Friend of the Show Antonius “Toad” Dintcho sits in as we catch up with Hanzy Driscoll and discuss growing up in Grass Valley/Lake of the Pines, the Adrenaline years with Jaya and Senn, a European tour seeing Arto for the first time, hitchhiking with Cardiel to Biebels bowl, filming with Jon Miner, living in Santa Rosa, skating SF with TG inspo, living with Strubing in Duboce house, Grass Valley gardening, filming skating in the SF hills, the Avenue video inspo with Joe Valdez and co, Toads famous hill line, Cardiel skating the Gonz gap at EMB, losing Kit Erickson, industry section 411, skating with Matt Reason back East, , traveling with Phil Shao making jewelry, Gold Country, seeing RUN DMC in Sac with the Beastie Boys, sniping Daewon clips, champagne supernovas after adrenaline’s end, running from everything and his reemergence into skating and old friends and more…
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INTRO MUSIC: “Mary’s Cross” by Natur
INTERVIEW & EDITED: Greg “Schmitty” Smith
CREDITS MUSIC: “Adirondack gate” by Shane Medanich
CLOSING MONOLOGUE: Noelle Fiore
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Sharal Camisa
WEBSITE: https://talkinschmit.com/
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Happy New Year everybody this is Smitty and talking Schmidt is back first episode of 2024 and we got a good one for you today it’s hansy Driscoll reporting in from Grass Valley with a sidekick that I got my homie from across the bay Antonia’s dcho you might know him as toad we’re
Going to talk to hansi and get caught up on what’s been going on up in the uh Gold Country I’d like to say a couple things before we get started though um I’ve been thinking about this long and hard and uh you know every year we try
To improve upon things make things a better place try to do things good for you all and uh maybe do something good for me as well you know how it goes anyhow I am looking for contributors so what I’m trying to do is get some help here and
2024 my executive director is in the works with a patreon page that could be hitting soon if we are happy with it I’m not exactly sure what all that means but people have told me that we should have a patreon page what the [ __ ] is that graphic designers where are you bro I
Need that if you want to give me a New Year’s present by creating a new talking Schmid intro animation graphic to replace the current one I think it’s time for a change and I would love to see what you guys got out there the turbulence of like wow all this
Information you can send me to talking Schmid at gmail.com I’m also on the gram Instagram talking Schmidt big shout out to all of you that help me get rid of my inventory at the end of the year shout out big shout out to the skate shops that have supported me shout out big
Shout out to Reno too I just want to say shout out classic skate shop thank you for always having my show on YouTube video style in your shop and sending me a little blurb man that’s why I keep going I got to be honest like I love the
Fact that a skate shop has our podcast up for kids to come in and just peep it and see what’s going on oh [ __ ] it’s finally here hey blood Wizard’s been supporting talking Schmidt since day one Antonius is my friend Justin Visser is my friend these guys run blood wizard
Mami was on the program but here’s a call to action let’s get some blood Wizards on the show oh my God hey also want to give a shout out to Grant Taylor GT maybe the best there ever was is and will ever be homie sent me a big package of
Stickers I was hyped you know how much I like stickers I got his dad’s uh Thomas Taylor sticker up immediately and I’m going to I’m thinking about trying to get a different backdrop or add to it and stuff 2024 kids this is a lot of brain waves are getting used on this
Maybe it’s all that magic mind I’m drinking who knows you just influenced somebody talking Schmid listeners you have sent in your Clips I’ve edited them Shane medich the SM project has provided the soundtrack but this weekend I will be premiering old dogs New Year you mean
No com you’re not going to want to miss this Saturday morning before your cartoons and after your breakfast sip some coffee it’s old dog New Year when you bring it you got to sing it talking Schmid gmail.com and uh shout out to Reno shout out yes this is hansy Driscoll and
You’re listening to talking Schmidt hey hey hey talking schmi I’m already not watching it’s cool like tonight is the night damn this is like the coolest thing I’m ever going to do I wouldn’t say it was fun what do you mean bro Christian Fletcher’s younger brother
[ __ ] the do all big dogs in what do you think to John Schmitty talking Schmid Alpa macaroni most of these guys their opinion don’t matter talking Schmid right it’s skateboarding I remember that talking Schmid what are Yun doing holy [ __ ] skting homies no Schmid you can’t jump in what is happening here for
Yory yes we Wi-Fi check one Wi-Fi check two all right guess what it’s 2024 it’s Jan January and I got two guys that grew up together up in the hills Lake of the Pines Grass Valley Nevada City Auburn cardiel sen we’re going to talk about it all today adrenaline
Skateboards you might have heard of it I got toad sitting in with me and today’s focus is going to be on hansi Driscoll Hy how are you doing good thank you thank you for doing this this is awesome awesome honestly thank you to thank you so much toad was telling me
About um I didn’t even know there’s a place called Morning Sun and that’s kind of where you started or no yep the family my family built a um like a multi-purpose tiny tennis court like the size of like a third of a tennis court is it whiffle ball the round balls that
Have holes in them they would do it’s not like tennis whiffle ball and they had a basketball hoop and stuff and my stepdad my dad here in Grass Valley side I was uh just went nuts about skating like how most of us did just it was just an instant true
Love and so I was like had all the Thrashers and the pictures on the wall and um this is when Thrasher did the ramp plans you could order the ramp rasher and uh we bought um the five foot quarter pipe and that quarter pipe went divert
And it was five foot with just a perfect just no ju yeah and so it all started with this oh and it was four feet wide but what why were you even thinking skateboarding at that moment like what Drew you to to like skateboarding like how how were you thinking that so my
Stepdad’s uncle was doing a surf shop in Santa Rosa called surf plus wow and he started carrying yeah and he started carrying skateboards and uh one year Christmas or something Easter he did his annual visit to Grass Valley and he brought a skateboard and I just freaked out like
Everything about it I was just like so stoked and um our pool was being worked on at the time and like he tried to skate our pool but it was too steep a transition and I was like when he took off I was just like butt boarding and just like just
Freaked out just wanting to roll on it and stuff and I launched that thing into the deepen in the water and he was like super bummed and I was just like didn’t even understand that skateboards can’t get wet I didn’t know anything I was just like you’re like how old like
Around eight or so like how old are you 10 wow okay so I didn’t mean to cut you off but so your parents build this tennis court place and you order a ramp from The Thrasher ramp plans and you could take it from there yeah yeah it was
Awesome because it ended up being like the that ramp stuck out through my whole time of having all these different ramps and I built a mini ramp then I built a mini spine ramp that was 2 and 1 half feet tall and and um I had heated sessions with Christen and cardiel and
Um but at this ramp my family is construction workers so he ordered this thing and he made it with me so like he that was part of the rant plans was like having me you know we bought the wood and then we did the this and that and
Um that thing was awesome it was awesome we ended up building a full Street course with like a little Street handrail which was like way ahead of its time and uh I mean this TN boards had shape and it was just launch ramps and um yeah I talked to cardiel and he said
You basically had jump ramps everywhere yes yeah and then some of them were too crazy so we build a deck and it’d be like some wacky type of quarter pipe okay dud that that five foot ramp was seriously so gnarly like it was five feet wi vert four feet wide
Hony did all sorts of tricks on it he could do rock and rolls when I met him like I was just learning how to skate he was like he was like sixth grade doing Rock and rolls on it like it was garly it was crazy what else is going on up up
There at this time are you guys getting into rivers and hiking and doing jumps into water and stuff for like what kind of other things are you doing that’s kind of like kid stuff Daredevil or BMX in or whatever yeah all the all the above you’re exactly right all the above
Just total country you know doing that just the rivers and uh I had a BMX but Toad and cardiel were really good at BMX so I like kept up um when I lived in Lake the Pines later on on when became like close friends during around
High School time it was a good time my friend Gabe copelan actually messaged me recently talking about the old ramp setup and he said we were laughing about how parks are available for the kids growing up these days and then he said that uh he said if it wasn’t for me
Building ramps we would have never even known how to State transition back then yeah I mean like that that’s something that kids take for granted now but when we grew up like if you knew somebody that had a ramp you you were their friend because there wasn’t a lot
Of friend I mean a lot of ramps or [ __ ] and skate parks kind of died like at a certain thing and then it was just basically like you said building little jump ramps and stuff but like to have actually [ __ ] to coping and stuff was not super common for people to have the
Ability to learn on yeah absolutely and it funneled all the skaters into certain spots like there’s tons of spots now but if there was only like three ramps in town the sessions would be really awesome yeah there our friend I’m not sure if you know about the bble bow the Clover
Bowl he had a mini ramp okay he it was like the only other mini ramp in town basically that thing was awesome that thing was awesome was one one of those mini ramps the one with an extension that John skating in the dog Town video
And doing like the cross oh my God was the AUB ramp that ramp was insane Garrett’s ramp that thing was so awesome it was like uh 32 feet wide yeah looks so sick up with too big of transition so it was built kind of technically wrong but it
Made it super fun because I mean you had had this big like like long transition thing and it was really mellow at the top still I think it was 10 foot [ __ ] with like seven foot tall with it was funny dude it was funny but you could really
