很少有人能在一个领域坚持20年之久，而Andrew Reynolds就是其中一个伟大的例子。很多职业滑手会慢慢向摄影，艺术或是滑板产业转型，而他这几十年来依旧坚持在滑板的最前沿，不愧老板的称呼
There are very few individuals that have been at the top of their craft for over 20 years in any subculture. As we know, it’s hard to gain momentum, and even harder to keep it. Andrew Reynolds is one of those extraordinary people, pushing a relentless career for several eras of skateboarding. He is as much of “the Boss” now as he was during the 90s. Unlike other legends who slowly transition into photography, art or industry jobs, Reynolds has maintained his position by progressing his skateboarding well into his 30s, staying on top of his empire day by day, trick by trick. For English scroll down.
Q：你是百万富翁吗？
A：这...如果你有一百万，那么你算百万富翁吗？
Q：没错，我觉得是的。
A：这样便差不多，我差不多有一百万了，如果有些事没有发生，我没有做那么多与众不同的决策的话，我可能有的是现在的三四倍还要多。我当初要是知道这些就好了。就好比我要是不那么做，现在就会开着Lexus SUV，还有辆奔驰有辆宝马，我的前妻也有辆宝马，还在山里有个房子等等。很多东西关系到钱的是无法带走的，也许我可以一直这么无忧无虑地开着这辆福特Victoria，慢慢你就懂了
Q：之前你决定精简你的生活，你卖掉了很多东西，搬到了一个很小的房子里，这是为什么？
A：我有个5个房间的房子，只是我和一个孩子住在一起，这有点太大了。我只是想有个房子住，一个正常点儿的。我损失了很多钱，以前我有很多凯迪拉克，因为我喜欢匪帮电影，它们对我影响很大，不过有些事情发生了，我就不再想要它们了。我现在需要的就是辆可以开的小破车，我才不在乎别的，房子，车子我都不在乎，只要有食物，有家庭，有朋友，有栖身之地，别的事情都不是我要关心的了。
Q：你酗酒已经好几十年了，你是怎么染上酒精和毒品的
A：我在一个小镇里长大，那里的人都这么干，他们会开Party。很多人无所事事。我十六七岁时，我朋友当时都比我大，我被他们带入其中，那时我才16岁。我一喝酒就要喝道吐，喝道眼前发黑。那时年轻，对酒精了解也不太多。我吐了，晕过去了，第二天醒来才发现，哇，昨晚我们在开Party！那时我也开始抽大麻，边开车边抽。身边每个人都这么做，到今天也是这样，听90年代的Outkast，抽着大麻，可能是南方的一种文化吧。我记得有次看到Elissa，我们把大麻从车里递给了她。
18岁时我来到加州，Tom Penny，Chad Muska他们都在这里，我非常佩服他们，那里的文化氛围也很宽松，我们抽大麻，喝酒，滑板，这些都是常事。Dustin Dollin从小就开始吸毒，一天晚上他带给我一些可卡因放在桌上，我试了试，我当时竟然没觉得这是坏事，我觉得这东西会跟大麻一样。
之后又过了几个月，有人拿了一些我又吸了，那时我才19岁。我已经开始吸可卡因了。后来和不同的人出去玩，他们吸的毒品更多，我开始在大麻里放可卡因一起抽，那感觉就是飞。那时我就在不断尝试，每次醒了都会后悔，但是喝了几瓶酒，抽点儿大麻，朋友们又Party起来，我就没有了原则。那时我已经上瘾了。并不是每个人都那样，不过如果你上瘾了，这些就是常事了。
Q：这些东西对你滑板有帮助吗？
