Steez Magazine Issue 29

E-STONE LITTLE LOST INDIAN MOE POPE LUCAS BEAUFORT ISLAND LIFE RIME HOTTEA DAVID WALKER

in the

U.S.A.

DEVIN WHITELEY PH: JUSTINOLSEN.COM

PH: JEFF NASS

p Tim Zimmerman

INSIDES

94 LITTLE LOST INDIAN

84 STUPID QUESTIONS

64 PHOTOS

60 MINI PROJECT

50 E-STONE

40 DROPPING

38 24 / SEVEN

32 BACKGROUND

30 CREATIVE QUEST

26 SHOW & TELL

16 GERMANY

TWENTY NINE

154 SHOP SPOTTING

152 NUT AND BOLT

150 JUNKFOOD

142 DAVID WALKER

138 HOTTEA

128 RIME

124 DARKROOM

118 ISLAND LIFE

108 LUCAS BEAUFORT

104 VINCE SANDERS

98 MOE POPE

SNOW SKATE CULTURE CHIEF

Andrew Bablo andy@steezmagazine.com ART DIRECTOR

Joe LoVasco joe@steezmagazine.com ASSISTANT EDITOR

Michael Connolly michael@steezmagazine.com COPY EDITOR

Taylor Kendall taylor@steezmagazine.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Greg Manning gman@steezmagazine.com

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Individual issues cost $5.00 in the U.S. and Canada. Steez is printed quarterly (Jan, April, July, Oct) and distributed in all 50 states and Canada as well as published online through issuu.

Stewartsmithphoto.com, Buddy Bleckley, Chris Faronea, Luke McKaye, Jeff Brockmeyer, Cyril Mueller, Chrissy Piper, Chase Cruz, Jenna Hoy, Tim Zimmerman, Kolby Saetre, Donald Miguel, David Salafia, Patrick Sullivan

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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© Steez Magazine® LLC 2013 ISSUE 29 COVER: photo- Ethan Stone Fortier rider- Bjorn Leines illustration- Lucas Beaufort

MYSTERY QR’S Again, we’ve got a real mixed bag of QR radness this issue. Don’t be a baby, give ‘em a try.

model.o

AIRFLIGHT DOWN PARKA

FB @ FORESTBAILEY

FOREST BAILEY

@ MIKEYOSHIDA IMAGES

THERMAL RATING

FAC E B O O K . C O M / 686 686.COM

DICKIES DOUBLE KNEE PANT

HIGH TECH. GOOD TIMES.

@ 686

CHECKING IN

Germany might not be the very first destination that comes to your mind when looking for an exotic place to shred. You won’t find the largest resorts or terrain parks over here.

There’s no specific “mythical holy grail”, that suddenly pops out from the back of your mind when mentioning Germany. No “champagne powder”, no “Japow”, no endless fjords that mark the end of your run.

But don’t all those options sound a tiny bit worn out anyways?

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Words and Photo Hans Martin Kudlinski

GERMANY

R-

NY

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CHECKING IN

Rider Daniel Moesl

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MA

RGERMANY

Rider Felix Georgii

NY 19

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CHECKING IN

R-

The reasons that make Germany an awesome place to snowboard are a little different. Depending on your mindset, those weak points that I mentioned before might actually be exactly what you’re looking for.

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GERMANY

Besides the one spot that most people around the globe might have already heard of, Garmisch-Partenkirchen right at the foot of the Zugspitze, there’s way more to explore.

For myself and many others the “German sweet spot” is a lineup of multiple smaller resorts all the way down in the South of Germany, right where the alps start to rise. It is an area called the “Allgäu”.

That’s where the weak points become strengths.

The scene right here is a little more personal than what you would otherwise experience in gigantic resorts, which are focused more on excessive mass tourism. Local riders like Felix Georgii, Nico von Lerchenfeld and Gaudenz Strauß are a pretty decent representation of the talent, as well as the laid back vibe the Allgäu has to offer.

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CHECKING IN

Rider Nico von Lerchenfeld

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GERMANY

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GERMANY

It’s for you to choose. Depending on the latest snowfalls, you can experience the whole spectrum of freeriding. One day you can find yourself hillbanging tree runs at a really small resort called Bolsterlang, while the other day you end up hiking for the leftover goods around the peak of the Fellhorn. The most serious dumps can be expected during the time from late January to March.

GE

Of course, freestylers are not to be left out. As long as you’re not looking for that 20+ meter table to get your double dialed in, the chances

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of being disappointed are quite low. Local rippers and shapers are constantly working hand in hand to make the most creative setup happen using all of the different obstacles they have.

Especially the guys from the Crystal Ground Snowpark in Kleinwalsertal (technically on Austrian soil, but accessible by a German lift) and over at Grasgehren are doing their best to completely change the layout of their setup, from scratch, at least once or twice a season.

R-

IVA

SHOW & TELL

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Interview AB Photo Stewartsmithphoto.com

IVA NICOLE

It looks like you’re on a fancy kitchen counter? Is this a typical place for modeling?

There is no typical place for modeling, when the moment is right you just have to strike a pose.

Would you rather eat for a week or get a new dress?

I love to eat and have retail therapy on a weekly basis. If I had no choice but one or the other, I would probably decrease my food budget so I could afford a cheaper dress, or eat, and then shop in friend’s closets. Models do eat!!!

What kind of music does a model like you listen to?

That’s tough to answer. My Pandora list has a wide variety of different genres of music from soft rock to hip hop, Latin to pop, 80’s, 90’s and techno.

My favorite right now is Lana Del Rey. If models drank beer would they drink Miller 64, or just add water to Coors Light?

I am more of a Corona and lime type of girl, if beer is the only option. I prefer Grey Goose and Red Bull! If I had to choose between Miller and Coors, I guess I’d choose the Coors minus the water.

In-n-Out or Jack In The Box? I love In-n-Out, and it is a must see attraction when I am in L.A. I will say though, I would definitely love to do one of those sexy Jack In the Box commercials like other celebrities have done.

Do you watch real TV or just “Project Runway,” “Toddlers and Tiaras,” crap like that?

Honestly, my life is so chaotic right now; I don’t get a chance to watch TV. I do love Project Runway, although I haven’t watched it since the first season four or five years ago.

What kind of GPA or SAT score does Miss Massachusetts need to have?

These days beauty isn’t enough, you need to have the beauty and the brains to complete the whole package. I do believe most of the girls who have won Miss Massachusetts have made great academic achievements, and I am very proud to have them represent the beautiful state of Massachusetts.

Have you ever modeled for a Wu-Tang shoot?

Not yet, but it is definitely in the works. We did have plans to do a shoot with ice cream models for the Wu-Tang management, hopefully in the near future we can complete that.

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come get the goods.

www.traksags.com p. Aaron Gotthardt

CREATIVE QUEST

broken, better fix it Photo Chris Faronea

The past year has been broken; broken straight in half. Snapped, folded and shaped into two roads headed in different directions. One between my personal self, and the rest of whatever else was remaining. Let’s just say I needed some re-alignment. I told myself to focus and be a simple kind of man, to take a step back and re-learn who I am and what kind of creative quest I was headed down.

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I got married last fall to the love of my life. I was on top of the world with heightened spirits, and strength I never knew was possible. A short two

months into our marriage, tragedy struck, we divorced and I completely separated myself from the world I had co-existed in during the past six years of life. Six years is a long time. When you reflect back on the 2,190 days, you begin to notice qualities about yourself that make you ask, what the fuck did I do to develop parts of myself like this?

I knew through this intersection of change, I needed to fix what was broken, and take my reality in an entirely new direction. A greater, more fulfilling, and thorough quest of self-awareness through

W/ PAT MILBERY

which, I channel my creativity. I was able to patch the holes; I fixed most of the leaks in the roof and I challenged myself to dive into a whole new creative realm of possibilities. Once I fully committed myself, my quest began to feel complete. My SoGnar Family and I traveled to new resorts across the country. They fully had my back, and helped to keep me from falling into a black hole of the past. I removed any selfish thinking, and focused all of my energy on each present moment. We explored new zones to jib, sessioned spots together all over America, and had a ton of fun ‘creating.’

I knew that the younger generations needed my support and guidance, and I knew I could learn a little something, from them as well.

So the moral of this Creative Quest is to keep

growing. Keep exploring, no one’s venomous ways can keep you from creating and developing yourself. Big Ups to Buffalo Bill, Joe and my Steez family, for allowing me to grow and share my experiences in life through this column. With the Creative Quest turning two this fall, I am blessed and lucky to call you all family! I really appreciate anyone that reads my column, and if you're not living a happy life, then step back, refocus, and create a change for yourself; for a heightened living experience, each and every day.

Keep Creating Everyday, #createordie - PAT MILBERY

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BACKGROUND

Chad Fabrizi is one of those skaters that you would rather watch skate than skate yourself.

When he isn’t saving kids getting buck during his lifeguarding shift at Splash Lagoon; he is on his skateboard. He is a really creative, energetic and spontaneous skater. He has always liked this spot because it has a raw look to it. It’s not the easiest of spots to skate, but with a little creativity, everything is skateable. When skateboarding switched from vert and pool to street skating, skateboarders were finding every crack and variation of obstacles to shred. The street became a skateboarder’s playground. Chad takes you back to the joys of skateboarding with no cares and having fun with friends. There

Rider Chad Fabrizi, wallride

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aren’t any rules when you’re skating for fun.

You don’t have to land a ridiculous trick down a stair-set or throw yourself off of a building to be considered a good skater, you just have to have the right eye to try things nobody else would.

Some skaters forget the roots of skateboarding and the freedom it can bring. Next time you head out to hit street, think about Rodney Mullen and Lance Mountain’s carefree attitude hitting whatever and wherever on their skateboard.

Grab a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos, some 40s, and a couple of skaters and Chad is ready for some street.

ASHLEY ROSEMEYER

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BACKGROUND

Rider Serge Murphy fs shove

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"Serge got a hat trick! The crew of maybe 10 of us cruised down to Hartford, CT for the day.

The north end of Hartford is certainly no joke in terms of keeping an eye out for some rather sketchy activity being carried out by their locals.

Especially when you have camera gear out in the open, but I've always found that not too many people like to mess with large groups of skaters. You don't want to feel the pain of get-

SEAN MICHON

ting smoked across the face with either side of a skateboard, let alone ten of them. So unless you come equipped with automatic weapons, you might not ever stand a chance against large groups of guys with heavy blunt objects.

John Coyne and little Eric Martinac also tossed in some of their own ingredients to the sesh, and Serge banged out his three tricks here. Nol-

lie front board, 360 flip over the rail along side this front shove over the rail the hard way. A hat trick! So all in all, we left with all of our belongings, still in good health, a little sweat from a toasty day, along with the good vibes of a successful mission for everybody here. On to the next one!"

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BACKGROUND

Rider Josh Weathers Hardflip

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LUKE MCKAYE

We had been skating around Raleigh, NC all day, most of us were pretty worn out when we made this sort of our "last call" stop. I shot a lot of photos that day, but still hadn't gotten anything of Josh Weathers. I'm usually not a big fan of shooting hardflip stills. It's a weird trick to shoot for me. If I shoot it mid flip, it's tough to identify the trick or if it was a solid make. If I shoot the catch, it looks like a kickflip or a front shove.

But with Weathers, I knew his hardflips had a lot of personality, so when that was the trick

he mentioned I was pretty confident we could make something happen. Josh definitely made the effort to crank up the generator and set up everything for the shot to be worth my while.

Shot on a Canon 5d Mark III at f/4 1/160 sec.

ISO 160 with 3 Yongnuo triggered Vivitar 285hv flashes and some ambient light from generator powered flood lights.

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24 - SEVEN

COLIN HAS CAUGHT

HIMSELF A SERIOUS

SNOWBOARD

ADDICTION

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Colin Spencer, he's a great dude! I met him years ago in Denver. A couple of friends and I went down to hit up the street snowboard scene back in 2000, I believe. We were at Red Rocks amphitheater getting our street shred on, when all of a sudden a couple of kids show up and start lurking around our scene. Normally you vibe people out if you're trying to shoot a handrail, or ask them politely to come back after

COLIN SPENCER

you're done. Well, we were nice that day and invited Colin and his buddies to session with us. Colin must have been 13, and stepped to the rail right away with a frontside boardslide.

This was a serious trick for a 13 year old in 2000. Anyway, Jeff Potto got a couple shots of him slaughtering the rail. A couple months later the editor of Snowboarder Magazine, Pat Bridges, called me up and asked me to write a check out on Colin Spencer. I said, “who’s Colin Spencer?”, not knowing it was the kid who had showed up. I totally blew it. So, now, 13 years later I'm redeeming myself with this story on Colin. In the last 13 years, Colin has definitely come and gone. Rumors of him hanging out in Denver with multiple oversized gold chains, surfing down in Costa Rica, and working on his Spiccoli lingo might have distracted him from

snowboarding more than he would have liked. In the last few years that has changed. Well, let's just say he doesn't wear gold chains anymore, everything else is the same. Colin snowboards everyday and has become an amazing snowboarder. Most snowboarders in Colorado just stick to the park. They learn all the tricks, claim them to their buddies, and head home thinking they're awesome. Colin has taken it a lot farther than that. He saves his money all summer, every summer, working at summer snowboard camps and selling yogurt in Denver to get out. Spending half of his winters in the Northwest and Whistler, he has seen the light. Filming parts for the Yes Snowboard movies over the last couple years and learning the true ways of snowboarding, Colin has caught himself a serious snowboard addiction that I don't see ending anytime soon.

