Found on the ground outside the post office. Someone's pissed.

... And there was a party for him tonight. Congrats homie!

Stay Gold.

'Rado meets Jerz... in LA.

Theo is always stoked!

Braydon being Braydon.

"Yo Spanky, check out my pro model"

Sausages.

Year's Best Am 2009: Tyler Bledsoe
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, March 2010

Ask anyone who knows Tyler Bledsoe and they’ll tell you that on the rare occasions he actually does speak, it’s usually the funniest, most epic utterance of the day. They’ll also tell you how gifted of a skateboarder he is… which is no bullshit. In fact, despite it’s complimentary nature, is still probably an understatement.

Tyler is a simple young lad who is wise beyond his years… both in life and in skateboarding, which is something that could serve us all a little better, should we be able to achieve such an enlightened state of being. Since we have him being a little chatty for once, lets just get to it, shall we? Ladies and gentleman, we present to you, The Skateboard Mag’s 2009 Year’s Best Am… Mr. Tyler Bledsoe.

Tyler! Whatcha doing?
I’m just chilling at home… a little sick.

Swine Flu!
No, not yet.

Do you get bummed during winter?
I used to. But I appreciate the wintertime now because I was in California for so long and they don’t have seasons. I like the rain now.

How does it feel to be Year’s Best Am?
It’s kind of a surprise. I didn’t even know I was in the running for it. You just randomly told me. I thought you were joking. I’m stoked.

I heard you have your own place now.
I just moved in this month. It’s cool. I’ve lived on my own pretty much for the last three years… just being on trips and stuff, so it wasn’t that big of a change. I’m still pretty close to home and go there all the time.

When you need food or something?
Yeah. Cleaning supplies and all that.

“Hey mom! I’m hungry.”
Call her ahead of time to get dinner cooking.

Does having your own apartment trigger the OCD at all?
When I leave it kinda freaks me out. I’m afraid something’s gonna happen and my place will catch on fire. That’s the thing that triggers the OCD.

So when I see you pull the hotel room door closed five extra times… that gives you the comfort that a disaster wont happen?
Yeah, exactly. I don’t get all paranoid if I do it five times. I’ve actually overcome it a little bit. But it was pretty gnarly for a while.

What were the worst things you did?
Just checking everything before I leave… the sink, the locks, the light switches… everything.

I’ve been there. But as I got less stressed about things it started disappearing. Also being busier and not having so much free time…
Yeah, that actually happened with me. ‘Cause I would have to leave somewhere and I couldn’t spend 10 or 15 minutes checking the shit so I’d have to learn to block it out.

What’s your favorite thing about your new apartment?
Just being able to be lazy and not do anything.

Watching Curb Your Enthusiasm…
Yeah. Pretty much 24/7.

What’s your favorite episode?
This one called “The Carpool Lane.” Larry David smokes weed with his dad and a hooker. It’s pretty epic.

While driving in the carpool lane?
He picks up this prostitute so he can use the carpool lane on his way to a baseball game then ends up buying weed for his dad for his glaucoma or something… then he bugs out.

Do you have any new YouTube videos to recommend?
I’ve been watching a lot of faceplant montages. Those are always pretty entertaining.

I heard you were vegetarian for a while?
I was never a vegetarian. I’ve always been down for meat.

Most people have all these harsh rumors going around about them… but the one about you is that you used to be a vegetarian.
I haven’t really heard anything too crazy about me. I’m sure it’s coming though.

Why you don’t like swimming?
Ever since I was young I didn’t really like water. I’m down for hot tubs but not swimming or jumping off cliffs. I was a good swimmer, but I just don’t go into the water.

I’ve lived next to the ocean for three years and I’ve never been in it. I just don’t think it’s necessary. I just sit there and look at it.
Yeah. I’d rather just chill on the beach. Of all the times I’ve been to California I’ve never been in the ocean.

I heard you and Lucas room together on Fourstar tours and play SKATE a lot. What trick can you always get him with?
He has pretty much every trick. I think the inward heels are his weakness. That one gets a lot of people though.

What changed for you after Mind Field? Are people recognizing you more?
That was the first real video I’ve had a full part in. It was a pretty big change… a little overwhelming and weird. Everyone knew who I was almost overnight. But I think it’s a good thing.