Like learn stuff and uh get away with more because he didn’t have to come all crazy yeah it wasn’t too tight yes it wasn’t tight at all you did A notun on it or something Hans I can’t remember but yeah yeah yeah I got some stuff rad well how would you
Compare like um John and Chris at at the early age like what what kind of kids were they like meeting them and like seeing them in the early stages it was always absolutely incredible just completely a different level than everyone else just 100% always and it was really funny because uh
They were from two sides of the spectrum of like the skate scene at the time like Kristen was cleancut pal during the sponsored time right and Carell was Dogtown dude and it was chain wallets and he was chewing yep was black uh Black Sabbath Suicidal Tendencies yeah and we had different
Skate groups and we’re in the same town but we’re in a different 15 minutes different and when you’re a kid you know you stick to your groups because people aren’t driving as much so we had our like skate group and then Grass Valley had its kind
Of skate group okay I think they were they were sober at the time too or they were straight edge Chris yeah Chris and like the whole crew I think salmon was in that crew like those guys they were all straight edge yeah they’re kind of wearing it like they’re like straight edge we’re
Straight edge like uh we were coming from a wild wild you know walk on the wild Sid and and since you guys are up in the mountains are you like the minute snowboarding comes out are you on it like are you some of the are you doing some of the earlier snowboarding than
Before it actually gets yeah and played with it too I had a lot of fun with it it was awesome cuz you’re only like what 45 minutes away from right absolutely but Toad and John really were just exceptional snowboarders and loved it and kicked butt I remember toad uh getting out of
High school and hitchhiking some yeah toad well there was like always groups that were going so I’m not sure if it was technically hitchhiking or maybe just asking friends at high school we used to all hitchhike a lot though remember we’ hitchhike to Grass Valley
To go skate we link up with like CR like we’d go to like bbl’s ramp and then Chris would be there it’d be like Hy John and I we’d go we’d hitchhike together and we’d have to like watch out for our parents in case our parents were
Driving up the freeway we’d be like have to pull your thumb down and be like whoa we’re not hitchhiking remember that [ __ ] on like it was yes kind of sketchy if our parents caught us hitchhiking they would have been so pissed yes I you know I was driving up Cascade Shores the
Other day passed where beetles was and do you remember the day where where we when you John and I hitchhiked to Eric beel heimer’s and then we had to walk from Nevada City up there and there was that pipe that went ACR okay there was the driveway and then there’s a ditch
And then there’s this thick round pipe that went across the creek and cardio and this is like bigger Wheels days and cardiel comes down the hill he’s like oh hike there’s this pipe went across the creek and cardiio barged into the dirt and ground across the pipe over the creek
Sick I bet there was all kinds of [ __ ] like that just going on because I I I I figure like in those early days I just remember seeing like dudes doing gainers out of like some crazy like a tree or something into a river like people are
Just like going for it in a way that like cuz I grew up in the suburb so like that kind of stuff was kind of foreign to me so seeing like that kind of [ __ ] always was like oh that probably mentality is like of course you’re going to skateboard like you’re like just
Already whing out and you’re on a bike and all those things him and I’m telling you for the entire month of January you can get one month free of these magic mind Elixir when you subscribe for three months go to wwwmmm mind.com Jan as in January
Schmid s cmit t so that’s J an MIT and with my code Smitt 20 you’re going to get an extra 20% off which gets your grand total to a whopping 75% off not a lot you know there’s not a lot off ERS out there that are comparable comparable again this only lasts until
The end of January so hurry up before it goes away that’s magicmine decom janmid with the code schmid2 get yours today and be prepared to have your mind on some magic and some magic on your mind your pingpong game May drastically be improved blood wizard bloodz blood wizard blood Wizard shop. blood wizard.com tick tack hey it’s Cory at Blue Plate 3218 Mission Street come see us meatloaf Fried Chicken deviled eggs dollar Olympia beers we’re here every day of the week we got a garden and we got Smiles on our faces come let us make you happy hey
What’s up this is Mark suchu and and you’re listening to talking Schmidt how so how does the origin story go for adrenaline like who do you meet and how does it kind of the idea come along well Chris really lightened up like when he was younger he was like on pal and he
Was kind of like uh like toad said they were kind of like uh he was competitive he was competitive and he like uh I love Chris so much he is such an incredible artist and his art it just translates to everything he does including his skateboarding is just
Absolutely incredible and um he really lightened up man he like uh his whole vibe changed and then like so we started skating more and um he just asked me one day we were really skating and I was like getting stuff from Venture and I wrote for race
Wheels and I was starting to get in the mix and uh uh I was Chris’s pick and struan was J’s pick and that was pretty much how it started basically okay so that’s what I heard and I didn’t want to even say it I wanted to hear you say it but um so
Basically s and Ja were they did it start at um High spe I mean with f did F like give them the opportunity or how did do you know not sure I think it was through think but I’m not sure and so it was it was G and Chris starting a
Company and and the formula was we’re each GNA pick an am I think so yes and they wanted to start something fresh obviously and uh they’re both such great people that I think they wanted to represent on people from that they knew from skating all the time so at first is
It just you four um I think uh Noah snik and Roger Sellinger okay because that’s I never knew Noah was a part of it me either I’m tripping yeah wow yeah that was the original um you know right when it started absolutely right when it started okay
Because those guys both kind of like you know were busy doing other things or I’m not sure but you know we kind of needed the like hardcore skaters that are being in the Thrasher videos and uh getting the stuff for slap magazine and Thrashers so so what it was was there any early
Like did you guys go on any trip together or anything like when it’s first starting out or like do you remember like I don’t know some like demo or something you guys went to or anything where it’s like you felt some camaraderie as like were adrenaline yeah I mean I kicked at this
Point I was hanging out with Chris a lot okay and uh he had a house down teral with Rico Castro Rico shout out yeah and so driving down from high school and just going there as much as I could on the weekends and staying with Chris and
Rico and um and we were just having the best time man a bunch of Grass Valley small town guys that uh were now living in the city so we were just stoked to skate everything dude every little Bank every just whatever dude it was all awesome to us you know was this before
Sick boys no sick boys was uh Toad and I love sick boys when we were uh we all did right it’s like so good nor you know like H owned it so we I would go up to hans’s house to watch it like dude we gotta watch that video again
Yeah one one time toad was staying over and it started raining so we just put down Masonite in my room and with there’s like a chest like a opening chest to like put your shoes in or something and we set that thing up and we’re just doing all the axle stalls in
My little room nice yeah the reason I brought up sick boys is cuz McIntyre made that um video but I think he was inspired by going off which was kind of ja’s version of sick boys a you know what I mean it was like all super ra and filmed kind of similar
And and Ja just killed every spot in Santa Cruz um you knew ja real well uh it’d be cool to hear some ja stories for sure ja if you don’t know like I can’t imagine someone listening to this podcast right now that doesn’t know that g was an amazing human being an amazing
Photographer he was kind of like Chris where it’s like everything he did he excelled at it he was so special such a special Soul unique incredible yeah that that movie going off like I the stuff he does in that video is insane and it looks like it’s all done
In one day or something too yeah how did he do all that in one day back then in like I don’t know mid late 80s just unreal I think he was embarrassed by it oh really I think so because I remember he had it at his house at your house one
Time and we put it on and he was all no no oh wow that’s F because i’ never seen it he was pretty humble like kind of like cons like quiet a little bit to the point where I kind of thought he didn’t like me at first because I would see him
All the time but you would kind of get this like kind of okay hey like uh maybe he doesn’t like me and then we got to be friends I was like dude I used to think you hated me or something you know but um dude he we would see him at the San
Jose Warehouse all the time with uh what’s his name no the other Noah the photographer guy from Martino yeah Noah Martino those guys would be hanging out and stuff um around that time did you is that when you moved to Santa Rosa or do you move did you move to Santa Rosa
Later I moved to Santa Rosa later I’m uh they were at teral and I went up to Santa Rosa right out of high school I mean just literally like the first week I was out of is that CU your uncle lived there yeah and uh because I started uh
Those guys became some of my best friends instantly Grass Valley had its we had our skate crew but in Santa Rosa a big part of them were already sponsored in doing it and John Miner’s filming the whole time John Miner’s always been a filmer yeah and um Brian
Gaberman and Charlie Watts and Joel price oh and also Shan delinski Sean Shan delinsky lived in Santa Rosa and he was uh really would help me out a lot I mean he would have spots lined up for me he shot photos yes yeah and so that was a big rush to
Be able to like take pictures and have potential to be in the magazine so uhhuh yeah when that skate park was there we used to to go up there and that’s when we started meeting them and of course Joel skated for uh think so I was
Already in the think camp and then Joel kind of introduced me to Miner and those dudes but I mean talk about like artistic like everybody involved so far that you mentioned like you mentioned gaberman you mentioned Miner you mentioned ja sen these are all artistic people that like rip on a skateboard but
