What is the age bracket nowadays to be considered an old man in skating?
Skate years are different then regular years. When we aren’t talking skateboarding I’m a young man.
You just had a birthday right?
Yeah 37, I’m a young man, (in) skateboarding I’m an old man. I think it’s different for each person. For me, I have a 10 year old and a 4 year old, I still feel like a kid. I’m still dealing with my kids, going I don’t even know what I’m doing. I go to the kids stuff and I relate more with the kids then the parents.
Ok, “The Kid”...Where’s that originate?
In San Jose when I came up, I moved downtown San Jose and I started hanging out with Corey O’Brien, my buddy Reeps. I wasn’t old enough to go to the bar, so they took me under their wing and were like, “You’re ‘The Kid”’” One night Corey said “We’re bringing The Kid,” and it just stuck.
Iʼve always heard good things about San Jose. What do you think is the draw?
The only thing San Jose has to offer is skateboarding, unless you’re in the computer industry, which no one I know is. There has always been an insane skate scene there. I think it started in the 70’s because all the good parks in the area. Granted there is a lot of talent born there. Other then skateboarding, San Jose fucking sucks.
Tell me about Lost Highway 66. How did that all come about?
Well, I started using Lost Highway when I would make art, or do something. I don’t know, something in me felt like it needs a name, I just had a brand name. It comes from my favorite Hank Williams song.
Well, you have to do that nowadays, you have to brand it,
I guess so. I wasn’t really thinking I have to brand, I’d just do a painting and put Lost Highway in there. It just seemed to fit the look of my stuff and the 66 came thru because I needed to get a website domain name. I couldn’t get losthighway.com, so 66 sounded cool and it goes along with Highway 66. Also two 6’s look cool together and I could get the domain name.
Tell me about putting this art show together. How did it come about?
I think manly when I started wanting to do stuff with my art, trying to get it shown, it’s just not easy, and I have connections, too. It’s like: “no, you’re not educated, don’t even bother,” or “you’re a skateboarder.” I’m like “fuck this I’m going to do my own shit. If I want to do something let’s just fucking do it,” but I also know it’s really hard to do it on your own. You need to find people you can relate to and are like-minded and your work relates to their work and you can all come together and do things as a group rather then be the guy out there, saying “Check me out.” Plus, I recently launched my little website, my online store and I wanted to do an art show/party to promote my website. LostHighway66 brings it to you.
Visual Disorder is the name of the show? And this is the first one?
This is the first one, the next one I want to do in LA. Probably Visual Disorder Part 2 or whatever.
Any favorite historical artists? By historical, I mean most likely dead. They could be living, but I’m thinking more, the Van Goghs, the textbook artists.
All that kind of shit I can’t even relate to it whatsoever. The only stuff I can start relating to really is the whole pop movement that was going on in the 60’s. I still have a hard time calling myself an artist. I’m just a skater that makes these things. As a kid I wasn’t all into it. I didn’t do it. I couldn’t draw, I really wasn’t good at traditional art. All of a sudden I want to make skateboarding graphics one day and I can’t draw, so I’ll cut a stencil and I’ll cut some paper.
Do you think skateboarding is more of an art than a sport?
Depends who’s on the board, but majority yeah. Some of these dudes it’s not an art.
Griptape art. Remember when that was huge. Paint Pens. Elaborate cut outs. Is that a lost art form?
It was awesome, It is lost, considering everything is so disposable these days including skateboards. Remember back then, you’d get your board and were like “Fuck, I got my board and it has a killer shape. I had to scrape so much money to get this board and I’m going to get it and personalize it. Back in the day all the Pros were personalizing theirs, and now Pros get a board set it up and throw it away the next day and the kids are doing the same. There’s nothing to it, so it is kinda long gone.
You skated for Enjoi. Tell me about Enjoi and the panda graphic.
I think it came from the wildlife preserve or something like that, you know that logo. I think they ran into some problems and had to change it a little. I know the whole reasoning behind it was when Marc Johnson started it he hated skateboarding and thought that his ideas where like an endangered species and the way he looked at things. That’s where the panda came from, because of that organization that’s trying to save animals.
What comes to mind when I say Mega Ramp.
Evel Knievel. It is skateboarding, but it’s not, because who has access to one of those things? You can’t call it skateboarding, because how is a kid going to watch that and relate. They go buy a skateboard and go “Where’s the mega ramp?” It’s not accessible. It’s like the chosen, you have to be allowed to skate the ramp. Somebody has to have one that allows you.
So Black Label, on the team, off the team, back on. How’s all that going. I understand there’s a legends division with Hensley, Speyer, and Agah.
It’s rad, sucks that Duane’s not around anymore, or Grosso.
Anything else
Is it almost Miller time?