A：怎么可能！绝对没有，我很负责任地告诉你，抽大麻，酗酒或者吸其他毒品一点儿都没用，屁都没有。我很肯定。有的人说“要是我飞大了，肯定滑得更好”“我喝多了就敢做这招了”...这些都是放屁。保持清醒的头脑，专注于你所做的事，才能将事情做好。
Q：你朋友也是旗下滑手Antwuan Dixon刚刚出狱，你有什么关于他的新消息吗？
A：我并不想在这里谈他的事情，那是他自己选的路，我也不知道他要干什么。
Q：现在很多品牌都在裁员，你最近也把Spanky和Braydon裁掉了，你觉得未来队伍成员会不会更少，会不会只有3-4名滑手代表整个品牌？
A：这个真的不知道，看上去是这样，不过我滑板是因为喜欢滑板队伍。这就是我滑板追求的，我们是一个大家庭。我还是个孩子时候，看Plan B的视频，还有20张的连拍，非常激动“这个队伍实在太帅了！”他们一起出去滑板，一起滑同样的地形，一起找乐子。我个人很喜欢这种氛围，Baker的理念也是这样。我希望每个人都能一直成为Pro，不过事实总是不能这样，我对这个问题的决定还是明智的，世事轮回，这就是滑板的一个特性。
Q：我们几年前对Jay Strickland（Baker前任创意总监）做过采访，他还是对最后事情收场不太愉快，你们现在关系怎样？
A：我几年前在纽约见过他。我觉得他还没有从离开Baker之中走出来，这是个人性格问题吧，他就是这样的人，如果有人把他在咖啡馆给甩了，那么他永远都不会去那个咖啡店的。这事情应该是15年前的，我们在纽约谈了很久，我很淡定，看得很轻松。
Q：Jamie Thomas在视频里做招总是非常有新意，你曾经贿赂过你的队员做特定的招吗？
A：从来没有，我就让他们做想做的。不过我们在一起滑板，作为朋友我们会下赌注“这个招我赌20美元”。不过没有选定的招，也没有花钱买一个招。我给队员绝对自由去做他们想做的。我很喜欢Keenan和Gino这样的队员，他们的视频片段不算多，不过含金量实在很高，这么看来你觉得一个人招做的是不是要越多越好呢
Q：你早些年曾经给Tony Hawk的Birdhouse效力过，有没有什么印象深刻的？
A：当然，如果你看过Tony Hawk的表演，你会发现他到处火力全开。有些人很高冷，不愿意尽力但是我觉得这才是最棒的。如果我去表演，我会给在场的孩子们使出浑身解数，这就是他们来看表演的原因。这点我完全是跟Tony学到的。我看到Tony最糟糕的时候，他的脚踝肿着，非常疼，还进行了3周的表演，而且每次，他在表演时都很尽力，不论发生了什么事。不管队伍里发生什么事，或是整个旅途状况如何，他都会尽自己所能，没有一丁点儿抱怨，从来没有。
Q：你曾经为你的知名度而苦恼吗？
A：当然没有，我很喜欢。有次有人请我和Spanky喝星巴克，我们走的时候我和Spanky开玩笑说“被请客是我最喜欢的事情了！”当别人认出你，请你喝杯咖啡之类时，这难道不是件很欣慰的事情吗？他们也会感到很开心。好比我敬佩的人比如Nick Cave到我办公室，我肯定说，随便拿点儿东西走吧，我们大家都很开心。孩子们也很大方，很酷。所以我没有担心过，这感觉很好。
Q：你已经快40岁了，还在跳着大台阶大Gap，有没有什么日常保健秘诀？
A：以前滑板时候，我们根本不关心热身运动这些。这对我们来说是个新鲜的事情。你看在Street League比赛时，选手们都会进行热身，而且他们还会有私人教练。相信我，每天吃炸鸡，抽烟喝酒，不热身的滑板，在我22岁时我还可以，不过现在要继续滑板绝对是场持久战，现在我清醒了，不抽烟，不喝酒，不吸毒，大大延长了我滑板生涯，不过年龄的增长还是最大阻碍。
现在我已经不再吃肉和奶制品，只吃点水果，还有Vega I植物蛋白粉。就我所知，滑板之后酸疼的原因是因肌肉撕裂导致乳酸溢出，蛋白质是肌肉自我修复所需要的必须元素，所以在滑板之后，一定要摄入足够蛋白质，这样第二天你才不会腿酸。
我会吃很多水果蔬菜，多喝水，滑板之前多热身，这样感觉很好。即使我不这么做也可以滑得很好，但是这样让我感觉更棒。我每天要喝掉三大瓶水，每天都要热身，我觉得到我50岁还可以这么滑。每天来点改变，日子久了就是蜕变了。
Q：我听有的滑手说，他们曾在尝试高难度动作时有过失意现象，你有过这样的经历吗？