Words Chad Otterstrom Photos Jeff Brockmeyer

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FALL ‘13

Bohnam SCOUT, $45

Mophie JUICE PACK PLUS CASE, $120

Love Is Earth SUNSET 5-PANEL, $40

The Collective HOPS HOOD, $55

Rustic Dime CAMO CHINO, $35

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Lomography DIANA F+, $90

Clarks TANNER MIDS, $100

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Society VARSITY JACKET, $160

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ABINGTON BOOT, $180

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Dickies 1922 L/S SHIRT, $175 41

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Cliché

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Element URBAN HIKER BAG, $90

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ThirtyTwo x LRG GRENIER BOOT, $180

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O’Neill FRONTLINE BUTTON UP, $250 FREEDOM GRUNGE PANT, $220

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Glamour Kills ACADEMY VARSITY JACKET, $70

Molotow 15MM PAINT MARKERS, $9ea REFILLS, $7ea

Rider: Adam Hohmeyer Photo: Waylon Wolfe

Carrabassett Valley Academy A Better Way to do School

www.goCVA.com

DROPPING

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Mizu

GoldCoast

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Peligroso

Herschel x New Balance

CINNAMON TEQUILA, $32

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DROPPING

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INTERVIEW

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E-STONE

Interviewed AB Photos E-Stone

STONE E-Stone almost didn’t get this interview done in time, it was pretty damn tight. We went back and forth for a month and a half. Yet, when it came to crunch time, Ethan flipped the script. Daily emails and texts, phone calls with status updates, “I’m still working on it, digging for more photos, too much text, damn these questions, how long can it be…”

He’s been shooting some of your favorite snowboard photos for the past two decades now, traveling the world, and running a brand all at the same time. The only way someone can pull all that off is to be super on point, and no matter how much stuff is on his plate, Ethan never skips a beat. Don’t let the beard and long hair fool ya, he’s always on his game!

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INTERVIEW

First off, tell us how you got started with snowboarding and then with the industry?

Before my parents split up we lived a good life.

We lived in Connecticut, and we had a vacation house in Vermont. From the time I could walk my dad had me on skis, and every time we were in Vermont it was all about skiing. As I got older I was always throwing my ski poles off the lift. Every time my pops bought me a new pair I would throw them off the lift in an area that I knew they would never be found. From then on, I just skied with no poles. On one of the trips to Mount Snow, I saw my first snowboarder. I was way into skating at the time, so naturally, when I saw this guy riding sideways with no poles, I had

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to try it. I must have been about ten years old, and in those days you had to become certified to be let on the mountain. So, my first lesson consisted of a snowboarder hiking around with me on the bunny slopes.

The day I told my mom I was going to skip college and move to Colorado to become a pro snowboarder, she cried. She saw a bleak future for me, and did not want me to wake up one day, broke, with no career and no skills. When I got to Breckenridge, I saw a life I had only dreamed of. Our first year, we had 8 people living in a two bedroom spot in Avon, Colorado. That was one of the best years of my life. That was the year I

E-STONE

started Technine, and the year I felt accepted in an industry that I forever dreamed about.

From there, how did you get into photography?

I was snowboarding and filming everyday with Marc Frank Montoya. I was a low level pro, making just enough to get by, but was able to travel and do exactly what I wanted to be doing. I was scared as hell trying to jump off of everything MFM was hitting, and I ended up doing scorpions and cartwheels down the landings. Blotto was my roommate, and best friend at the time.

He was also the team manager for Technine.

One day, Burton offered him a job he could not refuse, so it was time for him to move on. As

he left, he handed me the camera Technine had bought for him and taught me how it worked. I got real lucky getting help from the likes of Kevin Zacher and Nate Christenson. They let me hang out at shoots and ask them a million questions.

Photography quickly became my passion, and I spent as much time shooting as possible.

What was your first big break with photos?

My first big break was when I made a submission to Snowboarder Magazine. George Covalla from B-Town was the photo editor. I’ve known him forever from back when he worked at a shop in Burlington called the B-Side. I was actually one of the first riders he ever took photos of

Opening MFM Left Devine Andorra 53

ONE

INTERVIEW

back in ‘91 at Bolton Valley, VT. It also turned out Pat Bridges and Mark Sullivan were running the show at the mag, and I had known them for a real long time from when I was a snowboarding journalist doing small projects. It’s important for East Coast kids to know that any East Coaster looking to make a move to the West, will quickly realize your roots from the East go a long way with other people from the East. It’s an instant ‘in’, or at least a reason for them to take a harder look at you, and what you’re doing. Snowboarder Mag ran my first photo, but I was also submitting to Shem Rose over at Transworld, and they were giving me some love too.

My bigger break came when Jeff Baker and Pat Bridges asked me to be a Contributing Senior Photographer for the mag. It was not quite a senior, but it came with travel, a monthly retainer and money for film. The Snowboarder staff are my best friends in the world, and I love working with them.

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What was it like growing up in Vermont?

What was the scene back in those days?

When my parents split up, a lot changed for us.

I chose to move to Vermont with my mom, and we had to go through a huge lifestyle change because of our money situation. I can’t say I was poor, but we were pretty close. The cool thing was, sports like skating and snowboarding bring you instant friends. My school had about 5 snowboarders in it in 1988, and we were pretty much drawn to each other. Not to mention all the VTSP crew spread all over the state, so you pretty much had friends at every resort.

Living in Vermont during my high school years was the best thing in the world. My friends and I were snowboard fanatics. We even went as far as to organize a fake bottle drive in our town where we raised a couple thousand dollars so we could start a snowboard club. We forged all the paperwork saying that we had a bus driver down to take us two times a week, and everything was signed off by the principal. The truth was we had no bus driver, we drove the bus ourselves up to the mountain twice a week, and used all the extra money to buy ourselves shred gear. We never got caught, and the Colchester Snowboard club got to shred 2 nights a week!

As I got a bit older and more into the scene,

I met guys like Jeff Brushie, Russell Winfield, Seth Near and Seth Miller, Shane Charlibious, Jamile, Doug Byrnes, Josh Brownlee, Ali Goulet, The Rehbeins, G-Man, the whole rest of the VTSP Crew. That’s when I got my first glimpse into the fact that snowboarding is so much more than a sport. It is a culture.

How has the snow industry changed since you became involved?

Wow, it has changed so much, but at the same time I see it going back to where it was in my youth. When I was just getting involved, snowboarding was the coolest thing in the world, and the coolest people in the world were involved in it. Somewhere along the line, some people in snowboarding started to lose their soul. A couple of years ago skiing was almost ready to die because no kids wanted to ski, they only wanted to ride. During this time, the skiers were actually the minorities at schools and they were the outcasts. Then, skiing figured out how to change their technology and be cool again. All they really did was copy what we were doing and they just started taking sales from us. While snowboarding is now seeing something like a 40% decrease in sales, skiing is growing. If you ask young kids today, you will be blown away at how many would rather ski than snowboard, or how many actually do both. What’s helping us is the next wave of snowboarders. Have you seen the Lick The Cat Crew in action? These guys are everything we were at that age except they can snowboard like no one I have ever seen before.

Let’s also look at the urban scene; let’s ride the cities like we ride the mountains. This season is a big year for snowboarding, we need all the riders we can get, so get your friends to try it out and get more people on the mountain.

I know you’re a chiller, but rumor has it you’re pretty serious when it comes to shooting. Is that true and how do you deal with crews if they take forever to get to a spot and setup? (laughter) Yeah I’m definitely a pretty easygoing guy when it comes to my general attitude in life but, when in certain shooting situations, I can flip a switch and become really serious. I think what it comes down to is, I’m driven to succeed

E-STONE

at photography and to come home from trips stacked with hammers. Another side of it is some of the features these days can be life and death situations, so you need to be focused on building everything properly to help reduce the risks. People always think we hit the gnarliest features, but the truth is, when set up correctly, it’s not as crazy as it looks. Sometimes I feel like some riders just want to hold other riders back because they don’t want to be forced to step up their game. One rider will look at something and say, “I can do this, let’s set it up.” The other rider says, “no way man this is not possible.”

Then, everyone gets back in the car and we move on. When a rider knows he can do something, the rest of the crew should only support

I FELT ACCEPTED IN AN INDUSTRY THAT I FOREVER DREAMED ABOUT.

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ST

INTERVIEW

him. With photography, I’m a perfectionist and this sometimes makes me very serious, but after the shoot, when you know you got the shot, that’s when I turn back into easygoing E-Stone.

Sometimes you do get in situations where the crew is hard to deal with and they are just slacking. Once they get busted and kicked out of a spot a couple times, they get it together.

While doing a Google search, we happened to come across a pretty solid mug shot of you in SLC from back in the day. Any good stories behind that or would you rather not mention?

I can’t believe you found that! J2 and I got ditched at a bar in downtown SLC and were forced to walk to where we were staying. After

56

walking for three hours, we finally were almost home. We were so stoked that we actually started running. Of course, we ran right past a cop car. We ran into the house and jumped in our sleeping bags, and pretended we were sleeping. Of course there was a knock on the door and it was three pissed off cops. Within five minutes they had us both cuffed and separated, grilling us about some crazy story involving stolen stereos. They kept asking me where the hammer was I used to break all those car windows, and where did we put the radios. They brought us in and booked us under 15 counts of vehicular car burglary. That night J2 and I cuddled together to try and stay warm in a room with about 20 other really creepy dudes. The

E-STONE

next morning I was lucky enough to have my dad bail me out, but he did not have enough to cover J2. It was something like 5k that needed to be given to the bail bondsmen for something like a 100k bail. Luckily, Tarquin was cool enough to get J2 out later that night. A week later they dropped the charges. That was my first taste of life in Utah.

You’re the head guy over at Technine, and the brand has been around for over 20 years now. What are some of the good memories and bad, and are there any things you wish you could go back and change?

When I was 18 years old, some friends and I started Technine. We were the first company to produce baseless bindings, and this put us on the map. I was able to form a team of all my best homies, and just snowboard. My dad took care of the back end, so my job was just all the fun stuff. We were all about R&D, and simply making better and better products. Guys like J2 and Tarquin took me under their wing and brought me along with them on trips. Ali Goulet was blowing up hard at the time, he was my roommate and best friend. Cole Taylor, who is now one of the main guys at Technine, picked Ali and I up hitchhiking; we instantly clicked.

We drank as many 40’s as we could every night while smoking that good Colorado weed, and hung out spinning records and freestyling. Then we would get up as early as possible and shred Vail or Beaver Creek all day until closing. Those were the best times.

The worst times just ended about a year and a half ago, but lasted about 2 years. We got involved with an investor that was just the worst human I have ever met. Why he got involved with us I will never know, but he almost brought us to our death. The only thing that kept us alive was the passion that Cole, the Team, and I had for the brand. It was evident he had no love for the brand, snowboarding or snowboarders for that matter. If all you care about is money, then snowboarding is not right for you, and I think he learned that fast. I don’t want to dwell on the negatives, but this guy cost me a lot of relationships and we lost the trust of our accounts. I’m a firm believer in Karma, and I know he will get his

in the end. Hell waits for you my friend.

The good news is we have teamed up with a guy named Jacopo, who is a perfect fit for us, he is the exact opposite of the last one. He cares about the sport and cares about our crew. I feel like Technine has 9 lives, and we are on our 9 th now. I actually feel like we are back to running it like we did in 1994, when things were the best.

Thanks to everyone who has ever bought anything Technine and helped support us!

If there were one thing I could go back and change, it would be what went down with my father. We did not always agree about everything, and I don’t really want to get down to the heart of the matter, but it cost me my relationship with my father, and that’s something I will never get back. Sure we talk here and there on holidays, but it will never be the same. I wish I could go back and do a lot of things differently, but this one is major. I will think about it my whole life.

You’ve talked in the past about getting more people riding again, how do we do that as an industry?

Imagine waking up one day, and there were no pro-models, or even pros for that matter.

If snowboarding continues getting smaller, this could happen. Have you ever walked into a snowboard shop and got the vibe that you were not cool enough to be in the shop, and when you asked questions, the shop kid made you feel a little stupid for even asking? These dudes are too cool for school, and they are only turning people away. I bet you have walked into a shop where the kid working the floor made you feel like you were his friend, and he would answer every question you asked, never making you feel stupid, and he actually cared that you were going to enjoy what you bought. That is the attitude we all need to take, don’t make people feel like we are some elitist group that is too cool for school, and like we don’t really give a shit if other people dig our sport or not. We are all ambassadors of this sport, and it’s time we started acting like one.

57 How many different countries do you think

E-STONE

WE ARE ALL AMBASSADORS OF THIS SPORT, AND IT’S TIME WE STARTED ACTING LIKE ONE.

58

you’ve been because of photography and snowboarding, and can you tell me about some of the most memorable experiences?

