ED TEMPLETON: There's one of her.
I have probably a ton on my computer I could show you.
I loved shooting her.
I would tell people her and Ellington were my favorite
people to shoot from that time period.
Because they both completely existed normally in front of
the camera.
So as a photographer, you were just like, OK.
The thing that you saw originally that made you want
to shoot their photo, they just keep doing it.
They don't even change.
And it's so nice to have that.
And she's just so cool looking.
And everything she did was just rad, super fun to shoot.
ELISSA STEAMER: I guess most of the photos are just of me
wasted or something.
I think one time, I might have woken up to him taking a
picture of me too, when I was sleeping or something.
For like three years of my life, I hung out with Ed.
I stayed at his house for like three months or something,
while we were filming "Jump Off a Building."
SHANE HEYL: "Jump Off a Building" damn--
and that was the click.
I mean, Kerry Getz, Bam, Maldonado, Elissa doing it,
spray paint "Jump Off a Building" on their boards.
They were fucking like 100 Toy.
And it was like that was so cool to see these people get
behind this company.
-So how did Toy Machine change from "Welcome to Hell" to
"Jump Off a Building?"
ELISSA STEAMER: The pro team changed.
Donnie was gone.
Jamie was gone.
And Muska quit, you know.
So it was like Brian and Ed were the pros.
But we just went about our business as usual and skated.
We did 30 demos in 33 days, that kind of thing.
BRIAN ANDERSON: We did the same grueling US tour that we
always did with Toy Machine or [INAUDIBLE].
We gained Kerry Getz, Chris Senn, and Bam.
And she loved those guys right away.
I think, having Chad and Jamie gone, it felt a little more
like our project, our baby.
So it was really fun.
MIKE MALDONADO: Ed just wanted to be more team-oriented.
Whereas, with Jamie, with "Welcome to
Hell," he had a vision.
And that's what he went for.
And "Jump Off a Building" was kind of like, all right, what
do you think.
Pretty much had everybody editing their own parts and
stuff too, so that was really cool.
ED TEMPLETON: Everyone was instrumental in
picking their music.
We were still at that stage where we didn't have to get
licenses or anything.
Janis Joplin, she picked.
ELISSA STEAMER: That one is real popular for like the
jukebox at the bar.
And I remember every time that would come on, I'd be like,
I'm skating to this.
All I've got to do is compile three minutes of footage,
which I couldn't even do.
I always wanted to get stuff.
You know what I mean?
But I could never set out to--
at four minutes and at this part, it's going to do this.
If I was there and there was a camera, I would
try to get a trick.
Sometimes, I would be like, I want to do this.
And I would go do it.
But I don't know if I didn't allow pressure on me, or if I
just didn't succumb to the pressure, or if
I was blowing it.
Who knows?
I don't know.
-Was there ever times when you guys would show up at spots at
big rails and stuff, and then she couldn't really skate?
Would she get bummed on that?
BRIAN ANDERSON: I don't think she would get bummed.
She would just be like, I don't need to jump down that.
She just did what she wanted.
We would look out for everybody on the team.
We would go to a big gap for Maldonado.
And he would skate it.
And we would leave.
And then we would go to a courtyard with ledges.
And then we would all skate.
And Elissa would get something.
So we always went to ledge spots because Kerry loved
them, myself, Maldonado.
So I think we went to enough of a variety of spots for her
to not feel like she had to jump down some 14.
I think she was comfortable with that.
ED TEMPLETON: Sometimes Elissa would have admirers.
Kids would actually come up to her and be like, please marry
me and stuff.
And I just came across this bit of ephemera I saved.
So a kid came up to Elissa and gave her this.
It's "Elissa's Love Ballad." I'll read it to you.
"I meet you through skate videos.
You always wear the smoothest clothes.
Your voice would make me crash my ship into the rocks.
When I see you skate, I give you mad props.
I read you interview in 'Big Brother.' I would love to have
dinner with you and your mother.
I hate to watch you in videos when you fall.
I long to skate with you or just to go to the mall.
I would like it if you're clothes fit.
But still I think you don't quit.
Good luck on the travels.
I hope everything goes your way.
I'm sure it will.
