Kevin Coakley

So, Kevin, you’re originally from Massachusetts, right? Where exactly did you grow up in Massachusetts?

I grew up on Cape Cod in a small town on the beach called Eastham.

What was it like growing up and skating in that area? Did you have much to follow from an already established skateboarding scene?

There were a few parks around that I would skate but not much street skating. I remember mainly skating flatground or a box that I built at my house. It wasn’t until I started making weekend trips to Boston that I was able to skate a real city with skaters who I looked up to and wanted to follow.

Are you still living out in Boston, or have you finally decided to make the move to California?

I’m in Boston at the moment. I’ve been here all summer trying to film for this next video. I was in Cali all winter which was good but I don’t think I could find myself living there permanently year round. I could be wrong but I feel like I would miss the east coast too much when the weather is good. I’ve been really thinking about making the move to New York in the next couple of months. We’ll see what happens.

Most skaters see that move as a necessary step to becoming a professional skater; however, there’s few, like yourself that never left home. Is there a big underlying reason why you never left Boston?

I believe spending a good amount of time in LA is necessary but I wouldn’t say you have to make the permanent move. Boston is home to me and I do feel like I need to get out. That is why I’ve been thinking about new York. I think footage looks way better out here and I feel like being from here, I need to identify myself with my roots and represent the East.

How does it feel to be one of the few Americans on the Blueprint team? For a while you were the only American, so what was it like to no longer be the sole American?

It was cool to think of being the only American on the team but now I’m super psyched to have Marty & Jon be part of the squad. We’ve all become good friends and I look forward to future trips with everyone.

Brixton happens to be one of my favorite lines out right now, so how did get you put on with them? What’s it like to ride for such a quality clothing line?

I happened to be friends with Jason Lee who is the art director for Brixton. When Elwood cancelled the skate program, I got a call from him the next day asking if I wanted to get some gear. At the time I didn’t know what it all entailed. So now to be fully on, I’m more than stoked.

How much fun was it shooting that Brixton “welcome” video? Was it all filmed exclusively for the video?

All that footage was meant to be for an Elwood welcome video which fell through. I wasn’t even sure Brixton would want to use it so I’m psyched they put something together for me. It was cool to film, I wanted to find spots that weren’t completely killed and ended up coming through with a little bit of footage. I’m stoked on how it came out.

From what you have noticed, how has the hype of MFWTCB helped garner some attention to Blueprint as well as yourself?

I think it’s definitely helped. It’s hard for me to tell exactly how much but it must have had some impact in one way or another. I will say it is a bummer when people notice you more for having 1 trick on The Berrics then for the video part that took over 2 years to put together.

Are you guys currently working on the next Blueprint video? If so, when can we expect to be watching that on our screens?

We are… hoping to film for the next few months while the weather is still good and finish it up. I’d guess around Christmas time, but you never know.

Tell us a little about Broadcast Wheels? What makes them different from other wheel companies?

Best wheels I’ve skated. Period. – GLADDEN