1. FA/HOCKEY
EURO MADNESS
OVER IT
SKATERS, DRUGS
& ALCOHOL
MARK SUCIU
THE MAGIC IS BACK!
PLUS:
BANNEROT, PISCOPO, T-FUNK
WINKOWSKI & DEICIDE
AUG 2019 Thrashermagazine.com
$ 4 . 9 9 U S & C A N A D A
4. 2 Thrasher
CONTENTS/THRASHER MAGAZINE/AUGUST 2019/ISSUE 469
FEATURES
SCARE THE BOYS.......................................................................42
Suck the life out of everyone
HIGH ‘N’ DRY....................................................................................60
Coppertone wafting through the air
DONOVON PISCOPO..............................................................78
Love your life
INTO THE PIT!...................................................................................94
Burning the candle at both ends
POCKET FULL OF SHRAPNEL.................................112
Time doesn’t even exist
HEADS-BARKER........................................................................128
You feel a vibe
HEADS-PABICH..........................................................................134
Never painted my nails
OVER IT..................................................................................................146
For me it was terrible
GIRL ON SMOKO IN MELBOURNE................162
Fell in love with it again
MARK SUCIU.................................................................................176
Only a tech guy
SCHOOLBOY Q...........................................................................196
Testing my boundaries
THE SPECIALS..............................................................................198
Singing with stitches
PANDA BEAR................................................................................200
You can’t really define it
DEICIDE/NOTES.........................................................................202
It was almost nice
MAIL..............................................................................................................20
The legend will live on
EPIC SPOTS..........................................................................................30
Persistent pee smell
CANVAS....................................................................................................36
Youthful admiration
FIVE GREATS.....................................................................................48
I am not down
ABNORMAL COMMUNICATION...........................54
Joe Purvert
PHOTO-G..............................................................................................220
Bird of prey
RIP.................................................................................................................222
Ben Raemers
TRASH......................................................................................................228
Fake kidnap them
FIRING LINE....................................................................................232
Hell nah
ELSE............................................................................................................234
A dino’s tail
DEPARTMENTS
Cover: Fleet of foot and full of grace, Mark Suciu reenters
the spotlight with a quick-up to back 50 in New York City.
Welcome back, Mark. Photo: Taketomo
Contents: He may have popped up the grate to get onto
this beast, but Didrik “Deedz” Galasso ain’t out of the
woods yet. If the pole, pedestrians or 33 stairs don’t take
him out, there’s always that bus. Photo: Garta
“At that moment I told myself
that the party was over, for good”
— Chad Muska, P. 158
14. Editor In Chief Michael Burnett
Managing Editor Michael Sieben
Art Director Cameron Padgett
Associate Art Director Adam Creagan
Agency Designer Alán González, Max Stern
Image Processor Dan Zaslavsky
Digital Media Coordinator Cole Mathews
Online Content Manager Greg Smith
Senior Videographers Ewan Bowman, Preston Maigetter
Videographers Matt Bublitz, Dan Stolling
Chief Technical Officer Nicholas Lattner
Music Editor & Assistant Online Content Manager Jordan Joseffer
Motion & Web Designer Tom Dunnam
Staff Writers & Photographers
David Broach, Joe Brook, Brock Fetch, Andy Harris, Joe Hammeke
Sam Hitz, Atiba Jefferson, Wez Lundry, Chris Rooney, Dan Zaslavsky
Contributing Editors
Lui Elliott, Mark Gonzales, Miles Long, C Moneydale
Robin Steele, Steve Randall
Contributing Photographers & Illustrators
Olga Aguilar, Tim Aguilar, Lacopo Bigagli, Mia Bolton, Jason Cakebread, Ben Colen
Tobias Coughlin-Bogue, Jon Coulthard, Jake Darwen, Ryan Flynn, Oli Gagnon
Lars Garta, Nick Ghobashi, Bryce Golder, Mike Heikkila, Kylie Henson
Norma Ibarra, Jazz Leeb, Blake Matthews, Sam McGuire, Zorah Olivia
Sem Rubio, Nick Sayers, Mac Shafer, Jared Sherbert, John Shirley
Cameron Strand, Zander Taketomo, Ed Templeton, Seu Trinh
Contributing Writers
Tim Aguilar, Louie Barletta, Tobias Coughlin-Bogue, Nate Denver, Jason Dill
Kyle Eustice, Mike Gigliotti, Josh Landau, Traci Putkey, Valerie Jerque
Zachary “Ducky” Kovacs, Rick McCrank, Jared Sherbert, Alex White
Advertising Director Eben Sterling (eben@thrashermagazine.com)
Advertising Sales Mike Stalter (mstalter@hsproductions.com)
Events & Marketing Director Jerome Case (jerome@thrashermagazine.com)
Ad Operations Manager Michael Breslin
Marketing & Event Manager Sally Vitello
Executive Assistant Doug Waitrovich
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Rafnson
Mail Order/Customer Service Marsha Howard
Archivist Tom Shattuck
Product Sales Manager Rick Rotsært (415) 671–2426
Product Sales Freddy Levy (415) 671-2465
Product Procurement John Dujmovic
Shipping Kenneth Elayba, Madeline Manson
Charlie Pravel, Ian Seager, Adam Yim
Accounting Manager Kelly Ma
Circulation Consultant John Morthanos
Engineer Ely Agustin
HIGH SPEED PRODUCTIONS, INC.
1303 UNDERWOOD AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94124
Thrasher welcomes all editorial submissions; however, return postage
must accompany all unsolicited manuscripts, art, drawings, and
photographic materials if they are to be returned. No responsibility can
be assumed for unsolicited materials. All letters and art will be treated as
unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and
subject to Thrasher’s right to edit and comment editorially. All rights
reserved on entire contents; nothing may be reproduced in whole or in
part without written permission from the publisher. Opinions expressed
in articles are those of the author. Any similarities between persons or
places mentioned or alluded to in the fiction and real places or persons
living or dead is purely coincidental.
CHRISTIAN
MAALOUF
HOPS
THE
FENCE
IN
THE
HARLEM
STRAPPED.
PHOTO:
AMBER
CHAVEZ.
DON’T JUDGE US
Jake Phelps 1962-2019 Still Watchin’
Curtis Hsiang 1963–2000 Ruben Orkin 1969–1999 Phil Shao 1973–1998
Preston Maigetter 1972–2017
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24. “To this day I still wonder if that frog’s soul was
taken in place of mine. I’ll never know for sure”
20 Thrasher
Mail Drop c/o THRASHER PO Box 884570 San Francisco, CA 94188–4570
Spirits, ghosts, phantoms who roll. Those skaters who have passed, still reside in your soul.
You can also e-mail us letters and art via: mail@thrashermagazine.com
FLASH BACK
Skating was the last thing I was thinking about
until the guy in the cell next to mine slid a
Thrasher under my door and said, “Here’s
something to look at.” He could not have
known what my reaction would be. It put me
right back on my board. I can taste freedom.
I can feel the pain in my right arm I broke.
Every good or bad memory came back to me.
Skating saved my life. I would have been dead
100 times over. I don’t ever regret anything,
but reading about the King of the Road in this
beat up old Thrasher makes me wish I would
have stuck to skating instead of this crazy life
I can’t stay away from. I forgot how free and
at peace I was. This mag took me out of my
cell for a while. I get out November 1st and
the first thing I’m going to do is hug my mom
and then skate. This letter is thanking anyone
and everyone involved in skating. From my
heart to all of yours, thank you for making me
feel free again. Skate the lightning, and sleep
with the angels and the skeletons in your
closet for good measure.
Johnny Powers
Skating can transport you. Body and soul. —T-ed
PIPE DAMAGE
I’m reaching out for help solving a mystery of
my past which involves a magazine, a full-pipe
and a frog. It was August 1998. I was 18 years
get help. Those were mostly the pre-cell
phone ‘pager’ days. Just then, some other
skaters showed up. Luckily, one of them had a
cell phone and called 911. I stayed with you
until paramedics came and helped hoist you
out.” After hearing all of this, needless to say,
I was blown away. I only remember being
there, then waking up in the hospital. Thank
God for good friends, random skaters with a
cell phone, and the life of a frog. To this day I
still wonder if that frog’s soul was taken in place
of mine. I’ll never know for sure. Here is the
part of the mystery that only you can help me
old, just another beautiful day in SoCal. A few
friends and I decided to fill an ice chest with
beers and spend the day skating. Just living
the dream. We went to the infamous Baldy
full-pipe. It’s a bad-ass drainage pipe that
opens up into a 2-level aqueduct. So, many
beers and pipe carves later, I took a nasty spill
head-first down into the lower level of the
aqueduct. It was filled with boulders and
broken beer bottles. I nearly broke my neck
and back, went into a coma for 10 days, and
got 8 staples and 42 stitches. Afterwards,
when I met up with one of my buddies, Shay,
he told me this account: “When you fell, I saw
you mangled and unconscious. I climbed
down and you were leaking blood. I leaned
you up against the wall and wrapped my shirt
around your head. I started to clean up the
wounds. Just then you became awake,
opened your eyes and said, ‘kill the frog, kill
the frog.’ And then you fell back unconscious
again. I was tripping and thought you were
just mumbling bullshit. But I looked around us
anyway and sure enough, there was a frog
there! So, I killed it. It was a crazy thing to do,
but I felt I had to. Everyone was panicking
about what to do because we had no way to
LEFT
TO
RIGHT:
DAPHNE
NAVA,
NEW
BRAUNFELS,
TX
/
MALCOHM
O’NEILL,
SALEM,
OR
LEFT
TO
RIGHT:
DAPHNE
NAVA,
NEW
BRAUNFELS,
TX
/
MALCOHM
O’NEILL,
SALEM,
OR
with. Not too long later, I was told by a couple
of friends that I was in Thrasher, or at least
something about my fall was mentioned. The
random skaters that showed up in the nick of
time and called for help must have submitted
something about what happened. I’m guessing
it was Hall of Meat but I’m not sure. I’ve never
seen it, I would like to. I’d love to have a copy
of that issue, if it exists. Maybe I could learn
who these guys were that saved my ass.
Timothy Fessler
Barstow, CA
Glad you survived but that frog was straight-up
murdered. —T-ed
25.
26. CHINESE DEMOCRACY
I wrote to you a few months ago about the
sinicization (when cultures adopt Chinese
influences) of making skate magazines. Now I
have some new ideas. It’s not just about
magazines, it’s about your products. I hope we
can reach a cooperation. First of all, I have
some questions that haunt me all the time.
