When did skateboarding change your life?
Skateboarding changed my life from the moment I stepped foot on one. Up to that point, I had yet to find something that could make me forget about the troubles of this life that have been present if I can remember. Growing up in a fatherless home, being the class clown, the outcast, the one that most teachers foredoomed since elementary school. The “troubled child.” Skateboarding was the one thing that was there for me when friends and even family at times were not. Through the brightest and darkest of times, without a home at 16 years old; through all of it, there was always skateboarding.
What is your favorite trick and why?
I’m honestly stoked on every trick that I’m able to do, but front-side nose blunt I would say is my favorite, go-to trick that I can do in street and transition. I just like the way they look and feel. Tough for some people, but fortunately for me they just happen for me, and it’s one of the few tricks I don’t lose if I don’t do one for a while.
With skateboarding in the Olympics, do you think skateboarding can prostitute itself or to lose the true essence?
Long answer: There’s always going to be rippers that skate to skate, who are truly down and carry the essence of skateboarding so hard that you can see it in every move they make on the board. There will always be genuine, 100% skateboarders, whether they’re deemed “pro” by the industry, or just people like me and countless underdogs you’ve never even heard of like Ivan Rocha. Folks that refuse to conform to trends, and change their appearance and persona based on what members of the industry want and what is “marketable.” However, with that said, in many ways, I feel that with so many trends, big-money pulling strings, and exposure on people who look good, but hardly leave the ground or take impact and risk their lives; the essence is already out of the industry. It’s now up to each skater to follow along or not. I’m stoked on many aspects of the progress skateboarding has made over the years but being in the Olympics is not one of them. Nor is the lost act of calling out posers.
Short answer: Though the essence might fade, if skaters take hits, take risks, and keep getting up and going it again, the essence will never be lost.
When was the first time you won a skateboard contest & how did you feel?
The first contest I “won,” I was stoked, but a little confused because I didn’t think I did all that great. I was competing against several friends and my brother Tom who got me into skating, at a contest in Pagosa Springs, CO, the next town over from my hometown (Durango, CO). Then come to find out a few days later, the judges had written a sloppy “o” that looked like an “i.” So it was my brother, Tom Schaefer that won, and not me. The first contest I won (no type-o’s), I just felt grateful that all of the hard work I had been putting in over the years was starting to show.
Skateboarding and music are very connected to each other, what do you like to listen to while skateboarding?
It depends on the day and what is happening in life. Some days it’s the good, REAL rap and hip-hop, Wu-Tang, Andre Nickatina, 2-Pac, Big-L, Big-Proof. Other days when I don’t care if I fall or land and I just want to hit the concrete a few times, it’s death metal and hardcore, Black Dahlia Murder, Stick to Your Guns, Acacia Strain, As Blood Runs Black. I work in the service/entertainment industry dealing cards at a casino. So I take a lot of heat at work from people when I am taking hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars from people (they don’t like that, and they blame the dealer), so those, “really don’t care what happens to me I’m just going to charge as fast as I can and huck” days happen pretty frequently.
Do you prefer to shred in the streets or skateparks? Why?
I can get a lot more done at skateparks, especially big plazas like Apex in Arvada and Poods in Encinitas, where there’s just so many options to get creative with and come up with lines for days. But like favorite tricks, there’s not much of a preference. I love skating different street spots, doing things at spots where you know you’re the only one in existence to do that trick on that spot. Also, coming from the sticks outside a small mountain town in Colorado, moving to Cali and getting to skate street spots like the Hollywood 16 is indescribable to folks that grew up in those areas. That was the first time I even heard of “ABD.” People have a lot to say over the internet, and being the second person behind John Allie to Front Noseblunt that 16 was super lame and not cool at all. Regardless of all that, hitting street spots all day with a good crew all day where everyone’s getting tricks; man, those are some of my greatest memories. From Denver to Orlando, out to San Diego and up to SF, way down to Brazil, every city has its unique spots and it’s fun to explore them.
Have you ever thought about giving up skateboarding? Why?
No. I’ve been forced to take time off, being in treatment facilities for troubled adolescents and juvenile detention when I was 16, and in the county jail at age 23 for being wasted and hitting a cop in Denver. I got off lucky there, spent a week in Arapahoe County. I got out of jail and went and hit this dope 8 stair rail I’d been eying for a few months, and I haven’t had a drop of booze since it’s been almost 3 years. Those times were hard learning lessons, and they taught me a lot about what’s important in my life; Life itself being one of them, and they taught me that my freedom and my love for skateboarding are two things I can never let myself lose, as long as I live.
What inspires you to shred and evolve every day? fame or just fun?
Fun, and inspiring others to push themselves and their limits. Being sober is a drinking man’s world doesn’t leave me much else to do but evolve. Again, reminding myself of how lucky I am to be alive and not in jail is a big part of what keeps me moving forward. It’s hard to complain about much after being through some of those lessons. I just want to keep being a positive light and inspiration for others. For skaters and non-skaters alike. For those in my community here in my hometown, for everyone, I meet in my travels from the US, down to all my friends in Brazil. It’s all love. I’m past the point of looking for what I can get out of skateboarding and moved onto what I can give to others THROUGH SKATEBOARDING.
What is your daily routine before you go shred?
I work 40 or more hours a week. So that must happen first 5 days a week. That’s usually enough to get me pumped to go shred. My days off I take my time getting up, having coffee, breakfast, sitting in the yard, play a little guitar and then eventually make my way down to the bowls. I try to ride my bike down as much as possible so I’m already loosened up by the time I get there, but some days I like to drive and bring the amp down so we can jam tunes a little louder and without headphones.
Any inspiring words you want to tell the next generation of skaters?
Skateboarding can teach you a lot about life if you let it. My advice is, LET IT! Don’t give yourself away. Be yourself and stay true to yourself. Be in it for YOUR love for it, or don’t be in it at all. Have fun. Skate because you love to skate, not because you think it might make you cooler. Don’t be jealous or discouraged by those that are “better” than you. Be inspired. Similarly, don’t discourage others, instead, encourage them. Learn together. Push each other and share your knowledge with others who are inspired by you. It isn’t about big houses and fast cars and having people around because you got money and fame. It’s about having people around that want to be around because you’re a genuine person that cares about keeping it real. With that said, don’t be discouraged if the only person around is you and yourself. The last thing, you’ll get a lot more done if you don’t make drinking and partying a priority.