What are some of the advantages of you being “the quiet guy?”
You don’t have to talk to as many people. It’s more entertaining to just observe.

Do you just sit back and watch all of us loud people run our mouths and act like total assholes?
Yeah. That’s the whole point. It’s like watching a TV show.

The real Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Exactly. Also, people listen to you more if you’re quiet and all of a sudden you say something. Most people talk and it goes in one ear and out the other.

Wasn’t there a phase where you almost got booted off Alien?
Yeah. There was a weird period where I almost got kicked off of everyone because I was up in Oregon and didn’t really know what I was doing. I hadn’t really had any coverage and Alien didn’t know what I was doing up here.

So you got a call from someone telling you you’re blowing it?
Yeah, I got a warning. Like a six-month trial period…

That’s kind of cool. Instead of just getting cut.
Yeah it was good ‘cause it got me motivated. I was like, “Shit, I need to do get to Cali again and do something.” It all worked out in the end.

What’s the secret to holding a hurricane grind for so long? The people wanna know.
Haha. I think you just pretend it’s a feeble grind and hold it as long as you can… except you’re going backwards.

Two months from now everyone will be able to hurricane 50 feet.
That’d be sick!

I’ve seen you compared to Guy Mariano a few times. Perhaps the way you guys skate ledges or something?
He was a pretty big inspiration for me. One of my favorite all-time skaters, so I kinda relate to his skating I guess.

When was your last big meltdown?
About two weeks ago.

What happened?
There was a week where I couldn’t land anything. I think I freaked out every day. It was kind of a big blur. I tried to block it out of my head. I was cursed.

I’ve seen you battle for a trick, melt down, land it perfect then sneak away into he van and still be bummed.
Well, just because I land it doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed that it took so long. Or if it’s something that I can usually do easily and it takes me two hours I’ll be pissed even if I do land it.

What bums you out about the skate industry?
All the gossip and shit. It gets kind of old. That’s what’s nice about being up here. I never hear anything about the industry up here. If I do it’s like a month and a half late.

I remember being a kid who couldn’t get enough skate gossip. Now when I don’t hear it until two months later I’m kind of proud.
Yeah, that’s how I was. I would check all the skate sites and videos when I was younger… now I could really care less.

Do you think that’s better for your skating creatively? All those influences or standards or “rules” are absent from your mentality… No barriers.
That’s exactly what it is. If you watch skating all the time and know the tricks everyone is doing, you’re gonna start doing those tricks too. Or you’re gonna copy what’s happening. But if you don’t watch, you don’t know what’s going on and you’re just gonna try and think up your own shit to do.

Otherwise you just end up doing impossibles and crails.
Yeah, and turn that into the next hot shit.

How about your fake ID mishap?
That wasn’t one of my finer moments in life. We went to some random street in L.A. and you just go up to these sketchy dudes. We didn’t even get out of the car… they just came up to us like, “Fake IDs? Fake IDs?”

I was like, “Shit. That was easy!” I put down all my info. But I was nervous, ‘cuz it was sketchy and I fucked up on the date. It said I was 20, not 21. I got another one made but it cost another 60 bucks. But I could’ve had a fake 21st birthday if I wanted with the 20-year-old ID though. That was the only good thing.

How about when you puked spaghetti and meatballs all over the tour van in Tampa? That’s my favorite Tyler night.
I ruined my Ninja Turtles shirt that night.

You threw it in the bushes. I kinda wanted to save it for you, but it was covered in…
I got too much puke on it. It’s okay. It was worth it for a good story.

About 20 people told me I wouldn’t get a word out of you for this interview.
I think I’m getting better at interviews. Plus, I’m sipping on a White Russian so I think it’s helping. Yesterday I had a White Russian and watched The Big Lebowski.

You have the life! This interview makes me wanna move to Portland.
Yeah, I’m just trying to keep it pinnacle right now.

BONUS MATERIAL!

The cover:

The cover shot:

"Letter from the editor" portrait:

Festivus: Tampa Am ‘09
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, March 2010

This year’s Tampa Am contest may have been the most incredible Tampa Am ever … seriously. “Why?” you ask. Well duh! Obviously because all sorts of history was made!