I have to see new places, experience new cultures and foods; this is truly what makes me tick. I think right now, I’m sitting at about 30 countries. My dream is to one day put together a coffee table book of my travels. One thing you learn is, anything can happen out there and you must never get too comfortable. Always remember you are far from home; you can only rely on yourself and your friends if the shit hits the fan. All at once, a flash of memories comes to mind, witnessing the loss of an amazing friend and ambassador of our sport, Jeffy Anderson, in Japan, visiting a Gypsy Village in Bulgaria, getting screeched-in and becoming an honorary local in Newfoundland, Canada. Getting mugged by a cab driver, and left in the middle of nowhere in China, being served tea at the top of a mountain in Turkey by a family of farmers that let us jib their hay stacks, leaving Paxson in a Polish hospital that looked like the scariest movie set in the world, while we took Dylan to the other side of town to see a different doctor for a broken nose. Seeing the most incredible Gun’s and Roses cover band in the world in Istanbul, eating horse in Bulgaria, drinking in the streets and playing football in downtown Madrid with a bunch of crazy locals, hanging at a bar which paid girls in bikinis to swim in the glass pool that was behind the bar, and seeing one of the riders in the pool making out with the girl while the whole bar laughed. Having a rap battle in Moscow… The list goes on and on, and I could tell stories for hours on end but, the real-

est moment of my life, was being in Japan during the big earthquake. There were moments when I did not think I would ever see home again. I was texting homies, telling them I loved them because I thought we were done. Sometimes, it is hard to believe that this is a job with the way we talk about it, but the truth is, you have to work your ass off. Yet, when you love work, you never actually work a day.

What does E-Stone do in his free time?

Shit, spare time? Do you think I have any spare time shooting photos and trying to do Technine? (laughter) Just kidding. For real, I just try to spend as much time as I can with my beautiful wife Angie, and our awesome crew of animals.

I know I will be gone a lot in the winter, so during the summer I spend as much time as I can with them.

Lastly, you’ve said it’s about doing what you love, it’s not about the money. What would you be doing if you didn’t go down your current path?

The truth is, I hated school and do not think that learning style worked well for me. Besides skating and snowboarding, I was into drugs and music. I would say one or two things would have happened. I used to kill it, freestyling on the mic with a Jamaican dancehall vibe. Now, it seems all trendy to be a white rapper. Sometimes I really wish I had pursued that all my life instead of snow. It’s a hard game to make it in so who knows, I was headed towards a life of drugs and negative people. If it had not been for snowboarding, I might not have made it. I’m very thankful for the path I chose, and the people I have met along the way.

I want to send one shout out to a homie that has helped me out my whole photo career. Cole Taylor was the driving force as to why we would all work so hard, and if it was not for him I might not be where I am today. Cole’s hard work kept everyone shoveling harder, and his attitude helped riders to keep pushing the progression.

Together, I feel like we must have found thousands of spots, and worked on just as many shoots together. He is a true G, and I’m thankful for all he has done for me.

BACHINSKY

It all started from an idea sparked on a daily traffic commute down to Santa Ana, California. Manny Santiago & I were driving down south, he mentioned that I should do another mini ramp project with OC Ramps. It had been around 6 years since we had done the last mini ramp video. That day I talked with the two bosses, Tyler Large and Derek Medina, about doing a full length edit again. A month later we were making late night 30 minute drives just south of Los Angeles to a 6 foot high, 16 foot wide, mini ramp.

Words and Photo Dave Bachinsky

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MINI PROJECT

MINI

PROJECT 61

MINI PROJECT

Christian Serekia, Ollie

With three months of shredding the warehouse, even slash grinds were getting me sore. Every other day we would make the trip to shred the ramp. We put in so many hours skating with friends and having rad sessions. With all the time we had spent skating the ramp, we came up with tricks we never thought of before. It was awesome to feed off of each other with ideas.

Skating the ramp was so much different than going to a skate spot in the city and trying a flip trick down a set of stairs. I would be skating the mini ramp for hours, battling a trick that you had to keep your feet in the same position to flip the board in that certain way. I had nights when I had to have my friend drive because I was so exhausted from trying the trick.

62

After six months of battling out the warehouse, I mentioned to Derek Medina that we should bring the ramp to some epic locations. I thought it would be awesome to have it floating on the water, so we started looking into it, but it was really pricey to rent a barge, and get docks or permits. Derek was talking to one of his friends about finding the right location to setup the ramp. His friend mentioned that just over the bridge the inlet only gets around a foot and a half of water. Two weeks later we were carrying a 6 ft. mini ramp through a small, mobile housing beach front community. 45 minutes after arrival it was up on stands, and ready to be shredded. People in the community with

a beer in one hand were shouting, “you can’t 360, or fuck it do an ollie for me!” I’d be trying a line and at the end give them an ollie, then the whole bench would be screaming, “That was awesome!! Doooaaa..” They were all laughs and being super supportive. As the water started to rise along the bottom supports, a cop showed up and asked us what we thought we were doing. We gave him the run down that we would be breaking it down within the next hour. I thought we were instantly gonna get kicked out, but he said the complete opposite, “You guys enjoy ,just make sure it gets taken down.” The water started to rush throughout the river bed, and we were running out of time to film. The bottom base supports kept getting swept out from the bottom of the ramp while I was trying a trick.

I’d get around six tries before I’d hear, “the left front side support is floating away!” They’d instantly come in like a Nascar pit crew and put it all back together real quick. I wanted to get an ender for the video with the water an inch away from the flat bottom. I’d hear them tell me I had one more try and the ramp was creaking like it could crack in half at any moment. I got my last attempts in up until the moment the entire ramp was about to float away. Then, like lightning, five friends came running through the water with drills in their hands, and everyone grabbed a piece to bring it ashore. It was a solid mission for the last day of filming.

POWDER DAYS ARE WAY MORE FUN WITH FRIENDS.

R O M E S N O W B O A R D S . C O M

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STUPID QUESTIONS

TRAVIS PASTRANA Interviewed AB Photo Nitro Circus

What’s one stunt your mom has stopped you from doing?

She grounded me when I tried my first back flip because she told me not to do it... Haha. Little did she know back then that this was only the beginning. All the back flips and crazy stunts we’re doing now in the Nitro Circus Live shows is how I make my living!

How much drinking goes on behind the scenes in the monster truck circuit?

Very little. Not a good idea to run a 2000hp, 10,000lb vehicle with the ability to launch into the stands if you have a hangover! Plus, most of the guys are also the mechanics and semi rig drivers, so there isn’t much time... Having said all that , they are still rednecks...

How did you get in the underwear business and why don’t you do commercials like Michael Jordan?

When I was 16 years old a good friend said he needed some money for a start-up company called Ethika. Malcolm promised me there would be photo shoots with scantily clad women on a regular basis.

I’ve been part owner for the past 13 years and I am yet to have one of those photo shoots!

84

How many “This Car Climbed Mt. Washington” bumper stickers did they give you?

None... but I bought a baker’s dozen at the gift shop!

Has NASCAR required you to chew tobacco?

I don’t know one single driver that does. NASCAR is a sport built on running shine.. There are still a lot of good ol’ boys racing on the circuit.

How many boobs have you autographed in your day?

Well, I average about 2 sets a show, but it’s not as good as it sounds!

Some guy just walked a tightrope across the Grand Canyon, how you gonna show him up?

That seemed like it took a lot of skill, so good for him! I already launched off the Grand Canyon with a dirt bike and a parachute for Nitro Circus. Much safer and a lot more fun!

Honestly, think about this for a second, what’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever tried to do?

Anything that I didn’t prepare for. So, I’d say getting a plastic Big Wheel from Toys“R”Us and back flipping the 75’ gap on Bob Burnquist’s mega ramp before ever testing the speed by straight airing the 45’ gap!

CIOTTI

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MIKE BURTON

STUPID QUESTIONS

DANNY

Interviewed AB Photo Cyril Mueller

KASS How many freezers full of Totino’s Pizza Rolls do you still have?

Not a single bag left, we ate my whole budget in about a week and a half.

If they had to replace you on “Danny and the Dingo,” what celebrity Danny would you want it to be? It can’t be Danny Tanner either.

Danny Bonaduce or Danny Devito.

When was the last time you actually competed in a snowboard competition?

The last event I competed in would be the Grenade Games in Mammoth this last winter, or the Park City Grand Prix for the 2010 Olympic team.

Do you personally know any of the Jersey Shore cast?

I don’t. I have seen a few of them in clubs in L.A., but it wasn’t my favorites. I like Snooki the most. I would love to meet her and get wasted at the shore, or on the mountain.

86 Has Shaun White ever tried to die his hair

brown so he could impersonate you?

Haha I don’t think so.

Best thing you’ve ever won?

The best prize I ever won was the U.S. Open.

Major street credit, and it’s not about the money, just Jersey pride.

Why aren’t there more females in snowboarding?

There’s lots of females in snowboarding, and some are better than most guys. I would like more girls to start enjoying the mountains, and major respect to the radical babes that already do.

If you owned a lighthouse, where would it be?

If I owned a lighthouse it would be in Brooklyn, Mammoth lakes, or Amsterdam.

Has the Dingo ever eaten a baby?

Dingo has a special diet of one baby a day. Usually it’s an egg or baby squash, baby onion, baby carrot, or baby back ribs.

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STUPID QUESTIONS

AESOP ROCK Interviewed AB Photo Chrissy Piper

Long Island must have been a hardcore place to grow up?

It was probably the most hardcore place I have ever seen, including all regions of everywhere.

Are you pissed that your High School yearbook pic is posted on your Wikipedia?

I think it’s pretty funny. I look regal as a motherfucker and anyone who denies it can rot in hell.

Do you think Kanye is somewhat responsible for the theft of all your tour equipment this year?

That’s an interesting theory. I will have to run that past my people and their people to see if it really holds water, but I’m writing it down now… k..a..n..ye. OK got it.

When you and ASAP Rocky met, how confused was everyone?

You know, way less confused than I think everyone seemed to be hoping for.

Would you ever consider inviting Michael McDonald to blaze a track with you?

Absolutely.

88

When was the last time you went rollerskating?

I’ve been thinking about this for some time and I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I went

roller-skating. I know I’ve been in my lifetime, but I have no memory of it.

You’re an artist too, but do you only draw animals and skulls?

I’m more just a guy that doodles in a book sometimes these days. I don’t really have a specialty beyond poorly-drawn human faces. I could maybe bust a skull or animal if I had some reference, but probably not.

Have you been offered any pilot deals to bring back the Aesop Rock TV Show?

I’m not really sure what you’re referring to, but I’d take a TV show offer. I don’t really have any ideas or direction at this point, but that sounds great. Maybe a sitcom, or a sword-and-sandal type epic?

What type of contest would you like to make these two compete against each other in: John Candy vs. Chris Farley?

No competition. Only love.

If you could travel back in time, which concert would you rather attend? Abba, Village People or Canned Heat?

I don’t actually wanna see any of those concerts. I may just be a grump though. I am.

STUPID QUESTIONS

DOLAN Interviewed Butch Wright Photo Chase Cruz

STEARNS Were Termite skateboards your first sponsor?

Yes, Termite was my first sponsor.

Do sock sponsors really matter?

Yes, sock sponsors matter a lot to a skater; to have nice socks with no holes is awesome.

Don’t you think people should wear their sponsor’s logos?

I mean, yeah, but I don’t. I feel like if you’re doing what you should be doing, people will know what sponsors you ride for.

What happened to the long hair?

Haha! That was in my hesh days and those are behind me but, hey, you never know, I might hit a second hesh phase.

Who’s the most handsome, Dylan, Austyn, or Olson?

Obviously Dylan.

90

Who had your favorite part in “Meet the Lurkers” and why?

BK’s part for sure, because he is mad. Haha.

Which crew do you think is radder, Shake Junt or Bro Style?

Hmm.. LETS BE FRIENDS KREW is way sicker than both.

Loose trucks or tight trucks?

Med. If you had to pick one, Natty Ice or Busch?

PBR. Would you ever want to skate in Street League?

Probably, once I get sponsored by AriZona Iced Tea. What will you do for work after skating?

Art, or be a bum.

Why is BK gay?

Haha, because he is.

PAT MILBERY

ZEALE

MITCH SCHMIDT

// SKATE SNOW MUSIC //

build locally, spread globally / so-gnar.com / insta: @sognarofficial / facebook: sognar1 create or die shirts available at zumiez / for stickers send a self addressed envelope to: so-gnar 611 illinios st. golden,CO 80403

#XMARKSTHEGNAR

STUPID QUESTIONS

LOUIE VITO Interviewed AB Photo Cyril Mueller

What’s it like being the shortest pro snowboarder?

I’ll still tower over SOME of the groms for a little bit longer. But it’s hard work, since I had to take over the crown once Mikey LeBlanc retired.

If you could dance with a star, who would it be?

Any beautiful girl would do just fine.

Have you ever considered a bowl cut?

No, I like my hair too much to jack it up that bad.

What’s your relation to Don Vito?

None. No one in my family is big like that.

Do you actually drink Red Bull, or just water in a Red Bull can?

I drink it and I like it. Always have.

92

Have you ever partied as hard as Shaun White?

Depends on what you’re referring to.

Have you converted to Mormonism yet?

Far far far from.

What’s there to do in Ohio?

A lot. I learned to snowboard there, Cedar Point, professional sports teams, beautiful women, big college campuses with a good night life.

Have you ever gone curling?

Nope, I haven’t had the motivation to actually search for a place to do that.

Any thoughts on “So You Think You Can Dance” or “America’s Best Dance Crew?”

Moreso America’s Best Dance Crew. I think I could put a squad together.

If you could call out one person to ask Stupid Questions to, who would it be?

Dingo.

