PATHWAYS INTERVIEW
Sharing the Stoke... ...continued from page 9
nity of older guys in skateboarding. If you’re over 30, that’s considered old! Actually, more than old because it used to be, back in the ‘90s, if you were 20, you were almost on the way out, because the career used to be 16 to 18. Fortunately, nowadays, it’s different. I still do bowl skating, but around 2017 I got into downhill skating, which is just like it sounds. You are riding a longboard down a steep hill at high speeds while maintaining control of your board. That was super awesome, and was a perfect lead-in to downhill slalom skating, where you’re now adding in the element of weaving through cones at different distances while maintaining high speed and control. I started getting into slalom in 2020, pretty much right before the pandemic hit, which really helped me out because that’s when things were super uncertain in the whole quarantine. You go around the cones, and then you try to go fast if you are racing. If not, then it’s just precision, going left, going right, left, right… it’s very hypnotic, free flowing, but still having these goals. And you really get into this Zen state of, “Let me do this.” And so for me, it’s super addictive, because it’s like a shortcut into getting into that meditative zone. During this time a lot of people actually picked up skateboarding, because it’s something you could do solo, have your social distance, and be able to leave the house and do something active. I got into sla- lom because of my friend, Scott Hostert (on Instagram @imrealgone), who I met through the OG Jam. This guy is way older than me — I think he just turned 60, so at the time he was late fifties. He was com - peting in slalom, here and in Europe, coming back with medals, and he introduced me to it at the perfect time. I remember thinking, “This is so cool, and he’s way older, and I’ve been just trying to figure out how can I just stick with this, and adapt, and do different types of skateboarding,” which is pretty amazing now that I teach skateboard - ing. Scott continues to inspire me, since he plays in a rock band, skates all the time, and still even competes. And I’m still adapting, and cur - rently really focused on long distance skating. So teaching skateboarding is a relatively new undertaking for you, but it seems like you’ve been training for the role naturally by learning so many different styles. How did you first make the leap into teaching?
Bowl skating in SoCal (Photo: Chris Hooten)
I’ve worked with kids since high school. I used to work at Bar-T, which is an afterschool kids club, and I also worked with Kids After Hours, so I have the patience and I find it very rewarding to work with little kids, even though it is tough. Living in SoCal I kind of fell into it working at skateparks, where they would have retail skate shops and skate camps, and I was forced to do it as part of the job. But the whole teaching skating wasn’t even my idea. It was actually my girlfriend Jenna’s idea. We met in 2020, right before the pandemic, and I taught her how to skateboard. She would say, “Oh, you’re the best teacher ever,” be - cause I was very patient and attentive. When the quarantine happened and everything shut down, I was missing that social aspect of working in the shop, meeting people, and being face-to-face. Jenna suggested we move back to Maryland, since it’s my home state and I have family here, and I could reconnect with my old scene, and could start coach- ing or instructing skateboarders on my own. That’s what we did, and in 2021 I started the School of Shred, teaching in open parking lots for beginners and moving into public skateparks if they wanted to learn how to ride ramps. Now I feel like teaching is a perfect match, because I have a lot of experience with skating and different disciplines. I’ve been there and done that. I’ve tapped into the street scene, to the bowl skating scene, to the downhill scene, to slalom, and now long distance. I’ve delved into each little pocket, have met and made so many friends, and like to keep it diverse. Skateboarding nowadays is also more inclusive, which is amazing, especially for a skateboard teacher that’s just trying to ed - ucate a skater in all facets of what there is to offer. It’s great how you’ve adapted personally over time, and to hear the skateboarding scene continues to evolve and become more inclu- sive. Who do you teach? It might sound corny, but my little saying is, “If you can walk, you can roll.” It’s a load to understand when you propose teaching skate -
58—PATHWAYS—Summer 23
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