As you all know, Luan Oliveira won. And that makes him the first person to ever win Tampa Am twice! History in the making! You should be excited. One might assume that after two Tampa Am wins, he won’t be am too much longer, eh? Or maybe he’ll win next year as well! Three-peat history! Luan beautifully flipped his board really fast and high and spun around a lot. That kid sure has one hell of a pre-trick windup. Hit pause next time you are watching his footage and check it out.

You know what else? More history was made when Ben Hatchell took second. Yes, indeed, Ben is the first person to ever get second place at Tampa Am twice! Insane! Furthermore, not since Daewon has someone exerted so much authority over the blunt kickflip out. And Ben’s cab flips … fuggitaboutit!

This year, for the first time in history, there was a high ollie contest at Tampa Am. Luis Tolentino made history by tying the history-making high ollie world record of 44.5 inches set by Danny Wainwright in February of 2000. Whoa … that record is ten years old and no one’s beaten it yet? That’s historic in itself! Possibly even sadly historic. Can someone just do it already? Beating his record would mean more history could be made! And we all like making history, don’t we? Lots of history. Historical amounts of history.

Alongside high ollie record-matching history also came high jinx history. You see … there’s this guy, Stalker Steve. He’s a local down in Tampa and shoots photos. One can only imagine why his name is “Stalker Steve,” but that’s beside the point. Anyway, a challenge was posed to him—the challenge to jump, on foot, over the high-ollie bar at 44.5 inches.

Steve accepted, crowds gathered, chants began, and Steve approached the bar at a speed not unlike that of a 101-year-old Galapagos Island giant tortoise and ultimately achieved a vertical leap of approximately 1.6 inches as he crashed through the ollie bar. It didn’t appear Steve put much effort into his attempt, but I think he did, and that’s what made it amazing. Hats off to you, Stalker Steve, for allowing us to laugh with you. Lord knows we all need a good guffaw or two these days.

Could anything possibly trump the aforementioned history made by Luan, Ben, Luis and Steve? Well, how about local Skatepark of Tampa femme fatale, Sierra, having a historic increase in size to a certain area of her anatomy? Now that’s some history that we can all enjoy. In fact, let’s just go ahead and shut this one down by awarding Sierra and her new boobs “the most important historic event of the Tampa Am ’09 weekend” award.

Rick McCrank: Behind the Ad
Words: Rob Brink
esfootwear.com, December 2009

Didn’t anyone ever tell you that regular belts are out and you’re supposed to be wearing a shoelace around your waist?
I wore a shoelace belt for a while. It kept digging in to my side and it looked like a G-string so I went traditional again. Chocolate makes a nice belt. I've been wearing it forever.

Do you feel weird about the amount of underwear showing in your ad?
Yeah that's a bummer. That ledge has a nice sized drop off of it. I guess I caught the wind.

Where do you buy your boxers?
I don't need to buy boxers because Matix makes really good ones.

How about those chicks in the upper left corner? Were they checking you out?
I don't know? They were there for a really long time. I think one of our dudes was chatting them up and got a number.

Did the naked statues on the wall distract you at all? Perhaps inspire you?
Definitely inspired me. I love the old architecture in Paris and I don't mind a nude body either.

So where is this spot and what do you like and dislike about it?
It's in Paris at what is now an art gallery called Palais de Tokyo. Ed Templeton had a show there! I really like this spot. It has a perfect three stair with really nice ground, a tall ledge that Biebel switch back tailed, a small double set, a huge double set, the hubba and the massive one above it. I always have fun there. The hubba is wide and has a perfect slope. It slides and grinds great. I guess I dislike how beat up the ground has gotten over the years. It's a main skate spot in Paris so the ground at the bottom of the three-stair and the double set is all smashed up. Oh and it always smells like piss where you start for the hubba.

Was this a spontaneous thing or was the 50-50 backside 180 planned prior to the arrival?
It was spontaneous. I wanted to try another trick on the backside one but didn't have the nerve that day. It was Bobby that suggested I try 50-50 backside 180. Thanks Bob!

