Interview by Zach Moeller

What’s up man? How’s your day going?
My day’s been good. I’ve been showing some friends from out of town around, hitting some classic spots. We’re at Holly Street right now. A couple of the guys are skating the stairs. Just taking it easy after the weekend. 

Congrats on your new video, Clips. How are you feeling after the premiere this past weekend?
Thanks so much man. I feel good about it. I’m really psyched that we worked so hard and were able to have something so epic to show for it after almost two and a half years of filming. It’s been a lot harder filming in Richmond because we’re so limited with spots – we have to get pretty creative with concrete, Bondo, SteelStik, all that fun stuff. Everyone crushed it!

This was your third video?
This was my third, yeah. It was definitely the longest to make and the longest in length. 

This is a photography interview, so I’ll wrap up the filming questions, but I want to know what similarities you see between filming clips and shooting photos. Is there one that feels more fulfilling or stressful?
Shooting a photo can sometimes feel like second nature, but there are times when it doesn’t turn out how you pictured it in your head, and it can be stressful when you know it’s something that will only be tried a couple of times. When you’re skating with people on that level, they may not want to try it again. But with filming there are some similarities. Now that I’m filming after shooting photos for so long, it’s felt like a somewhat easy transition. I use the same principles and rules of photography to make my clips unique and the best they can be. I’m always trying to learn and get better.

Let’s take it back to the beginning – where did you grow up and how did you find skateboarding?
I grew up in Richmond, Virginia. I was born right outside the city in Henrico, but spent a ton of time in the city growing up. With getting into skating, it’s a pretty standard case and I’m sure a lot of people can relate; playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, a classic one. Watching those mini parts in the game was super inspiring and eye opening. Then I realized actual videos existed too. After that, I think I discovered Yeah Right on Google Video on the oldest computer ever. I got hooked on that intro. All of the special effects were so sick and I was fully duped. I thought it was real haha. 

When did you first pick up a camera?
I picked up a video camera first in middle school. It was a JVC Handycam. I’d make little bullshit vids on YouTube with some of my first skate friends. Then, in high school, I’d be watching skate videos in my room or at the shop, and I’d always want to pause the footage to where I thought the photo would be. It was so satisfying to do, especially when it was the moment the flash was going off. It was fun to smash the space bar, just trying to get the good photo. I started to think “maybe I could do this,” looking at photos in Thrasher each month or checking out the covers of CCS when those showed up. I got my first photo camera when I was a freshman in high school.

Do you ever shoot material outside of skateboarding?
I’ve shot flats for a couple of skate companies and tried a few lookbook things, but it’s harder than you think. It’s just people standing with clothes on, but it can be hard to make someone feel comfortable unless you’re really close with that person. I also tried to shoot properties once and that never really went anywhere, although it’s still something I’d be interested in doing. But no, it’s really only been skateboarding. 

What are some of your camera bag essentials?
It’s a classic forgotten one, but a skate tool. No one ever has a tool. I’ve been guilty of that too. Lens wipes are absolutely mandatory. Steel-stik. Wax, another thing people forget. A blower to get dust off the lens. Nothing out of the ordinary, just stuff that’s useful. 

You started to touch on this earlier, but I wanted to know more – Richmond is a small city with a long, rich history of skateboarding. How do you and the crew come up with new stuff to skate in a city that’s been skated for so long?
It feels like nowadays it’s changing a lot. seems like every month or two there’s something getting flattened and some blue and grey apartment building is going to pop up. That’s probably a spot gone. Being from here, it’s easy to overlook some things that I’m around all the time, but I’ve met a lot of new friends from out of town who live here now like Will Polly, Liam (Hardman), Sean (Biacan), and Tony (Elliott), and having some fresh eyes on the city can be really good for getting some different perspectives. 

Who’s in your normal crew?
I’m with Will (Polly) every single day. I’ll also be with Liam, Sean, Tony, and KJ (Thomas) when he’s around, mostly the guys who were in my video. Other than that I’ll skate with the Venue and Bust Crew guys pretty regularly. Will (Rosenstock), Swy (Josh Swyers), Jon (Rowe) and Gilbert (Crockett) are guys who I see all the time. Evan (Gabriel), Caleb (McNeely) too. 

Is there a favorite trip or session you’ve been on?
It’s hard to pick one because just being on the road is all you need. But two answers come to mind. My favorite might be when we went to Upstate New York filming for my first video. We were about 15 deep and cramming into our Airbnb. There were a lot of new friendships beginning as well, with Liam, Sean, and Will meeting the crew, and it was cool to show them what we do. We had all just met that year. They hadn’t really been on the road much and said that was their favorite thing they had ever done. That really stuck with me. It was really fun to show them how we make vids, and now they’re all family and part of the crew. It was tight.