Like they they look at life in an artistic way and they’re really special right it’s like these are all unique people gab’s one of the best photographers straight up and Miner is one of the best filmers Straight Up manzuri is one of the best filmers straight up like you know what I mean
It’s like Chris senen was skater of the Year John cardiel was skater of the year like there’s all this amazing talent in this group that you’re hanging out with like do you feel that or is this just like I don’t know any different so this is the
Norm it was the norm it really was it’s so crazy CU you know it was we we didn’t all such freaks really freaks of the scene you know was uh that was just what was going down and uh so we were just that was life were did you get um like did you
Work on a project with delinsky did you get like an interview in the mag or anything that like you actually went out and tried to like put together something um it was uh um oneoff things so I never got a full interview but I got like
A a small interview one page uh I think it was slap and then um they would do those like intro introduction uh like someone new to the scene it was like little I forget what it was called they called it but I got one of those hot shoes or something something yeah
Yeah okay and Toad are you in the picture yet do you guys know each other I would go yeah I mean we were always hanging out or whatever but like when he would come to When Hans would come to the city I lived in the sunset District
When Chris and Rico lived together so I’d go down there a lot and hang out I wasn’t on a lot of these sessions or anything though I was kind of going to school and stuff and doing my thing but um I would try to link up as much as I
Could I loved hanging out with everybody the crew because I would live to I moved to the city before everybody and then I I moved when I was in high school and like I got torn away from my crew you know I was just like [ __ ] like I didn’t
Have a crew anymore so I’d go to Embarcadero and try to hang out and I was just like I just always felt like I was this country kid that just didn’t really kind of totally fit but I like forged it a little bit and like became friends with like some of those dudes
Like to like I feel like I know Chico now because of that or like you know some of those people were like I can say a friendly hello but then like once everyone moved down like two years later I was like oh my crew is here like I’m
Gonna go hang out with my crew now you know like yeah it was [ __ ] it was pretty amazing I was so hyped everyone moved down because I was like it was a little weird it was definitely not I don’t know it’s hard to fit in when you’re like a block trying to fit
Into a round hole you know you’re like that’s not [Laughter] right what do you remember as being some of the regular spots like did you have regular spots or would you try to just skate new spots all the time like would you start at like let’s say Miley or
Embb or somewhere and then take it from there or like what do you remember about spots it was wide open S man we would just go skate everything absolutely everything I mean later on um in the later years when I moved there at the adrenaline house 197 uh
Duos right tro and I were starting to like have maybe a little bit of a routine like a Clipper and certain stuff but um back then we were just you know just Star Struck by with being in the city and like let’s go here let’s go there let’s just go everywhere it was
Just awesome for sure I was always just inspired by Tommy Guerrero back then right I mean we’d see those old pal videos and I think we all were just trying to find that we like trying to find to the top and then bomb down absolutely we were trying to find those
Streets where Tommy was skating you know we’re like where are those things for are they all the the things go down the hill we’re trying to find all yeah did you ever see Tommy in the wild couple times yeah yeah I did do you
Remember kind of early on I mean to me I always say this like and Tommy tells me to shut up but like Tommy’s Tommy like for me he’s Tommy Guerrero he’s like San Francisco street skater that inspired all of Northern California and probably way more people like trobo and all these
People that were on the East Coast that came to San Francisco go why’ they come cuz they saw the hills and the mag and they saw Tommy’s palp part straight up yeah you know that’s so I to me Tommy needs to be in the conversation when you talk about
Ntis and and gon and the early Street skaters like Tommy is [ __ ] he’s he’s for me because it’s San Francisco and I take pride in this area like Tommy’s our guy yes I’m with you love I just freaked out about animal chin movie but Tommy Guerrero’s part is what
Translated because those big ramps man I was just you know in the ear late 80s or whatever when vert was starting to become less of the focus point you just it wouldn’t translate to like you know those things weren’t around to ride and I didn’t see any pros
Really you know riding those things but like SF was always there in the hills and you could see like that’s what he was doing like toad was saying the bumps you mentioned moving into the house in the city like living in the city for the first time and coming into
A house and you’re with like all your peers at the same time that’s got to be kind of the Golden Era right like super special to be like Oh I’m rooming with strubing and like I’m right here in the heart of the city like probably Epic
Times it was it was absolutely it what happened was I was living in Santa Rosa and then um and we were all living in the same place together too but I all of a sudden was just spending all my time in SF kind of like how and so I just ended
Up moving down there and um and then once you’re in the city that can be your whole world like you don’t even go out of the city for years sometimes you know yeah I know so like I would still go visit Santa Rosa but it was like I was just the city the
Bay Area all that so who was the crew when you moved into that house who who all lived there kid Ericson yeah and then Diego was the non skater uhuh but uh yeah it was ja and kit and then um I’m not sure exactly when Justin moved in or if he was
Already there actually I don’t even remember that it all just kind of just all we all just started uhhuh blending in struan said to ask you about some guy that was uh running from the cops jumping roof to roof if you remember that yeah that was nuts dude he jumped the
Gnarliest roof Gap that was ABS absolutely death drop I mean you if didn’t clear it he would have died and um so I was sitting up there on the roof and I was like having coffee or something with my girlriend at the time and the roof was kind of our kick it
Spot and all of a sudden and there was a lower part of the roof roof that was the back steps outside the back so there was like a a roof over those steps that was lower than the main building and this dude just pops up and walks over that thing
And he’s like and I was like what the heck dude like did he just fly here or whatever and uh and he asked if he could use the door and get out of there and I knew that something that this dude was like running from the cops or something and
He was definitely no threat to me so I was like heck yeah dude I’ll help you with the door let’s get you out of here oh man so uh we let him out of the door and then it’s just sfpd D just rushing the scene they’re
Asking us where he went and I was like I think he went down there it was gnarly none of us knew what he did did or what happened that’s amazing the uh other thing that struy mentioned was I think toad was a part of this too like you
Guys had a two-month tour to Europe yes talk about that it sounded like an insane time where it kind of started off like a struggle and maybe a little difficult but turned into a real memorable um maybe time where you guys all bonded a lot yeah I guess it was
Like her own little personal hell ride like it forget what we called it but yeah we uh it did start off struggle and tough and then I think we just embraced it dude and we all like we were super young but we grew as much of our beards
As we could and none of us cut our hair and then the dirty clothes was just like yeah man dirty clothes and just sleeping wherever and Joe Pino dude Joe Pino Crush he was with you he was with us dude he [ __ ] crushed it dude he’s so
Sick why was he with you he was he on adrenaline no he was on Good Times oh okay this is after left think oh okay I don’t know how that all happened I wasn’t totally I got on adrenaline like right after like right when it like a month later it left I
Think okay so when you were part of it it was kind of like on the new era yeah yeah so that’s when that trip was though yeah with the new era yeah a good time skateboards I think right Greg wit oh yeah Greg wit okay I know Greg yeah yeah
He hooked up that whole trip he lined the whole thing up and like he was basically like all you got to do is get your plane ticket we’ve got the two months all planned out for you except for it was pretty pretty sketchy but but
It was you you guys went to like some summer solstice party like right out of the gates he’s like we just had we went we took a train into Hamburg and then we just put like all our stuff into lockers and then like I think that was like
Halfway through the trip or something okay interesting he said he also said that was the first time maybe anybody of from over here had seen arto sorry and he was just like dude I was there yeah I one of I was part of the first dude in
The first photo of arto in a magazine he’s writing a hansy Driscoll adrenaline board because I gave it to him I walked up to him and I told him hey you could have you could ride for us man you could do this and then I just watched his
Interview recently and comes to find out that he didn’t know anything that I was didn’t know English yeah he didn’t know any English no way I was like noded his head he was into it dude and uh if he spoke English it could have been a different [Laughter]
Story he was so sick dude he was like 16 and he was light years ahead it was like we’re like whoa we were in Denmark right Copenhagen at that contest oh that was cop all were just like we all were just like who is this Golden Child like he
Was a freaking Golden Child we like my God this guy’s [ __ ] incredible right and it looked like he was learning as he was skating the the street course he was like learning tricks as he was it was insane it was really weird to watch
Like and then by the time he got to that last contest and he almost won the last contest like beat everybody like it was just like holy [ __ ] holy [ __ ] these contests are the World Cup Switzerland cost Willie Santos best bers in the world Brian Anderson guy that shows up yeah this