" />
The Captain
What is the age bracket nowadays to be considered an old man in skating?
Skate years are different then regular years. When we aren’t talking skateboarding I’m a young man.
You just had a birthday right?
Yeah 37, I’m a young man, (in) skateboarding I’m an old man. I think it’s different for each person. For me, I have a 10 year old and a 4 year old, I still feel like a kid. I’m still dealing with my kids, going I don’t even know what I’m doing. I go to the kids stuff and I relate more with the kids then the parents.
Ok, “The Kid”...Where’s that originate?
In San Jose when I came up, I moved downtown San Jose and I started hanging out with Corey O’Brien, my buddy Reeps. I wasn’t old enough to go to the bar, so they took me under their wing and were like, “You’re ‘The Kid”’” One night Corey said “We’re bringing The Kid,” and it just stuck.
Iʼve always heard good things about San Jose. What do you think is the draw?
The only thing San Jose has to offer is skateboarding, unless you’re in the computer industry, which no one I know is. There has always been an insane skate scene there. I think it started in the 70’s because all the good parks in the area. Granted there is a lot of talent born there. Other then skateboarding, San Jose fucking sucks.
Tell me about Lost Highway 66. How did that all come about?
Well, I started using Lost Highway when I would make art, or do something. I don’t know, something in me felt like it needs a name, I just had a brand name. It comes from my favorite Hank Williams song.
Well, you have to do that nowadays, you have to brand it,
I guess so. I wasn’t really thinking I have to brand, I’d just do a painting and put Lost Highway in there. It just seemed to fit the look of my stuff and the 66 came thru because I needed to get a website domain name. I couldn’t get losthighway.com, so 66 sounded cool and it goes along with Highway 66. Also two 6’s look cool together and I could get the domain name.
Tell me about putting this art show together. How did it come about?
I think manly when I started wanting to do stuff with my art, trying to get it shown, it’s just not easy, and I have connections, too. It’s like: “no, you’re not educated, don’t even bother,” or “you’re a skateboarder.” I’m like “fuck this I’m going to do my own shit. If I want to do something let’s just fucking do it,” but I also know it’s really hard to do it on your own. You need to find people you can relate to and are like-minded and your work relates to their work and you can all come together and do things as a group rather then be the guy out there, saying “Check me out.” Plus, I recently launched my little website, my online store and I wanted to do an art show/party to promote my website. LostHighway66 brings it to you.
Visual Disorder is the name of the show? And this is the first one?
This is the first one, the next one I want to do in LA. Probably Visual Disorder Part 2 or whatever.
Any favorite historical artists? By historical, I mean most likely dead. They could be living, but I’m thinking more, the Van Goghs, the textbook artists.
All that kind of shit I can’t even relate to it whatsoever. The only stuff I can start relating to really is the whole pop movement that was going on in the 60’s. I still have a hard time calling myself an artist. I’m just a skater that makes these things. As a kid I wasn’t all into it. I didn’t do it. I couldn’t draw, I really wasn’t good at traditional art. All of a sudden I want to make skateboarding graphics one day and I can’t draw, so I’ll cut a stencil and I’ll cut some paper.
Do you think skateboarding is more of an art than a sport?
Depends who’s on the board, but majority yeah. Some of these dudes it’s not an art.
Griptape art. Remember when that was huge. Paint Pens. Elaborate cut outs. Is that a lost art form?
It was awesome, It is lost, considering everything is so disposable these days including skateboards. Remember back then, you’d get your board and were like “Fuck, I got my board and it has a killer shape. I had to scrape so much money to get this board and I’m going to get it and personalize it. Back in the day all the Pros were personalizing theirs, and now Pros get a board set it up and throw it away the next day and the kids are doing the same. There’s nothing to it, so it is kinda long gone.
You skated for Enjoi. Tell me about Enjoi and the panda graphic.
I think it came from the wildlife preserve or something like that, you know that logo. I think they ran into some problems and had to change it a little. I know the whole reasoning behind it was when Marc Johnson started it he hated skateboarding and thought that his ideas where like an endangered species and the way he looked at things. That’s where the panda came from, because of that organization that’s trying to save animals.
What comes to mind when I say Mega Ramp.
Evel Knievel. It is skateboarding, but it’s not, because who has access to one of those things? You can’t call it skateboarding, because how is a kid going to watch that and relate. They go buy a skateboard and go “Where’s the mega ramp?” It’s not accessible. It’s like the chosen, you have to be allowed to skate the ramp. Somebody has to have one that allows you.
So Black Label, on the team, off the team, back on. How’s all that going. I understand there’s a legends division with Hensley, Speyer, and Agah.
It’s rad, sucks that Duane’s not around anymore, or Grosso.
What comes to mind when I say Mega Ramp.
feed?
