Huang Jie is someone who's gentle on the outside but tough on the inside. In everyday life, he might seem quiet, but when he gets on his skateboard, that wild side of his comes roaring out. During the VANS 2024 Skateboarding Day project, we got to see a lot of different sides to Huang Jie. We also chatted with him during our travels about skateboarding, his experiences as a baker, and other stories.
黄杰是一个外柔内刚的人。在生活中他或许看起来比较安静，但当他站在滑板上的时候，野性的一面就会立刻被表达出来。在 VANS 2024 滑板日项目中，我们见识到了很多面的黄杰，也在每天的旅途中，和他聊起滑板，做面包师等故事。
🎙️ Please introduce yourself first. How did you get started with skateboarding?
Hey there, I'm Huang Jie, a skater from Kunming, Yunnan. I'm also a baker now, and I'm 28 years old. I started skateboarding because some kids at my school were playing with caster boards, but those weren't cool enough. I remembered my brother used to skateboard, it was probably his friend's board.
So I remembered those four-wheeled skateboards and started looking into them. I also watched some videos and realized that skateboarding could be so much more than just cruising around. Then I asked my friends where to buy a skateboard, and that's how I got started. I've been skating for 15 years now.
🎙️ How would you describe your skateboarding style?
I'd say it's spontaneous, fluid, and raw, with a bit of a wild edge.
🎙️ 请先做自我介绍吧，你怎么开始滑板的？
我是来自云南昆明的滑手黄杰，现在也是一名面包师，今年 28 岁。我开始滑板是因为学校当时有人玩游龙板，不过那个不够 cool。但脑子里记得我哥有玩过滑板，应该是他朋友带来的滑板。
所以我记得有这种四个轮子的滑板的，就开始去了解。也看到过一些视频，发现原来滑板可以玩出很多不一样的东西。接着我就找朋友看看去哪买滑板，就这样开始玩起来了。到目前滑了有 15 年。
🎙️ 你怎么形容自己的滑板风格？
我觉得是随性的，流动的，然后原始的，有一点野的。
🎙️ What are your favorite tricks, skaters, and skate spots?
When I skate, I love tricks that make my body feel really stretched out or twisted, like lipslides or feebles. I also love feeling the vibration of my feet grinding on the ledge and the feeling of landing a trick. I think my best tricks are bs blunts, fs lips, switch 360s, and my heelflips are pretty good too.
As for skaters, I really like Kyle Walker, Milton Martinez, T-funk, and Evan Smith. I'm drawn to skaters who are wild, push their limits, and skate like their lives depend on it. Watching them skate is a huge pleasure for me, and it brings a lot of joy and passion to my life. It also motivates me to skate and challenges my perspective on what's humanly possible.
My favorite skate spots are new ones or ones that haven't been skated before. They give me a sense of freshness and spark a lot of energy.
🎙️ 你最喜欢的动作，滑手和滑板地形分别是哪些？
我滑板的时候最喜欢那种身体比较舒展或者是比较扭曲的动作，比如说 lipslide 或者是 feeble；然后要可以感受到脚底呲的那种震动，还有喜欢落地时候的感觉。我觉得我 bs blunt，fs lip，外传 360，我的 heelflip 也比较好。
喜欢的滑手，像 Kyle Walker， Milton Martinez，T-funk，Evan Smith 都很喜欢。我喜欢那种很野的，突破自己极限的，拿命滑板的滑手。我看他们滑板就是很大的享受，然后，给我的生活能带来很多的乐趣和激情，滑板也会有动力，对于人类极限的世界观也被刷新了。
我最喜欢新的地形，或者是别人没有滑过的，因为它能给我很多新鲜感，然后能激发出很多能量。
🎙️ What was your parents' attitude when you first started skateboarding?
At first, they didn't think much of it. They thought skateboarding was just like any other sport or toy. I was just doing my own thing and it wasn't affecting my studies. But then I guess I got into a bit of a skateboarding frenzy, haha. I wanted to go pro, and it started affecting my schoolwork, so they became strongly opposed to it.
🎙️ 刚开始滑板，你父母的持什么态度？
刚开始他们没觉得什么，他们觉得滑板和其他运动或者玩具也差不多。我就自己玩自己的，也不会影响学习这样。后面应该是开始进入狂热状态了哈哈，想要做 pro，也开始影响学习了，他们就有强烈的抵触情绪。
🎙️ So how far did you get in your studies?
I went to high school, but only for a year. I felt like the workload was too heavy and I didn't have enough time to skate. So I switched to a vocational high school, which gave me more time for skateboarding. But back then, I was just doing it for the diploma, not really thinking about becoming a chef or anything.
Later, when I was around 18, I was chatting with my skateboarding friends and we suddenly said, "Hey, why don't we open a pizza place together?" So we just went for it and partnered up to rent a shipping container shop. We tried it for a year, and even though it didn't work out in the end, it opened the door for me to the culinary world.
🎙️ 那你学业是到什么程度？
应该是到高中，但就上了一年。我觉得学业实在是太繁重了，没有时间滑板。我就开始转到职业高中，这样也有很多时间滑板。但那时候只是为了学业证，没有想着做厨师之类的。
后来应该是 18 岁左右，和我滑板的朋友一起聊天，突然说到要不一起做个披萨店。于是说弄就弄了，我们合伙盘了一个集装箱店铺。试了一年，虽然最后没做下去，但也开启了我在餐饮的这条路。
🎙️ Speaking of which, have you had any serious injuries from skateboarding? And how did your parents feel about that?
