hey fellas how's it going yeah all right
my bread out how's John
it works out I had to Beach ask all of
us escaping everyone who was on it like
who were skaters he went up to earth
with him did you like our new deal we
didn't go on to her that's another
interesting thing like there was no tour
I mean my first tour that I went on you
do I don't think had the money to do a
tour we didn't have the organization so
what happened was I would became friends
with my V so Mike you know would be in
Southern California and they connected
all the time and skated together and
they would go on tour together
you know Mike B was a couple years older
and he's sort of drafty out along you
know and to us as a sponsor it was great
because we weren't in the place of like
ready to have a new deal to or anything
like that
this all happened through our
girlfriends essentially I mean Mike's
current wife is was best friends with
Diana
they knew each other before they ever
got involved with skater kids you know
and others might let me explain this so
Jason Leigh's girlfriend was Anne who's
married to Mike now we all did school
one day to go to a Chili Peppers concert
up in LA this is 86 on the chip ever so
cool oh let me throw that in there and
and brought her friend Anna
that's how I met Diana basically like on
that car ride up to LA it's hot and we
stopped to get like a drink at like a
soda at a soda machine I get like a dr.
pepper or something I'm about to drink
it and right as I get there Jason Lee
just comes up and snatches out of hand
and like drinks the whole thing and I
was like and I was all sad and yeah
I was like dad tells me later she's like
that's when I like fell in love you
basically you were so cute
Jason was being mean to you and you just
kind of patted I had the sense that he
didn't have any money and it was I think
it was at that moment I just saw you
looked up at the big green eyes and your
braces new little skate dudes it's and
like because she's so cute it was just
all I think it was like I don't know
he was some sweet so she told and like
later that she thought I was cute I was
like let's hook this up let's go on it
let's get a date going so we went me and
Jason and me Indiana went to go see
fatal attraction at the movie theater
I had a acid-washed G damn jeans and an
acid-washed jacket I don't know what was
what I was what I was thinking and I was
trying to go scrubs - yeah I was like I
thought I was dressing nice yeah and
after the date I like waiting for a kiss
and missed and ended up kissing her like
up here on the cheek and I was too
petrified to like make it up I just like
was like all and like walked off we were
like uh but yeah like that's how we
started that's how me and Anna met
basically and sorry going out we had one
more time of hanging out and then on the
third hang out I just remember sitting
on a curb with and watching you skate
and then you sat down really quick knew
it not your boyfriend now Ezra we were
looking at an and she looked kind of
shrugged her shoulders I'm like sure
never been apartment you got stuck with
me right thing so I was I became friends
with Mike V because over time now Jason
and AM broke up somehow and started
dating Mike V he would like come and
visit and in like high engine Beach and
stuff me and Jason would go skate with
my V a lot basically I was on your new
deal was happening Mike was on world but
we were we were good friends so he
invited me on tour that's what your
question was like what about tours in
New Deal and I said we never toured new
do my first tour 1990 was with Mike be
on a World Industries tour essentially
world was much more established as a
business group you know they were doing
tours and things we just weren't at that
place yet Mike V is one of those people
that helped start that model and take
that further Mike he had this like work
ethic like we're going on tour
every day show up at a shop kick ass
no around
Mike was kind of like sort of at odds
with Rocco a little bit seriously gonna
lose your job here oh you guys was just
like I'm doing my own tour I
don't want to do what is she's to her
I'm going to pick my own people and he
his friends whatever New Jersey
connections with Felix and dude who were
on world but he liked me so he's just
like you know what I'm just doing a tour
with my boys BX in June and I'm gonna
bring it and so he just set it up as
like the valleys on a tour it wasn't
even like billed as a wolf industries
tour was just like tour with these guys
and that is really the start of what my
pro career
this is all like world expanding
I'm like literally lived in the suburbs
a whole life here in Southern California
and now I'm like crossing the country
for the first time seeing all these
different states you know as different
people getting in all these situations I
mean there's like a thousand stories I
could tell you from that first tour
being in the south with Mike looking
like a skinhead like crazy
we almost got our killed a bunch of
times and I wasn't part of their group
so it was like really weird and it's
like I feel like Felix made me cry out
of part some part of the tour you know
it was getting me to me like they make
fun of me I don't know but like
literally my summer was all of June 30
demos in 30 days from the west coast to
the east coast you know I was season to
that point every se skating a new
obstacle course every single day and
showing off and like make doing all your
moves I was ready for contests and that
is what primed me to go to Europe that
year and wreck all those contests and
then I think he had a chance to go skate
Europe contest one year and so it was a
big deal for him like consider dropping
out I think he went and talked to his
grandparents about it and his
grandparents were like you'll learn more
traveling the world than you will in
high school once we left the tour I was
like on my own I was like I was
basically like you're going to be flying
from New York to Europe no one picked me
up or anything I'm just in a airport in
