1) Chuck, lets start off with an introduction for the new generation. How/when did you start skateboarding?
Please tell us more about yourself so we know the legend.
I grew up in San Diego, CA and first started skateboarding at the age of 12. I remember my first board. It was a Black Night, wood deck with clay wheels. A true dinosaur compared to today’s standards. About a year later, I graduated to a Bahne fiberglass board with Chicago trucks and cadillac urethane wheels. It was the perfect board fordoing freestyle. Once I had worn that board out, I had saved enough money to buy a 26 inch Gordon and Smith Fiberflex, which at the time was a top of the line, dream board for me. I skated on that board for the next couple of years, tuning my craft and getting to be a “decent” skateboarder. During this time, I got to know Ed Nadalin, a freestyle icon pretty well. He was then sponsored by Team Kryptonics. I was elated when he had asked me to ride for them. Kryptonics was my first very first sponsor. I was also neighbors and best friends with the most well known female skater in the industry, Ellen Oneal. We skated together daily, and taught each other various freestyle tricks. She soon thereafter got picked up by the Gordon and Smith team and was doing demos at different places around town. It wasn’t long until she invited me to start doing these demos with her and the G&S team. Long story short, I was finally invited to join the G&S skateboard team. I was 15 years old at this time, enjoying doing demos all over the San Diego area and skating with future legends. Something I will always be thankful for.
2.) You have one of the more obscure freestyle decks out there. Obscure because alot of us dont know the story behind it. Please tell us how the G&S model came to be and the story behind the shape. Also, what other equipment were you using with this setup?
Well, after a year or so break from skateboarding after my high school years, I began to skate pretty hard and consistently. I felt I was ready to enter the contest scene. By now, I was competing against some of the greatest freestylers the sport had ever seen. Skaters like Per Welinder, Kevin Harris, and of course the true legend of skating, the great Rodney Mullen. After seeing what they were all skating on, I came up with a design similar to theirs. I had approached G&S about making a freestyle model in 1982. They graciously agreed and made a board that I had designed and had drawn up the artwork for. I actually had two different pro models. The second model, which is the reissue you see today, was by far the better board. I had changed the shape a bit from the first model, making the rails a bit more straight, with much less of a curve to them. This made doing rail tricks much easier. I used Tracker trucks and of course, YOYO wheels. My model was the first freestyle board made by G&S.
3.) What was freestyle like in the 70s and early 80s compared to today? Give us a history lesson and some fun facts if you have the time.
Skateboarding has changed 180 degrees from the time I did it to what these guys are doing today. I feel like all the tricks we were doing, have set the tone for the skaters today. Take for example, the basic kick flip. I learned to do that trick by standing with both feet side by side standing in the middle of the board. One foot would hang slightly over the side of board, flipping the board over and landing back on it. Today, it is done totally differently, using a very different technique. This is just one of many tricks that were done in a completely different way back then compared to today. Although the tricks are done differently, I still feel pretty stoked that I was one of the original pioneers that got skateboarding to where it is today. I was lucky enough to skate with and learn from some of the best skateboarding pioneers at that time. Skaters like, Steve Cathey, Dennis Martinez, Doug “Pineapple” Saladino, Ellen Oneal, Mark Schmid, Masami Countryman, Bobby Garcia, Ed Nadalin, and Billy Ruff. Just to name a few. All legends.
4.) How do you past time these days and are you still active in the skateboarding scene?
Now that I’m fortunate enough to be retired, I pass my time by working out at the gym every day, playing racketball, working on my classic cars, and having a positive attitude. I am still very active in the skateboarding scene. I attend all the Skateboarding Hall of Fame ceremonies along with various other skateboarding events: reunions, movie premiers, and different events put on throughout San Diego area.
5.) Last but not least, the mic is all yours? Words of advice?
Life is short. Enjoy each day. Stay positive. Be kind to others. And do what makes you happy. I know this sounds very cliche, but it is how I feel