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INTERVIEW

LITTLE LOST INDIAN Interview Michael Connolly Photo Donald Miguel

A couple years back Sid Enck quit his job, bought a van, built a loft in it, and began traveling the country. He has since started the art collective, Tea Shack Project with his friends, and has been showing collaborative art shows in local galleries and skates shops. Sid is a super passionate and humble dude with a deep connection to his Native American roots which influence his art.

Did I mention he also rips tranny?

94

To start, if you could just tell me a little bit about Tea Shack Project, what it’s about, and what artists are involved with it.

Tea Shack Project is an art collective between a few names: Jason Adams, Nicky Gaston, Lauren Napolitano, Patrick Jilbert and Mike Strauss, obviously. We always have different artists doing one-offs throughout the year. Basically, it started with a bunch of friends just drinking tea in a garage in Santa Cruz. I had all this stuff to print shirts and we just started our own little artist collective. It’s become more of a printing company than anything, but we’re constantly putting a small line out and filling the little accounts we do have in the Bay area with the new designs.

That’s pretty rad. It sounds like collaboration is pretty intrinsic to the whole project you guys have going on there. Do you want to talk on that a little bit, how important it is to have a group of guys that are all down for the same concept; guys who have each other’s backs and are working just to push something creative forward?

Yeah, it’s like I’m kind of doing it on my own, but my friends are involved. I just basically say, “Hey, I’m coming out with a new line” and my friends are like, “All right, I’ll work on something,” and they get me something in the next week or two or whatever.

They come over, we hang out, we print, we try to book little art shows with the collaborative artists, and do events to promote the brand. Basically, it kind of gets us together like a family. I feel like our whole team of artists are really talented people, and they come out with amazing stuff. They generate energy off each other and just work on the next thing, you know what I mean?

Yeah, totally. It seems super organic.

Yeah, that’s kind of what we’re going for. We’re going for the made in America, made by us, and really promoting the total organic deal. I feel that in the Bay area no one really cares about made in America for an artist collective t-shirt line, and having an organic feel, you know what I mean?

That’s what we want to do, promote that. That’s the whole thing.

It seems like there is this push now for U.S. handmade, whether it’s a response to people getting fed up with commercial products or whatever it may be. Do you think there’s a lot of people popping up that are saying they’re U.S. handmade or organic, and it’s kind of less genuine than it really truly should be?

Yeah, I think. I don’t even know… I look at people’s labels, and I just feel like people are more trying to take advantage of saying, “yes, made in America,” so they can put a bigger price tag on it. In a sense, it is what you’re saying, totally. Definitely the case in San Francisco. You walk down the street and go into all these stores

LITTLE LOST INDIAN

that are super rad, and they’re like, everything is ‘Made in America’ or by the artist and it’s all done there and it’s awesome. At the same time, the price on the garment or the piece of art is just through the roof, you know what I mean?

It’s just like, really? I think that people are taking advantage of that.

Kind of going back to the idea of the collaborative aspect of Tea Shack, and you guys bouncing ideas off each other... Where do you guys draw your inspiration from, and where, earlier in your artistic career, did you find influence?

It’s everything, from skate videos and early skating, to just listening to my friends play music in Santa Cruz. They have a band called Village of Spaces Corners, they actually now live in Belfast, Maine, and I’m really inspired by them.

They had a family, and I sort of lived with them, which is kind of what triggered the Tea Shack project as well. There’s also the music I listen to, like classical and opera. I listen to a lot of folk music. I listen to everything. It’s insane.

The inspiration for my imagery comes from three months traveling on the road. I left my job and said, “I’m done.” I sold my Jetta, bought a van, built a loft in it and spent like three months on the road a few years ago. I traveled across

America, having an amazing time, going through Santa Fe and Arizona, seeing amazing places, talking and visiting with people. It was just like, really about getting in touch with my Native heritage and where I’m from, and the tribes that I’m from. I went to the museums there and talked to other Native Americans that are struggling artists, and I really thrived off those artists that are just doing what they love to do. There was their imagery, and then I fell in love with the Grand Canyons and Hopi art. Everything, just kind of morphed into what I’m doing now, which is insane, you know?

Yeah that’s awesome. Can you talk a little bit about your Native American background and how important that is to you? I know you go under the moniker Little Lost Indian sometimes.

I’m three tribes, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee. It’s all my mother’s side. If you look at me, I’m not completely Native American, but it’s always been in my blood. My mom is a real spiritual person. I’ve always gone to the powwow since I was a little guy. She would always dress me up. Then, I don’t know, I graduated high school and I kind of distanced myself from it. I didn’t mean to, I kind of just lost sight of it in who I am. Finally, realizing on my trip, I love the Native American heritage, my heritage. It’s

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LITTLE LOST INDIAN

FINALLY, REALIZING ON MY TRIP, I LOVE THE NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE, MY HERITAGE. very important to me. It has inspired the artwork I love to do now, and I’m super happy about it.

I wanted to produce something that I could feel good about.

You talked a little bit about your mom. I know you’re a junior too. Do you draw a lot of inspiration from your parents?

Not too much. I’m a gypsy wanderer. I am really spiritual from my mom though, so, yeah, I can see that from her side. My dad is also an amazing person. We’ve always camped and traveled, and did all kinds of really cool stuff. He’s a musician, and he likes playing instruments, I’ve always loved that part. Everything took its toll through Mom and Dad, and being who I am, but I kind of live the gypsy life. After high school, I bailed to do my own thing and just ‘found myself’ on my own, you know?

Yeah, for sure. So you’re a skater too? What are some of your favorite skate spots in the area, or some of your favorite things to skate? I know you rip tranny.

Yeah, I love tranny. I love DIY spots. There’s a spot in Santa Cruz, it’s off Highway 1 I think.

It’s kind of a ditch. I like to skate that spot. I also have my local park, it’s called Roosevelt Skate Park in San Jose. It’s really close, I can go there and put headphones on, be antisocial and just have a good time skating. It’s cool, because sometimes it’s completely dead. Then there’s San Francisco which has a bunch of Jersey Barrier spots. There’s a bunch of rad cats who we go out there and skate with. Then, we have Oakland, which has some cool spots too. There’s definitely a lot of tranny spots in Oakland that I love skating.

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Have you skated a lot of the same spots growing up?

So much has changed since growing up. I grew up skating San Jose Van Club when it was an

indoor park. All we had, realistically, was Greer Jersey, and I was small so I couldn’t go that far to those places. I had to skate curbs and little street spots growing up. Everything has changed. You got so many parks now, with so many people doing their own thing.

Do you have any shows coming up or anymore trips scheduled?

We just got back from a big trip in Oregon. Yeah, we’ve got some stuff, I’m doing a project with one of the Tea Shack Project artists, Lauren Napolitano. We’re doing a show together at Guy’s Gallery in March, the gallery is called Seeing Things. I’m really excited about that show because both of our work together is amazing. I got a good mate in Louisville, Kentucky, Patrick Jilbert. We’re working on a show, perhaps in the Bay area. He’s an amazing guy. He’s done stuff for Consolidated, Von Zipper, Blood is the New Black. I met him at Consolidated when he was working with Todd Bratrud, he designed over 30 boards for them. His stuff is amazing. I love working with him. We’ve never done a show, like, a real show together. We’re trying to find a really good space. We might be doing a show together in Oakland in the next couple of months but, basically, I’m just doing little group shows in skate shops with friends who are in the area.

Do you have any plans to possibly come out east and show on the east coast at all?

I would love to go out there and show on the east coast. I love the galleries. I went to Orchard and skated that ramp, I really like that space. I liked how they had the gallery upstairs, it was amazing. It would be cool to do a show there. I would like to get out there, although I haven’t really talked to anybody, it’s definitely in the future plans, for sure.

INTERVIEW

MOE POPE Interview Doug Brassill Photos David Salafia

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Boston’s Hip Hop artist of the year, Moe Pope, to check out some art he has been working on and to chat about his album Let the Right Ones In, which he dropped with his hip hop group, Moe Pope and Rain. Moe and the musicians that he works with produce such a unique sound and performance, I had to pick his brain to get a good understanding of the inspirations behind it. I got to catch a show of Moe’s during the Brain Trust’s three year anniversary party that just blew me away. They have a violinist and a trumpet player that provide a great sound and complement Moe’s lyrics so nicely. It’s always a breath of fresh 98

air to hear artists that strive to create their own unique sound.

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INTERVIEW

COMIC BOOKS, I THINK MORE THAN ANYTHING AS A YOUNG KID, GAVE ME AN ESCAPE, AN IMAGINATION, AN IMAGINARY WORLD TO LOOK THROUGH.

Tell me about yourself, and what Moe Pope and Rain is?

Moe, that’s me. Moe Pope and Rain is a duo, an emcee-producer combo, Rain is my orchestra.

He’s my band, he’s everything that makes me want to write music.

I see that you like comic books. Has that had an influence in your music?

For sure. We have a song called Gotham on the record, which is actually the first song leading into the record. Comic books, I think more than anything as a young kid, gave me an escape, an imagination, an imaginary world to look through. Even with books and stuff, I read a lot as a kid. So if I wasn’t fighting, ya know, if I wasn’t beating somebody up or whatever (laughs) I was probably in my room being a geek readin’ comic books.

100 So did you do a lot of fighting growing up?

I got my fair share, ya know, I grew up in Academy Homes projects down the street. I grew up in the 90’s when Academy Homes were probably the worst projects in Boston, and yeah it’s just one of those places man. Honestly, I wasn’t into anything really all that bad. My mom had a leash on me, I got beat, ya know like most kids, so I stayed out of the way. But a lot of my homies were into stuff and I just paid attention, watched, and it influenced my music. I think the whole cadence of the city influences a young mind, your surroundings just do, no matter what. I grew up half of my life in one of the worst projects in the city, then went to the suburbs with fuckin’ farms and stuff like that. So, I love Nirvana just as much as I love Run DMC for that reason. I’m lucky, a lot of people don’t get that, both sides. I mean, I had fuckin’ house parties where I’m grindin’ with a girl in the corner to reggae, Buju Banton or whatever, then I also have keggers in the woods, country (laughs).

MOE POPE

So I hear you have a deal with Converse, what’s up with that?

We have been blessed that Converse has taken notice of us and we’ve been able to do South By Southwest (SXSW) and stuff like that with them this year. Although we got a spot on Converse’s bill, my wife is having a baby, so we couldn’t go, because that’s a little more important to me.

But, we have done some shows for them ya know, performance pieces for Converse. They have treated us well, I got nothing but Converse, they keep us dipped in the sneakers. I’m happy with them and I’ve always worn Converse, so it’s not like it ain’t no thang.

So you took home hip hop artist of the year in Boston, how’s that feel?

I’ve been nominated about ten times and never won. You know I was in various other groups, I was in this group Mission, another group Project Move, Electric Company, and none of those

groups won. Then I put out a record, Megaphone, it was Moe Pope and Headnodic on Megaphone, that got nominated and didn’t win that year neither (laughs).

So it was this new album that got you the recognition?

Ya, it’s crazy because they only present it to one artist every year, everyone else they just project their shit up on the wall and ya know, they get to see their name on the wall, but they only give out one physical award. The physical award doesn’t mean too much, but it is an honor. What I think more than anything, it’s better to be recognized by your peers. I listen to a lot of Boston artists ya know, I’m a fan of music. I listen to what’s in my surroundings just as much as I listen to all these other groups around the country and around the world, so it’s nice to know that other people are listening too. I do totally recognize that it’s a huge honor, but in my heart of

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MOE POPE

THIS PAST YEAR HAS BEEN A WILD RIDE, WE’VE DONE SOME CRAZY SHOWS hearts I knew I was fly before I got this award.

Tell us about some shows you have been involved with recently?

This past year has been a wild ride, we’ve done some crazy shows. Mostly rock shows, we’ve been doing a lot of rock shows, different intermingling of musics, ya know? We did a show with Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, I actually just read an interview you guys did with her. We also just did a show with this band Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys, which is dope, as well as Mean Creek, which is a big name around here. After doing these rock shows, we feel like this is where we fit best within our genre, ‘cause some people hear our music and think this is different, this isn’t hip hop, when it really is real hip hop, it’s good music.

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You have some interesting music behind your lyrics also, it’s not just a computer generated beat like most hip hop. It’s a well thought out and nicely put together piece of music, you guys even have a violinist...

Ya, it’s funny, we’ve done some shows where we will be setting up our shit, and cats look at us like we’re crazy. We’ve been doing some thug shows lately ya know, tryin’ to keep our feet wet and be back in our element, the hip hop element. A lot of cats come in and just rap over their own CD, which if you’re dope it doesn’t matter, but you gotta step your game up, you can’t just be rappin’ over your own lyrics. Then we come in and start setting up our instruments and all my foot pedals, and there’s the violinist, and they’re like “what the fuck is this?” Then they hear us and are like, “oh shit they’re real

good.” They see the violin and think it’s gonna be some pussy shit, for lack of a better term.

We also have a trumpet player, Chris Klaxton, he actually plays keys, guitar, and also did a little bit of vocals on the record. He’s an unbelievable musician, and he’s from New Hampshire actually. I did a show with this band called The Press, from New Hampshire. It was gonna be a thing where they were the band and I was gonna rap, just for one show. I didn’t love it, but I did it, and I really liked him. He was playing keys in that band, and I was like, we didn’t love this but we would like you to come with us (laughs). We have worked together for years now, and he was like, “I actually play trumpet,” so he started playing trumpet with us. I’m really just a lucky dude.