Does Thrasher have an agent in China? Maybe
I should talk about my plan. First, I want to
promote skateboarding in China and be a
“bridge” between China and USA. Do you
know Yao Ming? He plays basketball in the
NBA. I want to be him. You and I are two
sides of the bridge. Second, I want to raise the
level of the Chinese skater. We’re reaching a
training agreement with you to send the best
Chinese skaters to your place for training.
I think it’s a win-win thing. Also, I’m fighting
for Jackie Chan’s son to be my partner and I’m
working on it. What is in it for you? Four
things. 1) We will set up a company in China.
You will own 30%. I can tell you all the
proportions. I’m sure Chan will be my partner
and make a very big profit. You don’t even
need to worry about the quality of the
product, we will make joint payments only.
2) You’re going to be famous in China. We’re
going to make a famous brand. I know you are
already very famous, but I believe that having
China can help you become another Supreme.
3) You will have the potential to become an
official partner and have designated training in
China. 4) In addition to Chinese companies,
you can also make a profit from the training
agreement. There’s basically no loss for you,
whether it’s money or fame. So, if you don’t
have an agent in China, can I represent?
If you already have an agent, can you give
me a “joint right”? I don’t know if that’s the
right word. Thank you.
Y. Hyde
Every business plan needs a pie chart. —T-ed
ROLL ON
I recently went to pay my respects at Pablo
Ramirez’ memorial at Twin Peaks in SF.
Afterwards, some friends and I bombed the
backside in his honor. A lot of my friends
knew him and skated with him. I didn’t know
him personally but everything Pablo did in his
life is so admirable and an inspiration to me
and clearly so many other people. It’s
incredible how one human being with so
much love and such a big heart can affect as
many people that he did. He left a positive
mark on the world. Pablo had so much life left
in him but his energy lives on through the kids
of the city and it is still radiating like crazy. It’s
like he laid out the blueprint for how to live life
and left it all behind for us to figure out how to
reach the level of Nirvana he had. The legend
will live on and on and on. All love.
Tyler Hinton
With every extra push, his spirit lives. —T-ed
TIME’S UP
I think we’re about four years away from
skaters acting exactly like other professional
athletes: Contract negotiations, cheating
scandals, performance enhancing drugs,
“training” in private facilities exclusively for
competitions. This skate evolution all started
in the early 2000s. I think the 1990s will be
regarded as the last pure era of skating.
Andre Howard
You should just watch every 411 on a loop. —T-ed
22 Thrasher
Envelope of the Month winners receive a free shirt and stickers. Include shirt-size. Inmates must give a separate address for the prize to go to.
ENVELOPE OF THE MONTH: TARA LAYER / Marlin, Texas
LEFT
TO
RIGHT:
VINNIE
HAGER,
SEVERNA
PARK,
MD
/
RYAN
BEAVERS,
OAKLAND,
CA
“It’s like he laid out the blueprint for how
to live life and left it all behind for us”
34. 30 Thrasher
Like the Rock of Gibraltar, the infamous O’Side Hubba
looms monolithic between the bosom of the Pacific and
the free-living, raw-dog denizens of Oceanside, California’s
main drag. A stone’s throw from the Bandshell, site of several
‘80s streetstyle events (think, Gonz’ boneless off brightly-colored
table), it may just be the lingering aura of Natas’ first documented
handrail boardslide (attempt) that infects the air with a dash of “get
some” in addition to salt, cocoa butter and a persistent pee smell. A
slapped-together wooden skatepark popped up nearby in the early
aughts, and it didn’t take the kids long to put two and two together.
Coulda been local boy Jermaine Wright who first mounted her icy
back, while others point to JT Aultz or even Australian phenom
Cale Nuske, but soon the floodgates were as open as a container
beneath the overpass—tricks stacked like shanks in a hobo’s bundle.
J-Lay caught the nosegrind, front blunt and noseblunt, while Duffel
snagged the cover of the Bible with a back lip before earning two
broken arms on a follow-up back tail for the other guys. Slash’s
kickflip front board holds the gold standard for many, while others
applaud Nick Dompierre’s first-try kickflip crooks as top maneuver.
Rowan Z fronted once again with a Barley and Alec Majerus got
the locals fired up with a perfect kicky back tail. Glick cashed the
check on Dompierre’s back noseblunt transworld cover bail and
through subsequent cappings and jailbreaks this shiny chunk of gnar
endures—every success ending with that fabulous downhill glory
ride, past the train tracks, straight to Bub’s. Typically, the greatest
challenge facing would-be conquerers of the O’Side Hubba is not
the cracks, cops or even the neck-high ledge itself. Instead, it’s
something as mundane as seaside real estate. Luxury apartments are
sprouting up on all sides as this mag goes to press. New. Glittering.
Boring. Could the days of ledge-side parties, lady-hobo mosh pits
and the occasional public dook be numbered? Is this the end? Can
O’Side truly be Kept Cutty? Ask the waves. —Valerie Jerque
EPIC SPOTS
O’SIDE HUBBA Vincent Milou came all the
way from France to get a Bub’s
Michelada. Oh, and a switch 5-0
35. Repeat customer AJ Zavala knows it’s
O’Side… always. Front shove crooks,
bound for glory
31
PHOTOS:
RHINO
“Could the days of ledge-side parties, lady-hobo mosh pits
and the occasional public dook be numbered?”
36. SUBSCRIBE
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JONES
40. hen I first started skating as a wee Seattle
teen, the University of Washington’s Red
Square was the spot, and Zach Rockstad was
the dude. He was that super cool, older dude who could
kickflip back tail anything, and I lionized him. Usually
those guys aren’t worthy of your youthful admiration in
the long run, but the more I’ve gotten to know Zach—
both as a person and an artist—the more I’ve learned
that he absolutely is. His work touches on everything
from the hypocrisy of organized religion to the deep
loneliness of a rain-soaked Seattle gas station at
midnight. Nowadays, when he’s not making big money
painting murals for Starbucks, he’s working on a series
called “Sex Appeal” where he uses freight trains as a
canvas—kind of reversing the graffiti-to-gallery pipeline,
and instead doing fine art on freight. Keep an eye out for
the forthcoming photo book and check out more of his
work at zachrockstadart.com. —Tobias Coughlin-Bogue
36 Thrasher
COUGHLIN-BOGUE
ZACH ROCKSTAD
Crooked grind
W
46. 42 Thrasher
n an era of stale skateboarding events that segregate contestants from
fans and suck the life out of everyone involved, Wheels of Fortune
(WOF) in Seattle, Washington, is a shining beacon of hope. Over the
last ten years, Kristin Ebeling, Executive Director of Skate Like a Girl, has
grown her humble idea to have a community-building, inclusive, not-so-
serious skate contest into an all out three-day skateboarding festival.
The grass is greener in the
Emerald City for Louise Alban
Pris calls the shots at the
Sage Williams Memorial
Queer and Trans Skate Jam Breezy does ‘em
easy—impossible
I
BY ALEX WHITE
WHEELS OF FORTUNE 10
HENSON
OLIVIA
IBARRA
IBARRA
47. Una Farrar does her own
stunts—five points for
Team Smell The Magic
IBARRA
48. 44 Thrasher
Una on a front board
at Garfield
Angie Crum nabs ten
points by sliding into the
Muska Challenge
Poppy Starr Olsen
bomb drops at ATS
IN BEET JUICE”
“EATING A TAMPON SOAKED
AGUILAR
AGUILAR
GAGNON
OLIVIA
IBARRA
49. 45
The weekend’s festivities included the fourth annual Witch
Hunt, a King of the Road-inspired skateboarding scavenger hunt.
The Witch Hunt is arguably the best part of the weekend with crews
barging around Seattle getting points for doing things like
FaceTiming Ryan Sheckler, skating a street rail as a tribute
to Saecha Clarke or eating a tampon soaked in beet juice.
Twenty-nine teams signed their day over to the Witches
and at the end of the contest all the teams met up at
Cal Anderson Park for the Sage Williams Memorial
Queer and Trans skate jam.
What started as a small, local event with
25 entries has blossomed into a massive
skateboarding festival of more than 300
participants. That is undoubtedly a
testament to the power of this
community and the volunteers that
make it happen each year. Hope to
see you all in 2020! #WOF4EVER
The Skate Witches zine
founders Kristin Ebeling
and Shari White
Verónica Zamudio came from
Mexico to blast over the patriarchy
BOLTON
OLIVIA
OLIVIA
IBARRA
IBARRA
50.
51.
52. 48 Thrasher
JAMIE FOY’S
FOODS THAT NEED TO DIE
5 GREAT
nce I learned how to say no to certain foods my mom would always tell me,
“Well, you’re either gonna eat it, or you’re gonna make your food yourself.”
So after that I’d just go to the fridge and grab some chicken nuggets and pop
them in the toaster oven and be good to go. I’ve eaten more chicken nuggets in my
life than is countable. Growing up, every time I’d make at least 20. I hope one day I’ll
grow to like more vegetables, but so far it’s not happening.
O
CANNED TUNA
I’ve always hated it. The smell of it! It looks
like cat food and it reminds me of that smell.
A lot of these are gonna be
based off of smell. I’m also
not a big fan of mayonnaise
and it seems like those two
go hand in hand. Tuna
mixed with mayonnaise? I
am not down. My mom told me a story that
when I was seven years old I was always at
my homie’s house and his mom asked my
mom, “Hey, is Jamie really allergic to tuna
fish?” My mom’s like, “No, why?” I guess I lied
to my friend’s mom. She’d always try to get
me to eat tuna fish so I figured out if I said I
was allergic she’d never ask me again.
ARTICHOKES
It literally has “choke” in the name, so I’m
good on those. It looks like a
fruit from the beginning but
once it’s cooked it smells so
bad. My mom would always
cook it and the house would
reek! I’d have to go outside!
CAULIFLOWER
I don’t even like broccoli so cauliflower is like
broccoli’s bland cousin—straight white, boring
and bland. It has no flavor
and has no nothing and I
don’t like it. I even tried
broccoli with a bunch of
cheese on it once and I
didn’t like that. I’m good
on both of those.
OYSTERS
I am not down. For me, a lot
of it has to do with
consistency. All the slimy
stuff—forget it. I’m from
Florida but oysters and stuff
like that, I am not down. I
only like to eat fish that I
catch. I want to know where it came from!
BRUSSEL SPROUTS
The only thing worse than
cauliflower is Brussel sprouts. They
had those at the
King of the Road
finale and they
smelled so bad.
