How long have you been rollerblading for? What got you started?

I have been Blading for 15 years. I grew up in the skating rink, shredding to early Outkast with Walt Austin, Kurt Newman and like 20 other bladers who fell off the face of the planet. We just kicked it, ate super pretzels, grinded carpet “mushroom” ledges and had dope little chickens trying their best to impress us. Watching vg4 changed my life forever though. John Starr, Jason Marshall, Jon Julio and Eric Shrijn pretty much solidified my existence as a Blader the first time I popped that bitch in the VCR. My parents also got separated right when I started Blading so the dudes I shredded with helped me get through some tough times.

Why are you still rollerblading? What are you excited about in rollerblading?

I still Blade because I fucking love this shit. I feel like if I quit than I am a coward. I owe my entire existence to Blading. I have friends across the globe with couches that are waiting for me to crash on them. I have drank 40’s at a high school in Detroit surrounded by hundreds of my friends while watching the big homie Rob Geezus win a few grand. I have toured the United States, shed blood, been in magazines, got laid, met the girl of my dreams and have a group of roll dogs second to none because of skating, why wouldn’t I still shred?

I am excited about Footagetape.com, HD internet bangers, stabyourselfintheface.com, Gost Brand, Valo Updates, Broskow, Tough Stuff, Orlando, INRI, MiseryLoves, growth, Brazils Chaz Sands edit, Say Mother Fucking Word 4, Southern Motion, Lonnie G videos, The Truth 2, Cody Porche, David Sizemore counting his contest winning’s while insecure old dudes worry about his pants, Sean Sea, Aarin Gates, DipSkate, Mushroom Blading, Chris Haffey, Montre Livingston and the list could go on for hours. Blading is killing shit right now.

What does rollerblading need to do to become marketable to mainstream america? Should we simply remain underground until we get noticed cause we’re real as fuck?

People are preparing the packaging as I write this interview. There is no question that we are marketable, the real task is ensuring that the right people are in the right places when our soul is packaged and sold next to the Heely’s. There are people who are working diligently to get us contracts with Slim Jim and Yoohoo again and that is fine with me. ASA was lame but it also enabled companies like Medium, FR and Rise Above to finance their existence. I would rather a kid get into Blading than anything else because I know they will have a good time. If we have to have Acronyms and Hoobastank edits in order for the core companies to make dope shit for me to rock than fuck it, where do I sign?


What is the most marketable thing about rollerblading?

Tommy Boy, Sean Sea, David Sizemore, Rec Skating, Neon laces, Arlo’s spandex pants, Bombing Hills, Orlando, Joey Chase, Frankie Irvin pud slides, Mike McMullen’s drawings, Rob Guerrero Edits, Broskow’s face, Mushroom Blading, Montre Livingston and Billy Oneil. On some real shit though, marketing is created by people who know how to take individuals marketable traits and exploit them. I think everything has a market, but in order to actually market something, you have to have people who know how to market.

How can we as a culture convince more people to rollerblade?

They are coming, we just need to keep having fun. Our generation is stepping up to the plate and making fresh shit for the new jacks to enjoy. It is up to the older heads in Blading to become mentors to the younger kids. I think that all of those who abandoned ship can eat a dick. The greatest part about the last few years is that everyone is involved because they love Blading, why else would they be? New bladers have been introduced to the game via direct contact with another blader, they weren’t mind fucked into thinking it is cool by MTV. We have developed a strong base, skating is fun as shit again and our culture is thriving even though people spend thousands of dollars trying to make us look bad. If people get involved they will instantly feel the Juice. Fuck convincing people basically, if they want to get down I welcome them with open arms and if they don’t, fuck em.

Many of us “lifers” were never able to go pro, but still stayed involved with the sport in a variety of ways besides skating. How did you get yourself more involved in rollerblading over the years? How can other kids growing up as rollerbladers get more involved with the sport?

