issue / 09
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NIKE SKATEB OARDING PRESENTS THE FIRST FILM IN THE “SB CHRONICLES” SERIES FEATURING:
Youness
Chet
Clark
Stefan
Lewis
Daniel
Grant
Wieger Van
AMRA NI
CHILDRES S
HAS SLER
JANOSKI
MARNELL
SHIMIZU
TAYLOR
WAGENINGEN
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EDITORIAL / 09
Photo Davide Biondani. a brief glance
Remember when you were a kid and you used to watch videos like Ban This or Hokus Pokus and dreamt of doing the tricks the pros did with those huge 80’s boards? Using those boards today and doing the tricks that I used to see in those videos is like reliving that dream. Giorgio Zattoni
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ISSUE / 09
CONTENTS FRAGMENTS / photos MADNESS AND DETERMINATION PLACES / Norway ESCAPING FROM the RAIN ART NOW /
NEVER GIVE UP / THE
BOOK / ON A DAY WITH NO WAVES COVER: Giorgio Zattoni, fs ollie over the channel. Photo Davide Biondani.
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/ GIORGIO ZATTONI
IN WIEN / DC Italy in Austria ICONBLAST!
E JAMIE THOMAS INTERVIEW
S / A CHRONICLE OF SKATEBOARDING
Photo Chiara Tiso.
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WWW.BLUEDISTRIBUTION.COM FACEBOOK.COM/ETNIESITALY
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www.abriefglance.com EDITOR and CONCEPT Davide Biondani. (davide@abriefglance.com) ASSOCIATE EDITOR Guido Bendotti. PHOTOGRAPHERS Eric Antoine, Leo Sharp, Eric Mirbach, Marcel Veldman, Kévin Métallier, Federico Tognoli, Friedjof Feye, Garric Ray, Alex Irvine, Fabio Montagner, Chiara Tiso, Marcello Guardigli, Alan Maag, Davide Biondani. CONTRIBUTORS Mauro Caruso, Francesco Paolo Chielli, Jonathan Levin, Anton Jandet, Ailsa Hay, Ale Martoriati,Fabiano Ferronato, Mirko Obkircher, Mark Baines, Jeroen Smeets, Simone Bertozzi. DESIGN Fake Donkey Lab.
www.abriefglance.com GET ALL THE INFOS at:
info@abriefglance.com abrief glance skateboard mag is a bulletin published by fake donkey skateboard asd. No part of this pubblication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. All right reserved. a brief glance
Photo Davide Biondani.
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www.abriefglance.com a brief glance
fake donkey lab
davide biondani photography.
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FRAGMENTS
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Adrien Bulard, Kickflip. Photo: KĂŠvin MĂŠtallier. France.
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FRAGMENTS
Simone Verona, Wallride. Photo: Federico Tognoli. Italy.
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FRAGMENTS
Marty Girotto, Kickflip over. Photo: Eric Mirbach. Brooklin. NYC.
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FRAGMENTS
Jonny Levin, Fs wallride. Photo: Davide Biondani. Italy. a brief glance
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giorgio zattoni
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photography and interview Davide Biondani.
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madness and determination
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The first time I went to Zattoni’s house to take pictures of Giorgio we didn’t even know each other. We had met a few times but weren’t really acquainted. From that day on, no more than two weeks would go by before I was on that damn road that cuts the northeast Padan Plain diagonally. A dark road full of holes and flanked by water courses. I knew every hole, every house, every spot where radar traps were positioned along those damn 250 kilometers. I drove on that road in the most torrid heat, in the snow, and in the thickest fog in the middle of the night. From that day on, I spent thousands of days with Zatt skating, photographing, just bullshitting, or chilling on the boat at sea. Days on end marked by the quiet pace of country life and the frenzy of Giorgio’s hyperactivity. A continuous flow of madness up to the day when, after years of attempts and careful study, bags fulls of wasted rolls of film, frustration and motivation, Giorgio landed that damned 900° so perfectly it seemed fake. Landing that 900° was like getting rid of a nightmare, the achievement of a goal he desired and sought for beyond any logic, and pursued with a motivation bordering madness. That trick so dreamt of and sought of marked the end of my trips along that fucking road that cuts the Padan Plain diagonally to the northeast. Thinking of photographing anything else at that point seemed pointless. Just like a marathon runner takes his well-earned rest after his long and tiresome run, we too took our welldeserved rest. The only thing is that that rest lasted for seven long years, until the day I picked up the phone to call him: “Hey Zatt, the time’s come for a new mission.” The next day I found myself driving on that damn road again, which in the meantime has become a comfortable and modern highway. Many of the houses and the towns that I crossed through had decidedly changed appearance. What has not changed is the scent of that gnarly vert ramp, 24 meters wide, 5 meters high, with a 9-meter roll-in! It was her alright. Returning home after seven long years was a very strong emotion and the tension was too much to bear. “Dave I can’t skate, I’m too excited.” I can’t hide the fact that I too was too excited to shoot. The following photos were shot in a couple of hours over 2 afternoons. In some ways, these photos wrap up 22 years of passion, sweat, joy, pain, happiness, and determination. Twenty-two years of skateboarding. They are small fragments, tokens of absolute talent and dedication of an extraordinary athlete, that also contain the existence, the passions and the love for skateboarding and 22 years of the life of two people.