Little kid and he can just everything dude and I mean he was just like all in the biggest pyramid to front board slide down the oh dude I I Joe Peno called me a couple months ago actually and he was speaking of this trip there was we were in uh this town remember
Reagens honds where we hiked the mountain no I think that was Regensburg was in Germany and we remember the um so he was asking me he’s like dude did this really happen I can’t remember and he was like he wanted to remember if maybe
You can clear it up and but he said that um I mean I remember part of this we were like we were drinking a lot and I think the the guy medicine distribution was taking care of us at the time and they were like we were eating dinner
With them and hansy sees the fish tank and he’s like dude we got to we got to set that fish free and there was like a river like the the Ryan River was right outside the door like like right there I think it was the Ry I’m pretty sure but
Oh he’s like we got to let the fish go we gotta set them free and like hansy goes in gets his glass gets the fish and like dude I don’t know we were like parting pretty hard I think someone like threw up on the table or something
And like ponie grabbed the f with this other dude this German dude who was like some German Ripper kid that like was just a rager kid he was just awesome and like they’re getting the fish there’s stuff going on over here someone’s puking like I don’t know what’s going on
Like we like get kicked out of there and then supposedly hansy lets the fish go I can’t remember because we all split up I think at that point because we kind of like got out and this is what Joe is asking me then supposedly it was in the
Newspaper the next day oh my God yes and like and Joe’s like do you remember it was in the newspaper and I’m like I don’t know that sounds insane sounds about right like for that trip but like I strubing was mentioning mushroom tea so who knows uh yeah maybe I don’t know
I I don’t think I had any mushrooms to but I tried pot yeah there was so much going on that just crazy [ __ ] like that was happening a lot you know I dude you know I think Jessie van rookout was even with us at that point she like randomly
Was on the trip with us for a little bit oh right I love Jesse yeah she’s always cool she might be able to she might be able to um concur with that to see like I don’t remember exactly everything but Joe like i’ totally forgotten about it
And Joe was like Hey did this really happen I can’t remember it was funny honest barely remember that yeah it’s amazing that’s why I like having these conversations because um so many times people have Jarred my memory with something that I was like holy [ __ ] I forgot all about
That and then like the minute they kind of put a little pepper on there you’re like oh yeah and then you add to it it’s like amazing how your memory can work oh and then hansy made the sick journal on that trip so like it was like we didn’t
None of us had money so we would just like try to raise money to buy Polaroid film for hans’s Journal okay so was like a whole journal with polaroid pictures yeah and he was just working on it constantly like it was just ins it was super inspiring to watch
And like and we did like something like 28 Demos in like 35 days or something yeah it was kind of crazy and was us a lot of people at the demos either it was just kind of like we had to do it though we like that Greg
Whit had lined it all up and was like this is what you guys got to do wow and then the last four weeks of the trip we were doing the contest circuit which was like we had to follow the contests around and then every weekend was a
Contest is there a photo of arto in there toad oh yeah oh yeah I have H Journal because there’s there’s a bunch of photos of arto in there yes damn that’s so cool man I gotta find it it’s actually not too far from me right now it’s somewhere back in this back over
Here I’m so stoked you kept it man thank got to get it back to you or something okay yeah I think that the the Energy’s cleared out for me for yeah the timing’s good that’s good yeah do you remember this uh line of toad skating these Hills has become like
It’s resurfaced and people have used a lot of it for inspiration uh Toad and I were just out on the streets the other night and one of the GX guys came up and he was like that line and Toad like dude hansie filmed it yeah I never knew that that’s [ __ ]
Hot dude yeah I’ve corrected people on Instagram with posts because it gets repost and they’re like John Miner filming I was like no dude that’s my in it and it’s just Toad and I and Toad had that spot mapped out or at least you were looking at it I looked at
It for many years before that we went there that I never I always thought it was like lame and too snowboard for people because it was kind of snowboard inspired you know and uh I thought like I never wanted to take Mike there anyone so I was like oh they’re gonna hate this
They’re gonna think this is lame and then I was like maybe H into filming it we were just we were going out on missions a lot back then too we would take G’s that was ja’s camera right yeah there’s a good story about that um C and
I had this like epic maybe it was like a half a year I don’t know maybe it was a whole year but there was like this chapter of SF where Gia was transferring over to photography and the new three chip c camera that was just the baby and taken
Everywhere all of a sudden was being just sitting there over in the corner fully charged and so Toad and I were there was a chapter of time when Toad and I were just out there filming and we were filming everything like toad just said so we were like getting like like
There was like there’re just be like there was a there was a powerline pole they were put up on hate street so we just stopped and skated that and I got kickflip Powerline pole ride and to on it and slammed really hard because his front wheels peeled off the wrong way and he
Fell back backside on that baby and we started skating like getting real creative because uh like toad said it wasn’t the it wasn’t the video um shoot it wasn’t like a video shoot it wasn’t like the thing that you were thinking about getting and it was like
This pressure I want to go get the big gap or the the do Todo or the big ol just out there skating yeah you were documenting your day more so than like we got to get this gnarly trick it was just like if that happens it’s gonna happen organically but we’re just going
Out to skate today and we want to film our day yes it was more like that I think remember Hans we were I don’t know if it was I think you were too but we were inspired by the Avenue video because a lot of people were just
Skating tricks and like I was like let’s I like to just skate random [ __ ] you know like and roll actually rolling is like a big part of skateboarding that like was overlooked at the time and sliding and stuff and remember the Avenue video Hans dude Joe Joe and Shawn
And adrenaline we had this like we both loved each other so like we’ Joe and they’d be like what up and we’d be like what up and we both each other’s Camp a ton and we’ like stop and talk and Vibe out and stuff and then uh
They’d get some crazy weird [ __ ] and then we would be like I’m gonna get some weird ass [ __ ] around the city it’s uh or made made me feel like it was okay to like my thinking was like validated at that point because it it wasn’t usually
I mean the trick the ledge and the trick and the Gap were like what was going on it wasn’t like free flowing you know so it was like I don’t know inspired me to like be like Oh I’m not so crazy really cool it’s really cool that
Uh it standed the test of time and it’s like Joe Valdez like went down in history like when it was going down it was just we thought it was just some freaky small time we you know it wasn’t like Danny Way or Dayan it wasn’t like
What was going down in the plan B videos and this that we thought we were just kind of doing some kind of like crazy wacky stuff on the side but it loone behold skating loves it forever it’s really cool yeah have you seen like the dime contest and and how much love they
Give to Joe Valdez up in the Canada thing that’s they love that dude like they they had him come out like a wrestler like it’s Joe Val yes and everyone’s like no way yeah it’s [ __ ] amazing um what other like what other stuff were you a part of that you were maybe there
For or that you filmed like Toad and I were talking about there’s so much [ __ ] that jaia did that was insane like the nose slide I think it’s either Washington or Sacramento Street like on a hill that he did the whole [ __ ] thing and nobody’s really come to that
Since like it’s so early to this day but like were you were you there for that were you there for some other things that stand out to you that are like oh wait hold on this this thing was insane definitely that uh the Golden Gate Bridge that Mike talked about in your
Interview I was the only other guy there so I was on the Golden Gate Bridge G experience wow yeah that was wild and also when you said earlier about how if we knew that our skate group was different um one of the first things that happened when I that made me
Realize that this is uh that we are maybe a little bit different I was there when cardiel I drove down from Lake of the Pines Grass Valley with cardiel to when he late back so when ated the guns I was there wow and yeah and uh when
Henry ran up Henry was my hero I had the first Henry boor dude I just love dude that that real ad of him doing the nose pick tail grab at night down the rail dude that was just like just my that’s my heart I love Henry and so when Henry
Ran up to John and gave him a high five after the back so and 80 I was like wait wait what I was like and then I was looking at John and I was like yeah holy yeah John is different he is like it was like this moment of like whoa dude
Okay cardiel is like it’s not just our homie and just we you know we just all know him he’s like special special very special he’s the best I mean so much [ __ ] for a guy that didn’t I mean did he ever live in San Francisco he I don’t
Think so did he it was more of like a drive down and get yeah CU but they got cardial Gap cardial ledge like you seen what he did at Miley like John put his stamp on that early on on some stuff that’s like you know undeniable and then
Like getting I think he was the third person to get skater of the year I think it went Tony Hawk Danny Way and then John I was there for the gon backwards too I’m in the picture yeah if you look at the picture and Big Brother of him just stretched
Out all in it I’m in the bottom holding the flash Tobin had me hold the flash in the photo and the Flash didn’t go off so I’m just holding this Flash and uh for what photo was that the gone backwards oh John did it too right John
