mexico that we’re recovering from but what else are you up to these days? 

I would say the same. I’m recovering from that trip and getting ready for more tattoo work in the future. I’m trying to skate way more too, especially now since I’m starting to feel more comfortable on my board again. I’m trying to skate as much as possible before I go back to work. 

So you grew up in Baltimore and then moved towards the D.C. area. Was there much of a change in lifestyle between the two areas? 

At first, it was really hard just because in Baltimore, you can go from place to place and everything is a lot cheaper. Everything is a little closer in proximity and there’s not much really going on so you kind of make your own fun. I feel like when I came to Montgomery County, there were a lot more activities, and things for me to actually get into other than playing basketball or football. And that’s when I really started skating. When I first wanted to skate as a kid, I was living with my grandmother in Baltimore and she would not let me skate in the street but when I came to Montgomery County it was a lot more laid back. I was able to be more free because the area was safer. 

For sure, MoCo in general is just a decent area.

I can’t really knock it. Personally, I’ve never experienced a place in MoCo where I felt unsafe. 

After moving to the D.C. area as a kid, did you skate Pulaski a lot? Did the plaza shape the way you skate? 

Yeah, I feel like when I first started skating I wanted to skate how most kids want to skate. Jump down stuff, you want to skate the biggest gap, the biggest rail, the biggest this and that. You don’t really have an idea of what you want to do so you just do what you think people want to see you do. I feel like once I started skating Pulaski, there was just simple shit that became way more important. Things like going faster, doing things properly, you didn’t have to flip into everything but you had to grind the ledge a certain way. I just think skating the plaza has made me a much better skater but not in the way that I first initially thought it would.  

How did you meet Ayman and Osama? How did Carpet come into the picture? 

I don’t remember exactly how the whole situation went down when I met them. I just remember every time I came across them, they were always making fun of me. There was just something about me, I don’t know what it was, I think it was just because I was younger and they liked me so they just kept picking on me. I was used to it because I have an older brother and I have cousins that I grew up with who did the same thing. But I feel like I met Ayman and Osama through my friend Elijah and I think it was probably at Laurel that I met them. 

I feel like I met them around Laurel too. 

And then I would bump into them at skate premieres and stuff like that and I would run into them at the skateshop which was called Bureau at the time. Yeah, I would just talk to them and they would just talk to me and we clicked and eventually, they started Carpet and started giving me boards. That turned into what it is today, me getting product and boards from them which is pretty cool. But at first they swore they didn’t have a team! So I was never telling people I was on Carpet, they would just give me boards. They would be like “we don’t have a team” and I’d be like “Ok. As long as I’m getting boards, I don’t care.” 

I know you have been tattooing for a couple years now. How and when did you get into tattoos? 

I would say ever since I was nine I wanted to do tattoos. My dad would go into the back of this hair salon and there was this dude named Freddy and he would do tattoos back there. My dad would take me back there and we’d hang out. We’d talk to Freddy and look through his flash book and everything and I just remember knowing that even if I don’t do it professionally, I want to learn how to tattoo. 

I love comic books and stuff like that. I used to want to be a cartoonist. 

Oh yeah, same! That was what I initially wanted to do because I remember I told my grandmother that I wasn’t gonna go to college, I was gonna draw cartoons and design video games. 

Yeah, man. Art is special and it’s something that we all have within ourselves in a way. 

It’s pretty cool. I feel like skateboarding is one of those things where a lot of skaters have other art outlets but I don’t know if that’s the case for football or basketball players. Not to say that’s true across the board, but I feel like skating is where you meet the most artists.  

I know you are recovering from an injury right now. What happened and how has that changed your perspective on skating?

So while we were on a trip in Boston I hit my head and found out that I had two brain tumors. They had probably been growing for a long time because of their size and where they were. The first thing you think is “oh shit, I have brain cancer. I’m gonna die.” but then, later on, you realize that not every tumor is cancerous and luckily in my case the tumors weren’t so it kind of felt like I got a second chance at life. So then I was thinking that now this is something that I have to deal with. I can’t hit my head, I can’t be as reckless. Now I just see skateboarding more as something that doesn’t have to be my career because I may not necessarily be able to do things that people will like to see as much as I did before. It’s just made me care way more about my health and the people around me. It’s also made me care about skateboarding in general because now the first thing that’s on my mind when I skate is that I want to be having fun and if I’m not having fun I should probably stop. So now, it feels like I’m twelve years old again and I’m re-learning everything. I do stuff now that’s a little bit simpler because there are a lot of tricks that I lost because brain surgery fucks with your motor skills. I feel like a lot of people underestimate how serious your brain is and how much it really controls everything. If I’m scared, it’s because of my brain. If I can’t land something, It’s because of my brain. Physically? I’m fine. But when it comes to my brain healing and recovering, it’s gonna take a while. I’m just way more patient with myself now, and I understand that it’s not the end of the world if you can’t land something. 

For sure, man. 

I’ve never been the type of person that’s hated my life or thought that I had the worst life ever. I’ve always known that in a lot of ways, I’m blessed. But this experience has made me realize that even with having to get brain tumors removed and having this be a part of my life, I’m a lucky dude. I have so much to be grateful for. 

That’s a fact, bro. It’s definitely changed all of our lives as your friend and all of our perspectives on skating, on friendship, and being there for each other in different ways. It’s had a huge impact on all of us and our families. 

Yeah, man. It has somehow made my life much better. Like I know I’m gonna get all those tricks back. I just gotta keep trying every day and just stay consistent. Honestly, I haven’t had this much fun skating in a long time.

Is there anything that you are looking forward to in the future with skating or tattooing? 

I hope in the future I can re-learn the tricks that I had down before I had my brain surgery. That’s really my ultimate goal is to get those tricks back. I would love to film a really good part after that. Like I would love to feel more confident on my board and put out a real part again. I would hopefully like a year where I’m lucky enough to not have something so severe happen to me. That way I can really give another part my absolute best shot. As far as tattooing, I just want to find a place to call home and be able to tattoo out of there consistently and make it my career, you know? I love to skate but I don’t see that as being something that’s going to pay my bills. It’s more of a hobby at this point. I’m 24 and about to be 25, I’m not gonna be out here thinking that skateboarding is gonna pay my bills. But for tattooing, I would just love to finally get an apprenticeship, get fully licensed, and have a real place to tattoo out of. I’d quit my job now to make that my real deal career.

Is there anyone you’d like to shout out? It’s been a really interesting journey, is there anybody you’d like to thank?

First, I want to thank my mom. I want to thank my girlfriend, Cadia. I want to thank Cadia’s family for looking out for me too. I want to thank my dad for staying in the hospital with me for three days while I recovered from my brain surgery. I want to thank my homies, all of them. The whole Statue crew all the way down to anybody that stands on our side. If you’re my homie and you genuinely care for me, I want to thank you. Of course, Carpet – Ayman and Osama. Yeah, I just want to thank anybody who’s looked out for me and everybody who’s only had positive things to say about me. Most importantly, I want to thank the whole DMV community for showing me mad love when I was going through that and supporting me all the way through. If anyone had anything negative to say about me then obviously not you. I only wanna thank my real homies, my real family. Everybody all the way from Bmore, to DC, to New York, Ohio, Mexico, the Philly heads, Upstate New York for showing mad love, Cali, just everybody.