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Fs nosegrind tailgrab.
.EXTREMIST You have always done everything to the extreme, whether it was skateboarding, motocross, body-building...it certainly must be so-
mething you do spontaneously, that is part of your character...what’s your view on this aspect of your personality? What’s your point of view on the intensity with which you live your passions? Did your extreme attitude ever get you to the point of risking too much, or to the point of “isolating” yourself from reality? I recently heard you say something to the effect of: “Why do I always have to do everything to the extreme?”
I like going to the heart of the things I do and understand their real essence, and to do so you have to cross that line. I’ve always brought the
things I did to the extreme according to my capacities in order to obtain my goal, which is growth. Nowadays I tackle things more relaxedly and realize the risks I take when I get hurt. I am fulfilled by skateboarding and by the results I wanted to reach. Maybe my habit
of always trying to exceed my limits is the reason why I still keep skateboarding at a good level: you must have personal feedback from
the things you do that gives you satisfaction. I get my own feedback from skateboarding. Go beyond the limit in the things that I do is
probably part of my personality...I never go skate vert with the idea of trying anything in particular. I just go skate and if madness takes ahold of me I’ll try something gnarly.
Skateboarding has always been like this for me every day of my life: feeling my body merge with the board and being able to do the things I want. If skateboarding didn’t give back something you’d give it up.
The extreme is personal, everyone has his extreme. I don’t look for it, it just comes spontaneously. I have trouble seeing shades of things, for me it is either black or it is white. It’s a limit of mine. a brief glance
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.VALUE THINGS It seems like there are few things that interest you in life: skatebo-
arding, motocross, body-building, your boat, and Bianca, your wife. Actually not so few things really, but it seems like not much else interests you...
I never really cared about what other people thought. I try to do and follow the things that fascinate me. To really give a go at something you need to do it for at least three years, you completely absorb
yourself and if you like it you continue doing it, otherwise you give it
up. But you need time to really get to know something. Body-building for example, fascinates me, but I don’t share some of the aspects which characterize it. I’ve practiced it for some years but I stopped even
though I still train. The things I do are anyhow connected with one
another; by doing yoga or pilates you don’t learn how to skate, but you realize that they help your body to feel well and thus skate better.
Growing up you begin to feel the weight of the years going by and if
you do not keep in shape you get to the point where you must give up skateboarding because your body can’t take it any longer.
I have my priorities and those come first. I’m not interested in things that do not fascinate me.
I detach myself from common things; TV, nights at the club, or happy
hours at the pub. They’re just things that don’t interest me and actually irritate me sometimes. I prefer to chill with the people I care about. I prefer motocross tracks or going skateboarding.
Skateboarding for me is a way of life, once it’s inside of you, you can’t get it out.
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Fs stalefish.
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. UNITED STATES You never went back to the U.S. You spent a few years there giving 100% and then suddenly you left and never went back. What’s your view today on those years spent in California in the top skate scene?
You lived on the inside, in the front row of one of the best phases in the history of skateboarding... What
went on in your head to make such a decision...or at least what made you make such a decision...since you maintained your promise to never go back to the U.S. ?
In the U.S. within a couple years I was doing all the big contests, the X-Games, Hard Rock Café...The first year I was always in the finals, the next year I was in the top 5 and then the top 3 in nearly every contest I entered. At that point, absurdly, my downfall started: too much pressure. I was in the top 3, I was doing
particular tricks, new tricks, interviews and all that...and people were expecting more and more. At that point I switched to “off ”. I left. The pressure ruined everything I had created with a lot of effort and incredible sacrifices. In 2008 in Ventura at the umpteenth contest in two weeks, incredible pressure on top of the vert ramp with 50 pros snaking each other to drop in, of which 20 big names in skateboarding, and 10 possessed new guys
who wanted to get noticed. Everybody snaking each other to be able to ride. It just wasn’t cool anymore. Paul Zitzer was next to me and I told him, “Paul, tomorrow I’m going back home and I’ll never come back to the U.S. I’m over all of this.” He looked at me and said: “Fuck you, what are you saying. You can’t do it.” A few
years ago he came to skate my vert ramp for the Slam Trick and as soon as he saw me the first thing he said was, “You are a fucking piece of shit. You weren’t joking that day in Ventura.” He still remembered.