And then
Andy
was
putting them into his
mouth and trying to
make us eat ‘em.
Disgusting. Now
every time I think
of a Brussel
sprout I think of
a saliva-
covered
Brussel
sprout
coming out
of Andy Roy’s
mouth. So gross.
I’m so glad I didn’t
have to eat one of
those. Instead I got
surprised with my pro
board.
BONUS: FOY’S
LAST SUPPER
If I had
one last
meal on
earth I’d
probably
go with
a good
steak, mashed potatoes
and macaroni and
cheese as well. Then to
end it off, my favorite
dessert is a warm fudge
brownie with vanilla ice
cream on top. Can’t go
wrong!
53. Skate or diabetes! Fakie back lip
past the artichoke holder
49
DARWEN
“Every time I think of a Brussel sprout
I think of a saliva-covered Brussel sprout
coming out of Andy Roy’s mouth”
57. ORIGINALLY FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, BUT A CONSISTENT
WORLD TRAVELER, MARK SUCIU IS CHANGING THE WAY WE ALL
LOOK AT SKATEBOARDING. THERE ARE NO GIMMICKS WHEN IT
COMES TO HIS SKATING, IT IS CLASSIC, RAW, STREET SKATING
WITH A UNIQUE AND PROGRESSIVE STYLE.
M A R K S U C I U
64. 60 Thrasher
T
he summer scent of Coppertone wafting through
the air, a lonely Band-Aid floating gently by, the
delighted screams of children sliding down
fiberglass chutes, plunging into blue pools below—to
the average asshole, this is what comes to mind when
envisioning a water park. But to a skateboarder—scaling
chain-link fences, precariously climbing over razor wire,
hiding from cops and security guards, watching our friends
dive headfirst into drained tanks—that’s what pops into our
heads. H2O is our common enemy and a bone-dry water
park must be skated at all costs. So when we saw that Wet ‘n’
Wild Palm Springs had been drained, we damn sure barged
it for a sunset session! Who in the hell would have guessed
that our renegade mission would end with us catching some
carves with one of the new co-owners of the park?
It ain’t wet but it’s definitely wild!
Chris Gregson teeters on the edge
with a bluntslide—gnar factor 11
65. Enter the vortex. Lizzie Armanto
scorches a FSA on the Pacific Sun
BY TIM AGUILAR
66. Tom Remillard, frontside air
in the danger zone
62 Thrasher
Hawk down!
must be skated
at all costs”
“a bone-dry water park
67. Kowalski, over-vert crail
at the end of the ride
63
Leave it to Kevin Kowalksi to find
an imaginary loop—corkscrew 360,
tranny to tranny
68. 64 Thrasher
Of course Jaws found the
biggest drop—and then did a
30-yard manual into it
Tristan Rennie, nosegrind tailgrab
before cooling off
“We damn sure barged it
for a sunset session!”
70. anything we wanted—
“We were given free reign to skate
and you better believe we did!”
Daewon palms it
while T-Puds kickflips.
Thank you, guys
71. 67
No coping? No problem.
Lizzie, backside boneless
The loop wasn’t hard enough, so
Kevin threw in an inverted ollie.
Must be nice...
Off duty
What started as some light trespassing turned into a week-long permission session.
The powers that be rolled out the red carpet for a week of slams, jams and NBDs.
Some of the gnarliest transition skaters of our time ventured out to the desert to try
their luck at the Pacific Sun—a 300-foot funnel complete with a mini-mega roll in.
The park is being renovated and the Sun will soon be torn out, so this was a for real
Holy Grail quest with the timer ticking. No excuses—get some! The session wasn’t
just confined to just the funnel, though. We were given free reign to skate anything
we wanted—and you better believe we did! The street dogs sniffed out the ledges and
rails and the tranny lords terrorized the tunnels. Conquering the main attraction was
on everyone’s bucket list, but few overcame the mental barrier to do so. The entire
week was epic but the days Tony Hawk showed up were a true spectacle. Entire
families watched as a 50-year-old man took the slams and eventually conquered
a loop in the wild. Thought he wouldn’t?! Our time in Palm Springs was made
possible by taking a chance and luckily finding generosity on the other side of a No
Trespassing sign. You never know ’til you barge.
84. 80 Thrasher
hat time did you wake up and
what have you done so far
today? When I was your age I
slept past noon every day.
I woke up at 10:30 this morning. I could’ve
easily slept ’til the night but I have a checkup
at the doctor’s office. Gotta take care of a
couple things with the body and mind. Then I
ate about five meals and was in and out of the
shop all day. Now I gotta go get my legs ready
for tomorrow. I wish I could’ve hung out with
you during those years but this is great. You’ve
taught me what works and what doesn’t.
I don’t know if I taught you what
works or not. Ha! Shit, you aren’t done
learning. I do believe that you are
motivated and have a better mindset
than six months ago. How do you feel
about your place in the world and
your responsibilities as a professional
skateboarder these days? Are you
enjoying yourself? Do you feel happy?
Yeah, I still have so much to learn and accept.
As far as being a professional skateboarder,
I still can’t believe it. It seems so unreal and
funny at times, but it’s a dream of a life. I
don’t want to take it for granted. I do enjoy
it but I do need to work harder at it and with
that I know I’ll love it more. It’s wild to see
the youth at the shop growing up and finding
purpose and a family with it. Thank God for
skateboarding.
How old were you when you first came
to New York?
I was 14 years old. That was the first time
we met, I think, under that bridge spot in
Brooklyn? You rolled up on this sick cruiser
board.
You were so small, so wide-eyed
but very, very mellow. What do you
remember about that trip? I know we
filmed a bit. I don’t remember much.
I remember being really happy. Everything
was so new. I fucking loved being able to
skate through the city. It was a sick crew. I
remember going to bed on time and laughing
when Cody would walk into the room after a
“fun” night and being able to skate all day.
Yes, it seemed like you had a good time
being there.
I had a good experience. It was a good skate
Previous spread: It helps to have
homies—tire pivot. RIP, Dylan
W
“I STILL HAVE SO MUCH
TO LEARN AND ACCEPT”
COLEN
85. 81
No comply tailslide on the roof
of Santa’s western workshop.
Might wanna move out the way,
ol’ timer
ATIBA
86. 82 Thrasher
trip, that’s all I remember—and being culture
shocked. Being from Covina, there’s no place
like it.
Right, you were very young; you were
easy to hang out with.
Yeah, I feel like I was older then.
Do you grocery shop or do you eat at
restaurants and take-out?
I eat out almost every meal—actually, every
meal and it’s usually the same thing from the
same spots.
If you were to cook at home what’s the
one meal that you are good at making?
And have you ever cooked for anybody?
All I ever cook is bagels with some avocado,
pickled beets, tomatoes and hummus. That’s
what my lady friend and I were living off of
for awhile.
Do you believe in God? If so, is there a
heaven?
I believe in a higher power or something that
is bigger than us, but I think heaven and hell is
now. I also don’t know anything.
What do you mean by heaven and hell is
now?
When you live with love and good morals and
you’re just a good person, that’s heaven. And
when you live and accept all the evil, that feels
like hell.
Do you remember a time when you
weren’t able to ride a skateboard? You
were basically born into it, correct?
My father let it come into my life naturally,
before I knew what I liked or thought I
liked, and it was a way to be free later on in
my life. I’ve been beyond blessed to have
a relationship with that board. It’s a real
personal relationship but I get lost with it
sometimes. But I know it will always be there.
I need that thing to feel normal. It saved my
life because I don’t know where or what I
would be doing without it. It showed me the
world and gave me a family that I absolutely
love.
I mean, shit, two very important things
are how you feel about the skateboarding
you are putting out and what the people
closest to you feel about the human you
are. I had that too, though—there was
no time before skateboarding. It was just
there before I remember much else. Do
you think you will ever live anywhere
other than Covina?
Covina is home, but for now I am happy being
home. If I did move away again I’d probably
move to Australia or somewhere out of
America.
I understand. You do not suffer from
lack of travel. You have been going and
seeing places for most of your life now.
It’s bizarre to say I’ve been to the places I’ve
been too. I’m thankful.
What are a few of your favorite movies
right now at this point in your life?
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, There Will
Be Blood, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mindfield and
Little Miss Sunshine.
You have been filming for a new Nike
video for about ten months. It’ll be
done by the time this is out I bet. Did
you pick your music or did they suggest
something?
I’m still in the middle of figuring it out. I want
to skate to Harry Nilsson or Black Flag but it’s
hard to choose. It’s almost harder than picking
a spot for the day. I get to choose but I just
hope it is something that goes right.
Less of a jam, more of a journey—
Donovon hits the pipe for a natural
high over the fence
PHOTOS:
COLEN
89. 85
“I AM WORKING ON MYSELF,
TRYING TO CREATE
MY BEST WORK
ON THE BOARD”
Just don’t skate to anybody’s hits. Use
something surprising.
Do you have songs you’ve been stoked on?
I remember when John and I set tents up in
your Hollywood apartment you were playing
“Dark End Of The Street” by The Flying Burrito
Brothers. I still play that one.
I could absolutely think of a few to see
if they can get the rights to them. You
and John would come from Covina to
Hollywood to stay at my place and set
up tents in the living room like you were
camping. That was great. See how time
flies? I’ve always told you, “Watch that
time. Do all you can while you can here
and now.”
I can’t believe how quickly the time flew by. It is
scary and it is real.
Well, you have done a solid amount of
tremendous skateboarding already in your
life. I know you’ve really been at it lately
and I am so very looking forward to seeing
your new shit. I’m glad they got Aaron
Meza overseeing that whole project. Have
you filmed with him at all, or has it been
mostly Ant Travis you’ve been filming
with?
I appreciate that coming from you. In today’s
funny, wild skate scene, you created the best
shit out. I am working on myself, trying to
create my best work on the board. I’m not sure
if it’s my best but I’m trying. Meza is a great
man. He’s been super great to speak and work
with, but I’ve only been filming with Ant! He’s a
sick dude. Hopefully this footage that comes out
is just the beginning, but I haven’t had the honor
of filming with Meza.
What videos do you watch? I don’t
imagine you really keep up with new
videos. Are there any videos or people’s
parts that get you motivated to film these
days?
I honestly don’t watch much skating these days.
I just watch our shit and whatever friends’ stuff
that comes out, but other than that, Natas and
Jason Lee have been stoking me out lately.
He’s got one of the best styles ever.
He makes it look real good. Dylan, I watch
Dylan. Dylan will forever be my idol. Sometimes
I cry watching him.