Who makes up the whole Moe Pope Experience?

Well, we have Liam Buell on violin, Chris Klaxton plays the trumpet, then there’s Chris Talken, he’s my spiritual advisor and hype-man, then there’s Rain; he plays the drums, keys, bass, and is my producer. Also, The Arcitype, who’s a producer as well.

You dropped a album called Moe Pope and Rain: Let The Right Ones In. Tell us about that...

Ya, Let The Right Ones In just came out, so go out and get that, cop it. The new album literally has no samples, not one sample on the record.

My dude, Rain, this dude is a maniac. I hear a lot of producer’s names around the city and I don’t feel like he gets the credit he deserves, ya know? Also this dude, The Arcitype, did two beats on the record, and he didn’t use any samples either. I have a new album in the works as well, it’s called Mmmm..., My Monday Morning Musical. All of the covers are gonna be scantily clad ladies, hence the name Mmmm... and we have most of the cover art done, so be on the look out for that record.

INTERVIEW

VINCE Interviewed AB Photo Courtesy of Vince Sanders

SANDERS

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Vince Sanders is the nicest guy you will ever meet. Humility is his middle name…Vince Humility Sanders, or The Chairman, or, as he’s known around Never Summer, The Legend. Vince was the owner of one of the first snowboard shops in Colorado. The Chairman ran The Boardroom for about twenty years and is responsible for more people snowboarding than snowboard lessons.

His shop was a hangout for riders like MFM, JJ Thomas, Dillon Alito and Bobby Blumpkin. The Chairman was one of the first ever Sims ‘pro riders’ back when snowboard pros were still bad asses. Vince had a featured part in one of the first snowboard movies ever filmed called Snowboard Meltdown and was also in the Sims movie Sims Team One. Vince has been splitboarding

since before you knew what splitboarding was.

He’s basically ridden every line in Colorado. He claims first descents on several legendary drops like Mount Sneffles, Mount Gilpin, Mount Torreys, The San Juaquin Couloir and is the reigning King of Shit for Brains. I like to tell all the people that come in for tours of our factory that Vince was Shawn White before Shawn White was Shawn White. If you’re ever fortunate enough to meet Vince be sure and ask him about snowboarding, old days or new days. The Legend is a wealth of knowledge. The conversation will be amazingly interesting and you’ll walk away with a new perspective on snowboarding. Personally, I have more respect for Vince Sanders than any other person that has had the privilege to call themselves a snowboarder. - Chris Harris

VINCE SANDERS

When did you start snowboarding?

I started snowboarding in 1981.

Who was riding back then? Who did you see at the mountain? Who was riding pro?

I rode with Colorado guys like Tony “Tonan” Hesner, Dave Morton, Dave Alden, Rick Larson, Butch Bendell, Roy Tanner, Johnny Quick, Brown Bob Esparza, Chris and George Pappas, Dave Dowd and Tim Windell. I went to Wolf Creek for the first time in 1985 in a girl’s T-Bird that we also were sleeping in. A guy noticed the boards on the roof rack and woke us up by knocking on the window. He was surprised to see snowboards and asked us to ride with him. He was tearing it up, I was blown away like, “Wow people can really ride down here.” That guy was Tim Windell. A year or so later at a Wolf Creek contest, I saw Craig Kelly in an all white, one piece speed suit in the make shift halfpipe. He was tweaking so hard that his ass was literally touching the nose of the board. Not until the 1986 World’s at Breck did you see so many recognizable pros in Colorado. When people like Tom Sims or Jake Burton would show up at those early contests, it was typically a slalom type of race, and they would usually win.

Obviously, you have quite a bit of retail insight within the industry?

Yeah, I first started selling snowboards pretty much out of my apartment in Boulder. Actually, there were two local guys that became pretty legendary, big name pros out here. I sold one of the guys his first snowboard, and when they came over they were trying to trade me some ganja for a board. I’m like, “I can’t really send this to Tom [Sims] for payment. I need cash.”

They’re like, “Okay Vince, then how about a deal on the board?” I said, “This is the Sims 1500 FE man. This is state of the art, metal edges, base bindings, Fastex buckles, P-tex base, fiberglass epoxy board.” I was like, “No, I could sell this all day long for what it’s worth.” It’s funny to think about it later on; one of them was just a natural athlete, and became a world traveling pro. I sold him his first board, and I wouldn’t cut him a deal! I sold those and then I ordered another six boards after that. Next thing I know, I had 50

boards in my apartment.

So much has changed with that retail environment since then. What do you think the keys to success are for shops nowadays?

I think the key for these shops is to be really diverse and to look for more exclusive brands or to create your own SMU pieces with manufacturers. I also think it’s key to shop for these brands that are either going to offer some protection, or a cleaner distribution, or more exclusivity towards that shop. It’s important for these shops to seek out the brands that somebody can’t just click online and find it available all over at a discount, or something that’s sold to every shop down the street.

I think another key is to be really diverse in your services, wherever you can make a sale. Salty is a good example because they carry a wide range of boardtypes. You need to service what you sell too; lift tickets to the local hill, offer rentals, full tuning, repair, spare parts. Just anything to differentiate your shop from the others to bring new people in the store and capture additional revenue.

Back in the day, was it a lot easier because you literally just sold stuff and didn’t have to worry about all of that?

Yeah, the internet changed everything. I had a huge trade-in program where I would sell a hundred boards a year through the trade-in. Somebody could come in, trade in the board, I could tune the board up, turn around and sell it for a profit and sell them a new board. Obviously, Craigslist eliminated that whole thing.

On top of it, you used to have to go to a skate shop to get skate shoes. Now you have so many options, you can go online, or there’s four stores at the mall that carry the same skate shoe. The products used to be specific towards a skateboard shop or a snowboard shop where people knew how to go get them. Now it’s everywhere.

Basically, between the big chains in the mall and the internet, they’ve just cut away at every little niche these shops had. You used to able to sell some studded belts... Now there’s a store in the

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NOW IT’S EVERYWHERE. BASICALLY, BETWEEN THE BIG CHAINS IN THE MALL AND THE INTERNET, THEY’VE JUST CUT AWAY AT EVERY LITTLE NICHE THESE SHOPS HAD. mall that sells all those belts and specific shirts.

Plus, the department stores have it all too.

Do you feel like 10 years from now there’ll be the big chain mall stores, big online retailers, and then just a few pockets here and there with established shops?

The thing is, there’s always going to be somebody out there that’s going to want to start a snowboard or skate shop. I’ve seen it here even since I closed my shop. They’ll start it up and it’ll last a few years, and then they realize they have to cover the overhead and everything we just talked about. You have to do a lot of sales, and it’s not as easy as they think. Eventually the money runs out and it just becomes a cash suck.

If you’re in a downtown area, there’s still that boutique where you can maybe survive. The shops that are in the suburbs are going to have to take the approach of World Boards in Bozeman or Cutting Edge in Connecticut. I talked to Jay [World Boards] at length about that. If somebody can go buy that Spitfire wheel online for less than he can sell it for and there’s three kids in his town that were going to buy that wheel, it just takes away the opportunity.

The shops in the suburbs, they’re the ones where it’s going to be really difficult. They have the mall down the street with Zumiez, Pac Sun, and Journey’s. On top of it, there is still the online stuff.

It’s predominantly going to be some of the bigger chains that are able to offer many other categories that they can backup, and survive with.

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You said you haven’t seen a snow season as bad as the one we had last year in most of your years of riding, right?

The year before last, the ‘11-’12 season, that

was the worst year. It was the only year since I’ve been riding that I didn’t get into the backcountry; it just wasn’t there. Last year we had the spring, which saved us. Here, our seasons have been shifting. The snow we used to get in March we’re now getting in April and May. After the tragedy that happened with the backcountry last year, it was not spring conditions like you’d think. Mother Nature is not going by the calendar. Our seasons have shifted and the industry needs to shift with it. They pushed the trade shows earlier and earlier, they give the lead times of stuff coming up from overseas and things like that. It gives retailers such a short window to really sell this stuff.

Back in the day, it was a lot easier because you didn’t have to put anything on sale until after spring break.

What are some of the issues facing snowboarding right now? Do you think it’s the economy? Is it too expensive to ride? Is it too difficult?

I believe the economy and lack of snow in parts of the country has been the biggest obstacle facing snowboarding in the last few seasons. However, there is a lot of excitement here with the great spring we had, as well as big storms and lots of moisture this summer. People are amped for the upcoming season.

The newer shapes and profiles have made it easier to ski. With the free ski movement, you see kids who would normally start snowboarding, are in the park on skis. Families who only get to be on the snow a limited amount of time, in combination with how expensive a trip is, are deciding to ski over board. Imagine the path we would be on if the industry continued with unforgiving cambered snowboards. We need to do a better job of showing how fun snowboarding is. It is the closest you can get to surfing the endless wave.

Overall, I think snowboarding doesn’t have to be that elite of a sport. That’s going back to the early days. It doesn’t have to be this elite sport, it can be like skating. We’re competing against kids that want an iPad for Christmas, or to pay for their phone bill, or video games, or whatever. Snowboarding can be fairly affordable.

2013-14 SEASON PASS NO BLACKOUT DATES ONLY $259* GOOD AT THREE MOUNTAINS * if purchased by 12.15.13 $299 if purchased after 12.15.13

INTERVIEW

NTER

LU CA When I have crazy dreams, sometimes I wake myself up and look around, like “Damn, did that really just happen?” Obviously it didn’t, but it takes a minute to figure it all out. Usually this occurs because I had too much to drink the night before, or maybe not quite enough at all, but rarely am I inspired by my dreams. Typically, I’m more disappointed by them than anything… Anyways, meet Lucas Beaufort. In his late twenties after having crazy dreams at night, he woke up inspired to create art. He’s created a fantasy world in his head “GusGus” which supplies him with an endless amount of characters and content for his work. In the past five years he’s been creating art on just about everything he can get his hands on, magazines, trees, skate decks etc. His images are playful and full of color, as you would expect from a guy with a dream world in his head. After painting on 200 magazine covers for his own personal “Recover” project, we caught up with the man himself to literally pick his brain on all this. I think I’ll stick to the alcohol for now.

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Name, occupation, hometown?

My name is Lucas Beaufort, I was born in Cannes (France) in 1981, and I’ve worked for an independent magazine called Desillusion for the past 8 years.

I went to France once and all they ate were baguettes…

Indeed, I eat baguettes everyday, I can’t eat without a delicious piece of bread coming out of the oven. Can you imagine it with a slice of Italian ham, a fabulous french cheese and homemade mayonnaise? Add to that, a nice glass of red wine from Bordeaux, and you are in paradise.

How long have you been making art and how did you get started? What’s your background?

I started painting rather late, only about 5 years ago. It came out of nowhere, I woke up one morning, and I felt the urge to clear my head. I did not study art, never even scribbled on a sheet.

It’s strange, sometimes I feel like I was the target of aliens. I dream a lot, every night is an experience, especially for my wife. I always had a lot of strange dreams, you know those dreams where you feel like someone is trying to catch you.

Then, you wake up screaming for help. It’s weird, but true.

So your dreams inspired you to start painting on a daily basis?

There is no doubt, my dreams inspired me to start painting. From five years ago, I now have less fears. It is as if all the characters in my head just came out. It is a real therapy!

Do you skate, snowboard? Tell us about that?

It’s my life, I do not spend a day without it, it is vital. I started skateboarding when I was 6, just

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THAN sitting on it. I’m 32 years old now, and skateboarding is still a part of my life. It’s more than a passion, it’s in my blood.

What are the snow and skate scenes like in France?

The scene in France is pretty nice. In every big city you can find crews with their own vision, their own way to skate. Paris, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Lyon are the biggest places. For snowboarding, France has the biggest resort in the world, you can find so many young rippers from the Alps.

Tell us about the Recover project, how did you get started with it and why did you stop at 200?

Recover project is my baby. It all started 2 years ago with a cover of Vice Magazine. I painted on it for no particular reason. I sent them the artwork and they gave me a subscription. I have a huge collection of skateboard and snowboard mags, so I contacted all the different media groups in the world that I could, and we all decided to become a part of this project. After 2 years and 200 Recover’s, I decided to stop as I needed new challenges. I don’t want people to get bored or think that’s all I can do. I have a lot of different projects in process and I want to keep improving myself.

How come our past copies of Steez didn’t work, and do all magazine covers work for you?

Well, It’s not about Steez, it’s just about the quality of the paper. I could not paint on a Steez cover because the paint doesn’t stick on the varnish.

What I prefer is painting on a matte paper.

What kind of planning goes into your work?

I can’t paint on every cover. Outside the paper quality, the most important part is the inspiration.

What do I feel in front of the photography? Why

IT’S IN

LUCAS BEAUFORT

A

PASSION,

MY BLOOD.

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IT’S LIKE HAVING

A VISION,

WHEN I SEE IT, 114

LUCAS BEAUFORT

do I need to add some characters? Everything happens in 30 seconds, no more time than that, it’s obvious. It’s like having a vision, when I see it, I start painting.

What do you do with the covers afterward?

Are you showing them, sending them back to the magazine companies, selling them?

I did an exhibition last year, during “The Reels” (snowboarding film festival). I had the chance to present 80 covers during the show and everyone was stoked about it. I sold almost every piece, so it motivated me to keep going. During this weekend, I met one of the best snowboard photographers, Jerome Tanon. We decided to work together on an art project.