As soon as I got back from California I wanted to buy a tractor and see nobody. In reality the scene here in Europe and in Italy was not bad; it was very much alive with contests, demos, and events. It was the ideal
situation for me. Then there was the experience with Platinum Skateboards which went on for a couple years. So I didn’t miss the U.S. that much. Lately though things have been getting worse, after 21 years we dismantled the park where I’ve always skated. The day we started dismantling, I cried.
I got back on Powell Peralta, not officially though, because to be on the official team you need to be in Cali-
fornia. Powell is like a family: the first time I went to see them in California in ‘91 I spoke very little English, I was the last guy on the team and George Powell treated me like a son.
Recently he came to visit me here at home. Vallely has also always helped me and given me possibilities. I’ve also always stayed in touch with Cab.
When I left the U.S. I left a situation which ended up being very costly for me...earning the respect from the
people who made skateboarding history is extremely difficult! Sooner or later I’ll go back to California to skate
“When I left the U.S. I left a situation which ended up being very costly for me...earning the respect from the people who made skateboarding history is extremely difficult!” Fs grab straight legs. a brief glance
Fs heelflip grab.
.SKATEBOARDING TODAY Do you like skateboarding nowadays? It’s nice to skate with younger skateboarders, they’re more technical. You can learn from them. One thing I can’t understand is guys who spend hours at the park playing Game of Skate. It’s too limiting. Skateboarding has too many possibilities to limit oneself to just that. Everybody does what he prefers, but I believe skateboarding should be 360°. You might have somebody who can’t ride mini or bowl that well, but skates them anyways. You’ve got to be open-minded.
We have a vert ramp 24 meters wide and nobody ever skates it. Nobody. Ever. In the U.S. You’d have to pay and take turns to be
able to ride it. One thing I don’t like about younger skaters is the way they see skateboarding so competitively and based on sponsorship. Then sometimes you see skaters doing technical tricks but they don’t know how to push or ollie properly. They’re missing
the foundations. At the time, we had fun rolling around the streets and built up our foundations that way. Last year we created the skateboard school, and initially I was a little contrary to it because I always supported the idea that skateboarding should not be
taught, but learned by practicing it. I changed my mind because of the great satisfaction I have in seeing the kids’ progress at the school.
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I didn’t care about anything. I would just be like, “I’m going skating. Fuuuck.”
.SKATING ALONE Can you tell me how the hell you found the motivation to skate a huge vert ramp all by yourself over the years, through the gray winter days and buried deep in the countryside? How the hell did you learn to ride vert at such a level by yourself? I think it’s something many people have been wondering.
When I started skating we had some quarterpipes, then some miniramps on which we learned the basics. Then we built the first vert
ramp, and I’d just drop in. But if you don’t see someone skating vert in person you don’t learn. You need to see it. It was impossible to le-
arn. I’d skate, film myself, look at the footage over and over again trying to compare and understand. I guess the turning point came every time I went to the U.S.
Among Danny Way, Tony Hawk and all those guys I was a retarded. I’d get back home after three months and I was another person.
When you breathe skateboarding where it was born, you experience it 100% and enter a mind state where things just happen! If I hadn’t left home nothing would’ve happened. To reach a certain level you need to go where things get done.
When I’d get back I’d find myself skating the vert ramp by myself in the winter of the foggy countryside where I live. I’d go nuts, but I
was so motivated and determined that I’d go out every day to ride and try new tricks. Sometimes I’d fall so hard I’d just lie there in the flat of the vert ramp and nobody to help me. I didn’t care about anything. I would just be like, “I’m going skating. Fuuuck.”
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Kickflip indy.
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.MOTIVATIONS And today? What's your approach to skateboarding? I mean...what
makes you wanna go out and skate today, what motivates you to grab your board and go to the park or vert ramp...when we were kids,
skateboarding was the second to
last thing you thought about before going to sleep and the first thing
you thought about when you ope-
ned your eyes...how much physical and mental space does skateboarding occupy in your daily routine and your life?
Skateboarding is dope and nothing gives me the same satisfaction:
freedom, no rules, you do what you wanna do. It has a fascination that
stays in your head all day long even if you're doing other things. When
I go skate I don't think: “Today I'm gonna try that trick,” I just go skate and if I'm feeling it I'll start trying some tricks.
You need some degree of madness
in your head to avoid the everyday
routine, shades of madness to keep you alive.
“...shades of madness to keep you alive.” 540 tailgrab.
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Hurricane.
.OLD BOARDS I noticed you've been using 80's boards for the past few years. Tell me a little about this feeling of yours. Remember when you were a kid and you used to watch videos like Ban This or Hokus Pokus and dreamt of doing the tricks the pros did with those huge 80's boards? Using those boards today and doing the tricks today that I used to see in those videos is like reliving that dream.
It motivates me like nothing else. I go back to when I was 12 years old...but back then I could barely ollie and now I can do everything.