Did it and then uh Scott Bourne almost died trying it whoa what did was there ever footage of John doing that because I always wondered what happened before this is a really long time ago so it was just like to was uh get the camera out
And get it you know because I just listened to a Tobin interview and he talks about it and he didn’t give much like insight to it and I was like I don’t know you were there so that’s like did he land and just alllie off and landed afterwards he
Pulled it so it’s such a big gap that he landed full compression you know not just like Landing an ollie he like landed squatted and Cardell out dude full squats stretched it so far landed full Squat and then as he rolled off the edge because he can’t go forward you’ll
Just die or run into ITW with a wall so you have to land and go off the side and so he’s full Squad as he’s coming off because he couldn’t lift up to come off he was just rolling Off full squat his uh Kingpin caught and he got pitched
And somehow he cardial r or just freaking somehow he survived it but he all eat the and I remember when Scott Bourne Alli it um I was actually like angry at Scott because uh I wasn’t angry at Scott I was angry that someone else that someone thought that they could this do
Something that John could do that thinking that things John can do are just hard to do like I was like I love Scott and I was friends with him at the time but I was upset that he thought he could do something that John could like only do
Basically like in my mind like John skating wasn’t something that you just tried with him and stuff something did in my what I’m getting at was that was John dude you didn’t want to try and all the gon’s backwards with him dude I was down there with the flash I was like clearly
Like this like John is like superhuman capabilities dude he was trying it the same day with him no John uh Scott tried it later and he literally almost died footage of it was John and big brother was there a photo of it yeah he was uh he got an interview and one of
The early big brothers and uh Tobin helped with that and John took me for the ride on for that is that the one where you kind of talk [ __ ] on snowboarding it’s pretty kind of loose interview that I think they it was like in sections and it seemed kind of like
An entertainment piece and it kind of like how big brother was kind of going for that like kind of it was just so it’s like yeah shock value shock value yeah oh man dude were you at the session there was a session that I was just watching the video footage the other day
It’s like uh Jamie Thomas is there gon I think it was when gon kick flipped it and and joba’s trying to 360 oi over it and like there’s it’s a huge session tons of people down there was drobo and pales and them living uh on that street
When you were there yeah I loved that yeah it was like who was it was o’ri was O’Brien O’Brien and Greg yeah yeah Greg Greg yeah dude so sick um do you want to talk at all about like the kit stuff and like I don’t know I always talk about
Our fallen Bros like Phil kit Gia there’s so many dudes that um we lost to early and how that kind of impacted you definitely I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently because uh I mean you know being older and stuff and hindsight and all that um it was so rough to like
Keep to act like were still just fired up and keep going you know it was like strubing and G were all in this house and it was just like kicking ass and we were just getting stuff and then one of your homies dies and it was like keep
Going and looking back on it if I could do it again or if I could uh give advice to young young PE younger skaters that go through it um I what I would do now is I would uh have a morning session like I’d let it let all out like in the
Morning like wake up and go this [ __ ] sucks this is [ __ ] up this is [ __ ] dude my heart’s hurt dude I’m [ __ ] bummed dude I’m bummed out of my mind I don’t even know what to do and like literally have these like moments where we all look at each other and hug and
Cry and [ __ ] punch the wall or whatever dude and then let’s go get some for Kit you know like like do that type of thing but we were just like just keep trucking and like but it was like this Cloud that just was like funky dude so
If like I could do it if I could do could have done it different I would have done it like that like get some of it out of you yes yeah I remember when Phil died like when Phil died it was basically my doorway to Thrasher like Jake came out
And he was like hey you’re going to cuz I was working for think and he was like you’re going to work for Thrasher now and I was just like kind of scared of Jake at that time and I was just like uh like I had it good with think but then
Like yeah it’s kind of what you said like it’s like I don’t know if compartmentalize is the right word word but you kind of I mean you’re grieving forever but like you don’t like even recently when pre presson died I didn’t cry I didn’t like go wow you know and I don’t think
There’s any advice I can give anyone because I think everyone does it differently but I do think that it is important to try to get it out like some way or the other for sure yes did you guys do like video after that yes yeah our like industry
Section and we kep 411 yeah uhhuh and there was a rail this gnarly rail that uh with a death drop on one side it was a flat rail off this loading dock with a death drop on one side that kit got one day there’s a car in the way
And he got on it and uh but there’s a car in the way and then he passed away literally like right after that and that was something that I went and got for him oh see that’s sick yes yeah and I just I was trying to process it uh
You’re you got that um thing where people are like you know buck up thing I think uh just our culture is more mature these days like people are able to like talk about things instead of like the tougher 90s and like just like don’t cry [ __ ] or something you know like yeah
Now it’s so like tough and cry when [ __ ] goes bad like your [ __ ] friend dies like dude yes this is the moment to [ __ ] cry so yeah absolutely I remember I even hugged Wade I for some reason this sticks out so much was that out palal does in RH City like right up
The street from where Phil’s mom lived oh okay it was like some church I I’m pretty sure you were there right I don’t no I don’t think I was there I was at the Greer there was a thing at Greer uhuh y dude and then String’s younger
Brother died right that was like within the same time so it was freaking it was rough that was a rough little chapter I know Justin’s been through some stuff too it’s like it’s interesting cuz you look at yourself and then you look at your friends and you’re like oh man
Everybody’s going through their version of H like these horrible incidents that just pile up and I think like for yourself you know you were always into like classic example where you’re on the trip and you don’t have a lot of money so you get the [ __ ] Polaroid and
You’re documenting like that is a huge part of why skateboarders are lucky and fortunate because we always were documenting us not for this purpose but it it it serves this purpose like we have a lot of footage and photos of our friends because of what we
Do yes so you know it’s tough you always look at try to look at the silver line and how how early like did you get into jewelry school was that in the city or is that a little bit later like Jason Lee said the other week on the nines Club interview that uh
Skating had this small window back then I mean dude it was just like he was you know you’re 26 dude you’re done dud [ __ ] you know that was cool that you had a CH it was gnarly dude and I’m so proud of skating for being more mature
About like whatever skating is so much more mature now I love SK skating’s more fun now than it’s ever been I think personally um but yeah I just was feeling that like small window energy and um was like screw it I’m just gonna go do something else and I always loved
Uh crystals like there’s lots of quartz crystals up here as a kid and when I would find those crystals as a kid I would just out dude I would just like so fascinated and I just L go back to the mine the next day and just dig there for
Hours and had my then put them up on certain spots and like I would like tie string to them and make a necklace out of them and so um I was into gems and then I started cutting gems and uh that’s done with the faceter
Where you got a crystal and then you cut it into a gem with the with the points on it yeah and after that my family and humble was uh took the executive decision on me to like push me to like actually go for it
Ah because I was up there and I was I was after skating and I clearly didn’t give a [ __ ] about making money or like trying to make it with making money as a goal because I was around a lot of money and I just was like still doing art and stuff and so
They sent me to the riv Academy in the phon building and downtown SF that building in SF that’s on the corner that’s really narrow and Tall yeah and uh I was in there and I thought I was taking some type of local NorCal class well there was people from all over the
World in this class there was a woman from Argentina there was people from can Canada there was people from Montana the New England everywhere and they saved up years to go to this jewelry Academy and I was just like my family just threw me
In there and I was just from NorCal so I was like holy [ __ ] I’m in a professional serious career type situation and so I got really stoked and then um right from the start they have the biggest Jewelers teach the classes at that Riv Academy and so there’s like the
Gnarliest Jewelers that live in SF are are just incredibly successful and so they would teach the classes and do like things that bring in jewelry and uh there was a few times where I was in there and they would have us do an assignment and like 80% of the class is
Is just trying to like just trying to wield the metal into like 90 de and do the things and I could just do it and like uh the instructor one day was so stoked on these earrings that she put them on and I’ll never forget it because
Uh she’s super famous Rhonda Corel I mean she is like this famous Jeweler designer one all these WS makes these incredibly expensive stuff has all these contracts with businesses sponsored just like skating and um she’s like look how it looks and she put it on her ear and I
Was like whoa I was like tripping like okay like my hand eye coordination with it is uh works or whatever you know and it’s really cool um it’s uh got a touch of skating in that um the people that are actually doing it it’s a real really
Small group now like the people that are actual Jewelers and jewelry designing are a small group compared to like the industry of jewelry stores is just washed out and that’s just a job for people and they’re just showing up to work and next year they could work out