A：肯定有，我跟Jim Greco讨论过这事情，这种失意发生在你连续不断尝试一招的时候。我很年轻时就注意到这种现象了。当时我在佛罗里达参加一个比赛，后来有朋友说“那里有人在放Zeppelin的歌”等等，我觉得很奇怪“我怎么没有一点儿印象？”对我来说只要我在滑板，外界就是一片寂静，在Tampa Pro等比赛之中也是这样。如果我在表演或是比赛结束之后还可以回忆出赛场放的什么歌，那是因为我根本不想去哪里。
Q：除了没有听到音乐之外，还有什么别的失意？
A：当时你知道你在做什么，现在很多人花钱去学习冥想，去学瑜伽来放松自己的身心，但是你知道吗，那些就像追求注意力的极端形式。我想滑手们如果几个星期都没滑板，肯定会说“我必须要出门了！”因为你喜欢上了那种专心致志的感觉了，滑板时你可以从生活中脱离出去，你需要这种放松。
Q：你是Tony Hawk‘s Pro Skater的主人公之一，你从这里面赚了不少钱吗？
A：第一部游戏里面，他们按照游戏售出的数量来给我们回扣，后来大家看到游戏里的主人公越来越受孩子们注意，当时很多孩子来现场看表演时，都说“我在Tony Hawk里用过你！”而不是“我刚看了你最新的个人片段”。第一部游戏中每个人都拿到了$190000的回报。我们觉得非常吃惊，后来有些职业滑手，我也不知道是谁，他们找到Tony Hawk游戏办公室，告诉他们钱多少并不重要，他只是想当游戏里的主人公。管理层觉得，这家伙愿意免费来做贡献，真棒，我们就给他们统一工资好了。于是第二部游戏开始，每个人都只拿了$10000的回报。但是你能说什么呢？我不知道怎么想，也不可能拒绝他们开出的$10000价格，因为这是个非常著名的游戏，每个人都想在其中露脸。不过Elissa Steamer在第一部中也拿到了$190000，我喜欢这种感觉。
Q：在老Baker 3 DVD中你写道“像我们这样的视频，绝对不会出现在奥林匹克的赛场之内”。现在滑板进奥运的趋势越来越大，你作为过来人，有什么不同的看法？
A：我对这问题的立场没有那么苛刻。其实我一点儿也不关心。当你放眼世界，你会发现很多人还在挨饿，受苦...我对滑板进奥运一点儿都不关心。
我喜欢Kareem Campbell滑板时穿着宽松长裤，脚上穿着Reebok鞋子那种，我喜欢Baker和Palace。喜欢Jon Dixon，Ricky Oyola和很多东海岸滑手，Wes Kremer，Grant Taylor还有所有Deathwish队员。我喜欢这种风格滑板。滑板总会有野性街头的一面，现在也要让另一面出现了。奥林匹克应该就是这一面。在别的运动中会不会有像滑板这样两极分化如此明显的，我真的不知道。我只是知道有人要拿这来赚钱了。
Q：像你这样的公司老板不是应该借次机会来让自己的滑板大卖吗，毕竟这面对的是全球的观众。
A：我不会的，这是我觉得别人容易误解的地方。我觉得Nike和Mountain Dew，我并不是反对这些品牌，他们肯定在想怎样用滑板来大赚一笔。不过我拥有的是滑板公司，里面并没有多少钱。我看到滑板真实的一面，并没有多少钱需要去赚，真正的滑手还怕没有板子用，没有鞋子穿吗？
不久前我去Zumiez参加比赛，那里共有30个人左右。人们总觉得滑板圈子很大，总有比现在更多的钱可以从里面榨出来。你看看全世界的人都在穿Janoski，大家都会想“哇！一双职业滑手签名款竟然卖得如此之好！？”因为上面有着Pro的名字呀！不过Janoski刚开始应该长得像Chuck Taylor一样，Stefan把拿原始方案否定，然后亲自操刀设计出了经典之作，这一辈子有这一双就不错了。然后各种潮流就开始让人们觉得滑板空间实在是大，事实并不是这样。
我觉得滑板圈子很小，真的。我知道我的板面销售情况，也知道最好的板面销售数量，并没有那么大，不过这也不错。这对我们，对那些在这种小众文化里的公司拥有者来说都已足够。那些想要进驻滑板圈的外围人觉得这肯定还有更大的空间，其实不然。我想看看当投资无归时那些人会不会改变自己进驻滑板圈的注意，那时一切就见分晓了。
Q：在你职业滑板生涯结束之前你还有什么想要完成的？
A：我觉得Baker，Pissdrunx和我们很多滑手都给大家带来了不少伤害，我希望尽自己努力来挽救，去弥补。尽可能让孩子远离酒精、毒品。我觉得这些是我该做的。我希望滑板永存，希望滑板始终是那么独一无二，那么有趣，那么小众，因为滑板就应该是这样。
Q：你觉得早期Baker所传达的错误信息会让孩子们误入歧途？