Me too.
Not to be like that, but fuck.
No, I totally understand. I think it’s
a combination of him being just that
graceful and exactly what you want to
see on a skateboard and the fact that he’s
gone. It’s tough not to cry. He thought
very highly of you and John. I know he
appreciated everything you guys brought
to the table. Dylan was such a hard
worker. I know he liked seeing that quality
in you.
He will forever be my hero.
90. 86 Thrasher
Wild and raw kickflip into
the balance beam—of course
Donny could do it!
91. 87
When did you first meet Dylan? Were you
with us on Alien already or did you meet
him before when you were a Zero baby?
I was a Zero baby the first time I ever saw
his beautiful being. I woke up at that fucked-
up Black Box room. I was 12 years old and
he was shooting pool to “Hello, Goodbye”
by the Beatles at eight in the morning. He
kept repeating it and didn’t care I was sitting,
watching on the floor, ’cause I was all scared
and lonely and shit and wanted to be home.
He let me just hang and made peaceful eye
contact with me. He made me feel okay and
he was also solo. Jon Goemann bailed on him
and he was just shooting pool and smiling. I
just sat and watched. He made me feel safe
with his eyes and a smile.
I never knew that. That’s so cool.
When I hear “Hello, Goodbye” now it makes
me cry a little and smile. Dylan was a true
original.
Absolutely. God bless the sleeping prince.
Amen.
What was your first photo in Thrasher?
How old were you?
A frontside ollie on a water slide. I was 16.
Burnett shot it.
I remember that photo.
I was solo skating and he just came over and
shot it. I get embarrassed sometimes skating,
so skating solo was my favorite when I was
younger.
Right? Nobody else around, just you and
the photographer. I get it.
It’s weird. It’s like looking in a mirror: Oh, fuck,
I look like that? When I skate I want it to look
natural and if it is forced, I hate it. Fuck that. I
like it just to flow and feel good. So when I feel
like I’m forcing it, it’s not right. I want it wild
and raw.
You will never look forced on a board.
You are so much better than you know.
I feel like most especially talented
skateboarders don’t know how good they
really are—KB, Gino. There are certain
people who don’t know they really could
do just about anything. I wanna see you
start doin’ nollie frontside flips and tech
shit. You can do all the tech shit.
You used to say, “Donny could do it.” That
made me smile.
We still say that when we see some
psycho possibility in the streets: “Donny
could do that.” Me, AVE and Benny still
say that.
Those are my guys!
Sage gets it a lot from me. I’m always
telling him shit I think he could do.
Sage is so sick!
“Hey, Sage, look, you can get up on this.”
Sage is the best. He’s so sweet also.
He is.
Sage has vicious pop.
Basketball pop. I’m gonna wrap this up
with a couple questions.
I’m nervous.
Don’t be. You’ve had good answers. Do
you plan on having children in our ever-
warming world? Do you think about it
much?
I want a family.
Okay. Who is someone that helped you
get where you are that you haven’t
thanked enough?
I want to thank you, Dill. You helped me and
checked me when I needed to be checked. I’m
still working on my existence, but thank you.
I want to thank my father. He’s done so much
for me. Also Steve Chalme, AVE, Benny, my
family. I honestly can’t believe I have even had
this life. I thank my brothers and sisters, the
loved ones that helped me, the loved ones I
hope I can help through thick and thin. All I
can say is thank you!
And lastly, is there anything that you
would like to say to the kids out there?
Love your life.
Right on, Donovon. Have a good night
and thank you for doing this interview.
Thank you. And love you.
“I GET EMBARRASSED
SOMETIMES SKATING,
SO SKATING SOLO
WAS MY FAVORITE”
COLEN
100. 96 Thrasher
’all don’t listen! I said get the fuck out of
Tallahassee!” We had encountered the same
female cop twice during our visit to Florida’s
capital city and she was pissed. It was not surprising,
though. After cutting off skate stoppers, sparking
fireworks, getting buck in Chick-fil-A drive-thrus,
yelling at frat bros and sorority sisters and skating
churches and schools until three in the morning, we
were definitely burning the candle at both ends. The
van was packed with a heavy crew: Pedro, Clive, Foy,
Alexis Ramirez and Winkowski. We had explosives,
Bondo, lights, a generator, ample road sodas and we
were stoked to brush off the dust of Tampa Pro (as
well as the glitter of Mons Venus) and nothing could
stop us. It was time to sprint through the South,
fueled by fried chicken in search of big terrain!
Florida A&M University was a Foy fave.
Nosegrind on home turf, Big Pinch
always delivers
Previous spread: Security wasn’t too stoked but the
funeral home director let us skate as long as we left
him a good Yelp review. Congrats on 50 years in
business, Elmwood’s! Ducky, backside 50-50
“
Y
–JamieFoy
“What’s skating
without a big battle?”
101. No boardslide is too brutal for Delfino. He landed
this one as the cops were rolling up. You can’t kick
us out if we’re already leaving
102. We got the boot but came back
for the make—Ducky did not
go soft on this boardslide
“I wonder if this is how
Dustin Dollin feels all the time”
–DuckyKovacs,afterbattlingarail
98 Thrasher
103. NO MAKE IN MACON
A busted shoulder, sliced ear, bloody palms—and not rolling away!
I went down hard trying to not go soft. I hate to leave business
unattended, but I was not coming back for that one. Macon did me
dirty. They boys reluctantly convinced me to light a mortar off in
the parking lot, which raised my spirits a bit. We continued to blow
shit up—stoking the fire—and then it was time to pile back into the
van and roll out. With Four Lokos and Smirnoff Ices in hand (none
for the driver, duh), we hit the road. Flashing lights soon flooded the
vehicle. We had a quick run in with a highway patrolman who pulled
us over for speeding, but he let us go. Must be an Indy fan. God
bless him.
1. You had a double cheeseburger, fries, hush puppies
and two beers after the Macon, GA, demo
2. Jamie says it’s a shitty rail
3. You’re going soft and the Macon
ground is hard
4. You have to wrap up your shin so
you don’t bleed through your pants
(always a bad sign)
5. You can’t afford any more
medical supplies for your hand
DUCKY’S TOP-FIVE REASONS
TO NOT SKATE A HANDRAIL
99
104. 100 Thrasher
GOING SOFT IN ATL
Everyone was fired up for Atlanta. Well, everyone except Pedro,
Rhino and Big Boy Foy. They wanted to save their energy. The
crew that really went spent all their dollar bills on strippers and
drinks. Out in front of Magic City (look it up), a homeless guy
snatched a $20 bill from Clive and things escalated quickly. They
say nothing good happens after midnight—and they’re right.
Some of the guys went back to the hotel, but I was on a mission
to have some Kelz Kitchen. My thoughts: chicken wings and fries
at 4:30 am would ensure I was feeling good the next day. I had a
long night paired with a rough morning and pulled it, but I think
a big chunk of our crew was going soft in the ATL. You can’t say
you visited the Dirty South if you didn’t get dirty.
Axel, rail-to-ledge front board
while Winkowski sleeps on a bench
around the corner. Power naps vs.
power moves
–AxelCruysberghs,regardingacopthatkickedusout
“It’s been awhile since I’ve
met someone I hate, but I hate her”
106. Alexis christened this virgin rail with
a brutal sack. Then he got back up
and laid down the backside 5-0—
definitely not going soft
107. 103
Out of the pit, into the fire!
We all saw the line but Pedro
stepped to it. Ollie into the bank
Jesus Christ (air), Erick
–PedroDelfino
“That’d be so sick to do a
frontside air riding a horse”
108. 104 Thrasher
INTO THE PIT
Birmingham is home to a lot of heavy things: heavy terrain, heavy history, James Hardy,
heavy-up-and-coming skaters and the haunted Sloss Furnaces. In the early 1900s, James
“Slag” Wormwood was the foreman running the graveyard shift at Sloss. Under his watch, 47
workers lost their lives—ten times more than during any other shift in the history of the place.
In October of 1906, Slag mysteriously plummeted into the pit of Big Alice, the highest furnace
at the plant. His body immediately melted! He had never set foot on top of said furnace during
his years of employment, and legend has it that he was fed to the melted ore by disgruntled
employees. To date, there have been over 100 Birmingham police reports of suspected
paranormal activities at the site. We hit it up and it definitely felt haunted as hell. Going “into the
pit” became a negative mantra for us on the trip, something one should avoid at all costs.
HOW TO GET INTO THE PIT
Watch Jamie 50-50 a kinked rail first try
Eat at Waffle House after 4 am
Leave your board in the van at a spot
Go soft after the age of 24
Drink the coffee at Bregguer’s Bagels
Watch Jamie get five clips at one spot
HOW TO GET OUT OF THE PIT
Grind a 28-stair rail
Eat at Whataburger after 4 am
Play Bad Brains
Hang with the other weakest links on the trip
Drink Americanos
Spend $60 on ibuprofen, KT tape and Band-Aids
DUCKY AND PEDRO S PIT OF DESPAIR
Fuzzy reception? You might have a
Duck on your dish. The author drops
into the danger zone. Side note: Ducky
literally shit his pants trying this
–DuckyKovacs
“Dude, I think I could
grind this on rollerblades”
109. 105
Delfino straps into a monstrous
28-stair 50-50, let’s see you
Fishbrain that
–PedroDelfino,agreeingwithDucky
“Totally, I think I’d soul grind it”
111. 107
Wanna bump with the 8ballr? Here’s a start:
1. Grindline “Runnin Outa Places”
2. Los Ángeles Azules “Mis Sentimientos”
3. Los Destellos “A Patricia”
4. East Trippin “68 Runnin Mate”
5. Grindline “Broken Bottles”
6. CKY “96 Quite Bitter Beings”
7. Skanless “Money”
8. Grindline “I Live My Life”
9. Cyndi Lauper “Boy Blue”
10. RBL Posse “Feels Good To Be A Gangsta”
Bonus tracks:
Wu-Tang Clan “Gravel Pit”
Mark Morrison “Return Of The Mack”
The Budos Band “Up From The South”
WINKOWSKI’S PLAYLIST
Add “Up On The Roof” to the
playlist. Winky takes it to the
bank on the night shift
–DuckyKovacs
“I’m annoying no matter
what I’m doing”
112. Tallahassee was flat but Pedro
needed speed! He got his fix
with this dump truck
108 Thrasher
113. Tired of staring at your damn phone? Pick up a
GD book! Clive’s got five for ya’:
TOP FIVE BOOKS TO
READ ON THE ROAD
He’s in T-Hawk’s flock so you
better believe he can fly too!