I have no doubt or concerns.
And I cannot lie.
You are the coolest girl and super fly.
PS-- love me tender.
Love, Kevin [INAUDIBLE], [INAUDIBLE]
of Forest Bay, Wixom, Missouri.
Call me collect.
BRIAN ANDERSON: I feel like a bodyguard.
Nobody had ever seen a girl that skated super upright and
with such finesse.
JAMIE THOMAS: I don't know.
I mean, I think everybody, at some point or another,
probably had a crush on Elissa, just because they'd
wish that it was realistic to have a girlfriend that was
that cool, that was that down for skating and was that down
to hang out.
And over time, she started becoming more girly.
She starting embracing more of her girl side, started dating
people and stuff.
I mean, I remember the first time I saw her in a swimsuit.
She'd been on the team for ages.
And I don't know if she used to swim in shorts and a
t-shirt or what.
I'd forgotten she was a girl with boobs and stuff.
And it was really interesting to see.
I tried to not look.
BRIAN ANDERSON: It was fun for me to see her
come out of the shell.
Because living with a bunch of dude skaters, she didn't need
to dress up.
she just needed her TSA jeans and her Etnies and all that.
And she looks really hot.
So I'm stoked for her that she can be comfortable like that.
ED TEMPLETON: After "Jump Off a Building,"
it was a weird period.
I can't blame anybody.
I think it was just like a jumping a sinking
ship type of thing.
She was like, what's going on.
And I was just like, I think everyone quit.
She's like, I'm out too then.
It was literally like that.
I was like, all right.
ELISSA STEAMER: I don't know if somebody put it in my head
it was different.
Or I put it in my head.
Or could I even form a thought back then?
Who knows.
But I decided that I wanted to quit Toy Machine.
I lived in Hollywood.
And I was just skating with the Baker people.
And they started Bootleg.
And so I was like, yeah OK, sure.
And then I just rode for Bootleg.
ED TEMPLETON: For her, it was a natural.
She had a place to go.
So if Toy Machine was going to be falling apart, then she
could jump over there and not worry about it.
-So Bootleg was started as like a subdivision of Baker?
ELISSA STEAMER: Yeah.
But that lasted for like a month, I think, or
something like that.
And then, those people had their differences.
MIKE MALDONADO: Jim and Andrew had the Bakerboys.
That was like their little click.
So it was like Bakerboys, all right.
And then, Boulala came in.
And it was like this whole little clique.
And it was kind of like, we should do something.
We should start our own company.
And then Jay, just being that dude that can just can piece
it all together, you've got money to start the company.
You're that young bull right now.
Drew was being that rookie pro like, everybody is about you.
So we could do this, start this company.
And then, maybe later on, we'll start another one.
That'd be Bootleg, boom.
And then that kind of like-- it actually happened.
ELISSA STEAMER: Bootleg was out of NHS.
So then, Jay just did Bootleg.
And I don't know.
He would attack the Baker team in the ads and stuff.
Like nonchalantly or maybe directly, I forget.
I don't remember.
-It was always at the bottom.
ELISSA STEAMER: Yeah, it was like, our skaters really skate
or something.
But I don't know.
I was just skating.
I didn't really get involved.
That was my favorite video part that I had though.
That was like the best skating that I did.
I did a front-nose to a fakie that I liked.
It was really fun going on trips with everybody.
I really liked the Bootleg team.
We were super-good friends.
[CHEERING]
-So you were on right until the end?
ELISSA STEAMER: Yeah.
Maybe people weren't buying it or whatever.
I got like three months paycheck like, here.
Find something else to do.
Because you're not going to do this anymore.
I was scared to ask people to sponsor me,
because I don't know.
I was a different person then.
I couldn't ask for things.
But I lived with Frank.
So he was trying to get me on Anti Hero.
And I went on a trip with him and Julien and Pablo and Timo
And it was fun.
Timo would called me in the middle of the
night all the time.
And he'd go, you were almost on.
There's just no girls on Anti Hero, or something like that.
And I was like, it's cool.
I just didn't ride for anybody.
I waited for somebody to sponsor me.
And nobody ever did, until Jamie called me a year and a
half later.