I was lucky to be part of one of the baddest mother fucking crews to ever bless the blade game. Whenever there is a group of people working towards the same goal, leaders will naturally emerge. A lot of New Jacks don’t know this but our generation built a foundation in the early nineties using AOL chat rooms. People like Robert Guerrero and Mike Johnson have been my homies since before vg12 because of those dial-up days. I sent footage of Dre to some kids who made videos in LA and he ended up getting hooked up with Second Regime, the same kid came to Atlanta and filmed Walt and Dre for Elements 2. Skatepile and Dave Paine helped me turn into K-Dirty and 6 years later I am still strapping in. I think things have happened naturally and will continue to do so. Kids who love Blading will naturally link up with the OG’s and keep this thing moving. If there are any kids reading this that think that they can help Blading stay fresh, I encourage you to do it the right way. Pay your dues and respect your elders, bring your offerings to the table and help us make this shit pop harder.

What was your experience like riding for Able frames and Empire Distribution?

I always enjoyed skating for Able because they sent me boxes full of fresh shit to rock and Zeek had faith in me. I fucked up pretty bad while filming for the Able video but people in Atlanta were working on Intro and Fiziks so it was hard to get them to film me for a project that had nothing to do with them. I think Able came into the game at the wrong time but I would love to see them make a come back. I think Zeek gets a bad rap from some people but when it comes down to it, the guy has invested a large chunk of his life and money into blading. I respect him for taking that risk and consider him a good friend.

Who do you think the realest people are in rollerblading? These are people who would rather get hit by a fucking truck than see rollerblading die?

Rollerbladers in general face massive amounts of bigotry and hatred so anyone who stays strapped in is real as fuck in my eyes. I have a massive amount of respect for our generations Icons continuing to push the levels. It is inspirational to see people like Haffey and Aragon still holding it down and to watch them becoming the idols of a new generation. I think Shima is the realest mother fucker in the game though, Last of the Mohicans type shit. Dude came real hard with that Might Healthy section in Drip Drop and he owns a fucking boot company. The dude made his own skates, no one can fuck with that. If he could just convince Mr. Elliott to get a few clips every once in a while I think many people would be very happy.

For someone close to the characters involved, how do you feel about Julian Bah being kicked off rollerblade for hitting Coco Sanchez? Should riders get fired off of teams for behavior that is unconventional or controversial? Isnt this kind of recourse the antithesis to the overall attitude that rollerblading embodies, this being anti-establishment, anti-society and in this case shamefully inappropriate?

I think that people shouldn’t believe everything they read on messageboards. Coco, Julian and Tom are all good friends of mine and I will allow them to handle their own business. I just hope that they can all find paths that allow them to flourish and reach their maximum potential.

I also think it is necessary for people to understand that Rollerblade, the company, makes inline skates and pays dope dudes to shred. My homie Rob G is living the dream thanks to Tom Hyser and RB. This may not last forever, especially if Blading sales slump like the time when RB fired everyone. I think, on the topic of RB, that people need to know that RB did not maliciously fire the homies, Blading was dying and they didn’t have the money to pay “street” skaters. They also didn’t have the right team management. RB would survive without a paid professional “street skating” team so for them to invest in a dude like Rob G and give “us” another shot at developing the game is cool with me. Maybe one day we will get a rad spin-off from Tom and RB like Jon did with Roces and Valo. I cant get mad at a corporation for being a corporation though, they (rollerblade) are not trying to have a gnarly reputation so I doubt they will ever nurture peoples delusions.

Don’t think for a second that Julian Bah fell of either, all of you people that are hating on him right now and all the companies not trying to hook the dude up will most likely feel dumb when he drops his next section.

What kind of music do you listen to? Is there a particular genre of rap that suits you?

I have been listening to a lot of underground Atlanta hip-hop including The Labratz, Young Trimm, Killer Mike, Gripplyaz, Pill, A. Leon Craft, Brittany Bosco, Priceless the Kid, Collective Efforts and The Wheeler Boys. I work with a company called The Hydrilla (www.thehydrilla.com) and we hold down the entire city of Atlanta on that raw underground shit. I am Atlanta, I am hip-hop and I am a Blader. I also get down with country, classical, metal, Dub Step or whatever else sounds good but my heart is in Hip-Hop.