Clive, double-set ollie in FL
1. The Electric
Kool-Aid Acid Test
by Tom Wolfe
2. Just Kids by
Patti Smith
3. Big Sur
by Jack
Kerouac
4. For Whom
The Bell Tolls
by Ernest
Hemingway
5. Gipsy
Moth Circles
the World
by Francis
Chichester
Bonus:
A Farewell to
Arms by Ernest
Hemingway
–DuckyKovacs
“Can’t tie down the Birdman.
He’s gotta fly”
109
115. 111
We ended our trip at Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum in
Birmingham, luckily needing nothing they offered. Despite all of the
hairball shit we pulled, we escaped The South needing no chapel
services. We avoided the pit on this mission and weren’t looking for a
group rate on a six-foot hole in the ground. Battered and bruised, we
retreated to our individual homes to lick our wounds and gear up for
the next excursion. Just remember: the pit never sleeps! But we’ll be
ready. Cue the Bad Brains.
Erick, Andrecht over the bench.
The pit stood no chance!
–JamieFoy
“I may look like an egg,
but my board shape is a popsicle”
116.
117.
118. 114 Thrasher
It ain’t no fun if the boss can’t get
some. AVE, classic FSO in Stuttgart—
style never goes out of style
119. 115
here we all were, sitting in the terminal at
Newark Liberty International Airport about
to embark on our first ever mega Euro tour.
The guys from LA had already been at it for six
hours en route to the East Coast. Eighteen dudes, 18
days, four cities: Lisbon, Madrid, Stuttgart and Berlin.
None of us had any idea what the next two-plus weeks
had in store for us. This was the first time we’d traveled
as a whole team and I’ll tell you, prior to launch, I’d
never felt so much excitement and terror at the same
time. I take that back—I used to love gambling.
Touring is a lot like gambling—it’s an emotional
rollercoaster that you can’t get enough of. I hoped we
wouldn’t lose our chips.
“TOURING IS
A LOT LIKE GAMBLING—
IT’S AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
THAT YOU CAN’T GET
ENOUGH OF”
T
Previous spread: Louie took to the skies on
his maiden voyage—ollie over Diego Todd.
Is that a coffin wheelie?
121. 117
First stop, Portugal’s coastal capital and probably the most
beautiful stop on the tour: Lisbon. After 20 hours of flying,
everyone seemed pretty beat, but Aidan’s ambition drove
us straight to beach daiquiris right off the plane. It’s 11 am;
I think we’re doing the right thing? Ironically, KB was a
casualty to daiquiris the night before and missed his flight.
He made it out a day late and assumed his position as MVP,
per usual. Kevin always wins that title because he’s got a
non-stop smile on his face, cracking jokes and ripping the
hardest—no matter how hard he went the night before. He
has a god-given talent, I mean, god-given talents.
“IT’S 11 AM; I THINK
WE’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING?”
Aidan Mackey, ride-on grind.
Those beach daiquiris seem to
be working
122. 118 Thrasher
1. Who is the most hectic person
to travel with?
Andrew Allen. The guy is a
relentless cowboy with a need for
speed.
2. Who was missing?
Bucky Lasek, Nyjah Huston and
Jason Dill.
3. Was this your first trip with
Louie Lopez?
No, he’s my road dog.
4. What were your interactions
with him?
Basically just giving him pointers
on skate tricks and we held hands a
few times.
5. Give me a three-word reply
when I name a city: Portugal.
Portugal is a country.
6. Madrid
Disappointing.
7. Stuttgart
Ski-resort town.
8. What was your favorite place?
Stuttgart.
9. What did you like about it?
No spots but it was really cool to
walk around. I climbed a tree.
10. What’s something they have
that we don’t?
Johnny Wilson.
TEN WITH
BEN (KADOW) B Y L U I E L L I O T T
Kadow, 50-50 after giving
Louie some pointers
123. 119
Madrid is probably the laziest place I’ve ever been to. Goddamn, man,
mid day-siesta? Mid-day siesta?! That’s a thing?! Every business in
Madrid closes from 2-5 pm. No food, no nothin’ during that time, so you
better hope you don’t get hungry. What a jam. Speaking of jam, the only
thing to eat is jamón. If you’re not familiar, jamón is dry-cured ham that
looks and tastes like scabs. One night I shamefully housed a whole plate
of scabs in bed. Disgusted with myself, I took everyone to McDonald’s
the next evening for dinner. I think everyone was pretty pissed at first,
but if they understood what I went through the night before, they would
have done the same. And besides, when you’re feeling beat after a long
day and your pants are sagging to the floor with coinage weighing
your pockets down, the best thing to do is look into the distance for
something familiar, something comforting and reminiscent of home—
the Golden Arches. It’s the only thing that can really fuel a tour of this
magnitude, washed down with daddy’s milk and Mexican mouthwash.
“ONE NIGHT I
SHAMEFULLY HOUSED
A WHOLE PLATE OF SCABS
IN BED”
Sean Pablo, backside 180 fakie 5-0
at the Praça do Comércio. King Jose
would surely be proud
124. “WHEN IT COMES TO ENGINEERING,
THE GERMANS DEFINITELY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING”
Just like the rental bikes, Louie hauls
ass! Half Cab bluntslide kickflip out
.
.
.
125. 121
Day ten and four plane rides later, we arrived in Stuttgart,
Germany. Who would’ve thought that such a small city in
Germany would be so good for skating? There were cool-
looking Disneyland-like spots everywhere and it was nice to
finally get out of the van and ride bikes around a little city. We
rented electric pedal-assisted bicycles that hauled ass! I got one
that had a huge basket for my equipment and the dynamics
of the bike were really wild. I gotta say, when it comes to
engineering, the Germans definitely know what they’re doing.
127. 123
On our last day in Stuttgart, we were on our way back home from skating.
AVE, Benny, Cody and I split up from everyone unintentionally and took
a different route. I was on bike with AVE skating in front of me. I started
gaining speed and I saw AVE powersliding. I looked up and saw the most
epic view of the city. We were bombing a perfect hill with a majestic
overlook. A magic feeling came over me, Wow, this is what it’s all about!
Instances like that don’t occur very often in your adult life. I was jealous
that I wasn’t on my board, but it was amazing nonetheless.
“INSTANCES LIKE THAT
DON’T OCCUR VERY OFTEN
IN YOUR ADULT LIFE”
128. 124 Thrasher
We all bombed to the bottom, everyone screaming joyously.
Moments like that are invigorating and life affirming—especially
after long periods on the road when you start to forget who you
even are. I mean, really, who are you anymore? You’ve been
herded from city to city, taken multiple plane rides, you’re in a new
bed every night, stuffing your face with tons of “food.” What day
is it? Does it matter? We were lost in Europe. Time doesn’t even
exist at that point. All you can do is buckle up and hope you come
back alive.
129. 125
“WHAT DAY IS IT? DOES IT MATTER?”
Sage slides right through an existential
crisis—front tail heelflip out, the
whole damn ledge
130. Once we got to Berlin, I was comfortable and used
to this life. Do we have to go home? I like it here.
Where is home? I hope my family loves me when I
get back. Do I even have a family? Yes, they’re on
their bikes outside waiting to go hit the streets.
“I HOPE MY FAMILY LOVES ME
WHEN I GET BACK”
Diego, massive ollie
for the família
126 Thrasher
131. Jet lag free, Kevin Rodrigues gets heely on
a wallie nose press. Euro trip ajourné
127
133. 129
DANE BARKER
CATS ARE EASIER
INTERVIEW BY MIKE GIGLIOTTI
HEADS_BARKER
Alright, first off, where are you from?
Tacoma, Washington, about 30 minutes
outside of Seattle.
You moved from there straight to LA?
Yeah, I moved there right out of high school.
I graduated a year early and I just left. But I
just recently moved to Richmond, Virgina.
Was there a particular reason you moved
there, or was it just to get out of LA?
I was in LA for four years and it was cool.
I just wanted a change of scenery, maybe
something a little bit slower. It reminds me a
lot of Seattle/Tacoma here. Also, Gilbert and
Will Rosenstock’s crew stays really busy, so I
can still be around people who are constantly
filming.
Do you not like LA?
I liked it for a while, then the last year I spent
there I think I got bored of the sun every
single day. I like to do things outside of
skating, and there wasn’t a ton for me there
aside from just skating.
I know you’re into hardcore music. Is
there a better scene and vibe out in VA
for all that kind of stuff?
Yeah, there’s a better music scene here, in my
opinion. There’s definitely a scene in LA, but
there it’s at clubs and bars. Here it’s like house
shows. But also, if I’m not skating or I’m hurt
I like that I can go chill at the river or go hike
around train yards, shit like that.
Do you like the hardcore scene? I mean,
I know you like the music, but do you
like being in the scene or do you think
it’s kind of cheesy to an extent?
I definitely like it. I like it a lot. I don’t know
how to put this—in skating people are trying
to get sponsored and are trying to live their
dream, but hardcore is just for hardcore. You
just do it for the scene around you, not for
anything in return.
Right. So, you feel like there’s not an
ulterior motive behind why people are
involved outside of them just liking the
music.
You don’t get famous off of it; you don’t make
money off of it.
COULTHARD
134. 130 Thrasher
Fakie ollie
HEADS_BARKER
Speaking of that, did you want to be a
sponsored skateboarder or did you have
other plans?
Yeah, I definitely did. I moved to LA for that
reason. I was just done with school and had
no aspirations for a job or anything and I
figured I would give it a try and so far it’s
working out.
Do you think moving to VA has made
that better or worse with skating as a
job for you.
Ha! I mean, I hope it didn’t make things
worse. My sponsors, Converse and Quasi, are
both really supportive of whatever I want to
do and they both understand that there are
scenes outside the big main cities. For my
own self, I feel better being out here. I feel
like I have more room to breathe.
Right. I’m from LA, and even being an
un-sponsored skater you can still tell it’s
more competitive here than other cities
in the world.
Honestly, it’s even the friendly competition
too. You see a friend skating a spot on
Instagram, then four people go skate it that
week. So you try and keep things secret and
that shit just got a bit old. Whereas people
out here in Richmond are, like, “Man, you
skated that spot? That’s so sick. It needed to
get skated.” Everyone knows each other here;
there aren’t really cliques; everyone’s a lot
kinder. Not that people weren’t kind in LA,
but you feel a vibe.
So you’ve been going on trips the past
two years with Cons and more recently
Quasi.