Have you ever had any other ads at this spot? I know in Menikmati you 50-50'd it.
I think I had an éS ad doing 50-50 kickflip out over the kink. I've done a couple other things on it over the years.

What’s your favorite trick that you’ve seen done there by someone else?
Colt Cannon frontside nosegrinded it. That is insane! I heard a rumor that Tom Penny almost frontside noseslide it but that's unconfirmed.

Is it more intimidating to skate this thing now or was it harder back then? I’d think back then it would have been a higher ledge by common standards… but now maybe the trick you were trying was harder?
It was harder now because I have bad ankles.

I heard you battled a bit. Did you know you would eventually land it?
Yeah it took some time because I'm rusty with the bigger things. I did have faith I could do it though ... just had to put the time in. My ankles are jacked. I'm getting some clean-up surgery in a few weeks. I didn't even think I would street skate that whole trip. The good thing about that trick was that it only really hurt my ankles when I landed from the impact, so if it felt wrong I could just run or slide down the ledge on my ass.

Did you land it more than once?
Nope, luckily it worked out the first time I rode away.

Can you describe, person-by-person, what’s going on in that other photo?
Terps was trying to do a blunt over me while I got hippy. Manderson was pretending to be a Sasquatch and Josh was puking up the poison from the night before.

Quote from Seb… “He did it for liberté I think. I’m sure égalité and fraternité came in to it too.” What’s that all about? Did you indeed do it for all those things?
I did it because skateboarding is all I've got.

This was during the last leg of The Great éScape tour… what was your favorite part of that trip?
Being in Paris was my favorite part. I love skating there and just being there. I'd like to spend most of next summer there.

Are you working on any interviews, video projects or more film stuff at the moment?
I think I've done enough interviews for a lifetime. I'm not that interesting.

Will you have a part in the Chocolate video?
Yeah. I'm going to have a part in the Chocolate video and I might do a skate project on film with a friend of mine.

You’ve been on éS a pretty long time now! When did you get on?
I think it's been ten years. Crazy! I wonder if I get a watch or a plaque?

Any New Years resolutions for 2010?
Get my ankles in order and skate my ass off.

Festivus: Damn Am Costa Mesa ‘09
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009

On October 24, 2009, a landmark event occurred: the Skateboarding Hall of Fame was created.

Breathtaking.

Democracy reigned supreme and four dudes were inducted—one from each decade of skateboarding’s existence thus far. You might have heard of some of them… but we’re only gonna discuss one. His name is Tony Alva and he is the Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee for the 1970s. Congrats, Tony.

But this isn’t about the Skateboarding Hall of Fame or Tony Alva. It’s about something waaaaaay bigger. I simply told you that story so I could tell you this one: On October 25th, the 8th annual Damn Am contest was held at Volcom headquarters in Costa Mesa. As the finals commenced… some leathery-skinned dude in a red shirt and fedora, carrying a brand new Alva cruiser board, complete with colorful and authentic-looking Alva logo griptape, arose from the crowd.

He chugged from his liquor-filled sippy cup while weeble wobbling back and forth before belligerently “not giving a fuck” and stumbling onto the street course… all the while proudly waving his Alva board in the air… as if to say, “I’m here to let you know what elements of skateboarding’s history resonate with me! All hail Tony Alva! Inductee into the all-new Skateboarding Hall of Fame! King of 1970s skateboarding!”

Which got me to thinking, that Hall of Fame party in Orange, California the night before must have been pinnacle, because this guy just may have attended, pulled an all-night rager and somehow relocated his pickled self to Damn Am Costa Mesa (11.8 miles away according to Google Maps) and was still going strong at four in the afternoon at Damn Am. Impressive. This is the very stuff champions are made of.

But not nearly as impressive as Brian Schaefer’s nonchalant and almost-instinctual ability to let the Alva-crazed boozer have his moment of shine on the course before politely (and while donning full “Florida white trash” Halloween regalia) convincing him to head back to the sidelines so the contest could continue.

Schaefer’s foresight, which resulted in a five-minute-plus, “we’re not laughing with you, we’re laughing at you”-esque intermission for everyone in attendance, is a valuable life lesson.

This might not be news to you, but there’s so much more to skateboarding than skateboarding. Skateboarding is far too grand to ignore the peripherals, which are usually as entertaining as the skateboarding itself.