A：是的，没错，我不否认这一点。如果Beagle要给我们做一部纪录片，我们以前就是这样。Baker以前就是这样。这点无法改变。但是现在我要作为领头人，我要告诉孩子们你们不需要做那些看上去“很酷”的事情。很多孩子在来看我表演时会说：“大哥！我现在投身于某件事之中，我去了戒毒中心，也戒掉了酒，我不会再沾它们了”。我听过很多孩子这么说，这可以改变一个人的命运。这些话比“哇！这是我最喜欢的滑手”之类重要的多。我可能因此拯救了一个沉迷毒品之中的孩子。这比滑板更加有意义。
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Are you a millionaire?
Well…if you have one million dollars, are you a millionaire?
Sure, I’d say yes.
Then, maybe somewhere around there. I’m probably close to a million. If a couple of things hadn’t happened in my life and I would have made a lot of different decisions then I’d probably have triple or quadruple the amount I have right now. I wish I would have known some things that I know now. Like… I’ve had a Lexus SUV and this Mercedes and that BMW and an ex-wife that had a BMW and a house in the hills… So much shit, that you can’t take with you, for so much money, and I could have just been driving this beautiful Ford Victoria the whole time and been just as happy. But I guess you live and you learn.
A while back you started downsizing your life, selling a lot of stuff and moving to a smaller house. Why?
I just knew having a 5 bedroom house, with me and 1 kid was just ridiculous. I just wanted to live in a house.. a normal house. I lost money on the whole deal too. A some point I had a lot of Cadillacs cause I like mob movies and Outkast and everything influenced me so much I always thought I had to have a Cadillac. Just something happened where I didn’t want it at all anymore. I wanted a junker, I didn’t even care. Now, I do not care about any of that. House, car, nothing. If you have food and you have family and your friends, and some kind of shelter, then none of that stuff is important at all.
You have been sober for over a decade now, but how did you initially get into alcohol and drugs?