Yeah, and that’s another reason I was able to
move out here. I was privileged enough to get
put on trips with Converse in the last year,
which has been great. I just got back from a
trip to Chicago with Quasi. That was great
too.
How is it traveling with those guys? You
got a good Jake Johnson story? He’s one
of those people in skateboarding where
I feel like people are just interested in
him, even outside of his skating. He
seems sort of elusive to some people so
they want a story, you know?
On this past trip to Chicago he bought a HVX
off of Chad Bowers just to film his homies
in State College, PA. He showed me some
footage on his phone of his friend, who’s
like 30, boardsliding his first handrail. It’s
really sick to see that someone who’s been
in the industry so long still has a such a pure
view of skating and still likes it for the same
reasons we all liked it growing up.
That fuckin’ rules. That’s a good story
right there!
Yeah, he’s always showing me things he’s
trying to buy on Craigslist. He showed me
these bowling lanes someone was selling, and
was telling me how he wanted to install them
on the floor of his garage but it might be too
heavy.
As far as trips go, how is it being a
sober-ass lil’ bitch? You know, when
you’re on trips and that is going on, but
you don’t partake.
I think it’s fine, but I’m not going to go out
to the bar every night. On this trip I was just
on I hung with Dick and Josh the whole time
while they were smoking and drinking. For
me, it’s no big deal.
I know it’s not that rare these days, but
sometimes on trips if the whole crew is
partying, and you’re the only guy who’s
not, it can make the person feel like the
odd man out.
I’ve definitely been on trips when it’s a bit
alienating, but it’s not too bad. People are
always respectful of what I choose to do. It’s
not like I’m getting shit on or anything like
that. They don’t care what I do, and I don’t
care what they do.
I’m not trying to pry and get you to
talk shit, but Dan Wheatley wanted me
to ask: what drives you the most nuts
about trying to be a sponsored skater
PHOTOS:
COULTHARD
135. Ride-on 50-50, ledge to ledge
“NOT THAT PEOPLE WEREN’T
KIND IN LA,
BUT YOU FEEL A VIBE”
136. 132 Thrasher
HEADS_BARKER
these days?
I think most everybody’s answer would be
Instagram. When you log on you see, like,
40 kids doing tricks you will never do in
your life, and it can definitely make you feel
inadequate at times. The self-promotional
aspect of it is a little weird, but it’s just
become the standard now.
Yeah, we were recently at a park and
saw a group of kids dressed exactly
like a particular group of pros, but they
were way better than the pros they’re
emulating and you’re just, like, Holy
shit.
Yeah, I see that a lot too. It’s pretty insane.
Young skaters, and just kids in general, are
so much more aware and style conscious
these days. LA is fucked. I’ve seen so many
13 year olds with Gucci headbands and box
logos.
I feel you. Did you find any of the LA
stereotypes to be true?
It was definitely different than I thought.
People are pretty closed off. I worked in
Beverly Hills for a while at a coffee shop and
those people are all as soulless as they are
made out to be. The richest people were the
rudest and never tipped, while the people
who also worked in the area were the nicest
and always tipped.
Who did you skate with when you lived
out here and how did you get involved
with Quasi and Cons?
Well, my first sponsor was Lakai and I rode
for them for a bit. When I visited I skated
with Daniel Wheatley, so I would hit him up
to skate and there was a natural progression
there. We had a good dynamic of filming
and skating, so most contacts came through
him. I think he was the one that hit up Chad
at Quasi and then I spoke with Chad on
the phone. Then when Wheatley got fired
at Lakai—I don’t know if you want to say
that. Ha! When they “parted ways,” he was
my main contact there so I didn’t feel good
staying. So I talked to Bobby de Keyzer,
who’s a good friend of mine, and he got me
hooked up at Converse pretty quickly after.
You skate with Bobby a bunch?
Yeah, we go on a bunch of trips together. He
lives in Toronto, so we don’t see each other
all the time. He’s been a good guide through
skateboarding for me, I guess.
He has a face that makes him look like
he’s a dick, but I heard he’s nice.
He’s nice, not too much of a dick.
That was my next thing I was going to
ask. I always liked those classic kind
of questions—who are some current
skaters you enjoy watching?
That’s sick because I already had an
answer for this one just in case it got asked.
Mostly my friends, which feels like a cop
out, but Jake Johnson, Gilbert Crockett,
Alexis Sablone, Bobby de Keyzer and Mike
Anderson. Are those current enough?
Yes. How about top-five all time?
Ready for this one also. In no particular
order: Ed Templeton, Anthony Van Engelen,
Max Schaaf, Huf and OG Tom Knox because
he’s one of the first sober punk dudes that
was a skater, to my knowledge.
Why do you like cats? Cats are weak.
Like the animal? I mean, I like dogs too, but
my girlfriend had a cat and now we have
two. Cats are easier.
How long could someone leave a cat in
an apartment?
If there was enough water and food, they
would probably be fine forever. You could
never come back and they wouldn’t even
care.
Last question: have you seen the movie
Dumbass Says No?
Maybe.
Ollie up, backside 180
“I’VE SEEN SO MANY 13 YEAR OLDS
WITH GUCCI HEADBANDS
AND BOX LOGOS”
COULTHARD
138. 134 Thrasher
ROMAN PABICH
JUST MAKE BIGGER TRANNY
INTERVIEW BY RYE BERES
HEADS_PABICH
How was China?
It was fun, actually. I had a good time there.
Hardly anyone went, right?
Yeah, there weren’t that many people there.
I know Tom Schaar was hurt and Pedro and
Ronnie just don’t like China.
How was the course?
Kinda weird at first. But it was like all the other
courses. I really liked the wall that the best
trick was on.
What would make the courses better?
I feel like they got it pretty dialed in, maybe
just make bigger tranny. It’s good that there’s
not a lot of flatbottom now.
If Pedro and those guys were there do
you think you still would’ve made the
podium?
Maybe not the win but probably would’ve
been up there, for sure. They gave me a pretty
high score. CJ had a sick ass run too.
Once you got to the finals did you feel
you had it in the bag?
I was pretty surprised because in semis I did
the same run but they gave me an 87. So the
next day I did the same run and got an 88 so I
was like, shit, well.
Did you feel like crying when you won?
Definitely didn’t feel like crying. It was more
of a shock factor.
How much money do you get for those
things nowadays?
I won $20,000 and then got $250 for that
wallride kickflip in the best-trick contest.
Was there an overall winner for best
trick? ’Cause yours was crazy.
They were just giving out money like at Death
Match. I think Wooten did the gnarliest trick.
Curren did that sick kickflip pivot too.
PHOTOS:
BURNETT
140. 136 Thrasher
So you’re back from China now but you
leave tomorrow, right?
Yeah, going up to Oregon for that
Independent Rip Ride Rally contest.
Have you skated Lincoln City before?
Yeah, I went a couple years ago on a little
Welcome trip.
That place is pretty crazy and crusty.
Some parts are pretty crusty, but it’s a sick
park; lotta concrete!
The invite list for the contest is pretty
crazy, from Tony Hawk to Kevin Bækkel.
Who are you excited to see skate it?
I don’t know who’s even going. Shit, Raven
would be sick to see. I feel like everyone is
gonna be in Europe.
Have you been filming for the new
Welcome video?
I filmed a couple decent clips recently with
Richie Valdez. Most of the stuff I’ve been
getting lately is for this other part I’ve been
working on with you, my guy Rye.
Who are some of your favorite dudes—or
girl—to travel with on Welcome trips?
I fuck with Richie the TM most of the time. I
just fuck with him for fun. I like Ryan Townley.
He’s super awesome and skates really good
too.
You make an appearance on any Aaron
Goure scores?
Yeah, in Europe, actually. He’s one of my
favorites on the team.
Why aren’t you dying your hair or
painting your nails anymore. You over
the Welcome look?
Whoa, whoa, whoa—I never painted my nails.
I dyed my hair one time and it killed my hair
so I just kept dying it. I did pink, purple, black
Smith grind
141. 137
HEADS_PABICH
“I HAD SMOKED BEFORE THAT
BUT NOT BACK TO BACK TO BACK ALL DAY”
at one point.
You’ve been on a tear lately. Are there
any talks of a pro board for Welcome?
They’ve talked to me about designing a shape,
so I guess its definitely a thought out there.
When we first met you were quiet and
humble and then we went to Europe and
you become a full-blown stoner. I heard
Raney was behind that.
It was definitely Raney. We were in Australia
for Park Series. Me and Ronnie were rooming
together and Raney was staying with us too.
Raney had a big bag of kush and was rolling
up the whole time. I had smoked before that
but not back to back to back all day. The
day of the contest it was raining so we were
chilling on the patio smoking and all I was
thinking was, Holy shit, I gotta skate this contest
but I’ve never been so high in my life, just hoping
the contest gets canceled. After that Raney
left so I found some weed and started rolling
up on my own.
So what happened in Copenhagen?
We tried to get into the after party in Malmö
and couldn’t get in. Raney was outside and
asked what we were gonna do. He handed me
a big ball of hash. I didn’t even know what it
was and asked, “What is this?” He said, “It’s
hash. It’s like weed; you just smoke it.”
So how’d you guys smoke it?
Herman Moller showed me this technique
where you roll it up and squash it on a coin
and light it in a cup and it creates smoke in
the cup and you lift it up and suck up all the
smoke.
I remember showing back up to the room
to ten little children in a smoke-filled
room just dead from hash.
That night was sick.
When you and Cedric go home to
Maryland, are you guys the big
hometown heroes now?
Kinda, I guess. That’s what my parents say. It’s
so small there everyone knows each other so
it seems that way. At the skateshop we have
huge window displays.
You and Ceddy used to travel nonstop
together but now you guys are kinda
on your own. Is it weird not traveling
together anymore?
It’s definitely weird but it makes it even more
sick when we do get to travel together. We’ve
been traveling a lot more now that he’s on
Park Series.
That first year of Park Series you just
kept saying, “I wish Ceddy was here.
I don’t wanna skate with any of these
people.”
Some stops are still kinda like that. Like,
Ugghh—I gotta go skate the park with these guys.
I got that vibe in China, for sure. Heimana
Eggplant
PHOTOS:
BURNETT
143. 139
HEADS_PABICH
Reynolds was down there with his shirt off with skate tape on every
area of his body: his shoulder, wrist, knee, ankle. The only article of
clothes he had on were his board shorts and shoes.
Can’t forget about those ankle socks.