Whether it’s the hammered Alva dude lurking the course, the bloodbath of the best trick contest (just ask Dylan Perry, who lost a few pints and ended up with a grip of stitches in two fingers), Luan de Olivera qualifying first and then winning the whole shebang, or Clint Walker coming from out of Nowhere, Oklahoma and taking first in the best trick, second in the finals and the Zumiez Destroyer award.

The moral of the story is life is a quest for fun. Don’t deprive yourself, or others, the opportunity to fulfill that quest by kicking the sloshed Alva guy off the course too soon. Let him go for it. Savor his presence. Laugh a little. And be thankful skateboarding brought him there so you could smile one more time during the day.

Flick: Strange World
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009

Despite the fairly common “I’m so cool and I don’t give a fuck” exterior and attitude of skateboarders these days—many of them, believe it or not, frequently get just as warm and fuzzy and sensitive and sappy as your mom, grandma, great aunt or girlfriend do.
For skateboarders, though, it takes something a little different than say, a dozen roses, pictures of you as a baby with a bowl cut and birthday cake frosting on your face, a box of chocolates, a teddy bear, a moonlit walk on the beach or a platinum-set 5.98-carat oval-cut diamond ring for the butterflies to start twitterpating in their tummies.

The new Zero video, Strange World, is most likely one of those things. But it’s more than the mere existence of the long-awaited flick that’ll have kids across the globe triumphantly jumping out of their seats as if they just witnessed Ivan Drago hitting the mat in Rocky IV or Daniel taking out Johnny with his special crane kick in the finale of The Karate Kid for the first time.

It’s more than Garret Hill’s getting-very-easy-on-the-eyes style. It’s more than promising debuts from Tom Asta, Dane Burman and Jamie Tancowny or Cole’s board-breaking ender. It’s more than Keegan Sauder’s long awaited first pro part or Ben Gilley’s nail-biting handrail attempts. It’s more than the fact that what Strange World showcases is a different and evolving aspect of Zero that many viewers might find unexpected when compared to past Zero productions.

“Well, what the hell is it?” you ask? “Get to the fucking point already!” You say?

Marisa dal Santo. Period.

Skateboarding is a man’s world. There’s just no two ways about it. Doesn’t mean it should stay that way… it just is that way. Every so often, a young lady comes around and blows the roof off things in a non-novelty kind of way.

From the day everyone first saw Welcome to Hell back in the ‘90s, the appeal of Elissa Steamer wasn’t that she was “good for a girl.” It’s that she was just plain good at skateboarding. And thirteen years later with the release of Strange World, the same goes for Marisa—she just fucking rips.

And thank God. Because the world of skateboarding gets a bit bland sometimes. The “diversity” we often wear on our sleeves like a badge of honor gets lost in the shuffle of trends and crazes and conformity and the unwritten laws and rules and protocols of coolness we create for ourselves.

The song doesn’t matter. The place in the video where her part falls doesn’t matter. The tricks don’t matter (but the smith grind tail grab down a rail is pretty damn impressive). What matters is that Marisa’s skating made a whole theater full of hundreds of the toughest critics and most cynical people in the world—i.e.: skateboarders—go sincerely and absolutely ape shit. Congrats, Marisa.

Storefront: Push X-Change
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009

On August 15, 2009, Craig Glover decided to put his livelihood in fate’s hands and open up a skateboard shop in Santa Clarita, California… smack dab in the middle of the sketchiest economic climate of our lifetime thus far. Of course, having a brand new 40,000 square foot skatepark less than five miles from the shop helps out a bit… but still. As if that’s not enough of a feat… the shop’s construction… to opening day, complete with ordering inventory, took less than 30 days.

Interestingly enough, Push is a reincarnation of a now-defunct Chicago skate shop that closed in 2002. Glover met Push owner, Reggie Destin, in 2001 on a trip to Chicago and the pair have been tight ever since.

“I asked Reggie if it was cool if I could carry on his legacy with Push,” says Glover. “He was super hyped about it and now Push is alive and representing true skateboarding. I have noticed a few other shops named Push in the US, but I got the rights from the OG!”

