1.) Walk us through your current setup, as well as the one you were skating in the 80s.
I am riding a 7 by 30", basically a small street board . Back in the 80's it was only 26 1/2" flat nose and no concave. I keep my trucks the tightest they go, I put in extra hard bushings and a thicker nut on the top so I can crank them down even tighter and not strip the bolt. Bones wheels and the hardest durameter they have and tighten up my wheels so they don't make noise when sliding.
2.) What are the pros and cons between your classic Powell Peralta singlekick model and your current popsicle shape?
The board I am riding now is pretty close to what most of us wanted in the 80's but since freestyle was such a small part of the market and the board manufacturers were making a lot bigger boards for the time ( 10 inches wide ). The molds for freestyle boards were to costly to make. It did not justify for the amount of freestyle boards sold. When freestyle basically died in the early 90's ( no more big contests ) and street boards were the main boards sold and the sizing was so close to what I originally wanted then I switched over and found it better then my 80's size .
3.) Describe your mindset during the record setting double skateboard 360 spin. Could you have gone longer or did you stop due to boredom?
My personal record before that day was about 280, but on that day to be ask to try and break a record with thousands of people behind me at the event was what made me keep going. When I broke the record then got close to 300 spins the announcer ( Monty Little ) asked the crowd how many would you like to see this guy do , the crowd starting chanting 1000 ... 1000 ....1000. What was going through my head was that was impossible??? But the crowd and Monty kept me going , super exhausting to go that long but the music cranked and the push from everyone there I broke the 1000 mark ... 1032 total .
4.) I've always been curious about a skater's body frame Vs the board size he/she chooses to skate. Your Powell Peralta 'Mountie' deck seems small (7" x 26.6") compared to your frame. What were you considering when designing this shape?
I wanted it to be between Rodney's original shape and Per's shape which came out a couple of years after Rodney 's . Most freestyle boards for the time were that shape
5.) Your one-footed 360s are legendary. How often did you practice this trick before you finally had it locked down? Did you sustain any nagging injuries due to this trick? One sore ankle? bad back?
Never had any injuries or sore Ankles or back. It has always been one of my favorite tricks to do, I learned how to spin every way possible but I was always doing more one one foot tail so any 360's contest I entered that was the way I would spin. I would practice that trick in a small single car garage at my mom and dads which helped because I had to learn it to try and stay in one spot.