I can feel it. Imagine if I had done the tricks I can do today back then ha ha ha. I'm going back to 1989 with today's capabilities. The other day I was speaking via skype with Chris Iverson, who's been Powell Peralta's shaper forever. He skated in Future Primitive. I remember
back in '91 at Powell's woodshop I would have him do these experiments. I'd have him cut the boards really narrow, like today's boards, and he would give me these crazy looks, ha ha ha. Right now I'm using a Frankie Hill Bulldog on vert and a Vallely Bolt for street skating.
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PLACES / 09
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Norway / foto Chiara Tiso.
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PLACES / 09
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Norway / foto Chiara Tiso. a brief glance
Escaping from the rain in Wien photography and words Davide Biondani
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DC ITALY IN AUSTRIA.
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I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of going to Wien, my parents went there on their honeymoon in 1960 and they have always spoken of as a great place. Its location in the heart of Europe, its buildings witness of a history rich in pomp and majesty, its cafes, its cultural richness and its aesthetic beauty ... all of which have always intrigued me. I did not know much in terms of skateboarding about Wien, but when Danny, DC team manager, asked me: “Where can we go for the tour this year?” I had no hesitation in answering: “Wien! Let’s go to Wien!” And so we did. Speaking with a friend who lives in Wien and asking him what are the best things about living in there, his response was: “The prices are ok, is neither too big nor too small and public services are excellent.” And actually this was the feeling that we had in those few days spent in the Austrian capital. The quality of life is generally very high in Wien. With a thriving economy, a stable political system, Austria’s beautiful countryside (not only the Austrian Alps bewitch with their majestic beauty) and it’s cultural diversity, all contribute to a high-quality lifestyle for locals and visitors alike.Austria’s capital ranks as one of the most attractive cities world wide.Wien is city of culture with numerous activities in the area of theatre, music, art exhibitions, public readings, museums and operas that cater to all tastes! Imperial buildings like Hofburg, Schönbrunn Palace, Belvedere Palace, the splendid buildings of the Ring Boulevard, the medieval narrow streets and the baroque squares that shape the city’s image. A safe city with an excellent public transport network of underground trains, trams and buses; well-organized public services, a clean environment and efficient and available to all educational facilities. The prices are generally not too high and the climate is moderate and mild. With regard to the climate, to be honest, we are not in a position to spend too many positive words about Wien, at least for our tour, since we have had five full days of rain on the six we were in town! We spent the week trying to skate as much as possible during breaks between rainfall and the other and enjoyed a full day of the one real sun, the last one. Not the best for a skateboard trip, but since the DC team is made up of smart and friendly people, we had fun and everyone did their better to ensure that the mission had the best outcome possible. Thanks to our friend, Marco Varrese, who lives in a Wien for study purposes, we had the chance to skate some good spots in the city and bring home the shots of the pages that follow. He has also shown us some of the Austrian capital’s nightlife, and places where eat good local food and drink a lot of beer. Wien offers a varied nightlife with a lot of clubs and bars for every music taste, so there is no need to go to bed, but many reasons to stay up all night. Absolutely mandatory in Wien. a brief glance
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ALE MORANDI / FS NOSEBLUNT SLIDE. This is one of the most famous spots in Wien, and has seen a lot of action. Ale doesn’t care about who did what and when... he takes a lot of pushes and slide this noseblunt just for the fun of it.
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Escaping from the rain in Wien. a brief glance
DAVIDE CATTANEO / WALLIE OFF AND OVER. Wallieing into such a steep wall and going over some stairs is serious business.
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TOTY LEONE / BS TAILSLIDE. A perfect spot to skate at 10 am in a park surrounded by greenery in the city center can only inspire a nice trick. The place was so fun and relaxing that we spent a few hours, just long enough to allow Ale Morandi to land a perfect fs lip to switch crooks. Good job mates.
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ALE MORANDI / FS LIP TO SWITCH CROOKS. a brief glance
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ANDY LOPES / FEEBLE GRIND. Brazil is far from Wien, Andy landed this feeble grind without saudade.
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ALE MORANDI / SMITH GRIND. Grey skies and green grass, rough landing and two yellow handrails. Hey, this looks fun!
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TOTY LEONE / BS NOSEBLUNT SLIDE. First day, first stop, first shot of the trip at this classic spot where locals meet to drink beer and skate all day under the bridge.
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Escaping from the rain in Wien.
DANNY GALLY / FS NOSEBLUNT SLIDE. The team captain, the warrior, the doctor‌ found another place to play his favourite game. Danny is unstoppable.
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ART NOW: ICONBLAST!
YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN HIS WORK BEFORE, BUT YOU’VE PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD HIS NAME YET; VICTOR ORTIZ G. HAILING FROM A SMALL TOWN, WITH THE MOST AWESOME NAME; TURBO. HOWEVER, MEDELLIN, THE COUNTRY’S CULTURAL CAPITAL, WAS THE ONLY RIGHT PLACE TO BE FOR VICTOR ORTIZ G. A SKATEBOARD ENTHUSIASTIC, AND BY OWN ADMISSION AN AMATEUR SKATEBOARDER. UNDER HIS GRAPHIC DESIGN’S STUDIO NAME ICONBLAST HE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH A RANGE OF SKATEBOARDING COMPANIES, MAINLY FROM EUROPE. JART SKATEBOARDS, NOMAD SKATEBOARDS, BUT ALSO FOR THE P.ROD COLLECTION OF NIKESB. ICONBLAST IS TAKING OVER THE LOOK OF EUROPEAN SKATEBOARD COMPANIES, BUT HAS ACTUALLY NEVER VISITED THE CONTINENT. TIME TO INTRODUCE THE MAN HIMSELF!
Ininterview : Jeroen Smeets
.Alien Workshop / Tyler Bledsoe
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.Bacanika/ Mad Inventors How did you roll into the graphic design industry?
don’t want to pay the right price for hard work, because of
king as a freelance designer. The most of the works that
panies with projects where I can fit in. It would be great if
As soon as I began to study graphic design I started worI made were for hardcore and punk shows that I used to
promote with some friends. I didn’t get payed but it was
really cool to see your graphics printed and rolling around the city. In 2008/2009 i created the name Iconblast to start
that I’m always looking for international clients and comI could move to Europe to work, learn and make some
great contacts. I’ve actually never visited another country, can you believe that??!
my personal dream of being one of the pioneers in Colom-
How did you ever get in touch with all these European
works that I’ve had made at that moment and created a
to them from Colombia?
bia design for skateboard companies. So I took my favorite website to show myself.
How’s the scene in Medellin for graphic design? Is it a big scene with a lot of opportunities or is it full of struggles?
Graphic design in Medellin is a nice scene and there are a lot of opportunities but there aren’t enough opportunities for working in the fields that I love; contemporary illu-
stration and skateboarding culture. Sometimes people here
skateboard companies? It must be difficult to reach out Everything is thanks to the almighty internet and some good friends. My first skateboard series was for the 10
year anniversary of Nomad skateboards. I got that big op-
portunity because a friend connected me with the owner of the company. He took a look at my portfolio and thought that I was the right guy for that job. This series of decks
were promoted and published in European skate magazine so many other companies got to see my work and got interested.
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. LL & P / Tees
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. Nomad Skateboards / 10 Years.
What kind of tools are you using to create your works?
ding and colors are a big influence in my life.
I think it is really important to keep re-inventing myself in
your own skateboard company in Colombia. When and
You’ve got a wide range of work in your portfolio.
every new project, so I’m actually using a lot of different tools.
I work a lot with pencils, inks, brushes, scissors, paper, notebooks but of course also on my computer with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I think the most important thing is to have a strong clear and fresh idea and after that you can express it with the right tool.
I know it’s one of the worst questions to get in an interview, but how would you describe your own style?
Describing myself is one of the hardest things. I would say my
style is like a little child trying to explore the whole world. And if you look at my work it can’t be of a surprise that skateboar-
Aside from your work as a graphic designer you also have why did you start this?
Together with two partners and some really good friends we
started Paper Skateboards. It is a shared dream of three guys thinking in skateboarding 25 hours a day. Two years ago we decided to start and create a company to support the Colom-
bian skateboarding scene by offering the best quality in wood, manufacture and graphics of course. We are a small brand but
we are committed with ourselves to grow to an international level showcasing talented skateboarders and artists. Took a look at our website HYPERLINK “http://www.paperskateboards. com/”www.paperskateboards.com to know a little bit more about us.
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never give up:
Jamie Thomas
/ interview
Jamie Thomas is a strange individual, and can easily be the main character in some movie about the “American dream”. You know, the ones with the poor guy, the loser, that fights his way to success, and beats the bad guy during the dramatic final match. How many times have we seen movies like this? But this time it’s reality, Jamie Thomas is the perfect example of what you can do, if you skate your ass off, if you work hard, and believe in a dream 110%. How many times have you seen super talented guys that skate like it was nothing, that respect their skills and don’t respect skateboarding? Jamie respects skateboarding, knows his limits and jumps over them, and throughout his career he always put 110% in everything he’s ever done, changing skateboarding forever, adding some more adrenalin to the way we can skate. From Alabama, to homeless in S.Francisco, to S.Diego “entrepreneur of the year “and worldwide renowned skateboarder … Jamie Thomas is a living legend, and one of the most down to earth guys, one of the most passionate skateboarders I ever met. He loves skateboarding. Jamie has payed his dues to skateboarding, he still loves it to death and he earned what he’s achieved. Thanks Jamie.