Located 20 minutes north of Los Angeles and five minutes east of Magic Mountain, Push does things slightly differently… one of the more noteworthy being a thrift store-style business model.

“I kind of modeled it like Buffalo Exchange,” says Glover. “We let kids trade in used stuff for store credit and we sell the used stuff for cheap. But that part of the shop is small and we limit it to a certain amount a month. I mean, where else can you find a Girl zip-up hoodie from 1996? We also have a lot of historical items in the store… like Kennan Milton’s first DVS pro model.”

Glover is choosy about the brands he carries at Push. “We back pro decks and companies that are giving back to skateboarding. We carry stuff the other stores in the area don’t… like Roger, Cliché, Black Label, Sk8mafia and Traffic. We will never carry blanks and mall stores that sell kids overpriced shit can eat a dick. I will never sell a pro’s board who I don’t believe deserves to be pro. I will never censor a skateboard graphic by taking it off the wall ‘cause someone finds it offensive… not even for my own grandmother.”

Apart from the obvious economic climate, Glover sites not getting opened by certain shoe brands as a bit of an obstacle. “Just because we don’t want to carry four skus from each of their lines. Step up shoe brands!” Glover says, “Help those small core retailers who want to support you in any way possible.”

According to Glover, the goals of Push will always be providing good product and customer service. “I’d like to thank Val Surf for teaching me that when I worked for them,” he says. “We just want to keep our doors open, stay happy, keep skating and promote real skateboarding to the kids in this town! Making kids psyched seeing them smile is awesome. The local skate community has been pretty supportive and I am forever grateful! If you’re not in an area with a great park and a supportive community, then you better think twice about opening a shop these days.”

Push X-Change Skateshop
26557 Golden valley rd
Santa Clarita Ca, 91350
(661)-254-7874

Figgy broke a kingpin the other night at the TF. He was bummed. Then Collin busted this out of his trunk. Haven't seen one of them in ages!

The handoff! Collin saves the day!

Nick Trapasso
Words: Rob Brink
November 2008

This was the original 2008 Year's Best Am Nick Trapasso interview for The Skateboard Mag. When all was said and done, Nick asked that the interview be redone with someone he knew better and it ended up being assigned to Mike Sinclair. No hard feelings or anything like that. It's not drama. It just is. Nick's amazing. I'm a fan. Enjoy.

“I wish I knew Nick.”
-Ed Templeton

“Nick has been one of my favorite skaters since Suffer the Joy. It always confused me that I won Years Best Am last year when Nick should have easily got the award. If he didn't win this year I’d whoop someone’s ass! Well deserved. Congratulations, Nick.”
-Sean Malto

“Nick stands out from the herd because of how original he is. He's not a new version of this guy or an amalgamation of these two types of skaters or part of some skate trend movement—he's just Nick. Skaters, young and old, pick up on this refreshing originality and relish it.”
-Kevin Barnett

Nick Trapasso is a quiet fellow who doesn’t seem to trouble himself worrying (or caring, for that matter) about much in life. He doesn’t have answers to many of the questions presented to him… not because he’s clueless, but because he seemingly knows that none of it really fuckin’ matters in the grand scheme of things—which is somewhat admirable actually. It’s apparent he’d rather be kickin’ it with his crew or out skating than sitting on the phone talking about himself. Which is just fine, because in the last year or two, his skating’s been speaking volumes anyway. So make Nick proud: Grab a beer or twist one up and enjoy a glimpse into the modest world of 2008’s Year’s Best Am… “fo’ sho’.”

So Nick, how’s Mexico so far? Is this your first Converse trip?
Yeah. Shit’s sick.

Who else is there with you?
Sammy, Anthony, Raymond, Ethan, my brother and Dave Hoang.

Anything crazy happen yet?
I got some bunz last night in the van. We went to some RVCA party. I don’t even know how I did it. I was faded and somehow made it to the van and bunned it up.

Front or the back of the van?
The back. She was just a ho trying to get a skateboarder that night. She didn’t speak any English so I don’t know how that went down.

How do you end up communicating then?
Fuckin’ sat next to her and got some shots and one homie who spoke Spanish just asked her name and how old she was and that was it.