Just growing up in a small town, I think that’s what people do.. they party you know? Maybe people are bored or looking for something to do, it’s just part of growing up I guess. I was 16 or 17 and most of my friends were older too. I fell into it. Even when I was 16, if I drank I would always go until the point of puking or blacking out. I was too young to know about alcoholism. If I blacked out and threw up the next day I just thought, woah, we were partying! Around the same time, we got into smoking a lot of weed. Dirty south, driving around in a car smoking weed. That’s what everyone does, still to this day. It’s like a southern thing I guess, like listen to some Outkast, smoke a blunt. I remember one time I saw Elissa [Steamer] at an intersection and we passed a blunt from our car to hers.
Then when I was 18 and moved to California, everybody I looked up to like [Tom] Penny, [Chad] Muska, they were killing it and in California, that culture was even more accepted. We would smoke, drink and skate, that was just normal. Dustin [Dollin] was doing drugs from a young age and one night he brought over some cocaine, put it on the table, and I just did it. There wasn’t a thought in my head that it was a bad idea or anything, it was just like weed.
So then some months later someone had some, I did it again, and then from that point on, like 19 on, I pretty much did cocaine. Later, we were hanging out with a few different people, and they were smoking crack and doing more drugs. I started smoking cocaine on weed… whatever was there. Ecstasy… It was just an experimental time in my life and I was just doing stuff, but every single timeregretting it. Every time was my last time, and I would wake up in the morning and be like fuck, what am I doing? This is dumb. I don’t really wanna do this. But after a couple beers and some weed, everyone’s partying and next thing you know it’s like something clicks in my head – there’s no more rules… Let’s go. It’s because I’m an addict. Not everybody lives like that but if you’re an addict and an alcoholic then that’s what you do.
Did any substances help you skate in any ways?
Hell no. No. I feel confident in saying that weed, drinking or drugs doesn’t help anything. Nothing. For anybody. I really believe that. I think that anybody that says like, “Oh when I get high I skate better,” or “If I drink a beer I’ll just try anything,” it’s all bullshit. A clear mind is only really where you can focus and do a good job at things.
Your rider and friend Antwuan Dixon just got out of jail. Any news or updates on him?
Well, I don’t really wanna put his business out there like that. He’s on his own path, I’m not sure what he’s doing. I don’t know.
It seems like a lot of board brands are cutting their teams down right now. You recently cut Spanky and Braydon too. Moving forward do you think skate teams will be smaller? Just like 3 or 4 guys representing an entire brand?
I really don’t know. It seems like that, but at the same time, I grew up on liking the team. That’s kinda what I’m about. That’s our family. When I was a kid, it was a Plan B video, or 20 Shot Sequence, it was like, “Oh man, that’s such a sick team!” They hang together, skate the same spots together and have a good time. I will personally try to stick to that vibe. For Baker that’s what we’re gonna be about. I wish everyone could be pro forever, to tell you the truth but it just can’t be like that. I’m reasonable about it. The cycle of things, you know? It’s all part of skateboarding.
We interviewed Jay Strickland a couple years ago (Baker’s former creative director) and he was still unhappy about how things ended with him. Are you guys on good terms now?
I saw him in New York a few years ago. I don’t think it’s so much the situation that he got let go from Baker or whatever. I think it’s more of a personality thing that he’s not really able to let it go. It seems like he’s the type of person who, if someone dissed him at a taco shop or whatever he might never go there again. Like that whole situation was 15 years ago, it’s crazy. In New York we had a long, good talk but I don’t know, I’d totally be open to being cool again or whatever.
Jamie Thomas has been known to motivate / incentivize riders to get tricks for video parts..Have you ever bribed your riders to land tricks before?
Never. I kind of just leave everybody to do their thing. But like, if we’re all skating as friends it’ll be like, “Hey, 20 bucks on this!” But yeah, no lists of tricks, or pay raises if you land this or that trick. I try to give everyone freedom to do whatever they want. I like skaters like Keenan and Gino who came out with a lot less footage but the value of it is way higher. So who am I to say what’s better or how many tricks someone should or shouldn’t do.
You skated for Tony Hawk’s company, Birdhouse during the early years. Any things that stuck with you?
