1.) The man who needs no introduction but lets hear about your history on how you started skateboarding and why 'freestyle'.
I started skateboarding in late 80s early 90s when I was about 10 yrs old. When I started it was primarily street skateboarding with a bit of trench and ramp skating mixed in there. Where I am from in PA has a great history for different forms of skateboarding and being from a more rural part allowed me the freedom to experiment and create my own adventure so to speak as the main influence was my interpretation of the trick tips in the magazines and the older guys I skated with constantly telling me to find my own way of skating. Skate it like you know it was something a local pro Barker Barrett told me while skating at Cheapskates. Other guys like Jay Sigafoos were early supporters of my skating and Jeff McDermont were also influences on this philosophy with Jeff actually being the first person I ever seen do freestyle in person but he did it all on ramps. 360 spins, old school kickflips and kickbacks etc. I liked the way tricks flowed together and created lines similar to a dance, song or story through movement. To get to a proficient level takes a lot of time, dedication, problem solving and a goal in mind. These days I look at my skating as more of a meditation that gets me back in tune with my mind and body that nurtures my spirit so that I have the energy to give more.
2.) To say you've helped with the growth of freestyle is an understatement. You seem to be a machine with setting up events and promotions. Why have you chosen this path as opposed to sitting on the couch tackling Tony Hawk's Pro Skater?
I ask myself this question as well why Freestyle and all I can come up with was it just felt right at the time. Street skating was becoming mundane in many ways and we kept seeing the same 10 guys in all the magazines, something needed to change and when I came across Freestyle and the new energy that was behind it and how it looked so different than everything else and the response we would get by just doing a few tricks in a crowd I saw the potential. Was it going to work? None of us knew but it was exciting and different so we had to try and to see how far we could push it. Felt like we doing our own thing on our own terms and that was very satisfying and empowering. We became our own tribe so to speak in skateboarding, I can only speculate it felt like what the forefathers of skating must have felt when they embarked on their path.
Its funny you mention Tony Hawk pro Skater as one of the promotions I was on Activision actually hired us to promote that game. We set up stations at the events for kids to play when they were done skating or to get them stoked before they skated.
In 2000 Dr. Bill Robertson ran the first modern Freestyle skateboarding event and that was really pivotal for me to see as I saw that it was possible. So in 2001 I was working for the United Skateboard Association (Beast of the East) as the MC and proposed that we run a Freestyle event at the end of year Championships. T Eric Monroe who ran this organization was a Amateur Freestyler in the 80's -early 90s and was down but wanted to see a proof first so I set up a Freestyle event at another group I was working for The CHIT Challenge and added it as an event to the park / ramp competitions we were running.
Tim Byrne, Terry, Synnott, Tommy Harward, Frank Lee, Jon Jaje, Mike Foster, Kevin Harris, Lynn Cooper, Joe Humeres and several others all came out and participated in the first East Coast event in about a decade and it was well received! Word got back to T Eric and he was all about it and we got the green light to have it as part of the North American Championships we ran for Beast of the East we called Stampede. At that event Lillis came over from Sweden, Lynn Cooper, Tim Byrne, Frank Lee, Terry Synnott, JJ O'Donnell, Tommy Harward, John Leathers all came out, Mike Foster was the head Judge, Keith Renna was there and several others as well. What was interesting is that all of the Street skaters who participated all came to watch the Freestyle event and by the next year the influence was clear in many of the skaters' street/park runs you would see "freestyle" influence in their approach to skating. ie: ollie up a box to 1 wheel manual, or more creative combination tricks
3.) You seem to have a relaxed fun-style approach to your skating with smooth flowing footwork. Tell us about your skate background. What kind of tricks do you lean towards? Also, how much do you skate these days compared to the early 2000s and has any injuries set you back?
I started skating street and then park skating when I was a younger and was exposed to Freestyle later on. I competed in amateur Street / park and mini ramp competitions locally then nationally with Beast of the East and Tampa Am contests in the 90's to early 00's. My best placing at a major amateur contest was Beast of the East 00 when I placed 5th in the nation where I showed my form of hybrid freestyle street /ramp tricks as well as did a bit of flatland in my runs. I always loved footwork, gliding tricks, g-turns and coming up with combinations on obstacles that came from flatland freestyle and mixing them to try to make something new. Influences such as Joe Humeres, Fuji Brothers, Lynn Cooper, Terry Synnott and JJ O'Donnell definitely made an initial impact but I am inspired by everyone I skate with, so many angles and possibilities it is very stimulating to think what is possible.
As for how much I skate now as opposed to those days is a considerable difference as I was in school and had more time and less responsibilities. Up until the pandemic I was skating fairly regularly as it was apart of my employment as a Edutainment performer teaching Physics/Math as well as Health and Wellness mind, body and spirit through skateboarding.
The pandemic changed a lot of things for me but I been working towards getting back to what I love and what keeps calling me back to it and that is doing initiatives as well as the act of skateboarding.