I was watching him skate, like, Oh my God, wishing Cedric or Chucky
would come in hot and fire it up. Those dudes are just boring to watch.
Over the past year you’ve been developing a lot more style,
not just in skating, but in clothes. What would be your dream
clothing sponsor?
I’m gonna say Burberry. I like their original plaid.
Can’t be looking like a golfer in the streets.
Golfers can fuck off. Why are they even wearing polos?
How’s it been traveling with Frank and the Vans crew?
Those are super fun, especially when you’re on the trips. There’s
always a good crew on them. The past couple ones I’ve been on
have been pretty heavy lineups.
Who’s your favorite to have on those trips?
Tyson is super fun. He’s like an older bother to me and Cedric.
He’s always trying to be outside and keeping it un-boring.
Tell us about this awesome body rash you have.
I went into this river and then went into a hot tub and got a pretty
crazy rash all over my body and on my dick. The doctor checked it
out and said I have “hot tub cellulitis.” It’s a bacterial infection. I got
it right before China and got all these antibiotics and thought I wasn’t
gonna be allowed in.
Why didn’t you shower that night? You’re supposed to be the
clean Pabich.
I was probably too high and fell asleep. Usually I get in the hot tub
and go to bed but this time I woke up with a rash all over my body.
My mom thought I got the measles.
What’s in store for the rest of the year?
Just trying to film and skate a lot more. I was filming a lot in the
winter and just wanna keep it going.
Ronnie’s parents are gonna let us use their RV for the summer.
Let’s get this shit going.
Yes, RV road trip, for sure.
Homies video ’bout to come in hot, son.
Homies are taking over, slowly but surely.
BURNETT
146. 142 Thrasher
like taking the train in NYC and not
really knowing where you’re gonna go.
You can’t really do that in LA. Everything
is so spread out where I’m from, but in New
York you can just hop on the train and go
wherever. It’s pretty sick. I like it. The nightlife
is sick, too. The city doesn’t sleep. The bars are
open ’til 4 am, which can make any night crazy.
And you know you can always find the bangin’
halal food truck afterwards too. I know Quim
Cardona is from Jersey, but he’s my favorite
skater who was around NY. Nollie varial flip
at the Brookyn Banks—that’s all I gotta say. I
could see moving to NYC for a summer. That’d
be sick. But fuck no I couldn’t handle the winter!
Previous spread: My board went over the edge of the roof and
almost fucking chopped somebody’s head off! It landed just feet
away from a guy walking by, staring at his phone. There were
some girls on the roof having a little party, smoking weed out of
their bong and shit. The run up was harsh. Rooftop boneless
Below: This one was crazy, man. John Gardner knew
a guy who runs a film lab/photo studio in the city.
He skated, so he bowled out both corners and had a
quarterpipe roll-in built. Frontside carve
I
147. 143
I wasn’t worried about hitting Madars on
this 50-50. I knew he could take a hit!
Teamwork makes the dream work, fool!
The heel bruise—the good ol’ heel bruise. It didn’t
take too long to get this crooked grind. You don’t
get too many tries jumping down shit like this. I
warmed up with some liquid yoga, some beer yoga
“THE BARS ARE OPEN ’TIL 4 AM,
WHICH CAN MAKE
ANY NIGHT CRAZY”
148.
149. 145
Opposite: This rail has a wild carve in. You can hit it fast AF.
I got to share the session with some BMXers. It was kinda
cool watching those fools do it. 5-0
There’s a big apartment building at this spot. The tenants were
stoked, especially watching John Gardner getting on the ledge
like he was fucking Spiderman. It’s a sick spot. 5-0 180 out.
See ya next time, New York!
“I COULD SEE MOVING TO
NYC FOR A SUMMER.
THAT’D BE SICK”
152. 148 Thrasher
ow did you become a user of
drugs and/or alcohol?
Just being a kid in Florida. Looking
for things that were different. Ways to get
attention and fit in. The people I looked up
to and my role models were into drugs and
alcohol.
When did you realize you had a problem?
When I was going to therapy because I
thought I was just crazy and finally the
therapist told me I had a problem. It was like
six months after I started seeing her I came in
with probably my third black eye from falling
down drunk. She told me I had a problem. It
was like a lightbulb going off. Like a moment
of clarity. I had been waiting for someone to
tell me that for so long but no one ever did.
How bad did it get? What was the
breaking point that made you decide it
was time to stop/get help?
I mean, for the outside world my situation
probably didn’t look that bad, but for me
it was terrible. I felt so lonely even with a
million friends around me at all times. I was
completely miserable. Just very dark and
alone with what felt like no way out at the
time.
How did you get sober?
I went to a place where everyone was
suffering from the same situation at one time
and had gotten better. I asked for help.
What are the challenges of staying
sober?
None. It’s challenging to live happy and free of
self pity at times, but not drinking and doing
drugs just happened as a result of doing the
work it takes to stop.
What are the rewards of staying sober?
Freedom and joy. The ability to change
perspective and live in reality. A real feeling
of gratitude not just saying I’m grateful.
Knowledge that most of my misery was/is of
my own making. Helping others.
What advice would you give to someone
who wants to quit?
Hit me up.
H
ELISSA STEAMER
Previous spread: Warner daze, late 90s
MCGUIRE
FLYNN
153. 149
“I HAD BEEN WAITING
FOR SOMEONE TO TELL ME
THAT FOR SO LONG”
Elissa grabs some freedom,
blasting kickflip from Gizmo
155. 151
ow did you become a user of
drugs and/or alcohol?
What started as recreational use
became excessive and self medicating, which
I believed was normal behavior at that time.
When did you realize you had a problem?
Realizing I had a problem was difficult
because there were different times in my life,
using different substances, at different levels. I
also used certain life achievements to validate
my behavior.
How bad did it get? What was the
breaking point that made you decide it
was time to stop/get help?
Feeling extreme hopelessness and hurting the
people closest to me was my bottom. Today
I don’t view my past as a problem but as
something I gained extreme personal growth
from.
How did you get sober?
I was unsuccessful getting sober on my own.
I had close friends around me who intervened
and helped get me into a treatment center
where I was introduced to the program.
What are the challenges of staying
sober?
Without the self work, I can still suffer from
the same psychological mind and behavior,
while being sober. For most addicts this is a
life-threatening disease that needs continuous
treatment.
What are the rewards of staying sober?
Being there for the people going through it.
What advice would you give to someone
who wants to quit?
Get honest with your feelings and friends.
Skateboarding brings together some of
the heaviest partiers and sober people
on the same teams, vans, trips, etc., not
pushing either of their programs or taking
inventory, but they are there for each other
in a heartbeat. We have a big recovery
community and bond. If you speak up around
here you’ll get pointed in the right direction.
Skateboarders have some of the biggest
hearts.
H
“IF YOU SPEAK UP
AROUND HERE
YOU’LL GET POINTED
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION”
GUY MARIANO
BURNETT
157. 153
ow did you become a user of
drugs and/or alcohol?
Same as most young people probably,
started smoking weed and having a few beers,
got really drunk at some parties.
When did you realize you had a problem?
Pretty early on, maybe by age 19. I knew
when I drank that shit might get out of
control; blacking out and doing things I never
would have done sober. Dr Jeckyl and Mr
Hyde!
How bad did it get? What was the
breaking point that made you decide it
was time to stop/get help?
I stopped at 24. I’d say the last three-to-four
years I started doing harder drugs, and the
drinking got worse. I was driving drunk a
lot, weed 24/7, getting in more trouble, a
few nights in jail here and there, did some
serious time (two days). It was really just all
so out of my control. I would tell myself I
was gonna have one beer with my friends
and truly believe it, then three days later I
would be suffering, wondering how did this
happen again, every time. It sucked. Some
of my really close friends had gotten sober
and I came home after a little bender and
they said, “You need help.” I knew I did. I had
been trying to stop on my own for years, I just
couldn’t do it. So I listened to them and did
what they were doing to stop.
How did you get sober?
I started taking advice and listening to people
who had some time sober, taking direction,
realizing I only needed to stay sober one day
at a time.
What are the challenges of staying
sober?
This is the best choice I’ve ever made in my
life! Any challenges that come up in life are
going to come up with or without drinking and
drugs, so I’d say the challenge is facing hard
situations sober and dealing with things in a
better way. Staying sober becomes easy after
some time.
What are the rewards of staying sober?
For me, everything, I wouldn’t have this life—
with the relationships, career, Baker, all of it. I
wouldn’t be doing this interview. I’d probably
be dead. And I’ve came across many people
who have been able to stop because they
heard I struggled with it too. That’s amazing.
What advice would you give to someone
who wants to quit?
You are never too young or old to stop. You
can not do it alone. Be honest with someone
and don’t isolate. Sometimes it seems
impossible, but it gets easier!
H
“THIS IS THE BEST CHOICE
I’VE EVER MADE
IN MY LIFE!”
ANDREW REYNOLDS
PHOTOS:
ATIBA
158. ow did you become a user of
drugs and/or alcohol?
I didn’t drink or use drugs until I was
post heart surgery at 18. In Finland that’s old
to start drinking. It all started casually.
When did you realize you had a problem?
I think I was around 25? It was the moment
where getting high took priority over
everything else and I knew I had a problem.
There was a moment where it became more
important than anything else and then I fell
deeper and deeper into it. The partying at
some point turned into coping and masking
the pain. It wasn’t really about having fun.
How bad did it get? What was the
breaking point that made you decide it
was time to stop/get help?
Ohhhh… It got bad. I was going to lose
everything—my family, my friends, my
contracts. I had screwed up all my finances. It
was all coming to an end for me. The last one
that brought me to my knees was a five-month
bender. The drugs stopped working and I was
so over being sick. The chemicals weren’t
working anymore, trying to go up or go down,
get evened out. One day we were sitting by
the bowl. I got an invite to a party and I just
said no and I think the next morning I started
calling for help. It’s kind of a blur.
How did you get sober?
Eventually I got myself to a meeting and with
the help of friends and family and AA.
ARTO SAARI
What are the challenges of staying
sober?
Every day is a challenge. This disease is real.
We call it “stinking thinking” in the program
and it’s a personality disorder. A lot of it
comes down to self love and addicts and
skateboarders alike don’t have much of that.
And it is a progressive disease. You really have
to watch it when shit goes haywire. It creeps
up on you. The thoughts get dark.
What are the rewards of staying sober?
Well, I got my family back. It took some time
and convincing, but Ella and Mimi came
home after a year of sobriety. I got back to
skating and shooting photos. I focused more
on photography than ever and people could
actually count on me again.
