1.) Let's start off with the generic question of how and when did you start skateboarding?
I first started skateboarding when I was nine years old, in 2000. Skateboarding is something that I’ve been fascinated with for as long as I can remember, probably since I was three or four years old. So once I got into it, so did the other kids in my cul-de-sac, and we all kind of pushed each other to keep progressing. Eventually, when I had been doing it for a year or so, I became the best skater out of my friends and I think that kind of encouraged me to stick with it because I had never been good at anything else in my life. Might I add, I was an uncontrollably hyper kid, so skating became a positive outlet for me to get some of that out of my system.
2.) If I'm not wrong, you started street skating first. How was the experience, transitioning to freestyle? I see that you are still heavily influenced by rolling tricks. Is this why you have chosen to skate on a popsicle shape? Have you ever skated a freestyle shape at any point of your life?
Yeah, I did start with street skating (I had been skating street for five or six years before I picked up freestyle) and I still skate street regularly. I first became interested in freestyle because I was young and bored and wanted to try something new with my skating. My parents both worked full-time, so trips to the skatepark or skate spots were seldom. The availability of old freestyle videos on YouTube really solidified it for me because I could watch some old clip of Pierre Andre or Mullen and then go emulate what they were doing in my garage. Once I started picking up some of the basics I couldn’t stop doing it.
Rolling tricks are my go-to these days because I did so many stationary freestyle tricks the first four or five years I was freestyling. I don’t think most modern freestylers remember or know that I used to do really elaborate stationary tricks. I’m at a point now where I get really bored with stationary tricks if they take more than a few seconds to do. It feels wrong to stand stand still for too long on top of an object that has four wheels that allow you to roll. In my opinion, rolling is the essence of skateboarding.
I skated several freestyle shapes the first five years I freestyled (probably 30 or 40 freestyle boards total). Jeremy Elder even had a shape named after me that you could order as a custom cut on Small School - it was called the “Con” - it was a 7.25 single kick board with concave, just like the Outlook Tommy Harward shape but a bit longer. Around 2011 is when I stuck to skating popsicle shapes. Part of the reason why I stuck with popsicles is because I still skated street and I hated having to constantly adjust back and forth between freestyle shapes and a traditional street shape. I’m getting to a point now where I want to experiment with shapes again though - just minor experiments, no drastic changes.
3.) You have an amazing ability to snap from trick to trick with ease. Just when we think a trick is done, you spin, pivot or flip out of it a few more times. What led to the development of this style.
Thanks! One of my favorite things to do is smash tricks together. Freestylers have always done “transitional” tricks - usually footwork that’ll lead them from one trick to another. My idea was to do that not with stationary tricks but more-so with rolling flip tricks, reverts, no complies, and shove its. There is a lot of potential with these variations. A simple trick can take on a whole new context or meaning whenever it is done quickly with a few other tricks. This style is about the pace and sequence of tricks, not about any singular trick - I’ve heard people refer to this as “bounce skateboarding”.
4.) A skater's pro model usually reflects his/her personality. I have failed to come up with a story for your 'airplane' graphic on MODE. Please pull the curtains back on this one and tell us the story.
The glider is symbolic of my love for the feeling of flight and the freedom that rolling on your skateboard can give you. Since I like to roll a lot compared other freestylers, it seemed fitting for me.
5.) You had a flawless run during the 'Cloverdale' contest in canada. Tell us about this experience. Did you practice this exact run or was it improvised? Unrelated, but has anyone ever told you that you look like the legendary Jason Lee?
Yeah, I practiced the run over and over again and I had three different variations of it for every day that I was there - they were all planned. Practicing for a contest is a bit like studying for a test for me. And yes! I’ve been told that before! I could totally see that. I’ve also been told that I look like a young Stephen Colbert (who looks nothing like Jason Lee, haha).