Regarding your question of injuries I have had my share for sure and when performing I was "hurt" all the time but when you skate at that frequency you will always have something going on but your body compensates and reworks itself to do what you want if you let it, just got to listen to your body to figure out what is possible and not, and adapt with that knowledge to keep rolling. The pandemic stop I realized I wasn't sleeping as much, I had some nagging injuries I needed to rest and heal fully and that I was running primarily on adrenalin which was wearing me out more than I realized until I stopped, so the last 2 years has been a rebuilding and reconfiguring process.
4.) I've always been interested in the reason behind a freestyler's choice between a freestyle and popsicle deck. Break down your setup for us.
I have always ridden a popsicle shape for freestyle as I wanted a board that could be an all-around board as I didn't want to carry a quiver of boards around, just wanted to be able to throw it down and be able to skate anything in front of me.
A popsicle shape is essentially a freestyle board on steroids and with my size and weight it made the most sense as I am taller and heavier than the average skateboarder.
Sizes and set ups have changed over the years from 7.75 up to 8.5 but I always go bigger in the winter and smaller in the summer. some of that has to do with preventing breakage in colder months as well as to get my legs strong in the "off season" and my flip tricks and footwork faster in the "on season". My trucks are always slightly smaller than my deck to help lock into rail-to-rail tricks and I use a slight riser to aid in the rail stability. I prefer and offset wheel or a conical shaped wheel being around 34-36mm wide. Indoor show wheel is usually a 95a-97a and an outdoor wheel is 97a to 100a and wheel size between 52mm - 56mm, optimal for me is 54mm.
When I was doing shows full time, I would get use to a certain set up and I would have backups of that set up alternating between the equipment for the main show and the other board for double board tricks so that when I had to set up a new one it wouldn't be as foreign to me to pick up and go. In the Skateboard Science and our Health and Wellness shows I would skate Freestyle, Street and Ramp to help illustrate various points of the educational messages as well as to add to the variety and excitement of the shows as I would jump over Teachers at the end of each show so I needed my board to feel comfortable in any situation as we only had so much room in our touring vehicle and time to perform the shows.
5.) What are some of your most favorable experiences as a promotor and what are you most proud of?
I started to organize events in 1997 as I was an up in coming amateur street / park skater who like many of my peers had problems finding viable events to participate in, so I decided with the aid of the skate shop I rode for and the local indoor skate park to start running events. It really came out of necessity but the fun we all had as well as the comradery that was formed in those early days kept the stoke going for all these years as well as to see how far we could take it. I was fortunate to have two really good mentors in skateboarding promotions when I first started, the first was Danny Odonnell from West End Skate Park he gave me my first platform to run an official contest and the people who went to his parks just happened to be some of the top up in coming amateur talent on the East Coast. To give you an example Bam Margera, Mike Maldonado and Kerry Getz were our judges and Mark Brandstetter who would film for 411 and was the Bootleg/Axion Team manager was our initial MC of events, and we would park the parks they had with the top talent on the east coast having up to 150 skaters at our contests at our peak. Danny however was old school and I seen him throw more than a pro or top am out on their rear-end if they got out of line but had a heart of gold and had your back for skateboarding and those who were true to it.
The second mentor I had and the most influential in regards to running a tight ship, keeping it professional, brand extensions and growing potential was T Eric Monroe for the United Skateboard Association and the Beast of the East and GROM contest Series. T Eric was an innovator of events as we were the first group to combine other groups top riders to an end of year Championships (before Boardr Am or Damn Am), first ones to do a GROM Series (13 and under), to do major promotions for groups like Panasonic, Got Milk, Tony Hawk shows, Activision, Kellogs, Echo Unltd., Sum 41 etc. as he not only was from the skate world but he was one of the head Hip Hop photographers at Source Magazine in NY so he understood cross promotions, guerilla marketing and grassroots promotions, making it work on a tight budget, timelines but professional that the majors wanted to work with and back what we were doing.
I just actually got done doing the Flat Attack with one of the former partners in our nationwide amateur skate circuit Michael Judah Miller who ran Best of the West (CASL) events who with Sonya Catalano and the Bostik's ran the West Coast while we ran our territories for Beast of the East. It was like working with T Eric again as they are the same type of mind /grind set we are and it was a well-run, professional and effective promotion on a tight budget that benefited the community.
Some of the best talent ever to come out of the East Coast and Mid-West skated in our events when they were coming up. Some notables Chaz Ortiz (1st GROM contest series Champion), Chris Cole (1st Beast of the East Champion) it is staggering how many top Ams and Pros were developed through that series which only lasted 5-6 years but the impact on modern skateboarding was huge, just those two names mentioned gives you an idea of the caliber of talent we helped cultivate, all in total probably close to 40-50 professionals came out of our circuit and a lot more top amatuers.
Our first Freestyle event Tim Byrne as a Pro and Tommy Harward as an Am and by the next event Tommy stepped up to Pro. I knew all the "legends" of the modern movement in Freestyle when they were all amateurs and with the newer established guys and the ones now coming up now since they started, its surreal to be a part of that history and it was all from running a contest that we weren't sure was going to work and the dedication of those who participated /sponsored in the beginning and since then to make it work!