How is the scene in ATL right now? A lot of new kids, progression etc.?

Atlanta has obviously hit a bit of a rough patch as far as our exposure is concerned. I am working with Jamie Olmstead on a High Def online tv show that will give people a bit more insight into the Atlanta scene. Atlanta will always hold it down with the talent. We have sessions every Tuesday night at the park and up to 50 people shred it up. Most of the kids have only been skating for a few months to a year. I don’t know where they came from but they are feeling the blades. There was a crew of like ten little kids playing a game of skate the other night, cracking jokes on each other and showing love to the homies when they laced. I haven’t seen that type of shit in years and I was really happy to see those kids starting on the path of shreddage.

How often are you skating right now? Do you think its important to skate often?

I actually just set a goal 22 days ago to do a trick a day for an entire year. I will be posting them on my youtube site for now and I will transfer them over to FootageTape.com when it launches. I am much stronger mentally, physically and spiritually when I have consistent blading in my life, so I would have to say that is important for me to skate often.

Whats your favorite trick to do and whats your favorite video clip of your self?

My favorite trick is farfig, nothing feels better. As far as my favorite clip of myself, I am going to say that the cess slide line joint I did in vg20 is probably my favorite video clip.

Who do you look up to in life, who are your mentors?

My girl and my son are my main inspiration in life. They are my existence and constantly push me to grow and maintain my realities.

I am blessed to have such an amazing family. My father has always been a very strong figure in my life. I don’t know many men that can control the tone of a conversation like my father does. A “man’s man” if you will, my father is a true patriarch and I aspire to be half the man he is. My mother is also a great source of inspiration. My Mother is the founder and President of Just People Inc, a non-profit agency that gives disabled adults the opportunity to live the type of life that most of us take for granted. My late Uncle was a huge influence on me as well. It is very hard for me to consider anyone “gangster” after growing up around my uncle, dude was hard as nails.

I find the teachings of Sakyong Mipham, Alan Watts, Bruce Lee and Joseph Cambell to be very helpful in my search for purpose and peace.

I make my living as a photographer so I have to say that within that realm I look up to Pieter Hugo, Dennis Reggie, Bruce Davidson and Terry Richardson. I encourage people to have a look at their images.

From an outsiders perspective where do you think skateboarding is as a culture right now? How great is it to be the real fucking outcasts? Its almost something to be proud about seeing how commercial their sport has become am I wrong or right?

Skateboarding is a fucking joke and I would rather not talk about it.

Top 5 youtube comedy videos
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Give a shout out to all the homies in the fucking game:

Shouts – Kairo Irish Nesta Dowling, Briel Ritter, Mom, Dad, Mike McMullen, Walt Austin, Jamie Olmstead, Kurt Newman, Kenny Owens, Tom Hyser, Adam McManus, Tim Taylor, David Dodge, Johnny Ray, Smiley, Cody Porche, David Sizemore, Chris Smith, Sam Moore, Eric Shrijn, Robert Lievanos, Mike Martinho, Sexy David, Fish, Franco, Montre, Dre, Murda, Drew Amato, Killgore, Jon Jon, Uncle Blake, Gumby, Joey Chase, Darles Crunkle, Robert Guerrero, Lonnie Gallegos, Jeremy Stephenson, Julian Bah, The Hydrilla, The Misery Loves Company, Paul Barton, Chris Barton, Kevin Raser, Scott Raser, Eric Davis, Sammy Chase, Tommy Boy, Kevin Yee, Todd and Joey, Julio, Isaac, Zeek, Jess D, Arlo, B. Love, Tj Webber, FR, Rise Above, Quest for the Holy Rail, VG4, DAP, MDMUSA, Senate, Grizzly Grind Gear, Shadow Skates, 50/50, Fiction Clothing, Josh Petty, B Cam, Arizona, New York City, B Unique, DipSkate, The Truth, Atlanta mother fucking Georgia, my family, my skates, Lenny’s Bar, Mensday Night, Yellow Curbs and Tommy Boy for letting me rant.

www.themiserylovescompany.blogspot.com – peep game mother fucker.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Blade Ripping, lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.