The other was this Quasi trip. Last summer we went to Cleveland. It was super hot out and almost the entire crew was there, even Chad (Bowers) and Bobby (DeKeyzer) which was pretty special. Towards the end of the trip, Cooper (Qua) was talking about this rail he wanted to touch – it goes down, flat, kinks to the right, goes down, and then goes flat again, a really wicked rail. I think it was the last day of the eight or nine day trip, and even though he got close, the light got bad and it got too hot, so we ended up calling it and headed home. But Cooper wanted to go back, so in November me, Jon, and Will drove from Richmond straight to Cleveland to meet him and Tubbs at the spot. We got to work right away setting up the generator and lights, and within an hour Cooper boardslid it. It was seriously one of the most shocking things I’ve ever witnessed and a really cool thing to be a part of. The weather was super nice the day he got that, then the next two days we were there it got rainy and cold. We got so lucky riding out there and bagging it the first day. Another cool thing is that the photo we shot ended up being a Thunder ad, which is pretty sick. The whole thing was an epic experience. We were geeked.

You’ve worked on some projects with brands like Quasi. How does working for a brand compare to working with the homies?
In my head those are still all just my friends. I’ve been lucky enough to know a lot of those guys for so long that it kind of feels like second nature. When I’m doing things more professionally with brands like that I still try to keep it casual. I look at it like we’re all just hanging out and I have a camera in my hand. We’re just fucking off. I know that doesn’t always work with everyone, some people can be more intense than others, but that’s the baseline – we’re just kicking it. If we get clips or photos then that’s awesome. But it is still work. Those guys are there to do their thing. So I have to be on that same type of energy. 

You’ve had your fair share of parts and footage in other videos. Do you prefer being in front of the lens or behind it?
I like filming a clip more than getting a clip even though getting a clip feels better, if that makes sense. I do love getting filmed, but I’d rather put my time into filming someone else progressing or doing something they’ve never done. I do have waves of being on with skating, although lately I haven’t been skating that much. I’ve just been working on the video and shooting stuff when I can. But now that the dust after the premiere has settled, I’m ready to hit the park and get the legs back, maybe try to film some stuff soon. 

How often do you try to skate?
I’m out every day filming or shooting skating, but physically skating, I’d say three or four times a week, although not lately. The past six months I’ve been sitting at the park in some boots not doing anything. I’ve been just chilling, but I do look forward to getting a good sweat on and learning some new mannies now that I have some time. 

Who are some of your biggest influences, both off and on the board?
Favorite skateboarder who comes to mind is Greco. There’s not much to say – he is perfect. His body of work is incredible. As far as photography goes I can name a few people: I love Cameron Strand’s work, I always thought his stuff was really different with the lighting and composition, the way an image felt when you looked at it, it had a different kind of depth to it. Kris Burkhardt would be another, he’s amazing and his photos are top notch. Anyone that gets to shoot with him is lucky. Matt Price, definitely a pioneer when it comes to shooting that breaks the mould, which I think now is way more prominent. I like Alex Pires too, his photos are clean and sharp with good colors. And this guy Griff (James Griffiths) from England. Love his style of shooting.

Is there a photo you’ve shot that you feel the most proud of?
It was probably the first thing I had in a big publication, this photo of Gilbert doing a back lip from a tall ledge onto a bench at the Richmond Library downtown. That was right after high school in 2015, and was the first thing I got a little bit of money for. It was a spread in Thrasher for his Salt Life interview and it was such a moving feeling to realize “I did it. It’s possible.” I realized it’s possible from where you live and where you’re from if you’re with the right people. 

Describe your perfect day.
Make coffee at home. Go chill at the lake for an hour or two and listen to some podcasts. Meet up with some friends, ideally filming some clips or shooting some photos, but that’s not always how it goes. Skate, get some good food, and end it back at the lake or at someone’s house kicking it. I just love being outside and around my friends. I try to do that as much as I can. 

Go-to Chicken Fiesta Order?
You might be surprised that it’s not chicken! I get the beef chimichangas. That shit is good. 

I know you just wrapped up the video, but do you have anything else you’re working on?
I mean, I’d like to chill for a week or two, but someone could hit me up tomorrow to go film and I’d be there. We’re on to the next vid. I know Polly is still super juiced and has a couple trick ideas he hasn’t gotten around to. Trying to take photos when I can. We’re also wrapping up the Venue video which I’ve been helping out with. There’s a bunch of photos I’ve been sitting on while the video’s been being made. We might do a book or zine with the video when it drops but we’re still figuring it out. 

Is there anything you’re trying to see less of in skateboarding?
Emo music (laughs). That shit is dead. There was a time for it, but that is enough. 

Let’s wrap this up. Shoutouts?
Yeah, thank you to my very supportive parents and family. All the Bergs in the vid. Will Rosenstock, Chad, Tubbs, Polly, Jacob, Swy, Maury and Kim Blankinship. I don’t have much to say. I thank my friends and my family. I love them so much.