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Interview Guido Bendotti Photography Davide Biondani.
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“Anything big I’ve tried I’ve been scared, but I felt I could do it, and that I wanted do it, so I wanted to try it, even if I was scared.”
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A lot of people, especially the youngest ones, don’t know your history. You
were not born in the right place to have a “skate career” and you had to fight to became what you are right now...
I grew up in Alabama, and there were ten skaters at most, out of 60.000 people living there, skateboarding was not popular at all.
I started skating when I was in Florida for 2 years, and then I came back to Alabama and kept doing it. It was late 80’s?
First time I saw a board it was like 1984 and I started skating around that year,
and fell in love with it. It was so free, you could do it whenever you wanted, and with whoever you wanted. You just skated and didn’t care about becoming pro, or whatever.
At one point it became difficult, because I wanted to travel, I wanted to skate with better skaters, and it was hard down there, but me and my friends made the scene, built ramps, started a magazine and a clothing company. We made the most from what we had, but I had a strong passion.
I was determined to move to California and make a life out of skateboarding so when I was 17 I left school and home with 300 $ in my pocket; I did all kinds of jobs to save some money.
Yeah, like telemarketing in Atlanta?
I worked at Burger King to save the money for a car, and then moved to Atlanta for the summer and worked for telemarketing and skated. It was a really fun summer.
I left Atlanta with 2 other friends who skate with 300 $ each. It wasn’t big money to move to California… ha ha ha. No, it wasn’t ha ha...
We moved to California, it took two weeks to get there, and we slept at
Embarcadero for four months to save money and skate, during winter, it was
hard! But we were living the dream, and we were so happy to skate where we
dreamt about, having the chance to start a “career”, doing it my way, living on my own, so everything was cool. We just didn’t care. We skated!
At one time I was getting flowed by Real, but I needed a real sponsor, and got sponsored by a small company.
Was the company Experience?
Yes, it was so small, nobody knew about that company. And the guy that ran the company wanted to turn me pro. I didn’t know any better, so I said yes. It was
1993, and I was in California for one year. They payed me like 500$ a month … and not every month either. So I got a job at a shoe store to survive.
I was filming a sponsor me video for Black Label and another guy saw it, and
then moved to San Diego, because Invisible sponsored me and I started meeting a lot of people in the industry, like people from TWS, and in a year I got my first cover on TWS.
Jamie Thomas, bs smith. a brief glance
Jon Dickson, fs bluntslide.
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“If you have fear you don’t have confidence, so you’ve got to build confidence in order to not have fear. The more you skate, the more you push yourself, the less fear you have, ‘cause you know what you’re doing.”
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The roof gap kickflip?
Yep, that one. At that time I felt like I had found my way to skate. I found my
groove I’ve always loved to jump down things, and I became pretty good at that. I’ve noticed that..
Yes, ha ha ha. I found my niche in skateboarding, where I could be comfortable
in, and I’ve worked very hard filming for a few video parts, but it didn’t work out with Invisible, so Ed Templeton asked me to ride for Toy Machine.
From 1995 until the first half of 1997 I rode for Toy Machine, and we made two videos.
Heavy Metal is one of my favorite videos… first Josh Kalis video part! He’s really good.. Have you seen his Epicly Later’d part? Of course… I’m a skate rat.
Ha ha ha. Yeah..he’s amazing. So Toy Machine …
With Toy Machine’s videos I felt like I started my life in skateboarding. I moved to California in 1992, it was like 19 years ago. I’ve been pro for 18 years. It’s
crazy it’s such a long time. I still feel young, ‘cause I’m always around young kids. I still feel good . I’m thankful.
Yeah, but you’re in shape, you skate really good.
I think I decided to want it really bad because I’ve had 5 knee surgeries.. I don’t know, you work through it, and keep going. Did you train a lot after surgeries?
Yes. I don’t train usually, but after surgeries I trained to get ready to skate as soon
as possible. 6 months of physical therapy, or 9 months. It depends on the surgery. Did you feel scared when you came back on board?
No. Because you start on small things, it’s like when you start skateboarding.
One stair, two stairs, three stairs, and so on… basically you build your confiden-
Anthony Shultz, bs bluntslide.
ce, basically skateboarding is confidence versus fear. If you have fear you don’t have confidence, so you’ve got to build confidence in order to not have fear.
The more you skate, the more you push yourself, the less fear you have, ‘cause you know what you’re doing.
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Jon Dickson, switch fs kickflip.
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So you’re not scared when you skate big things?
getting sponsored, when I was really young.
it, and that I wanted do it, so I wanted to try it, even if I was
Seriously? Put it on youtube! Ha ha ha.
Anything big I’ve tried I’ve been scared, but I felt I could do scared.
