Interview by Tanner Ballengee. Photos by Jacob Taylor.

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Do you like your name?

Over time I’ve grown to like it, I’ve even grown to like ‘Steve,’ which is something that would bum me out when I was a kid. Growing up I was told it was a white boy’s name because I’m Hispanic.

So what happened to your knee?

I was trying to Jimmy flip a seven stair in 2012. I was trying to bring it and sing it. I remember, oddly enough, that day was one of the first days I ever stretched before skating. I used to never do that. And that day I tore my ACL. I don’t really remember much after that. I remember driving home in like a full daze, and then I remember throwing money at my friend to get me whatever pain medicine would help. I mean it’s easy to look back now and be like ‘oh t was a blessing in disguise’ but it really was because I started focusing on art.

Where do you think you’d be if you hadn’t torn your ACL?

At the time I was a full blown skate rat. My life was consumed by it. Not like it isn’t now, but it was to the point where it’s all I would do. But when that happened it gave me time to just sit with myself, you know? I started focusing more on art and I guess I fell in love wit it. It gave me the same feeling that skateboarding gave me. I was excited about something.

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Have you ever been in love?

Yes.

Text or call?

Text. I still remember living a life without texting, but these days a phone call seems aggressive to me.

What exactly is Heckride?

I mean, aside from being a website, Heckride stemmed from a group of friends who love to skate and wish they were as gnarly as the Hellride guys but just aren’t. Keeping it relatable.

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And you do the artwork?

Yeah, I do the artwork. And my buddy who wants to remain anonymous, not for some crazy reason or anything, he just likes the anonymity. I do the artwork, I feel like he does most of the legwork, but he begs to differ. It’s an operation, you know. We both play a pivotal part in it.

What was the first one?

James Hardy was the first interview which is already a fucking banger you know? James Hardy and then Tom K was the second. And there’s also a side project called B-Roll. B-Roll is just another segment on the website besides interviews.

Do you think it’s gonna be the next Boil The Ocean? Have you read that blog?

Yeah. Wow. I haven’t read that in a while. There was a theory, or just a rumor that it was Ocean Howell because nobody knows who writes Boil The Ocean.

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Is that why the Heckride dude wants to remain anonymous?

I think he just wants to have that anonymity so the work can speak for itself.

How many skate videos do you own?

The last I counted I think I was at around 320. And a quick shout out to my buddy Joe Clark for sending me the Clean video, out of Minneapolis by Chris Burt.

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What’s your favorite video?

That’s hard, man. I have different favorites for different reasons. But if I had to save one video, like if I had to jump over my cats and knock my girlfriend over in a house fire to get one video out of the collection, it would be the video we made as teenagers in high school called No Talent that my buddy Patrick Stuhr made. It’s just such a time capsule to look at that footage. It was all filmed with this really shitty little Handycam. Yeah, it would be that video. Now as far as my holy grails go, I would say Spirit Quest. Just because Colin Read is, you know, a fucking genius.

Uh…what happens when you die?

Fuck you, dude. I become your cat.

I was just about to ask you if you would ever become a cat.

We all become cats someday.

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What keeps you alive?

My friends, my family, empathy, skateboarding, little things, nuances, riding my bike, my two cats, dog, my girlfriend, responsibilities, younger people. Schedules, deadlines. I feel like people depend on me. And not in a bad way, you know. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that life is larger than myself.

Do you believe that skateboarding chose you?

I would say it chose my brother. Skateboarding was the first thing aside from art where I felt like I could do it alone and have fun. Empty driveways and empty parking lots are a thing of the past when it comes to kids growing up skating now. At least from my perspective. Maybe I’m wrong, but there’s an amazing skatepark two blocks away in every goddamn city these days. But I grew up skating a fucking slab of concrete because I wasn’t old enough to go to the shitty skatepark.

What’s something you don’t have that you wish you did?

Self-esteem. And any skate video I don’t already own. I can’t think of anything else.

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What’s next? Do you have anything you’re working on? Anything coming up?

Yeah, I have a couple of cool things coming out. Currently keeping the wheels rolling on Heckride. We have a lot of interesting people lined up. Hopefully, that goes through. My buddy has a book coming out called Tourorist. By the time you’re reading this it should be out. It’s a pretty good read. I would definitely recommend it as well as his other book, Sixty Tattoos I Secretly Gave Myself at Work, by Tanner Ballengee. I did the artwork for his most recent published work. You can snag that at tridentcafe.com. He’s also working on a skate video, entitled PISS, that I will have a full part in. I never thought I’d be filming a part in my thirties but I’m really excited about it. More art direction at Backyard Skateboards. I have some pretty fun commissions I’m working on. Just trying to stay busy, stay sane, stay healthy, stay active. We’re living in some strange times. And just trying to keep in touch with all my friends because, you know, it hasn’t been a fun two years.

One day at a time…any last thing that you want to say?

Check up on your friends. We’re losing a lot of people, a lot of great people. Reach out. God knows I’ve been in that situation. And also, be nice to people. That’s all I gotta say, man. Just fucking be nice.

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