I've had a small fracture on the side of my foot and a torn ACL in my knee. My parents would always scold me every time I got injured, big or small. But I guess I'm lucky, because I've never had to spend too much on medical bills and I've always recovered quickly.
🎙️ And now, you have a job too. What's their attitude towards all of this now?
Now they're actually quite happy that I've made a name for myself through skateboarding. And yes, I also have another career, which gives them peace of mind.
🎙️ 说回来，你滑板以来受过很严重的伤吗？你父母又是怎么看这件事的？
严重的伤，我脚的侧边有过一个小的骨折，然后膝盖的十字韧带断裂。父母其实不管大大小小，每次有伤都会说我。不过我也算幸运吧，每次受伤没有花太多医药费，也能很快恢复。
🎙️ 那现在呢，你也有一份工作了，他们对这一切的态度是什么样的？
现在他们对我滑板，也能滑出一点名堂，还是比较开心的吧。对，我也有自己的另一个职业，他们也会觉得放心。
🎙️ So for yourself, what do you consider your biggest achievement in skateboarding over the past 15 years?
I wouldn't say it's the biggest, but I have a lot of video footage of myself skateboarding. Even though I haven't released a lot of it, every time I watch it, I feel happy. I remember challenging myself and gathering a lot of courage to accomplish those tricks.
🎙️ Now that you have a job as a baker, you have much less time for skateboarding. Does that bother you?
I don't mind having less time. Every time I skate now, it feels fresh and exciting. It's like when I first started skateboarding and I didn't overthink things. It's a good feeling.
🎙️ 那你自己呢，你觉得自己在滑板上，15 年来最大的成就是什么？
我觉得成就，不说最大，但是我有很多自己的视频素材，虽然有很多也没放出来，但每次去看，还是觉得很开心的，觉得当时是有挑战到自己，也是鼓足了很多勇气去完成这件事的。
🎙️ 那么现在有一个面包师的工作，滑板少了很多时间，你会在意这件事吗？
我觉得少了很多时间也没事，现在我每次滑板挺有新鲜感的，然后也有那种刚开始滑板时，不会想太多的感觉，挺好的。
🎙️ But baking and skateboarding are two completely different states of being. Do you feel there's any influence or common ground between them?
I think being a baker and skateboarding are quite different in terms of senses. When you're baking, you rely more on your sense of smell, taste, and sight to experience the aroma of yeast and flour and observe their changes. It allows you to calm down, be patient, and feel grounded and natural.
With skateboarding, you experience fear, and you're directly exploring the world with your body. The similarity between these two identities for me is that they both allow me to explore the world. And when combined, they make me feel more complete, haha.
They both bring me a lot of spiritual fulfillment. Being a baker provides me with a foundation for my life, while skateboarding gives me an outlet for releasing energy, haha.
🎙️ 不过做面包和滑板，是完全两种状态。你觉得它们之间有什么影响，或者共同点吗？
我觉得，做面包师和滑板感官上就不太一样，做面包的时候更多要运用你的嗅觉，味觉，视觉，来感受酵母和面粉的香味，观察它们的状态。你能静下来心，不急不躁，有一种很踏实很自然的感觉。
在滑板上，你能体验到恐惧，而且你是很直接靠身体去探索这个世界的。这两个身份对我来说，相似的地方就是都可以探索世界，而组合起来，就显得比较完整哈哈哈。
它们都给我带来了很多精神上的充实感，面包师给了我生活上的基础，滑板也能让我有更多能量上的释放哈哈哈。
🎙️ What keeps you motivated to skateboard while having an unrelated job?
Well, I think the key is to keep skating, even if it's just for a little bit every day. That way, you can maintain that skateboarding feeling. Because if you're always stuck in the routine of your other job, you'll forget what it's like to skate and the feeling of creating something on the streets.
Of course, continuing to pursue the dream of becoming a pro skater is the coolest thing, but it also requires a lot of opportunities and a solid plan to make it happen, especially now that skateboarding is so competitive.
There are a lot of things that can motivate me to skate, maybe a certain trick, a specific spot, or a particular skater. I think whether skateboarding is fun or not depends on yourself. You have to try new things. Otherwise, if you're skating the same stuff every day, it gets boring, and I probably wouldn't be able to keep it up.
🎙️ 滑板的同时拥有一份不相关的工作，能让你继续保持滑板的推动力是什么？
怎么说呢，我觉得首先还是要坚持，哪怕每天都玩一会儿，还能继续保持一种滑板的感觉，就可以了。因为如果你一直在另一个工作的习惯中，你就会忘记滑板的状态，也会忘记在街上创造的感觉。
不过继续追求职业滑板的梦想肯定是最酷的，但也需要很多的机遇，有完整的规划，才能最终完成这个事，尤其是现在滑板还蛮卷的。
能刺激我去滑板的因素还挺多的，有可能是某个动作，或者某个地形，或者某个滑手。嗯，我觉得滑板好玩与否取决于自己，要多去尝试点新的东西吧。要不然每天都是滑一样的东西，那也会无聊的，我可能也滑不下去。
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