Of freaking wherever you know but uh the designers are the people in there getting their hands dirty and sitting at the bench when when I moved to Maine I entered the state competition and I uh got second in the state and and so um and that was like
Just years after coming out of class and I was working at the biggest jewelry store in Maine wow I just randomly got a job there it was cool it was really cool huh how did you like Maine was Maine uh similar in any way to like uh Gold
Country or like yeah cool it was just like Grass Valley really except for the winners you got a raised in that environment to be able to be used to having those long shifts of not being able to skate and stuff and uh right when I moved there um Dan
Hatch opened a skate shop and there was this little skate park that was all Masonite and wood stuff a perfect mini rant I mean the most absolutely perfect mini ramp so started skating I filmed a little video of those guys yeah and uh that’ll be
Cool to go through I have it on my uh little tapes I at or something sick does something stick out to you that like you’ve traveled and and and went to this place that like sticks out as this like just rad spot that you got to skate you
Remember Chango world no it was I think it was called Chang or was it’s like in Chicago or somewhere it was like in a mall and it was like a BMX track of of wood and ramps and I thought you were on that trip with think adrenaline I think
They went there like Phil has footage just going around this whole thing and you just it was like you were hitting burn like jumps and keep going and I never went there and I always was like man that looks so sick but like is there
A spot that sticks out to you in your recollection of spots um I guess I was just so in love with the East Coast skaters and Matt reason Love Park dude when I went on one of those trips uh we had a week of no demos and Greg Carol gave us the option
Um you can stay in Philadelphia or you can go everyone wanted to go to New York Pete BC was with us oh yeah yeah so everyone’s like New York New York well pay and Matt reason were friends uh Matt pales and I broke off from the tour van and we stayed with
Matt Reon rad awesome we stayed at Matt reason’s house and um that was some of the that was honestly some of the best memories I have because uh those guys are so hardcore and how they just all skate from here to the next spot you know is
They wouldn’t take buses and [ __ ] like SF yeah and I remember one day I mean we went to so many spots and I was skating with so many people that I just were absolutely My Heroes I mean those East Coast dudes are just Soldier skaters and they just skated raw and fast and
Yeah and uh we were at this spot after skating who knows how many hours literally seven or something just all day long long skating for seven hours and they took us to this High Oli spot that was in the video so I was like oh [ __ ] dude that’s the high oi spot and
[ __ ] I got it and my body I all eat it but when I landed my legs were burning so bad that I couldn’t even push myself back up and stand up and I landed in a squat and just squatted and just kind of fell down and then I just like
Rolled over to the curb and sat there and I was like holy [ __ ] I’m tired dude my legs were done I couldn’t skate anymore I was just like so stoked it was it was awesome yes yeah I’ve heard um similar stories where people went back to escape like Robbie and Jimmy and them
Too like where it’s just like dude these dudes push hella hard the whole time and and they don’t take buses they just go spot to spot and dude the streets aren’t that smooth there you know so it’s like I when Dan pensil moved out he moved and lived in
SF for a little bit and he used to always be like ah your spots are so [ __ ] skate park everything’s smooth out here all the shit’s rough back where we live it’s like yeah [ __ ] cool well what what sparked the Resurgence because if anybody’s following you on Instagram
You’re [ __ ] ripping again and skating the are you in Grass Valley you’re at the Grass Valley Park yeah what happened did some anything in particular like be like you just saw your board one day and we’re like I’m like what happened well thank you for that compliment honestly
That means a lot to me it really does dud it’s super cool to see you ripping like uh I don’t know how it really happened but somehow I think maybe you were watching or listening to a podcast and you reached out to me and then I saw
Your thing and started following you and I was like talking to toad about it and pretty soon I’m like holy [ __ ] [ __ ] dude the GU is like you got a lot of Clips like in a short period of time like you’re ripping well thank you uh I uh
Spent so much of my life running away and trying to like be someone else be a jeweler and just be like uh and that involves heavy drinking honestly and uh when the big jewelry shop I worked at went out a business I was already starting to do Gold
Country and I always skated on the side we would like skate in between our hangovers or go to the park with drinks yeah and uh so at the skate so the big jewelry shop went out of business friend that I love this girl moved
Away and I was kind of just in this low point and then I just quit drinking it all bottled up everything bottled up was released and I was F focusing I was able to process things I was like dude I’m bummed that I wasted so much of my youth that I’ve
Never get back I just and so I decided to get as much in as I can at whatever age and uh I didn’t know it at the time but it really is something to like clear out the regrets and to come to peace with my spirit to
Heal the sadness of letting myself down about just running away and not being like uh involved in it anymore and uh and I got good lots of good friends my older friends that are skating and they’re stoked my friend gab Copeland like I brought up earlier he’s on the
Same path he’s like just super stoked to skate and get in what he can because of the years wasted like uh all the good times wasted having good times like that song that country song Animals what up with Gold Country talk about Gold Country dude that was
Like a that’s amazing movement that was a movement up there really fun I was making money from all these different directions I was like supposedly probably the most successful I’ve ever been I was like making money at my big jewelry job I was working at this multi-million dollar huge jewelry job
Man and I was had my own personal jewelry in multiple stores in town and I was making money other ways with the gardening and grass valy Toad’s wedding ring my wedding ring dog a hanzi it’s a hanaman special right there dude sick I love it I back it all
The way anyone needs jewelry made wedding bands anything hans’s got you cover dude killed it crushed it made it exactly how I wanted it too it was amazing so what exactly was go is gold country is it’s more of like a lifestyle of all that stuff combined or uh well no
I just wanted I just uh when I woke up so to speak just was looking around and all my friends were involved in skating and I was like do something too but the thing was that I was making so much money from the side that it I was just playing I
Was just having the time of my life I formed a skate team the best skaters in town and I was giving everyone boards I didn’t even care about sales at all but I was kind of like acting like I was gonna do a company but really honestly I
Knew in my subconscious that I was out of touch from skating for so long that I didn’t really know what I was doing if I was going to try and do it and then I realized that everyone has skate companies now it’s not like the old days
Where it was rare and you could just start something small and kind of take off so it turned into more of like a just a fun art project for our friends and uh it was amazing Eddie Marino Ty bankra Bob Hawking uh Max Driscoll Ian Fogle Matt hurani
And then Kane Jerome was the Grom and Cain was this little helmet kid that was just shredding and um my friends even told me recently they they admitted to me they were like dude we didn’t know what you were doing we used to laugh we were like why is Kane on Gold Country
And why is Hans putting him on the team well Kane is killing it now ah he rips yeah and that’s what will Fairchild said he’s like dude you knew that he wasn’t just the Grom they were like dude Hans you’re the one that spotted the talent
Early on and uh and we had the time of our lives and it was really awesome when you live in small towns there’s e and Flo so there’ll be like five years where a bunch group of the homies move out of town or they’re like working or like
They all have kids or something and then like it’s all up to a few groups of people so you really have to go with it and that was this time in Grass Valley when everyone all everything came together okay just and it was on fire
You could go to the park and it was just going down dude it’s a fun park yeah and so it was like it just happened to be at this time when I did the company that there was like a lot of rippers in town and so it just it worked it was really
Really a good time right do you are you in touch at all do you know that guy George um that does Iris no I don’t okay he moved up there I think like within a year and he’s got a little Bowl going and stuff and he does
All he makes all the uh stuff out of like old uh skateboards like wood and stuff and whatnot but uh yeah dude and then Gus is Gus still up there yeah yeah Gus is still up there here I see him all the time uhuh Gus is one of my old
Longest skate friends Gus and I were friends before middle school so we were friends in like fourth or fifth grade wow I’m claiming fourth grade because I remember them I was in fifth grade and I remember being in PE and we were like we played against them and like him and Gus
Were friends already and they already dressed like skaters I was I was like BMX kid like I remember seeing them they were we were playing like dodgeball or something like that you wouldn’t remember this H I don’t know why I remember it I have like a weird memory
Like that but and you guys were like homies and our classroom was against your classroom or something weird and like um like fifth graders against fourth graders but um holl and Gus were like best friends for years back then yeah man I I loved running DMC dude I
Really like tacos this is this is like when hip there wasn’t like the rappers and the Rockers there was no hip-hop genre yet at all yeah yeah there was rockers but not really hip-hop d i loved my Run DMC shirt and when I wore it to
School and got made fun of I was so hurt dude I was a little kid but I was hurt dude I was like dude I loved Rundy and I didn’t couldn’t get it and I was just like oh man and then Gus had a rund DMC
Shirt too and he was like I love like he’s like dude I love them too like you know like I was just yeah that was like when I was like fell in love with him I was like dude yes dude he’s my brother dude oh