I’m going back a little bit. When you arrived in S.F. you
were like an outcast in the EMB scene. They used to call
you T-Dog, and gave you trouble because you weren’t from S.F. and basically you weren’t skating the same way as the
I’m gonna put it in a documentary someday. Hope so.
So, I’ve got a lot of footage from when I was 13 – 15, so I
understood filming, I understood what skating was like, and I imagined being a pro, and trying to film a videopart ... what was the question?
guys. So after all, nowadays, when you see them around,
The 24-hour TWS interview.
No. I let it go a long time ago. I knew a lot of those people
talking with the photographers on the project they were
don’t you feel like: “Hey here I am, look what I’ve done?” were insecure.
It was like in high school...
Yeah exactly, and so I grew up very quickly because I was the outcast, I was from Alabama, from the country and I moved to the city and I tried hard to be cool, and when you try so
hard to be cool some people make you feel like an outsider. So I understand them now, because I see people doing the
same to me right now. They’re trying to give a good impression, because from where they’re from they’ve never had
to do it, and they don’t have to think on how they act, and stuff like that.
It was an important lesson in life, and I’ve got nothing
against these guys , because they gave me a lesson in humility, and that you can’t just skate around as an arrogant kid, and pretend that everything is gonna work out.
A few years later those guys (EMB locals) started to be nicer to me, it’s always a good time to hang out with Mike Car-
Oh yeah.. I used to hang out at TWS all the time, and I was working on. I told them that I really would have liked to
have an interview and they were like: “Sure, we scheduled
it out, you have 6 months to get the photos” and I was like “6 months? I couldn’t even think 6 months ahead, it’s a
really really long time. Are the pros lazy or what?” And the
photographer explained to me that sometimes the pros have the trick, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they don’t come, and so on, and explained to me the work ethic of most of the pros.
I was thinking about doing the interview in a few days.. so why not do it in ONE DAY? Ha ha ha.
They were like: “No. It’s impossible.” But they were really excited.
They gave me 2 weeks to think of the tricks that I wanted to try. Two weeks later I was ready.
I skated from 7 in the morning to 2 in the night and shot all the tricks.
roll, Carl Watson, Henry Sanchez and the others. Supercool.
Crazy. And the first thing was to shave your head...
skateboarding ha ha ha.
It was really fun, and a good experience. Now the guys on
think I could have done what I’ve done and be so thankful
but it was 15 years ago, and it was different. At this age it’s
I understand, basically we were kids at the wrong time for
Yeah eheheh
Yeah, but if everything hadn’t worked from the start, I don’t
my team can do all the tricks I did in 1 day. No problem,
for my life.
pretty impossible to do the same thing with this level of
One of the most impressive things you made, was the
skateboarding.
interview in TWS 15 years ago. In 24 hours you shot all
Didn’t you have that one cover with the supermodels?
the time, but it’s pretty crazy even now. Maybe you have
cool to give me 2 covers in one year. How can you remember
the photos (and it was gnarly stuff ). It was pretty crazy at
I had the cover six months before, so they didn’t think it was
the same sparkle that drove Rowley and Penny at the time
that???!!!
tricks first try?
You know Jamie, here there are really long winters and we
even at a young age, so I knew that to land something you’ve
You’re definitely a skate rat!
when they flew to the USA, thinking that pros land all the
No. I never thought like that, I’ve always filmed video parts, got to try try try. I filmed multiple video parts even before a brief glance
used to look at the same mags over and over ha ha ha.
“I used to take skateboarding very seriously, because I was never very good. I was just good enough , and I’ve had to work so hard in order to make it.”
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Yeah, thanks. One of my favorite video parts of yours, was
You were skating something totally different from the rest
to kill yourself trying to skate bigger than your last part.
For 6 months at the time we skated the way we wanted and
in Chomp on This. For the first time I saw you, not trying It was pure fun, and we saw you having fun filming and skating.
of the pro skaters around. filmed it.
I used to take skateboarding very seriously, because I was
It took only 6 months?
work so hard in order to make it (a life in skateboarding).
no plan, no expectation, no nothing, just going out around
never very good. I was just good enough , and I’ve had to I always have fun when I’m skating or filming, but I was
always so focused when it was time to film. Chomp on This
Yes, only 6 months. 6 of us, for 6 months, skating. There was San Diego trying to get something.
was the first video that where all it mattered was the fun and
Talking about modern day. What do you think of the state
we’re talking about a Chomp on This 2 . But it’s hard ‘cause
Berrics, Maloof. Do you think there’s still room for real
not my tricks and it was so fun to skate for that thing. Now right now the group is into different things, so it’s hard to
do it. So I’m trying to have a little bit of Chomp on This in every single video part because it changes the way I skate.
As I get older I can’t jump on rails forever. So I’m interested in finding weird stuff to skate.
Do you think there will be a time when you’ll say: “Ok, that’s enough for me. This is too big for me?”