Can you tell us a little bit about that side project?

He sent me a selection of white and black pictures, and I chose 20 to paint on. I did not choose the most obvious pictures, but those that inspired me the most. The exhibition will take place in October in Annecy (France).

What’s up with all these painted trees and stumps you’ve been doing?

Nature is a great source of ideas for me. I often walk in the forest in search of new sensations.

For my wife’s birthday, I had this idea to paint on a stump with a message for her. Knowing that she often runs in this place, I wanted to surprise her, and I did. When I started painting, I felt the urge to paint all the strains that I would find. I hope I have a long life.

Does it disappoint you sometimes that not many people will be able to see these pieces

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up close because they’re hidden in the woods, or is that the idea?

Have you thought of how you can apply this to a gallery setting?

Not really, I love the idea of creating something that won’t ever belong to anyone. It is good to have customers, but I do not want to forget the passion behind my art. The greatest pleasure is to see people photographing these trees without knowing who the artist is. When I go in the woods, I feel the soul of a secret mission.

You obviously love snow, skate and art.

What’s a dream job for you? What goals are you trying to reach by all of this? Are you simply an artist whose stoked on shredding?

Man, I’m already living my dream job. First of all, I’m lucky to be married to the most incredible woman. I’m always asking what her feeling is about my work, her opinion is decisive. Of course I have a goal, but I can’t tell you what it is. I’m really motivated by this idea of spreading love all around me.

Where does the character inspiration and bright colors come from? Have you considered branching these characters into animation?

It’s strange and not easy to explain. There is a world inside my head that I named “GusGus.” I didn’t create this world, it comes naturally. Each character has a very specific function.

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Wow, that’s kind of crazy. Tell me a little more about “GusGus” if you don’t mind? Is it like its own Sim City?

Today, I have more and more control of my dreams. I see characters that regularly appear in my head. I appreciate their form and what they

do. They have a real life with friends, family, and work. One evening I saw this village with this name “GusGus.” I assumed that it was their city. They live like us, but they are less individualistic. They spread love and creativity.

What other projects are you currently working on, or are in the works? I know you talked about a book.

Yes indeed, the book is almost out. It will summarize the Recover project. I really want to spread it all around the world. It’s not about the money, only 700 copies will be printed and I will send them to the media partners, as well as all the photographers involved. I had the chance to get the support of Converse to make it happen. I would like to thank Luidgi Gaydu, who believed in me, a passionate man who devotes his life to skateboarding. A guy who gives a chance to everyone.

Have you ever had any negative feedback on your Recover’s?

Not really, maybe once, but it’s the game. When you decide to show your work you have to deal with criticism, good or bad.

How stoked would you be to do Recover #201 on our 29th issue cover?

It would be RAD! I’m your man!

Lastly, why are French people so good at speaking English? My French is awful.

We don’t have many options, sink or swim! I love traveling, and meeting people, so I really had no other choice but to learn English.

CULTURE

Words and Photo Daniel Muchnik

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ISLAND LIFE

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ISLAND LIFE

NO HUMAN IS ISOLATED,

They, whoever “they” may be, say that no man is an island. I agree, for to be classified as an island, a piece of land must be surrounded on all sides by water, and men (and from what I hear, women as well) have trouble breathing in such a state. Heck, we’re not even made of dirt, so wherever you are, John Donne, your logic is flawed.

The saying, of course, implies that no human is isolated, but rather a product of the connections he or she has made throughout life. As these connections grow further outward, we realize that the world isn’t such a big place after all, and that we must venture away from what we have grown accustomed to. It was on one such ven-

ture that I found Bainbridge Island. “The Island”, as people affectionately call it, has been prospering over the past decade, and has increasingly become a secondary tourist destination for the Seattle-bound consumer, coffee lover, and connoisseur of intriguing library architecture. As more tourists show up, businesses cater to their needs, and the quaint life known by folks older than myself fades at a drudgingly-slow pace; as if fighting off its own decay.

I did not grow up here. The connection I feel for this place is my connection to the people who inhabit it. I do not claim to understand it as someone who grew up here would, but I set out

BUT RATHER A PRODUCT

OF THE CONNECTIONS HE OR SHE

HAS MADE THROUGHOUT LIFE

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in search of an informed impression.

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I must say, there is certainly virtue in taking life at a slower pace. So much beauty is lost to everyday haste, and for what? This is why I shoot film. All arguments on technical quality aside, film cameras are best for deliberative shooting because they simply get out of the way and let you create an image. When you’re not worrying about the camera, you’re thinking about the subject at hand, and then something magical happens. The photographer begins to notice a certain, almost transcendental, connection with the scene before him or her; contemplating what these places have seen throughout the years,

and what will come. The photograph becomes a particularly poignant moment in time between the past and the future which will exist forever simply because someone chose to acknowledge it. This is the other kind of “decisive moment” which does not particularly depend on split-second timing. All capacity for image-manipulation aside, I feel that an image created in this state of mind lives on not to become a relic of its time, but rather a testament to existence. Nothing is truer than the fact that these places existed before my time, that I have experienced them, and that one day in the future, they will change. We are forever in a transitional period, and we are not helpless. We must simply acknowledge.

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INTERVIEW

DARKRO Interviewed AB Photos courtesy of Don Pendleton

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Don Pendleton has been the man behind the curtain of some of your favorite skate deck graphics for quite some time now. As an avid skater and artist, it was only a matter of time before he decided to spinoff with a brand of his own. We caught up with the man himself to press him with all the extremely hard questions and dig a little deeper into the formation of “Darkroom.”

Name, occupation and current residence?

Don Pendleton. I am an artist. I live in Dayton, OH. What is Darkroom and when did it start?

I started Darkroom in 2005. When I wasn’t working for Alien anymore, I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do next. My plan was just to start a small brand and keep freelance work on the side, and eventually I ended up getting a job at Element. I didn’t have the time to manage Darkroom and deal with the orders because I was doing it all myself. I shelved it after the first season and I always knew I was going to come back to it; I just didn’t know when. That opportunity came up earlier this summer. I started designing things, but I knew I wanted to do boards and stuff.

Why exactly now after years of dormancy, more or less?

I think just the way that the industry has changed. For years and years I had a lot of freedom to do the artwork that I wanted to do, and it was fun. Big business hadn’t really come into skateboarding and taken over at that point.

It wasn’t until I found myself under a lot of direction whenever I would take on a project in skateboarding. That’s when I realized there were just no options for me to do the artwork that I wanted to do and put it out there. I mean, I had to do it myself or I wasn’t going to be able to do it. Now is just as good a time as any, because the writing is on the wall and things are changing in skateboarding everyday. I just want to do something that’s fun for me.

room? Mostly skate decks and tees?

Yeah. I’m going to keep it pretty basic. I also want to be able to put out prints, screen prints, and any kind of project which crosses my mind that may not be a skateboard. It might be something that just is like, I needed an outlet to do it. Anything that I want to do that I think is fun will probably end up going under the umbrella of Darkroom.

Are there any brand or artist collabs planned or is this all strictly your own work?

For right now I built it as an outlet for me to put personal artwork in that I don’t get to do with freelance jobs and other work. It’s just going to be me for now because I’m having fun, and I’m doing stuff that I want to do for a change. I get to make the final call. I don’t have an art director, marketing director or creative director. As long as I’m having fun, I’m going to do it. It’s just me.

At some point, there are a lot of artists that I really like and would love to work with down the line, whether it’s for a screen print, skateboard graphic, or something like that.

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What types of things will we see from Dark-

DARKROOM

WITH DARKROOM, I’LL BE ABLE TO KEEP DOING ART THAT COMES NATURALLY Have you considered any limited, signed and numbered stuff, or is this all ‘mass media’ so to speak? Do you have to strictly be a shop or wholesaler to buy it?

Those are all good questions because they’re the same questions that I ask myself for doing this originally. I wanted to do signed boards and number them, but the truth is I want people to ride these boards. I designed all the shapes myself. As I was doing them, it was hard for me to picture someone buying one to just put it on the wall. The shapes are fun, they’re screen printed.

The wood is really good, they’re made in America by Pennswood, in Pennsylvania. I thought it would be a shame to have people not skate these boards, and if I sign and number them, I think that’s what would happen. The good thing is they’re all limited. I mean, I think we did 75 of each board; it’s limited. It’s printed by hand.

I would say it’s pretty exclusive in terms of how many people are going to have that board. It’s all available online direct just in America right now, until we sort out international shipping and that kind of thing.

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How does having your own brand and line affect your commercial work?

Hopefully Darkroom is going to be where the stuff that I’m passionate about goes, and where I don’t have anybody telling me what they want.

Part of my job is to give clients what they ask me for, whether it’s something that I’m into or not. There are times when I’m not a good fit for what a client is looking for, so I’ll turn it down and suggest another artist. With Darkroom, I’ll be able to keep doing art that comes naturally,

without having another kind of direction come from having other people involved.

Speaking of commercial work, what other projects have you been up to?

Wow. Some of it I can’t talk about, but I just finished up a bunch of artwork for the next Pearl Jam album. That came about because Jeff, the bassist in the band, is a skateboarder and he’s bought some of my paintings over the years. I think they just want to do something different.

They had ideas and I talked directly with them, it’s an amazing, amazing project. It was the first time I’ve had fun with a project in a long time.

Let me think of some other stuff we’ve made.

I’ve been trying to do some prints with the publisher, Poster Child. They publish a lot of art prints and that kind of thing. I’m working on a book right now. It’s going to be self published.

The Darkroom stuff is going to grow a little bit in the next couple of months. Yeah, I have a lot on the plate right now, but I’ve been able to keep it fun.

Lastly, I know you touched a little bit on this. What is the plan for Darkroom down the road? Is it an experiment or is it a long term commitment?

I think the good thing about small companies right now and why they’re so appealing to people is they can change on a dime. There’s such a small commitment financially, as well as how many people it takes to run and do things. You can close shop if you want to if things are hard, or you can try to find distribution and grow. I’m open to options. I mean, if a distribution offer comes up with a brand or company that I respect, then I’m open to growth.

I’m going to try to keep it fun and manageable right now, and that probably means staying small for a while, but it will definitely grow... I just don’t know what direction yet, and that’s pretty exciting. Maybe, Darkroom toilet seats?

Yeah, why not? Thanks Don!

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INTERVIEW

R I Jersey Joe “Rime” is probably one of the funniest guys I’ve interviewed in awhile.

It’s not just his heavy New York accent either; he’s not even trying to be funny.

He just spits the truth straight up and his brutal honesty and realness is enough to turn heads in any social setting. Well respected as one of the legends of the graffiti scene, Joe is back on the East Coast and still painting as much as ever, now more than 20 years since picking up a can. Joe opened up about his past, how the graffiti scene has changed, it’s future and the widely popular sport of handball.

If you ever get the chance to meet Joe, make sure to inquire about the toilets in Italy, I promise it’ll be more than worth it.

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Interviewed AB

Photos Courtesy of RIME

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You recently moved back to NY. How did a New Yorker like yourself make it on the West Coast for the past eight years?

Growing up in New York, all I knew was New York City and being familiar with those surroundings.

I moved to Los Angeles at 25, and up until that point I had only lived in New York and New Jersey. Moving out West was a big deal for me, it was different in many ways and I think that was exciting. It was a really great motivator to be in a place that had a different kind of pace, with people that had a different kind of attitude towards things, plus the weather difference was a big factor. Being in a place like Los Angeles, where it rains maybe two months out of the year, gives you the chance to really be productive, and not use weather as an excuse to stay indoors and slack.

Being out there, I was extremely motivated to run around and do graffiti, it seemed like there were plenty of opportunities within the city, and you could take advantage of that if you were aggressive enough. I think I did well as an outgoing, loud New Yorker existing in Los Angeles. I’m pretty sure it worked out in my favor.

With all of your travels, where do you think the best scene is or where did you feel it was the best for you?

I have a hard time with defining what the best thing I ever did was, or the best place I ever visited. I would say that the best country I have ever been to is America. I haven’t found a country that’s better to live in than the United States. I think every place has its flaws, and has little parts of it that maybe are lacking in some ways, but no matter where I go for whatever period of time, I’m always very happy to return to America. There are some things in place that are very comforting, and I have to leave them to really appreciate those things.

It was strange at first being in a foreign country where English is not the main language,

FROM BEING ASHAMED THAT HER SON WRITES GRAFFITI and seeing western influence. For example, Hollywood’s influence on the world, and just American pop culture being an influence within a country. I remember one time I was in Warsaw, Poland, I was in a club, and it was very different. They would casually drink beer on the street, paint trains regularly, they do this and they do that. Yeah, it was fucking cool. So, I was in the club, it was some hip-hoppy club, they were playing Mobb Deep and Group Home and shit. They’d go from Group Home and the next song to follow that was P!nk, the pop singer P!nk. It was that song that goes like, “I’m coming up so you better get the party started.” They went from Group Home to P!nk, and all these wannabe hip-hop dudes got super excited. They probably barely spoke English or whatever, but they were super excited, holding their beers up in the air and dancing, a bunch of guys dancing with each other, shit like that. I just was like, “Man, this shit wouldn’t fly in America.”

I’m going to switch gears on you a little bit here, but can you tell me how the name RIME evolved?