Man that rules yeah I saw R DMC there uh who was it it was public enemy and Jazzy Jeff in the Fresh Prince open for them and when and Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince whatever they were called they came out and somebody threw like a
A bomb on the stage like a firework or some M80 or something and everyone [ __ ] ran off and then Public Enemy and ren DMC had to play the whole set with the lights on W but you got to see Public Enemy too yeah they play it was like uh Jazzy Jeff
In the Fresh Prince then public yeah it was early dude it was like the first Public Enemy album I think Run DMC maybe was two albums in or something but like that like you said and then like Beasty Boys come out and like slowly there’s like these things L Cool J and
There’s different things but Run DMC for some reason kind of back then seemed a little more Street and edgy but later you start seeing wuang and like other dudes you’re like oh Run DMC is a little more mainstream but in the they were [ __ ] the [ __ ] for sure yeah they were
Badass dude they were like tough you know they had that tough clean style my show my parents had to take me to because I was a little tiny kid um rund DMC came to Sacramento at the Arco Arena and there was a group opening up for
Them and their name was the Beasty Boys and I didn’t know and this is when they had girls in cages with ears and smashing them and running around and screaming and like I said the girls in the cages and I was just like my jaw
Dropped I was just like oh my god dude aw I was just like freaking out dude I was like what I was almost like girls at the Beatles show or something I wasn’t screaming and crying but I was just like the Bey boys and then I went and got
Licensed to Ill the tape yeah like ever since then it was just like dude heavy rotation I remember going to hans’s house and it was like like a lot of Public Enemy going on um even some uh Living Color remember you had a living color color tape they
Were sick D yeah I look I like listen to them sometimes I’m like damn they were actually really good not as good Bad Brains but I don’t know remember Hans introduced me to some music that I liked a lot I ended up liking a lot Terminator
Exit I think uh Tommy had a Public Enemy shirt or something and and like and he was really into De La Soul too I think and like anything he was doing we were just like oh we got to [ __ ] check this out yeah I think that’s how you
Figured [ __ ] out was the mag a lot back then right you’d see a photo and you’d be like what’s that and You’ do research it’s like there’s no social media or any [ __ ] [ __ ] like today but uh yeah it was cool too because we were a small
Group and and so it felt more like if you’re doing it it’s probably cool cuz we’re all in the same group it wasn’t so like everyone’s a skater it was like more like our little club or something yeah I remember going to the adrenaline house and then hansie got Tommy’s First
Tape I think loose grooves and B blues or something like first one yeah wor the [ __ ] out of that I couldn’t get enough I’d be like I’m coming over Hans I gota listen to that tape again we got got to hear that [ __ ] dude Tommy Tommy’s First Tape was
Killing it like I don’t know I mean they’re all really good but like I just remember really huh be like Hy I’m coming over we gota listen to that tape and then go skate well is there anything on the horizon you got anything that you’re working on or like uh trips
Coming up or anything um I have been talking with uh my Southern California friends about trying to go down there more next year instead of like a year and try and get in on that scene down there is just kicking ass the skate scene it’s just really awesome you know
My friend lives near the park where daywon always goes and he sends me sniper shots of him filming daywon from the side like so freaking jealous dude I love Dewan so much man he is one of my all-time favorites especially because his age you know he’s so remarkable like
He I mean that stuff did you ever see the stuff where he’s like on a mini ramp and he like I think he does a flip Trick and the wheel comes off and he grab like he’s doing stuff that’s like wait what he’s having fun he’s having Fun’s
Amazing he’s humble too which is just I don’t know humility always gets me I’m like I love it when people are humble they’re that good and you’re just like and you can just talk to them like it’s cool yeah for sure do you talk to struan
Or sen or minor manui any of the old dudes yeah I just talked to Mike mouri on the phone just a few days ago and that was cool but uh it kind of like uh supernova at that time when adrenaline was falling apart and uh such an
Emotional topic for me that I just couldn’t even process it dude I just needed to run and run as fast as I could dude to like hide myself because I just had so many feelings about it and so I uh really haven’t connect I spent a lot of time not
Connecting with those guys and so I’m trying to like trying to make up for lost time but as far as Toad and I Toad and I have stayed close I remember when you left though when you I was I was super bummed because like I I think it was like 99 or
Somewhere around there you went to Maine and then it was like there was a long period where we didn’t hang and I was like I like my whole crew disbanded and fell apart and then I was like trying to find my spot again my my homies again it was kind of rough sorry
Dude no dude it was all good I’m sure you didn’t want to like it was just like like you’re saying you were going through some [ __ ] you had to figure it out like I wasn’t helping you figure it out so I was like [ __ ] you got to go
Figure it out like check it out toad I was uh my girlfriend at the time needed me medication for like her te she just got dental work so we were going and filling her prescription at the local Walgreens or something like that and I was just like completely trying to
Like just start over I don’t know what I was doing but I was like trying to like be a different person or something and I saw and I was like bored and I just was like becoming really despondent almost like my soul was dislocated dude I like
My spirit not inside me anymore and so I was like couldn’t like deal with standing with with her in line or socializing at all so I just walked over to the magazine rack and I walked over and cardiel was on the cover at Transworld and I was like whoa and I
Picked it up and I just stared at it and I was like John’s still skateboarding like honestly I was just like what’s my life doing I was like dude I want to go skateboarding dude I want John was doing nose blunt down that handrail on the cover of like
Skateboarder or something maybe it’s trans a no red shirt or something yeah that’s when my life like the cracks in the seams started busting on my like like running away trip and and running from my own trip that’s when it was like dude I want to go skate this
Isn’t my this isn’t actually who I am this uh 9 to-5 square at this jewelry shop where I’m just going to work there for the rest of my life and not being around skaters not being around skaters is rough if you ever go through of time where you’re just around the working
Class the civilian civilians instead of skate Army dude you you don’t have someone to Vibe out with and laugh and [ __ ] Let it Loose and be who you are and be like funky or just whatever like you know skating’s accepting for who like let the wild side of life you know
So yeah agree was this in was this in Maine yeah and that’s when it started cracking apart and I started being like dude I can’t do this and the girlfriend at the time like uh this is just life because she was like from a working class uh family and I was raised by
Hippies they never really went and worked for anyone else we kind of grew our own vegetables and lived more free like I never really saw my dad’s like worry about losing a job my dad’s you know they lived they worked for themselves and stuff and that’s when I moved back and then um
Moved back to SF and I tried to keep going with that culture of working and I was working two big jewelry jobs in SF I was working for two designers and uh one uh Amy fa in the mission area and then Thea Izzy in Oakland and I was just trying to keep
Trucking with that and then um my friend Rich shepardson came to visit and he told me about cardio’s accident and then that’s when that’s when it broke dude that’s when I was like [ __ ] this dude I’m G to go skap boarding dude I I I can
Come back and work do these jobs later at any given time when I’m old but I want to go skate now dude I want to like skate and live life and I had this like falling down moment like the movie falling down where he just snaps in
Traffic dude this mun this bus didn’t show up oh no I was just stressed out as can be dude just barely making ends me in the city I was running up to catch the bus after coming from the BART underneath the bay uh from the Oakland job and the bus
Pulled away right as I was running up and I just came unglued dude and I smashed my skateboard into just splinters dude and I just kept smashing it on the curb and like people cleared out around me and I smashed that skateboard into Oblivion dude it was just
Like I had no idea how stressed and angry and just bummed I was on uh not doing what I love anymore and I went and I walked to Golden Gate Park and I bought this little flask of vodka and I [ __ ] drank that whole thing and there’s this pond with these Goose geese
And I sat there and it I’ll never forget that moment dude I was like dude I can’t I can’t do this with this girl I can’t do this working class [ __ ] dude I’m Not Who I’m acting like this isn’t me dude I can’t do this at all and
Uh we broke up soon after I moved out of the city I moved back up here and I started hanging out with all my old skate friends back up here in town and got freedom back in my life life and uh was still kind of like uh off the rails
Because of the gardening life up here you don’t really have to answer to anyone and you were making a lot of money making up your own hours you don’t have to answer to anyone so uh you could really go off the rails with alcohol they always say the first one’s free but
Watch out for the next million eventually I snapped out of it thank God was started skating again reconnecting with Co and skateboarding’s really reconnected me back with everyone you know yeah dude classic story of skateboarding saves like a lot and it helps so much you know what I mean like
For everything for like Pleasure and Pain right it’s like for grieving or for like provoking the sto I need to just get out and [ __ ] do something it’s like skateboard right out the door you don’t have to go wait for a chairlift you don’t have to wait for good wave
Report you don’t have to do anything you just put the board down and roll and that’s what’s always been so rad about skateboarding is like you don’t have an excuse not to do it except for you don’t you’re not going to do it little Timmy