Ah… the international language of sex.
Yeah. A lot of bunz out here. Just probably ho’s that’ll do anything. Too bad I don’t speak Spanish.

How do you feel about doing interviews?
Whatevs.

What’s the worst thing people ask you?
Just when you hear the same questions over and over. You’re like, “sheesh.”

Every Trapasso interview I've read, people asked you about your pants.
That shit is annoying fo’ sho’. I’m pretty sure no one cares about my pants.

Everyone’s always freaking out about tight pants or baggy pants or plaid pants. For such a heterosexually dominated activity, skateboarding sure is concerned with boys’ pants.
Yeah, it’s stoops.

People were really into your Suffer the Joy part. Do you feel pressure to produce something as good as that now?
Not really. As long as I keep going on trips and shit, there’s always something to fuckin’ do something on.

Is it different filming a part now than it was back then?
I skate with the same people pretty much. Same fuckin’ shit.

Did you pick the music for your parts? It’s not typically what someone would put in a video part but it compliments your skating really well.
I picked John Lennon, but Kevin [Barnett, Toy Machine filmer] found that one song for Suffer the Joy and I was down.

Are you aware that you’ve won the Years Best Am award from The Skateboard Mag? That’s what this interview is all about.
Yeah I heard. I was fuckin hyped fo’ sho’. That shit’s crazy. Hell yeah!

If you had to give your award to another am who would it be?
Woooo! Fucking Slash is tight. Eric Fletcher… that fool’s crazy as hell.

I skated with Fletch last night! Who can roll a joint faster? You or him?
I dunno! Fletcher is my fucking right hand man, dude. We’re probably about the same. If we had a twist off we’d probably tie.

How ‘bout quality-wise?
I think whoever rolls a joint, likes his own the best, ya know? But his seem pretty much identical and shit. Shit’s sick! Fletch is good.

How much weed do you smoke in an average day?
It depends if you’re fucking going out at night or something—maybe twelve joints or something?

Are joints your preferred method of smoking?
Yeah, fo’ sho’.

Does anyone smoke out of bongs anymore? Seems like a lot of work.
And some fool will just break it probably. None of my homies do. I don’t even own one.

When was the first time you smoked? Did anything weird happen?
Probably like 14 or something. I didn’t get high and I was fuckin’ over it. Then I smoked some actual good weed and I got extra high.

Has weed changed your life?
Shit, I don’t think it’d be the same with out it.

Are there any downsides to the amount of weed you smoke?
I guess when there’s no good weed to smoke. You just end up smoking a bunch of cigarettes. It could be seen a downside.

Other than weed and Halo, what else are you up to when you’re not skating? These are the only things people tell me about you.
Just getting faded and chasing buns.

I think a lot of people are strangely envious of how simple you are.
Hell, I’ve been wanting to do something else. Play guitar or some shit. That shit is complex. Playing pool is tight.

Are you afraid of dying?
Shit, kinda. I’d just like to live long. That’d be sick.

How much time a week do you spend doing griptape art?
If I actually have fuckin' paint pens… until they run out I guess.

What’s worse? Running with your board to jump on it and clipping the tail with your foot and eating shit or hauling ass and hitting a rock and slamming?
The first one fo’ sho’. That shit looks sloppy.

What kind of name is Trapasso?
Italian.

Are you full-on Italian?
No, my mom is Polish. So I’m like half Italian.

I’m half Italian too. There’s not a lot of good Italian food on the West Coast. It sucks.
Yeah. I eat pizza. That’s Italian and shit.

How is living in California compared to Arizona?
I’d say California kills it. It’s tight to go back to AZ too ‘cause you got a lot of homies there. You know where all the goods are at. Lots of great parks. But I like California. It’s the goods.

Do you ever see kids biting your style? Skating like you? I’ve seen a bunch.
Yeah, it’s tight. As long as I’m not hanging out with them they can do whatever they want.

Do you have any good Ed Templeton stories?
Hell yeah, that fool’s crazy! On King of the Road he got a fuckin’ tan. That shit was pretty funny. He just got fuckin naked. They put all this shit on you before you get tanned and afterwards you just stand there and look funny as hell.