I started writing graffiti in 1991, I had a couple of names at that time. Before I wrote Rime, the main name that I was writing was Onea. I

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was writing that for a while, and then in ‘93 I was getting ready to go into high school and I thought, “Well, maybe I need to have a more serious name for graffiti. I’m going to be going to high school in Manhattan, dealing with people from other boroughs and stuff like that.”

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I picked the name RIME because there were some people in my neighborhood that were bombers. There was one guy that tagged really good R’s, and there was another guy that tagged really good E’s at the end of his name.

I combined these two different peoples’ tags.

I wanted to start my name with an R and end my name with the E. At first I tried writing Rule, R-U-L-E, but I thought, “That sounds like some-

thing that someone already writes or whatever.”

Then, I picked the name RIME and I spelled it R-I-M-E, which is different from rhyming. I think when people see that name, they might think of stereotypes like, “Oh, it’s like rhyming, and hip-hop elements, and graffiti is an element of hip hop,” and all that kind of shit.

I’ve been asked hip hop related questions or asked about rap albums because I write RIME, people assume that I’m really into rap. I like rap to some extent, but I’m not really into it like that.

I like all different kinds of music. The name itself, it actually means a thin coating or layer on a surface, like rime ice on tree branches.

RIME

my life, I have no control over it.” Then my ideas about it started to change once I was no longer depending on living with family.

When I could support myself and go out to paint graffiti, and I became better, I decided that I needed to rethink this. The reason why I’m so ‘addicted’ and can’t live without this thing is because I feel a genuine connection with it. I decided at that moment, I was maybe in my late teens, I said, “You know what? Fuck thinking like this. I’m going to embrace this and accept that this is what I want to do, and I’m going to do it as best as I can. If I’m going to do graffiti, then I want to contribute to graffiti as a whole.” I wanted to be the best graffiti writer.

I think the big thing that worked in my favor was just how I thought about graffiti. I simply embraced it, and accepted it, and stopped apologizing for my desire to do it. In that process, I earned the respect of everyone in my family. My mom went from being ashamed that her son writes graffiti to bragging about it, and having a little showcase shrine in her house of all the different shit that I’ve done or made or whatever. I come from a very blue-collar, practical East Coast family, and I’m the only person in my family that does anything related to art. I think my family sees me as a successful person.

What did your family think when you started getting into graffiti, and what do they think now?

As far as graffiti goes, it was something that I tried to hide. I would sneak out at night to go paint or I’d paint in the daytime. I think everyone in my family looked down on it because they saw it as like a self-destructive thing, something that led to you being arrested, and getting in trouble. They would say, “When are you going to grow up?” and then they’d see that I’d get in trouble, but then I’d go out and do it again, so they looked at it like an addiction. It was something exciting. It’s like you’re doing something wrong and when you do this thing, you can’t control it. For years I battled with it, I felt like, “Oh man, this thing is destroying

How much planning and preparation goes into your work? I’ve watched a lot of your process videos. It seems like you just attack the wall, but do you sketch things out beforehand, or take measurements, pictures? Elaborate on that process...

Each time I spray paint, it’s different. Different factors relating whether or not it’s legal or illegal, what kind of surface I’m painting on, how long I think I want to paint for, as well as whether or not I’m feeling creative. More often than not, the situation is really impromptu, where I turn up at a spot and the sketch is something I more put together in my head. It’s not something that I have in hand.

A lot of times lately I’ve just been freestyling, and

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I’ll maybe come up with a starting formula in my head, and then I do it.

Again, writing your name for going on 23 years now, you need to incorporate some excitement.

So, not having a sketch or a general plan is sort of necessary. I paint things based off of my mood.

Whatever mood I happen to be in at the time, I will try to paint something that is a true reflection of how I’m feeling in that moment. If I’m painting something that is forced, it is because it’s not connected to my feelings, so I’ll go in and change it, or I’ll even destroy something if needed. Sometimes, the act of destroying something excites me, and makes me happy, so then I go in and I’ll turn something into something else.

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exist in the environment. If I’m in a particular type of neighborhood, maybe a low-income neighborhood, how am I perceived in that neighborhood?

Am I a target? Am I someone that people are afraid of?

Being nervous makes me work even harder, and feeling I’m going to fail is a great motivator because I’m a stubborn person. I’m not going to fail, and I’m going to keep working like a maniac on something until it gets over that hump, until I get that confidence in it. I feel like art has no soul unless the person who created it felt something in that process. I am not about that mechanical shit.

I feel like when I’m in public environments, I want to be able to adapt. Be able to get through and experience all sorts of crazy things that can potentially help build on my character. In painting graffiti, we see all sorts of spooky shit because we’re out late at night. All the strange folks who, well, not all of them have places to go, so when they’re wandering about, they stop over at people painting graffiti or they just cross paths with us.

We see all sorts of crazy shit, like public homeless sex, people getting into fights, crimes being committed or whatever. Sort of derranged people, and just interacting with these people, who maybe are nonthreatening, or dealing with the politics of neighborhoods, with people who are trying to scheme on you, or try to get one over on you; you gotta know how to navigate through those situations. All this kind of stuff I think helps to build your character as a person, and in the end your artwork in part becomes an illustration of all these experiences.

I know you see a lot of crazy shit on the street when you’re doing a piece. Is that all a part of the experience for you?

The thing I said before about painting with feeling, or trying to tap into emotions and all that kind of stuff, it goes along with trying to understand myself. Trying to understand myself as an artist, trying to understand myself in relationships, friendships, or maybe in environments, and how I

If you don’t mind me asking, because I’m sure there are a lot of aspiring writers wondering, how does a graffiti artist make a living?

I think with graffiti, it’s a talent; it’s something that you perfect, something that you market with or without permission. It’s really dependent on how much you believe in it, and how much you convince others to believe and invest in it. It has to do with putting out stuff in the public, marketing, put-

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RIME

ting up big displays of your work for other people to see, and branding a name with an idea being attached to it.

From that, you have people that are willing to invest in you, either by owning your work or wanting you to design something. You could get into the graphics scene, doing graphic design. You could get into making paintings that are related to something you already do, or are very similar to what you paint in the street.

Then, you have the whole process of being a professional graffiti writer, where you just go out and paint graffiti and people get excited by that alone. You just continue to do that and people will invest in you just on the strength of that. Any of these things, they’re not easy, they take a lot of work.

As I said, there are a lot of different avenues you can go down, but that shit shouldn’t really matter.

tation is something that happens alongside that, and you should accept it. Sometimes I feel like if people are not imitating what you’re doing, then maybe you’re not hitting the right point.

As far as names go, I think there’s been some people that have tried to write the same names or words that I write, and I’m not threatened by that either because, again, I think it has to do with how comfortable you are as a person. If you’re very secure within yourself, and in your artistic style, then imitation will always just be imitation. There’s a world of difference between imitation crabmeat and actual crabmeat. You’re like the top cut of meat and shit like that, and this other stuff is just Burger King.

IF WE ACTUALLY

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Again, all of this stuff is irrelevant if your work is a continued reflection of who you are as a person, and if you are still in the game.

Then again, there are some people that don’t produce anymore, and they still can’t be touched. That’s what I try to be. I am trying to be a style master. When I was a teen I said I wanted to be a master of what I do, I wanted to be the best at it, and I still try. Not all the shit I do looks good, but I try.

WOULD ALL MAKE SOME CHANGES.

There’s been a lot of people that have made an effort to exist in a professional way within graffiti and I’m one of those people that has really pushed to get respect within this craft. When I first started, there was no financial goal related to graffiti. It was something that I would’ve had to leave in order to have financial stability. I think these days that some people do graffiti for the wrong reasons.

Have you found a lot of people trying to imitate your work or use the name Rime, now that you’re one of the biggest names in the game?

I think that if you’re doing something right, imi-

Speaking of that, what’s some of the stuff outside of graffiti that you do? What do you like doing in your free time? Are there any new art or new mediums that you’re experimenting with, or hobbies?

I like playing handball, but I’ve been into handball longer than I’ve been into graffiti. I really like directing videos, making video projects, or art di-

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I THINK THESE DAYS THAT SOME PEOPLE DO GRAFFITI FOR THE WRONG REASONS.

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recting or creating events, scenarios, something like that, that’s outside the box or strange; maybe kind of improv, semi-extensive, and has public interaction with people. Convincing others to do some strange or crazy shit, and filming it, that is the kind of stuff I’m really into at the moment. I think about like, doing something very public, or even just a little bit perverted, not in a sexual way but, maybe in a sexual way too, why not?

I have some stuff coming out in the winter. There’s a shirt called Drunk Dial; it’s like characters on top of characters on top of characters. There’s a comedic text message scenario that goes along with the piece. That will be coming out later this year, as well as a piece I did for Art Basel two years ago, called “50 Faces.” We’re going to reinterpret that piece to apparel as well, so that will be coming out later this year.

Totally, and what’s some of the new stuff that’s coming up with Seventh Letter, new projects that you’re working on?

We’re refocusing the entire line as a whole, focusing more on individual artists with each season, instead of like 30 artists on 30 different t-shirts each season. So moving forward, each artist gets their own little small capsule collection in the delivery. We’re talking about items that may not even be apparel right now, just different things than what we are currently doing. We’re trying to reinterpret how people look at street art and graffiti; not just a typical drippy tag on a shirt. Everyone and their grandmother has done that in the past, including us, and there was a time and place for it, but now we’re really trying to take the brand forward in a way.

Last question, if you could do everything over again, would you change anything at all?

I think that if I could do something over, of course, I would make some adjustments and changes, but maybe I’d just end up saying sorry to women a thousand times more. Doing things differently, I think we all would, as much as people try to sit on their high horse and say that they did everything they did, and they don’t regret anything. I mean, yeah, sure, but if we actually went back to the past and had a chance to redo things, I think we would all make some changes.

Any plugs?

MSK - Mad Society King, AWR - Angels Will Rise, Art Work Rebels; the Seventh Letter. jerseyjoeart.com, theseventhletter.com. Keep it real in the ghetto.

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INTERVIEW

Interview Desi Tetrault Photos Patrick Sullivan

HOT TEA Welcome to the neighborhood. Your friend’s car window is smashed as you discover a slew of new pets, and witness the beginning of a very noisy construction project next door. Cut to Eric Reiger, aka HOTTEA, a Minneapolis-based street artist who has installed his colorful work in cities across the globe.

His approach to freshening up gritty streets is optimistically original. After a run-in with law enforcement and a stint in jail, HOTTEA abandoned the aerosols and started experimenting with a more delicate, ephemeral material, one he watched his grandmother use - yarn.

His background with both street-learned graffiti and academically taught graphic design (specifically, typography) has bred a refreshing hybrid of the two styles. If the medium is the message, HOTTEA is the fuckin’ Mr. Rogers of bombing.

When I first came to New York a year or so ago, I came with three specific projects in mind. I wanted to use fences to create letters and typography, find a vacant place or location where I could wrap yarn between two points and stencil on top of that, and I wanted to do a large scale installation.

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I pre-cut 8 or 9 different colors of yarn, and I planned on installing it across a length of a pedestrian bridge, like a walkway path. Something

that went over the freeway, or something that had fences on both sides. When I found the Williamsburg Bridge on my first trip, I knew I wanted to do it there.

My first attempt, I only got about a color and a half done before the NYPD stopped me. I managed to avoid being hauled to jail, but still had to take it down.

My most recent trip, which was a few weeks ago, I decided to try again, so I was there for a week and a half, and in the first week I did fencework all over SoHo, Brooklyn, Bushwick, Williamsburg, Harlem, the Bronx, and South Bronx. Then, the sort of final piece that I was saving for last, was the large scale installation, and we ended up getting away with it.

Can you explain your ‘fencework’ design process?

I used to design on graph paper and re-create that. It’s gotten to the point now where I measure the width and the height of the fence, and

HOTTEA

how many links there are, and I’ll pretty much input all the information to a computer to recreate the space, and design the entire piece on the computer first. It’s much easier that way.

Why was your Williamsburg Bridge piece named “Rituals”?

I wasn’t expecting to title it that, but I was staying in Brooklyn, kind of off the J line, and everyday I was usually in Manhattan, or somewhere around there, or going uptown. Often times I would get off at Marcy, and walk the rest of the way across the Williamsburg Bridge, or if I was done for the night and I was in the L.E.S. then I would walk back to Brooklyn going over the Williamsburg Bridge. I ended up crossing the bridge every night that I was there. It ended up becoming this thing that I would do everyday, this “Ritual”. So, it was kind of nice when we had finished installing the piece, because every night I’d been walking across this bridge, but on the last night when we walked across, I was able to look at the new piece we had installed, and see how the space had changed. It was a totally different experience, it had completely changed.

Well, I’m sure everybody was sort of interacting with it in some way.

Yeah, it was hard for someone to pass by without saying something. It was really interesting because people were unconsciously talking.

It’s like when someone blinks, they don’t know they’re blinking. They were saying things, and not even realizing they were saying something.

The installation was so big and they weren’t expecting that, so, it just evoked this reaction.

People were shocked by the scale of it.

Was it touchable?

No, you had to jump. I’d say 7 and a half, 8 feet high.

So, what ended up happening?

I think people just ended up jumping up, and ripping it down. We installed it on Tuesday, I flew back on Wednesday morning, and it ended up getting a little torn down I think on Thursday. So, my friends decided to fix it the next day (Friday). But, over the weekend it just got completely destroyed. So we’re assuming it was just like, the weekend crowd.

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MY FIRST ATTEMPT, I ONLY GOT ABOUT A COLOR AND A HALF DONE

looking for new places?