That’s now. When I see something, I look at it and think
“I could do this when I was younger”. I used to think that I could, but after 6 knee surgeries I realized that if I have
a bad go, I will be out for one year. I don’t have to prove to
myself that I can do it over and over and over. It’s not worth it to break myself and stay out for a year. Last year I hurt
of skateboarding. It’s really mainstream.. Street League, skaters, that live and breath skateboarding?
There will be always room for real skateboarding.
I think that Street League, and Berrics, and that stuff is awesome for some pro skaters, that can get a lot of big
money and start skate businesses, work for their families and stuff like that. But there will be always room for real skaters
and real skateboarding. The Underground will always live, it will never go away.
The mainstream is trying to package it in order to make
money out of it: 60 to 80% of the people can be impressed
by the way mainstream represents skateboarding, but there will always be that 20% that skate because they love
skateboarding for what it is. And I’m ok with that 20%.
myself in may, and couldn’t skate till October/November. I
Is skateboarding still fun for you. After all these years, all
really foolish or dangerous. I have to find my battles.
rat?
lost nearly the whole year, because I was trying something I’m trying to leave that stuff for the team, like: “Tommy, jump down this.”
Sometimes I feel young and that I can jump down eve-
rything, but I have to wait for the right day, the right spot, and stuff like that. I have to wait for that day to jump. Without troubles in your head...
Work is the biggest trouble in my head. I feel I have a lot of better things to do it with my time, and if I get hurt, I can
do all the things with my family, my friends and whatever.
I can do everything I want when I travel, because my head is
the business, the covers, the videos, are you still a skate
Skateboarding will always be fun if you can get away from the politics and enjoy it for what it is.
Skateboarding is fun, and when I skate in our park with my
friends or even when I skate in demos, I try to enjoy myself. Sometimes it’s hard ‘cause I’m expecting to do something, because if you don’t do something you disappear and the
company suffers. Sometimes I feel that responsibility, but when I can relax I enjoy it, if I don’t think about being
anything, just a skater that has fun with friends. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’ t be around.
free from working, relax myself and skate the way I want.
It’s been a long way Jamie… from Alabama, to homeless,
Did you ever imagine the impact that “Thrill Of It All”
Yeah, ha ha ha it’s been a long way...
had on the skate world?
to being a great skater, and a company owner…
No.
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“The mainstream is trying to package it in order to make money out of it: 60 to 80% of the people can be impressed by the way mainstream represents skateboarding, but there will always be that 20% that skate because they love skateboarding for what it is. And I’m ok with that 20%.� a brief glance
Dane Burman, fs kickflip.
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So what’s next?
Oh I’ve got videoparts to film. We’re filming the fallen video,
called “Road Less Travelled”, about the team going on tours and the experience you have on tour.
I’m filming for the “Cold War” video for Zero, maybe it will be out later this year or early next year.
I’m trying to film a full video part for that one. I want it, because now I’ve got a Bonus part in the video. I hate it because I only have 6 tricks in the last video, but now I wanna do a full part,
because to film I have to leave my family. Plus I’m filming for a
web video similar to “The Berrics” that is gonna be exciting and full of skate history. Teaching the young kids the skateboarding that I love.
I wanna travel, I wanna skate, I wanna help my companies, I wanna be a good husband, a good father. Have a little life.
Yeah… that’s the future for me.
Yeah and I’m working on Crossroads… it’s more than a contest,
it’s a skateboard celebration, because everything around skateboarding is so mainstream, and crossroads is so low key. Thank you Jamie. Some last words?
I’m thankful for this life, for all the opportunities, thankful to all the people that helped me along the way, and I’m thankful to be here. Peace
Tommy Sandoval, fakie kickflip.
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BOOK / 09
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ON A DAY WITH NO WAVES: A CHRONICLE OF SKATEBOARDING. The book chronologically talks about 230 years of skateboarding history. The story starts from 1779 and the first part concerns basically surfing and is completed in a few pages; from 30's on it starts talking about skateboarding. The book contains rare informations on the origin of skateboarding, products development, how skateboarding became illegal, music trends, curiosities about pros, contests, videos, and overall the culture of skateboarding. A must-have book.
1935. “At the end of the ‘30s, roler skates and the scooter are in fashion. Roller skates are highly marketed toy, contrary to the scooters, whose grooved wheels are in fact more sophisticated. To make up their lack of availability, children start constructing their own, which they call scooter skates. Scooter skates are constructed from a roller skate cut in half, each piece of which is nailed to the end of a plank of wood... Scooter skates quickly become the rage all across the U.S. Children soon forego the small wooden box keeping only the plank of wood and the wheels. This is how the first skateboards are invented.”
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“Skateboard will always if you can g from the po enjoy it for w a brief glance
ding be fun get away olitics and what it is.� Jamie Thomas
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