1.) As always, lets start off with an introduction. How you got started and give us a brief history of day one up til today.
I started skating when I was 10 because some of the other kids at school were into it and I just thought it was awesome. I fell in love with it pretty quickly and all I wanted to do was skate. One of my favorite parts of skating has always been the feeling of discovery. Every time you learn something new or see something new, it’s like uncovering a secret. When I discovered freestyle a few years into skating, it was like the pinnacle of that feeling. When I was in high school there was a website called the F-Forum that was like a hub for the freestyle community. It was there that I discovered skaters like Tony Gale, Terry Synnot, Tommy Harward, Witter Cheng, the Fujii brothers and a few others. Every day I was seeing tricks and ideas and styles that I had never seen before. My first freestyle contest was NASS in Birmingham, England back in 2005 and I’ve loved being a part of the freestyle community since then.
2.) You've lived in Thailand for awhile now. Tell us how this has affected your skating and what’s the scene in Thailand like?
The best part about skating in Thailand is definitely the community. Phrae, the city where I lived, is home to a young but really thriving skate and BMX scene. It reminds me a bit of what skating was like in the early 2000s in the USA. It’s all about having fun and progressing together, not too serious, and not as mired in trends as it is in the states now. Also, the weather is fine for skating almost all year. Skating at night is better because it’s way too hot during the day. I think being able to skate every day and have fun with my friends improved my skating a lot. Shoutout to Pi Toto, Oh, Best, Pan, and everyone else skating in Phrae.
3.) Both your models on Decomposed are roughly 8" wide. Curious.…..why 8" and have you always skated wider freestyle decks. Also, the last model has a very interesting shape. Tell us more about it and how you came up with this shape. While we're on the conversation of your deck, educate us on the story behind the graphics.
There was a time when I was actually riding for Bustin which is a longboard company, so the smallest board they had was an 8.65. I rode that for years and my skating and style adapted to it. I came to really love the stability and feeling that a bigger board offers. To me, riding a bigger board might take a bit to get used to but it’s definitely worth the effort because landing tricks well feels much smoother and more satisfying. Cruising down the street or doing a shuvit on a 8” board feels way better than doing a 540 shuvit on a tiny board. Also, it opened up my trick selection to things that I couldn’t do on smaller boards. Everyone has a different preference, but I’m glad my board gives people who are more comfortable on a bigger board another option in the freestyle market. The newer shape is super experimental and it’s designed specifically for certain sets of tricks. I wanted a shape that worked well for rolling tricks, rail tricks, old school kickflips, and truck tricks. The size, proportion, and cutouts are designed for rolling, rail and kickflip tricks, and the kicks are designed for flip tricks and truck tricks. The graphic might be my favorite part. I’ve always wanted a graphic with a tree, and always wanted something to celebrate Thailand. The inspiration for the graphic comes from a Jataka tale, which tells the story of one of the Buddha’s previous lives. The tree is called The Nariphon and it grows fruit in the shape of young women to distract demons. It’s an ancient story but even today stories will pop up claiming that Nariphon fruit has been found. The background is Lai Thai or traditional Thai pattern. It’s iconic Thai and you can find it in the art at basically any Thai temple.
4.) You have a way of making hard tricks look effortless. Everything flows nicely and even your tricks are linked beautifully. Is this due to hours of hard work or are you gifted with this flow? Give us a run down of how tricks are made up in Jesse's head.
Thanks!!! I do put extra effort into style and flow, mostly because when I learn a trick and get it down I need to make sure it feels right. Originality and style have always been important to me, and I try to always come up with something new, especially in my video parts. I’ve always looked up to guys like Stefan Albert and Cristobal Bahamonde because when they skate it just looks like it feels so good. At the same time, I get really excited when I see something new. I love seeing tricks that surprise me. As far as coming up with tricks, I always have a million ideas in my head but most of the best ideas come from something happening accidentally or just noticing combos or patterns that seem to happen on their own. Some of my favorite skaters now are John Sawyer, Yuta Fujii, Cristobal, and Stefan Albert.
5.) There is a rumor out there that you have Achilles tendonitis. Please elaborate. What happened and have you sustained other injuries in the past?
I’ve had problems with my heels and ankles for a year or two now. At first I would just skate through it, stretch, and ice but it got to a point that I couldn’t really even go for a walk anymore. After some trips to the podiatrist and PT I found out it was achilles tendonitis and basically caused by overuse and strain on my achilles tendon. It’s frustrating because I can still skate a bit but my feet burn out before I get to the level where I can really progress, and I can only push mongo! For now, I’m taking it easy and with PT I’m hoping to get back to 100% within the next few months and finish up the video part that I started. I want to show people the ideas that I’ve been working on and what my new shape is capable of.