Frankfurt going I'm screwed man and Jake
Phelps was getting off a plane and I
didn't know who he was but I'm like that
guy looks like a skater so I kind of
went over there like thinking like these
guys must be coming for the contest
because they look like skaters I had
skateboards and stuff and I kind of like
went over there and sort of made myself
seen with him like and luckily he's just
like a double dude because like Jake
he's like you know skate encyclopedia
was like yeah come with us and he helped
me like get to the hotel and find the
New Deal people that didn't pick me up
it's kind of crazy because it's like I'm
young there was an establishment of guys
you know dressing hosoi austere I mean
this is that generation still and the
stuff we were doing was different you
know dressen's line might be
like where I'll slide the quarter pipe
you know do a fat air over the hip like
boardslide the handrail you know I'm
like scorching one foots over the hip
and like impossible but then I would do
a one foot board site which no one had
seen before you know he was just
progressive simple as that and the guys
that were sort of resting on their
laurels or where they'd been in Ed's
foundation wasn't set yet his mind was
still open so it's a generational
perspective you know so Ed was an icon
for a new generation of skateboarder he
had a huge following you know in
mainland Europe and England that is so
unique you know so at that time that
uniqueness stood out even more than now
and then he was on fire at that time as
well had his own bag of tricks and was
really good in contests really good and
demos and just creatively wide open
there's a huge ads Hamilton fan they
felt crazy winning because at this point
the Muenster contest was big I mean
stadium filled with kids screaming and
the whole town got overrun with skaters
this was like the only time I think in
my lifetime ever have that kind of
situation so you get Europe how many
copies you want there was three contests
and I won all of them like I said I was
like I was ready did you come home I got
conquered Europe I mean in a way it was
kind of like that I mean like because
they were back then they covered
contests so like remember like getting a
bunch of coverage in the mag it was like
those two months of 1990 really like
established me as like this guy you know
flying back from the contest I won in
Europe another thing rad thing Paul
Schmidt did got me a limo to pick me up
at the airport so he was like oh let's
get a limo for our skate star Danna was
there dressed up all fancy and picked me
up I'd see guys do things special and I
wanted to be part of making that special
thing happen in his first year as a
rookie nobody else in that era did what
he did put out banging video parts to
set the tone for skateboarding and won
contests you know they didn't go
together
that was my peak I'm like super
fortunate to have had a couple peaks in
a way but that was my like real key was
1990 I mean 1990 was like you're a
trained pro the only time I had covers
on bags was in 1990 Transworld and
throughout all right chance I think was
89 and then Thrasher was in 90 but when
it came out
Trane's rolled it was like in things
took a really long time to come out back
then it seemed like he knows granted
that rail that poster oh he's winning
he's one of those dudes Natalie he's
like he's not he's like nah just now it
was bugged out and I would still make a
young and that's it I never had like one
of the major magazines covers again
those that yeah one car one trans were
one thorough yeah they did like a cover
like I've covered with a bunch of
people's faces on this day hmm never big
brother either how's the pros of those
guys what the yeah it's crazy
nobody had a big brother cover for
longest time I mean everybody's like no
I never did like really well you never
gave you a cover how do mean did I was
like you guys won't be real siding with
my boners and big brothers like I think
I was like such good friends with those
guys that it was it was almost like a
joke he would be like I'll give you the
cover right now if you like boards that
are made out with a boner I want to I
want that's what I want for the cover
like I think you might be the only
person who might try it so if you board
side a rail coming at the camera with a
boner naked I'll give you the cover and
I was just like that I'm not going
to do that so like I never got the cover
but then every year since then like the
next year 91 me and Mike did our own
demo just literally being him a man
nobody from bees yeah no I think this
pint this time it was nude he was on you
do at this point he was on you do on 92
I think and we just did a tour by
ourselves again I was set up a huge like
30 demo 30 day type thing I'm a secured
masochist to her at some point edge said
hey can Mike be on the team I confirm
that you know you didn't have a contract
tying them up or anything like that and
Mike kept on having all this pressure
from world we're basically your old
retired get the hell out of here we
don't want you around anymore and that
eventually is what you know led Mike to
being on a new deal and then eventually
led them to try to be their own deal
that's what happened basically I mean
got on new deal who I had been telling
them like this is a great company man
it's really cool we get to do it you get
to be in control like whatever but I
think when he got on you deal Mike came
from a situation on world industries
where he was making like 10 grand a
month off board sales I mean they were
cooking those double kick farm animal
boards you know I'm making like three to
eight grand a month depending on board
sales which was at that time was like
this is epic you know but I think making
3 grand for Mike who had been used to
making 10 grand was a huge lifestyle
change
and so I think he his thinking was like
let's start our own company will make
all the money it'll be great and so I
kind of like got bought into that and
say let's do it you know so I like
essentially quit new deal to start TV
with Mike
you