It sucks when people write you off, but
people also don’t know what to do with
addicts. Mimi, who had stood by my side
through some bad times, eventually married
me and we had a beautiful baby boy named
Ragnar. We moved to Hawaii to raise the kids;
somewhere filled with surfing and skating and
clean oceans. I get to drink a lot of coffee now
and I eat way more ice cream than I need
to and I found new passions and interests. It
was really hard to retain any new information
when you’re brain is cooked. I took up surfing
at the ripe age of 35 I could never have done
that if I was high or using.
What advice would you give to someone
who wants to quit?
As cliché as it sounds it starts with “one day at
a time.” Sometimes it’s one minute at a time,
one second at a time. The only power you
have is over this moment right here, right now.
The most important thing you can do is to
ask for help. Then try and surround yourself
with people that aren’t gonna hand you a beer
and a joint and get out of your normal routine
for awhile. You could call a stranger that is
sober and ask for help and they will help you.
If you have an inkling of a feeling that you
should quit, then you should quit. There are
no mistakes in getting sober. It’s different for
everyone, no perfect approach, the important
thing is just to try and give yourself that break
from whatever monkey is on your back. I’m
celebrating my seventh year sober this June.
I couldn’t have stayed alive doing what I was
doing, so this works better for me.
H
“IT ALL
STARTED CASUALLY”
Arto and Ragnar in
rock ‘n’ roll paradise
SHIRLEY
SHIRLEY
159. 155
TYSHAWN JONES - THE SOTY WHO NEVER STARTED
BY LUI ELLIOTT
hy don’t you smoke or drink?
It’s pointless. You get nothing out of it
besides a feeling. I get feelings from living
my life. I don’t need drugs or drinks to feel a certain
type of way. I’m just high on life.
Was there anything in your life that made you
want to avoid it?
I always heard it was bad. I never wanted to do it.
There was never a reason for it. I feel like I was put
on this Earth to do certain things, to make a way for
my family. All I know is that it would be a distraction
to what I’m trying to achieve. It would hold me
back, almost as if I were taking two steps
forward and five steps in reverse.
Have you ever been tempted to
experiment?
Never.
What’s it like to be around wasted people?
Does it bother you?
It don’t bother me, they can choose what they want
to do. I don’t have a say so. I don’t like it in my head
but I don’t say anything. I let people live their life the
way they want to live it.
Have you seen it change people around you
at all?
Hell yeah. I’ve seen people start drinking and
completely fall off compared to when they weren’t.
This isn’t just drinking or smoking, it’s whatever, drugs
period. They get on that and they start fucking up.
What advice would you give to younger skaters
feeling pressure to drink and/or smoke?
Be yourself. Don’t let nobody pressure you. At the
end of the day, you die alone. Why are you trying to
impress somebody else?
W
Always impressive, even when he’s
not trying. TJ is on his own path
ATIBA
160. 156 Thrasher
ow did you become a user of
drugs and/or alcohol?
I started drinking when I was 17 or
18. I remember feeling like I was such a late
bloomer with that stuff. I started drinking
some beers in Europe on a skate trip. Real
mellow at first. But once I realized that
drinking seemed to alleviate the social anxiety
that I always had, I fucking floored it.
When did you realize you had a problem?
At a certain point I realized that I preferred
to be (at least a little bit) fucked up to do
anything. So I was kind of drinking all of
the time. That seemed like a red flag. But I
surrounded myself with people doing the
same stuff, so it was kind of sustainable. It
wasn’t until a few of my best friends sat me
down and expressed to me their genuine
concern about the direction my life was going
that I fully realized how bad it had become.
How bad did it get? What was the
breaking point that made you decide it
was time to stop/get help?
I was blacking out all the time. Months
would fly by in a haze. I got set on fire. My
skateboarding career was really fizzling out,
but I didn’t care to fight for it because I felt
like shit, physically. I couldn’t recover from
injuries. I thought I was having fun, but it was
pretty much the same day over and over. It’s
a difficult sentiment to convey, but basically I
felt like I had stopped progressing as a person.
That was probably the worst part. Wasting
time. After my friends sat me down for that
informal intervention I saw shit differently and
I knew deep down that the party was over.
How did you get sober?
I started by just trying to be clean for a little
bit. But quickly and luckily I felt like it was the
right thing for me. I connected with friends
who had been through the same thing. I
skated a lot. I got obsessed with feeling good
physically. I ended some toxic relationships.
I went to therapy to address some of the
shit I couldn’t figure out by myself. Most
importantly, I was just honest with myself.
What are the challenges of staying
sober?
In the beginning I felt emotionally raw. You
lose some of that artificial armor. You gotta
deal with everything life has to offer. Build real
armor. Also, I was very afraid of becoming
boring. But I guess becoming an old,
uninspired alcoholic is really boring.
H
KEVIN “SPANKY” LONG
PHOTOS:
ATIBA
161. 157
“I THOUGHT I WAS HAVING FUN,
BUT IT WAS PRET TY MUCH
THE SAME DAY OVER AND OVER”
What are the rewards of staying sober?
Time. Life is fucking short and I no longer feel
like I’m squandering my precious time here. I
get to enjoy the good shit in life fully, instead
of through the self-medicated haze I was in.
Also skateboarding is more fun than it’s ever
been. Nothing beats that.
What advice would you give to someone
who wants to quit?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. People
everywhere are struggling or have struggled.
Skate a lot or do something physical. It takes
a lot of time and energy to be a pile, so you’re
left with a lot. Use it wisely.
Burn or get burnt. Spanky’s
comeback has been epic to watch
162. 158 Thrasher
ow did you become a user of
drugs and/or alcohol?
The first memory I have of drugs and
alcohol is from my early youth, around third
or fourth grade when I saw some older kids
drinking and smoking weed. I devised a plan
with my friend to steal a bottle of vodka from
his parents and another kid had stolen some
weed from his parents. We all met up and got
wasted. I was on a mission to continue the
party from there on out for a long time.
I think that partying has always been glorified
in movies and media, so that had an impact.
I was especially influenced by older “cool”
kids too.
When did you realize you had a problem?
That was a tricky thing for me to figure out,
as I somehow always seemed to keep going
while I was partying. Although I have heavily
experimented with all types of drugs in my
lifetime, I was fortunate enough to mainly
only drink alcohol and smoke weed, so for
many years I always thought I had them in
control. I would take breaks here and there,
but eventually I would always find myself
back in hardcore party mode. As I got older
the effects of partying started to weigh me
down. I couldn’t skate like I once did and the
hangovers became worse and worse. I started
to find myself at a crossroads in life and was
uncertain what my future held, so I turned to
drinking to try and forget some of the reality I
was faced with. This only made things worse
though and eventually I drank myself into the
darkest state of being I was ever in. I became
something I knew I wasn’t and felt like I was
in so deep that there was no turning back,
so I decided I would try and just party until I
died. One night in particular I really went for
it and completely blacked out. I woke up the
next day with the worst hangover and realized
I was still alive. That’s the day where I started
to think I really needed to stop.
How bad did it get? What was the
breaking point that made you decide it
was time to stop/get help?
My partying definitely had a snowball effect, it
just slowly but surely became out of control.
Like I said, I had a night where I basically
tried to kill myself without putting a gun to
my head. I just tried to consume an inhuman
amount of alcohol and drugs to do the job,
but somehow I survived and started to think
it was for a reason, but continued to still party
for a few more months. During that time I
hurt my back while drinking, made a fool of
myself on several occasions and got arrested.
Blacking out became a common activity. I
woke up the day after getting arrested and
was in jail still. I didn’t even remember getting
arrested. I didn’t even know I was in jail when
I first woke up. At that moment I told myself
that the party was over, for good.
How did you get sober?
I just quit right then and right there, cold
turkey as they say. I was done. I just thought
to myself, If I died that night would people
remember me as this old pro skater who just
became a drunk and killed himself, and not
remember all the positive things that I was proud
of myself for? I didn’t want to be remembered
as something that I knew I wasn’t. I wanted to
use this mind and body from here on out and
not abuse them any longer than I already had.
As for most things in my life, if I wanted this
done right, I had to make the decision to do it
myself.
What are the challenges of staying
sober?
The only challenges of staying sober for me
came at first, the first few months, it was the
challenge of breaking a routine that I had
been on for most of my life. I had to separate
myself from a social circle where partying all
night long was normal. I had to stop and really
look at myself as the person I truly was and
not the party animal that I had become along
H
CHAD MUSKA
STRAND
163. 159
the way, becoming at one with myself away
from the skateboarding spotlight, without a
cool group of people to surround myself with,
I had to take a deep look within, which can be
a very difficult thing to do. After I broke free
though, nothing feels challenging—everything
feels possible. When I see people drinking, I
just think of how much of an idiot I become
when I drink and how bad the hangover is.
Those two thoughts alone give me continued
strength.
What are the rewards of staying sober?
I could go on and on about this! Some of
the main things are just the feeling of clarity
I live with now. It’s far more of a high than
drugs or alcohol could every compare with;
the feeling of being in control at all times and
not dependent upon an unnecessary factor in
my life. I feel so much more healthy and have
become more conscious of what food I eat,
the energy I surround myself with and the
energy I put out into this world. I feel that I
have tapped into my mind in a way that I had
never done before while partying. I can accept
full responsibility in my life and my actions. I
have no nights that I am embarrassed about
and no behavior that I do not remember. I am
alive and grateful for every second of it!
What advice would you give to someone
who wants to quit?
I think that addiction is very different for
every single person. Not everyone’s able to
just quit without serious help from friends,
family, therapy, AA and many other techniques
that exist. The first and most important part
of the journey really does start with you,
though. You have to make the decision that
you really want it and are willing to make
the changes you need to make in order to
be successful. I think that even if you are
getting help from others, if you do not make
the decision yourself, then you will be weak
when your support system is not around. If
you really want to be sober, then you will be
sober, you just can’t take the easy route. You
must remember that more than likely you
have spent many years conditioning your
body to the drugs and alcohol. You have
become dependent on them. It will not be
easy, but you can do it. I believe in you! I am
no therapist or doctor, so I wouldn’t use the
words as professional advice, but hopefully
they can help inspire others to get clean
too. Don’t be afraid to ask for help; don’t be
afraid to take that first step. I can say from
experience that it will be the best step of your
new life!
“IT WILL NOT BE EASY,
BUT YOU CAN DO IT.
I BELIEVE IN YOU!”
Blunt slide in living color,
a lifetime away from the
Muskalade days
STRAND