Yeah definitely. If you go see Tony Hawk at a demo, you’re gonna see him kill it. Some people that have more of a cool guy type of attitude might not agree with that but to me I think that’s the coolest thing ever. If I go to a demo, I’m gonna try my best to kill it, for the kids, because that’s why they are there. I always learned that from him. I saw Tony in the worst shape, biggest swollen ankles, so tore up, on tour for 3 weeks, and every single time, just go out and nail it. No matter what. No matter what type of family thing was happening or how shitty the whole tour was, he’d go for it every time and never say a word or complain about anything, ever.
Do you ever feel trapped or unhappy with your recognizably or fame?
Oh, hell no. I like it. I made a joke to Spanky the other day because we got some free Starbucks, and it’s not something that someone would maybe want to admit or say. But when we left, to get a laugh out of him, I was like, “That’s one of my favorite things ever!” When someone recognizes us and gives us a free cup of coffee. Yes! What a blessing, just in life. And they feel good too, they got to hook someone up. Like if Nick Cave or someone I looked up to came in to my work place, I’d be like, take some shit! Here! And both of us would feel good. Kids are always cool, kids are awesome. So no! It’s all great.
You are in your mid 30s and still are jumping down gaps and stairs. Any health or fitness routines or secrets you can share?
I come from a time in skating where stretching and being healthy was not part of the whole deal. That’s a new thing. You see guys at Street League, they stretch, they might even have a personal trainer with them. Trust me, if I could eat fried chicken and smoke cigarettes and not stretch a day in my life and skate like I was 22, I would. But for me, it’s a survival thing to keep skating. I’m sober too, I don’t smoke cigarettes, no drugs, no alcohol so that’s a huge help. But a lot more goes into it the older you get.
Right now, I stopped eating meat and dairy and I just mostly have smoothies. I have a plant based protein powder called Vega I use too. From what I’ve learned, the reason you get sore after skating is because your muscles tear and lactic acid comes out and that’s why you are sore. The protein is what your muscles need to repair themselves, so after a hard session skating, it’s best to get some protein in you, cause it’s gonna help you not be sore the next day.
I always try to go back to more fruit, more vegetables, more water, more stretching – that feels best. I can skate fine if I don’t, but I definitely feel better if I do. Honestly, if I drank a big bottle of water, like 3 of those a day and stretched every single day, I feel like I could skate pretty good up until my 50s probably. A little bit of work goes a long way.
Some skaters have told me that when they try really difficult and scary tricks they black out in between tries. Has that ever happened to you before?
Definitely, it’s something that I’ve talked to Jim Greco about. The blackout is what you’re searching for constantly from trying a trick. Even when I was really young I noticed it because I would skate a lot of contests and stuff in Florida and people afterwards would say like, “Oh that was cool they were playing Zeppelin,” or whatever and I would just be like, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” For me it was just silence the whole time I skated. With Tampa Pro and stuff, it’s just total focus and silence. If I’m able to tell what song was playing at a contest or demo afterward, that’s how I know I didn’t really want to be there.
Besides not hearing the music, is there actually any blackout throughout the run or trick?
I mean, you know what you’re doing… I think it’s the reason people pay money to learn how to meditate and do yoga to quiet their mind, you know? It’s like the most extreme form of that. I think that’s why when skaters don’t skate for a couple weeks are like, “Ahh, I gotta get out and do something!” because you’re so used to that feeling and escape your whole life. You need it.
You were a character in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video games. Did you make some nice money off of that?
Well, for the first game they gave all the characters royalties off of how many games were sold. Then after that, everybody saw that the characters were getting really noticed off of this game. There was a time, when a quarter or more of the kids at demos would say, “Oh I play you on Tony Hawk!” not, “I saw your newest video part!” So for the first game, everybody got paid. Elissa Steamer, myself, whoever else was in it, we were laughing – we got like one check for royalties that was like $190,000 or something. We were like what! This is amazing! But then some pro skater, I don’t know who, went in to the offices and wanted to be in the game too. He told them he didn’t care about the money, he would be in the game for free. So management was like, well.. these guys will do it for free, let’s just give them a flat rate for the next game. So that’s what they started offering for the next games. It was a flat rate of 10k or something… But what are you gonna say, you know? I wasn’t in any position or felt like telling them that I didn’t want the 10k. And it was such a big game, so everyone said yeah. I really love that Elissa Steamer got $190,000 out of it too [laughs] that’s my favorite part.
