Photography and interview by Graham Tait
What's up? Are you just wondering about?
Yeah. I basically just stepped out to grab a coffee. I was gonna grab some groceries right by my house and then head back up. But yeah, I'm just here in SF hanging out.
How long have you been there?
I've been here since the end of summer 2019, so for a couple years, I've been hyped on it.
Are you from Baltimore?
Yeah, I'm from Baltimore County, so just 20 minutes outside the city. But I grew up in Maryland for most of my life. Originally from Long Island, New York, but when I was eight we moved to Baltimore County and that's where I really grew up skating. I moved to the city when I was 18 and lived there until I moved to SF.
What prompted the move?
I wanna word this in a way that doesn't make Baltimore sound like it got boring for me, but I just basically had felt like I wanted to skate another major city in America. I was thinking about moving to New York and I had been going there a lot but I had these friends here and SF was a new thing to me and seemed very fun and exciting. I visited once and I was lucky enough to stay with like Chris Athens and Jesse Narvez when they lived together. And I just got so hyped on that, that the next time I came out, like a year later, I brought all the money I could save and was just couch surfing until the room opened up. I just wanted to do more. I wanted to skate a bigger city that had a little bit more going on, I guess. Not that Baltimore didn't, I was just already so familiar with it.
There's so much heritage in San Francisco. It seems like it's almost got a second wind.
Absolutely.
Ollie
It seems like there's a good scene there again. Not that there wasn't, but there's a lot going on there.
Yeah. And I think that's part of what got me so stoked and what kept me here, the group of people I ended up skating with every day were so inspiring and just doing really cool stuff. I think that's what kept me going.
What was it like being in San Francisco for the pandemic?
I mean it cleared out, I'm sure most cities did. It became a ghost town for the first few months. I was working at this bar, I was actually a door guy, which was pretty funny ‘cuz I'm not the most intimidating door guy. But I was a bouncer, and that bar had totally closed down, so we were out of work. Basically no one was working and we were all getting a ton of money from the California unemployment. So seriously at one point we were making a G a week, more money than any of us had ever seen, just off of that, and we were just spending it. We were skating every day. We were barbecuing steak dinners. We built a mini ramp in our backyard that our landlord totally tweaked about once he found out and we had to rip it out. But I mean, the city was just dead for us, so we were having fun with it, but it was definitely a weird time.
After the initial shock wore off, cities were open to skate these spots you'd never skated before.
Yeah. I mean, skating downtown was a go around that time. It was awesome. Stuff you'd never be able to get away with skating. It was like you could hang out there all day. So it was cool in that sense. But you know, we were also trying to be careful as it was definitely scary times for a little while, but like you said, once things started to mellow out we started having fun.
How did you get involved with Static VI?
I got involved with Static VI probably five or six years ago now. Initially Josh hit me up about getting Theories and had invited me to Philadelphia on a little skate trip with them as they had a pop-up shop going. So I went and it went really well. I had already known a couple of those guys that he skated with, but I didn't know Josh at all. We got a few clips at that point, and then I was riding for Theories. I think it just kind of snowballed into him just telling me like, "look, I'm making another video and if you want to be a part of it I'm down to film a part with you". And I mean, that got me stoked because I grew up watching all the Static videos. When he told me that I definitely took it seriously and I was willing to devote time to going on trips with him. Basically he just put it out there and I took it seriously, and we kind of just followed through with it since.
50-50 and Boardslide
That must feel rad to get the nod from Josh.
Absolutely. I was stoked to say the least. It meant a lot to me.
Where did you go on some of the trips? And how are you getting on with your part?
I'm working on getting a few extra things to choose from here in San Francisco. Other than that, he's been telling me my part's done.
We did a bunch of rad trips. We went to LA, Chicago and St. Louis, which was really cool because I had never really skated in any of those cities. That was one of the earlier trips we did where a group of us went to Chicago, then drove from Chicago to St. Louis. I just remember being stoked on that trip because St. Louis is stacked with spots and it almost reminds you of Baltimore. So I was really hyped to check that city out. And then I would go up to New York all the time to visit him. We have some stuff from Baltimore when he would come down by me and skate for the weekend or whatever. There are probably some Philly clips in there too.
Is it safe to say that this video has been your main priority for the last few years?
It's an important part to me and I want that to reflect, hopefully. I guess that sounds a little corny to say? I'm not trying to sound cocky or something but it's important to me, and I know it's going to one of the most important parts that I've filmed or worked on. So I've definitely tried to do what I can to make sure that I give it a good try.
I've never been to Baltimore, but it seems quite gritty. How do you find it compared to SF?
It's definitely a change and I think that there are similarities in some ways, but for the most part it's very different. I mean, Baltimore is just obviously much, much flatter than San Francisco is, so learning to skate on the hills was definitely a big change. I find that when I’ve been constantly skating out on the hills I've gotten way better at that, those types of things. And then maybe a little bit rustier when it comes to a good old-fashioned ledge. But they both have crusty spots. I feel like I've gained and lost different things skating in each city. I think skating in Baltimore has helped what I choose to skate here. What I look for in a spot here is sometimes I guess, relatable to a spot I could have found back home, if that makes any sense?
Bs Ollie
That makes sense. For the kind of spots you like to skate, a lot of people would just walk past. You've got a really good eye for noticing weird things that people wouldn't really pay attention to.
Yeah. I appreciate that.
Where does that come from? Did you actively do that or is that something that you watched growing up and it appealed to you?
I think what I watched growing up. I mean, I always gravitated towards creativity. I know that I'm not gonna do the best trick at the most famous spot in whatever city. So I guess my approach is just trying to find something that people walk past all the time. Yeah. I don't know. I'm trying to figure out how to word it, but I think it's kind of like me trying to work a little smarter rather than harder. It wasn't an intentional thing that I set out to do, I guess it's just the way that I choose to skate.
Whose part are you excited about seeing?
That’s a good question. I mean, Jordan comes to mind immediately because he’s just insane and I haven’t been around to see a lot of the stuff that they’ve filmed. So I know that that’s gonna be really dope. I’m trying to think, a couple new guys have been added since I started filming, but I’m definitely hyped to see Christian’s part because he is a nut. I’ve been there for a lot of his footy, but a lot of time has passed since we started so it’s gonna be exciting to see.
What have you got on for the rest of the day?
Not too much today. I've had a hurt foot for the last year or so. My big toe has been fractured. I went to Pittsburgh a little over a year ago with some traffic guys and I was filming with Jake and I ended up fracturing it. I hurt it again skating this past weekend so it's been killing me. So today I'm not working, I'll just probably just relax today, maybe hang out in the neighbourhood. I really love my neighbourhood, so I'll always just be hanging out somewhere outside if I'm unable to skate. I'll start a new job tomorrow at a barbecue burger joint. My buddy got me this job doing the register and bussing the floor and stuff. I'm excited, the food's the bomb.
Published in our special Theories in Miami issue in North 37