BEFORE THE NYPD STOPPED ME. People love to break shit, especially beautiful things. The medium you’ve chosen is particularly temporary. Have you considered working with something sturdier, like colored wire, or would that totally change the meaning behind it?

I feel like if I were to use wire, that would require a lot more planning and maybe a lot more work just to get the materials there. With yarn, what I do is just stuff it all in a garbage bag, put it in my backpack, and ride the train over to a spot. If I were to have all these materials that are a little more permanent, I’d maybe need to rent a truck to get them there.

Which makes it more industrial, like a work project, as opposed to guerilla art.

Yeah, plus the juxtaposition of the color of the yarn and the surroundings is kind of nice too.

Right, it’s this very delicate thing on a grittier canvas. Now, say you’re walking down the street, do you look at a fence and go, ‘oh that’s a spot right there’? Are you constantly

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Yeah, it’s kind of like how graffiti writers look at rooftops, or layups, or a wall. I look at fences the same way, and empty spaces, just for new installations. I was looking a lot during my last trip, because I’ll be back in October. I found this really good spot in DUMBO, kind of near the carousel by the warehouse.

There’s definitely a link between what you do and skateboarding. Both in athleticism and finesse, you have to be able to adapt to whatever obstacle you’re facing. Also, that same idea of you seeing a fence or wall or bridge, and you think, “I want to toss up on that,” is how a skateboarder sees the stairs and the rails. It’s a difference in how your art, or your artistic expression, changes your perspective on things.

I was born in ’82, so during the 90’s I had one of those skateboards that were flat and surf-board shaped with the bigger wheels. I remember cruising around on that.

Do you think you’d ever live in NY? Yeah, I plan on moving there before the end of this year.

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INTERVIEW

VANDALISM Words Sydney Lindberg Photos David Walker

AT ITS FINEST David Walker makes explosive, brightly colored portraits on the city walls of London. His distinct style of creating multi-layered works using only spray paint has allowed him to exhibit his work around the world. Walker currently resides in Berlin, where he spends his days turning large canvases into the same dynamic portraits he had first brought to the streets. I was lucky enough to catch up with Walker via Skype to talk about his muses, and his secret plans to change the meaning of street art for good.

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DAVID WALKER

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INTERVIEW

What have you been up to in Berlin?

I’m here to just get out of London I guess, kind of hanging out and making stuff in the studio.

I’m not involved in the art scene here in Berlin, so it’s been really nice staying under the radar with no kind of pressure. I have no internet at my studio, nothing like that. I go out, travel, and paint most of the time.

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You’re working on canvases in the studio then?

Yes. I’ve recently been working with the Robert Fontaine gallery in Miami. I’m going there in December for a show, and will probably do some large murals while I’m there. I’ve been focusing on moving the work forward, really. A change of cities has been good for that.

How has your art continued to evolve after your move?

I’ve really been looking for a new way to work outside that isn’t just putting paint on walls. I want to take it somewhere else, and I have a few ideas for that, which hopefully I’ll start putting into practice over the next few months. I think realistically for me, painting walls is not going to happen any more.

Woah, but you’re walls are unbelievable!

Can you give us some hints of what you’re imagining for the future?

Not really. I’ll say it’s more installation based, and the work is of a nature that the public can decide whether they want to keep it -- either it can survive, or, it’s within the people’s power to

DAVID WALKER

…VANDALISM IS DESTROYING THIS EARTH WITH PAINT. HOWEVER, USING VANDALISM TO MAKE PORTRAITURE QUESTIONS IT ALL. take it away and destroy the work.

The whole idea behind it was that a lot of street art is just kind of there, you know? You can go to any city in the world, you can go to the most popular place in that city, and you can put some art up, and it’s just, kind of, there. The public has no say about it, and that’s fine but, I love the idea of putting something up whose fate is decided by the people around it.

How do you think people will react to your installations?

This might completely fail, but I find it to be an interesting idea. I think the work needs to be of a certain standard. If people can see value in the work, then it will stay, and if not, it will

go. I think that’s kind of interesting; it’s like the general public almost gets to curate what happens in their city.

You mentioned that the works would be more installation based. Will they be experiential works – as in you have to walk on it, or in it, or take part in the work somehow to truly understand its value?

It’s hard to describe without giving too much away, but it’s still a presentation. It would be of a temporary nature so you can touch it, you can move it, and you can take it away if you wanted to. But, hopefully people will leave it in place.

I hope so too, can’t wait to see what it is. Let’s switch gears and talk about your murals. What influenced you to start doing feminine portraits?

About five years ago I guess is when I started putting them up. The street art scene was very masculine to me, especially in London. It wasn’t so much portraiture or figurative work; everything seemed very hard edged. It almost seemed like the most punk rock thing you could do was put up a beautiful portrait of somebody, of some woman, when I first started painting walls. It was so different to what was happening in the streets out at that time.

It’s really weird how something so traditional becomes rebellious. I like the idea of putting this color up, this form that people can happen upon.

It’s using traditional portraiture, but using what seems like a lowbrow technique with the spray can, which is normally associated with vandalism, to make these beautiful works.

The basis of the work is abstract. I make punctures in the cans and splatter paint on the walls.

When I started to work, this approach made sense with what’s associated with vandalism, as vandalism is destroying this earth with paint.

However, using vandalism to make portraiture questions it all. What is beauty? Where does fine

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INTERVIEW

IT ALMOST SEEMED LIKE THE MOST PUNK ROCK THING YOU COULD DO WAS PUT UP A BEAUTIFUL PORTRAIT OF SOMEBODY, OF SOME WOMAN. art begin and street art end? Everything gets mixed up.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your approach to the wall? I know you don’t use stencils, brushes, or any other tool. You use spray paint, and spray paint only.

I didn’t start off with the idea, it just sort of evolved. When I first started doing giant portraits on canvases, I tried using markers as well as spray paint. I tried all sorts of different techniques. After a short period of time, I realized I didn’t need to do that, I could just use spray paint.

Once I had that idea, the whole purpose started to become a little clearer. Mixed media like stencils or brushes or markers - doesn’t have that direct correlation with graffiti. I like the idea that it’s just graffiti, but is also taking graffiti to a new place.

It kind of works with the colors as well, I just pick up cans randomly, and will use clashing colors.

The different combinations are just as if I had to go out and steal my paint. Normally, I just have a whole tank full of paint, I start with certain colors and I just keep building and building with no fixed plan. I simply give the painting what it needs at that moment, and I keep going until it’s right, I guess.

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Is that kind of your approach to everything?

Yeah, I think that’s quite accurate. The idea of starting a piece of work and knowing exactly how it’s going to look at the end doesn’t really appeal to me. I would get bored after an hour.

The thing I really like about this work is that I never know if a piece will turn out well or not.

Sometimes it’s really successful, and some-

times it’s not. It’s that risk that makes it interesting. It’s more important for me to enjoy making the work, than to enjoy the product.

Yeah, definitely. What’s one of your favorite pieces you’ve done from London?

I don’t think there’s anything left (laughter).

I think there’s this piece on Rivington Street still. I like it because I did it in three hours. It’s probably not the people’s favorite piece, but I had some little breakthroughs in making that work. It was so quick, and so spontaneous. It was a nice day in London and I just blasted the piece out in three hours. I really loved the way it turned out, and it just felt so good to paint.

How long does it usually take to finish a mural?

Hanging around with too many people like She One, a graffiti artist, instilled in me this idea that it should almost all be one act. You should just do a mural from start to finish in one go. You try and keep it to one day, so whatever is up on the wall at the end of the day, that’s the piece of work. That’s normally what I try to do, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Sometimes it takes a couple of days.

You mentioned most of the murals have been taken down already. Where did you usually put them up, and where exactly in London are you from?

East London. My family is from Shoreditch originally. Which is a coincidence really, because it’s all around there that is the hub of street art in London. That’s where it all kind of started back in the day. It’s where my mother and my aunties would go out and drink around. Now, I’m putting up work on those same streets.

DAVID WALKER

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DAVID WALKER

…IT’S WITHIN THE PEOPLE’S POWER TO TAKE IT AWAY AND DESTROY THE WORK. Who are the girls in the portraits? Do you know them, are they random, do they even exist?

When I first started, I just stole imagery from magazines, Myspace, and other websites because I wanted to do as anti-traditional portraiture as possible; no models, no preparations, no traditions. I just had to find something I liked and start painting. I wanted to paint as many of these as possible to get better.

Now, since the last big show in Paris, all the photographs are my own. Most of the girls are people I met in London, friends, sometimes it’s a friend of a friend, or someone I convinced to have a portrait done because I thought they would be interesting to paint. Sometimes it’s people I’ve met in bars or restaurants, which is another nice way to integrate into a new city as well. When I meet a stranger, and make a painting, I automatically have a connection with them.

Can you share one of your most memorable experiences of that with us?

Here’s a nice one. I was in a restaurant only a few months before I moved to Berlin, and there was a girl sitting at one of the tables near me.

We started talking and things were going really well. I asked her to check out my work, and if she’d like a painting done. We did a photo shoot and she was in my last show in Paris, we’re friends now. It was kind of cool.

She, Stefanie, was the first person I approached for that series of work, so it was just a really nice feeling to know that you can connect with people through art. It sounds a bit cheesy, but art is a universal language in a way. It’s a lot easier for me now to approach people and ask them if they’re interested in getting a portrait done.

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What are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve had to overcome in order to pursue a career as an artist?

I think initially it’s making time to paint. That was really the first obstacle. I was very lucky, I

got myself into a position where I could freelance two or three days a week as a graphic designer and illustrator, and then spend the rest of my time painting. Once I had a lot more time to work, the work got better. After that, the biggest hurdle was negotiating the business side of it – working with galleries and commissions and all. I’ve recently been working with the Mathgoth in Paris and the Robert Fontaine in Miami. They’re both very into my work, which has been really positive.

Do you prefer showing in the galleries or the streets?

It depends really. There are positives to both. I like being able to be in the studio and take my time, and try out new techniques. With working on the street there’s a lot more energy, and this pressure to put this thing up, and people are watching you do it. That gives me a lot of drive to make a piece. You can get some real adrenaline from working in public.

I can paint a 3x3 meter piece on a wall in one day. If that was in the studio, it would take around two weeks. Normally, when things start to get stale in the studio, I’ll go paint something outside to revitalize myself.

I never put myself under a timeline to have to go out and put something up, like every two weeks or so. I just go when I feel like it.

That’s rad, go out when inspiration strikes!

So what’s next for you, where will we be able to see your work in the near future?

I think Miami is going to be the next big thing.

The rest of the year is going to be focused on making large canvases for Miami. Then, maybe a big London show after that. I haven’t done anything in London for a few years now.

If you want to see more of David’s work head to artofdavidwalker.com, or find him on Facebook (facebook.com/artofdavidwalker) and Twitter (@davidwalkerart).

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JUNK FOOD

Peep Hole Words Vaibhav Sutrave

You can determine the shape of solitude by looking through a peep hole from the outside-in.

for the passenger’s side window, “So they can see too.”

Ex-continuous straight lines and questions beggars ask. Why, when I spend all my time inside my bedroom, I still feel like an outsider?

Peep hole for a coffin - there’s something.

The bedroom peep hole invented in 1907 by Samuel “Merit” Laramie-Myer, an uncertified (and the only) doctor in Bareass, MI. His wife was okay with it, but when he started on his kids’ doors they got into an argument, culminating in, “You think you’re so smart? You think you’re so smart you little shit? Try looking into it. You see anything?” The kids looked into their own bedrooms and couldn’t see anything.

Hell, look into the peep hole of your own front door.

You THINK you can make out something, but you end up just making out with your front door and try looking in-out – as a peep hole is “supposed to be used,” you can never get close enough so that you can see just the eye. You can always see the stuff around the eye.

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I’m currently developing a peep hole for the windshield of your (my) car. Next, a peep hole

The eye on the top of the pyramid on the back of the dollar, a famous coffin peep hole. Famous peep holes throughout history. The peep hole that killed Little Richard on stage singing “Ruby, Ruby,” when he got killed by that one. Parades at the exits. All other deaths that night were just injuries and all injuries were the fault of people, not peep hole. There was the peep hole that won the South. That is not such an interesting story, though an important event in history, the story is simply not that good. The peep hole took the South, and that’s it.

Peep holes, an oxymoronic onomatopoeia for itself. Itself being the sound one makes when one is alone and lonely and feels like a peep hole, like a peep hole into the room you are in, into your own soul. When one can see, and is seeing through one, and bits of soul are hanging around like when the Invisible Man eats food (at what stage of digestion does a can of Coke, for example, become fully invisible?).

NUT AND BOLT

The first man to survive going over Niagara Falls later died by slipping on a banana peel.

There is a naturally produced substance in human saliva that is 6 times stronger than morphine, called opiorphin.

Sound travels 15 times faster through steel than through the air.

The radioactive substance, Americanium - 241, is used in many smoke detectors.

The man who took the most memorable photo of the Loch Ness monster confessed to it being fake on his deathbed.

Movie theater popcorn costs more per ounce than filet mignon.

A pumping heart can blood 30ft.

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human squirt

Mike Tyson got into his first fight after an older boy had ripped the head off one of Tyson’s pigeons.

M16 successfully hacked an Al Qaeda website, replacing instructions to make a bomb with a recipe for cupcakes.

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