On the old Baker 3 DVD you wrote, “With videos like this around, we’re never gonna get in the Olympics..” Now years later, with the Olympics possibly around the corner, do you think differently about it as an older guy?
Ahh, I’m not that judgmental about that type of stuff at this point in my life. Honestly, I don’t really care. When you look at the world, and you think, there’s people starving and there’s all this other trouble… I don’t really have to worry about skateboarding in the olympics.
I like when Kareem [Campbell] is skating through Hollywood with his pants sagging down real low with some Reeboks on. I like that. I like Baker and Palace. Jon Dixon, Ricky Oyola, and east coast skaters… Wes Kremer, Grant Taylor, all Deathwish, everybody. That’s what I like in skating. There’s always gonna be that raw side of skating, now there’s just the other side too. I think the Olympics will kinda balance things out. In other sports, is there a really polished clean side and then a roughneck side too? I don’t know… I don’t really care about it. Somebody is gonna make a lot of money though, I know that.
Well wouldn’t company owners like yourself profit from it because skating will reach a huge global audience and you will be able to sell more skateboards?
No. That’s where I think people are mistaken. I think Nike and Mountain Dew and all those guys, not anything against those companies but I think they are imagining that they’re gonna make a whole bunch of money off of skateboarding. But I own some skateboard companies and there’s not that much money in it. I see the truth. There’s not that much money to be made. Actual skateboarders, who are breaking boards and wearing out shoes? I don’t know.
I just went to a Zumiez contest in Nebraska and there were like 30 people there. People think skateboarding is bigger and there’s more money to be made off of it than there actually is. With everybody in the world wearing the Janoski shoe and how it took off… it made people say, “Wow, a pro skater’s shoe can sell like that!!?” because it had a pro skaters name on it. But his shoe just happened to be like a Chuck Taylor or something. Stefan killed it and made a good, timeless design, but it was a once in a lifetime type thing. That and some of the fashion stuff kind of led people to believe skateboarding is something that it’s not.
I think skating is small to tell you the truth. I see how many boards my guys sell. I see how many boards my top guys sell. It’s not that big, which is cool. I think it’s cool for us, for skaters that are owning companies in this small culture, and these other people trying to get in thinking it’s gonna be something else and it’s not. I wanna see when the money doesn’t come back around and if people change their mind. We’ll see.
Is there anything else you want to accomplish in skateboarding before your professional career is over?
I feel like Baker, Pissdrunx and our whole crowd, might have done some damage, and I’d like to try and repair that as much as I possibly can. As much as I can do to steer a kid away from drinking and drugs and that whole lifestyle. I feel like that’s a good job for me. I want to keep skateboarding and keep it unique, small and fun. Just those things really.
You feel like the early days of Baker could have sent out the wrong message and led some kids astray?
Yeah, it’s just one of those things where there was no lying. It was all the honest truth. It’s like if Beagle made a documentary about us, that’s who we were. That was Baker. I can’t change that. But by being an example now, that you don’t have to do that to look cool.. A lot of kids come up to me at demos and have said like, “Man, I started getting wrapped up in some stuff but I checked into rehab and went to AA and I don’t do it anymore.” I’ve heard that a lot. Who knows, that could have saved somebody’s life. That’s more important to me than just, “Oh, that’s my favorite skater.” I might have saved a kid from like a heroin overdose or something. That’s way bigger than skateboarding.
Interview: Ian Michna
Original Illustration: Anders Nilsen
Photography courtesy of Emerica & Active.
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