He didn’t go in a tanning bed? Just got tanning liquid sprayed on him?
Yeah. He’s crazy.

You once said you only wanted to ride for “OG companies” and that you wouldn’t want to ride for Nike. Now you’re on Converse, which is owned by Nike. What changed for you?
Some shit wasn’t going good at Vans and they did some weird contract stuff. I was like “Fuck it.” And Converse, even though it’s not like, an OG skate company, it's still OG.

I heard a story that you showed up at a Vans photo shoot wearing Converse and Geoff Rowley wanted to kick the shit out of you. True?
I think it was at a fuckin’ Volcom catalog shoot and I was wearing Converse instead of Vans ‘cause we weren’t skating anything. I guess a photo came out and you could see the Converse and they got all butthurt.

I remember a bunch of drama because you said shit about Darkstar once. Is it weird that something you say becomes all controversial?
Yeah. I wasn’t even being serious. But I think Darkstar’s kind of funny, though.

They even wrote about it on their site.
Yeah, I never even looked at that. I just heard. My brother would give me updates and shit.

That’s funny that you just get web updates from your brother. So who in skating right now do you like watching?
Fletch is dope, fo’ sho’. Slash. That last part [Ride the Sky] was tight. I just like watching crazy shit go down in person. David [Gravette] is crazy. I still like watching fuckin’ Tom Penny and fools like that.

Who do you usually skate with?
Mostly Fletch and Dave Hoang’s posse. The whole Toy Machine team lives in Long Beach so I go skate with those fools whenever.

Do you envision being with Toy Machine for a long time? Does that feel like home to you?
Yeah, I mean, that shit is sick fo’ sho’. I go on trips with all those fools too.

Who pushes you to skate better?
Whoever I’m skating with that’s trying some crazy shit. Pat Pasquale gets me hyped up. He’s always thinking about where he wants to go skating and shit. Just getting hyped.

The Sinner. That dude’s awesome.
Yeah, the Sinner. He’s the shit! That fool’s the best person you could chill with.

Who’s had the greatest impact on you over the years?
That’s fuckin tough, but I guess whoever I looked up to and whoever pointed me in the right direction. Everybody at Cowtown helped me out a lot—let me know what’s the goods and what’s not.

What will you miss the most about Van Wastell?
He skated so light-footed. One time he wrote me a letter. It was fuckin crazy. None of my homies write letters. So it was tight getting that. Just going on trips with him and Andrew Allen. Talking shit to each other. He’s sick... just a nice fool.

I hear you have some pretty extensive slang. What’s a munson?
Just a mark. Somebody stoops. You’ve seen Kingpin right? Roy Munson. Just like a fuckin munce... a loser. Someone you wouldn’t want to hang out with.

What bothers you about our little skateboarding world?
Just fools being fake sometimes. Being extra nice to you and shit like that when they were dicks before.

I heard you always roll with a large crew.
I hate skating alone. Unless you’re the last one trying something and there’s mad homies on the sidelines… then they buy you a tall can if you make it!

What’s the gnarliest thing you’ve ever seen in real life?
In Thailand I saw a lady just fuckin’ drop her pants and take a shit on the side of the road. She was extra faded. She, like, couldn’t make it anywhere. That was pretty gnarly.

So what’s the worst advice you’ve ever gotten?
Uh… I dunno.

How about the best and worst decisions you’ve ever made?
Oh sheesh. It’s tough on the spot. I dunno the worst decision I’ve ever made!

Something you did when you were a kid that’s embarrassing to admit?
Shit! I’ll have to call you back or something. This shit is tough. I gotta think.

I’m stumping you? We’re almost done. Don’t worry. Before you were sponsored and pro, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Na, I pretty much wanted to be a pro skater since I was in fifth grade.

So now that you’ve made it to the big time, pro and all, what are your goals?
I just want to learn how to play a tight instrument and just keep chillin’. Fuckin’ stay happy, make duckets somehow and try to live with homies. Then once I become a geezer... get married or something.

Go through the mandatory motions of life...
Get a sugar momma.

Have you ever dated a sugar momma, being that we’re in Southern California where they all fester?
Hell no! I wish, dude! That would be the fuckin' key... a hot mom or something. Hell yeah!