Might go in there and drown even if it’s raining you can go to a parking garage and go [ __ ] roll around you know at least so dude I I just like your energy like that you’ve been like I don’t know it feels really positive and good like
Where your head spaces at right now I really I I’m really into it thank you I appreciate it so much um one thing before I forget um that we could throw in the edit was uh one of those think adrenaline trips for two months with Phil there was moments
Like uh we went to a skate ramp it was like towards the end of it St Louis and the guy had one of those old 70s clear half pipes with the rib structure the squares yeah like the Pepsi ones sucked dude this thing sucked dude oh that was
The worst thing I’d ever seen in my whole life now if we would have came across this demo in the first few weeks we would have all been like [ __ ] yeah it is Skate up but like we showed up there and we were like lame dud [ __ ] like
Didn’t even give it a go but like Phil understood the role he was so mature that he understood why we’re on this trip why they’re paying I think it’s paying for all our meals every Hotel why the whole thing’s going so Phil got up there and uh the dude had an old [ __ ]
Skateboard with like nose guard and [ __ ] big fat wide wheels and [ __ ] and Phil grabbed that board and shredded that vert ramp on that board and like I’ll never forget that because I was like all of us were like how’s he having fun and he was just like having so much
Fun he’s like it was so lame that like he just turned it all around to be L like make it awesome and fun and like it was like such a cool memory and then like towards the end of it frustrations got high and it was just
Like tension and this that you have all the different types of humans in the van and uh Phil and I just glitched out and started ripping the stuffing out of the pillows that we stuff from the hotels started stuffing it in our coats and made ourselves all like fat Santa and
Like this fake peir and we’re started like we’re like glitched out and we were like happy B happy B happy B and we start doing all this [ __ ] and it’s in the end of the think video Phil and I are at the end of the video and we’re
Like laughing like kids like guess we were kids but like we’re like where the tensions get so high to where people are either going to like start fist biting they’re just gonna we’re just going to start just like glitching having fun dude and uh so that’s what we
Did we were like took it like super fun happy van dude happy wasn’t a Happy Van like stressful moment could cut the air with the knife yeah talking with toad earlier I was in the van when uh Nick té got kicked off oh I was I was in the van
Whoa yeah it was tough dude it was scary honestly is the right word what happened um well to start it off for people that don’t know um Nick and Greg are longtime childhood friends so it was like a team writer getting kicked off they were homies dude they were like they’ve
Already been through everything together so um they got into it and they were it wasn’t like uh like pales or me and Greg like how we just are so thankful to be sponsored and just look up to Greg with all our heart because he’s this new
Person in our life and uh it was more like longtime friends that just got into it and um I was laughing with toad earlier because uh at the moment it was like oh my God Nick’s done dude it’s over it’s over forever and then lo and behold Nick and diamond and Nick turns
Out to be one of the most successful guys out of that whole van like went on to be amazing and who knows who knows if like hard times make tough men or whatever they say so like maybe um that going through that made Nick want to really kick ass and do awesome instead
Of like an easy Road where it just keeps Trucking who knows I don’t know I just a thought that I went through but you never know who’s going to be getting where and doing what it’s like damn that [ __ ] blew up yeah it’s awesome I’m super
Proud of them and I’m super uh super stoked that happened I sent him a message talking about that I was like dude I was there I remember that [ __ ] see like end of the road but all behold it was just the beginning yeah man I’m I’m guessing we’ll see each other soon
Yeah thank you I’d love to be part of the uh old dogs old tricks curb skating video yeah I’m gonna put uh I’m gonna put it all together here soon so um we’re GNA put like I just get people to send me the clips and stuff and then uh
It’s it’s been fun doing those that’s awesome yeah thank yes I’d love to visit absolutely thank you okay and skater of year is that coming up or that already happen it just was last week yeah my my Silva and it was the party was what was
It Friday yeah Friday okay y you got anything else you want to throw in there toad I think that that’s schiding were you in the car that one time well we hitchhiked back from Grass Valley one time this is random I don’t even know if you should throw this in
There but we were hitchhiking back I think it was you and John and I and the two dudes that picked us up they were kind of sketchy and I think they were they were like shooting up heroin in the front seat while we were while they’re driving
Us down 49 which is a [ __ ] super dangerous Highway a lot of people friends we known have died on it and stuff and and these dudes were like shooting up they were like helping each other and like we were just in the backseat all what are they we were
Probably like in eth grade seventh I don’t know maybe you were like in seventh grade I was probably in eighth grade John was like a freshman and we were just like I think John was the only one that knew what it was he’s like dude they’re shooting up and we’re all what
Does that mean I don’t even what are you talking about like what are they doing and somehow they [ __ ] let us off safe I think we like got off early like well hey we live right here oh my God I was just thinking about this I’m [ __ ] you
Not dude I drove by there the other day and I drove by and I was like it just the memory just was all because I wasn’t thinking about anything we were like talking and then I this driveway drove by and I was like that’s where we told
Them this is our spot bro get out here something got out and we’re like have a good day thank you it was sketchy I don’t know fall I’m like tripping because I have kids now and I’m like if they did that I would kill them right so mad different times bro
Different times I know that’s what we keep saying but it’s like I don’t oh man it it wasn’t that much different think about we weren’t wearing seat belts then either most likely pack of a pickup truck yeah yeah we were getting in the back of pickup trucks driving up that
Freeway like people are or Highway whatever you want to call it yeah it was H crazy times you ever run into the Katey kid guy up there in Grass Valley I think he lives in your neck of the woods yeah he’s probably the nicest guy in the
Real world yeah probably for sure yeah well sh dude thank you so much thank you thank you so much Greg thank you Toad for lining up and just being positive about it and thanks to everyone in the Grass Valley skate scene yeah you everyone thank you chrisen shout out
Thanks krisen for never listening to this too busy tattooing bro I know how it is when you bring it you gotta sing it red Carl absolutely what’s the skate shop called up there now it’s not good times anymore good times oh it’s still good times yeah oh but Gus doesn’t have
He sold it or something no uh he S A good friend of ours took over it that’s one of the original skateboard homies one of christen’s longest time friend okay yeah Andy is kicking butt in there yeah out to Good Times shout out got Kate Bella
Grayson and um it’s just a good scene it’s a real positive it’s a in a real positive chapter for it did did you ever see the wood and full pipe they had there for a minute no you weren’t living there I don’t think it was so gnarly dude there
Was like a window in it and and we would go up there and drink and like I think Gordon ecka or somebody did the whole thing where it whips around and the board almost but yeah it was crazy if I don’t know if I can find a photo of it I’ll
Send it to you it was it was pretty insane but he had it there at the at the warehouse right by the shop I think awesome yeah Gus built a full pipe it was nuts I think it’s on like one of the first loward covers or something Peabody
Had a photo or something oh okay that sounds right oh and Jake chars shoot I forgot sh out super Good’s up here absolutely talented it’s incredible rest in peace nari [ __ ] Big Wes Cooper West shout out yeah well dude I appreciate this this was fun and thanks for um being a
Part of it too toad like having the three-ways a nice Dynamic I don’t do these ones too often yeah I know glad it worked out I hope hopefully I didn’t talk too much I wanted to hear hansy speak too so I’m like I’m dude I’m hyped
On on uh everything you you said I there’s a lot of stuff I learned so I’m like this is awesome yeah all right and maybe we’ll dig out that clip at Toad and we’ll put it in where you’re talking like the world just needs to know the
Toad yeah one thing real quick have you guys thought about that [ __ ] tail slide to fakey at China Banks how hard do like think about sliding up there with The Gap and the hangup and then coming in fakey soid into the [ __ ] not out to Flat into the truid so
Fluid that was so insane dude yeah it’s pretty much everybody’s favorite clip cuz when I did the China Banks documentary I’d asked people and they’d be like well Phil we already know so like you know he was like got the tail slide and it’s just wasn’t like he’s
Like I’m getting the tail slide to fake you know I wasn’t there but I was just like dude that is just mindblowing dude it’s pretty much like impossible physics in my mind it’s [ __ ] and how fluid like toad said like how he did it was amazing well thank you hell yeah we’ll
Talk soon take stay in touch okay thank you very much thank you Hans love you guys later later thank you for listening to another episode of talking Schmidt you can subscribe to the show on iTunes ankor Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts when you subscribe you’ll get notifications every Tuesday
Of new episodes the minute they become available also please leave reviews in a five-star rating it’s the best way to help the show grow all of the episodes will always remain free but if you would like to help support the show you can do so at talking schmit.com where you can
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Edited and produced by Schmitty the intro music is Mary’s Cross by the band nature a very special shout out goes to the executive director Cheryl kamissa shout out love it this is talking Schmidt where the Rolodex is deep but the conversation is deeper keep the wheels greased
10 Comments
U guys killed this one…shoutout to dolinsky..!
Clicked right away. This guy was a pro who was different.
Another rad pod, thanks Talkin'Schmit
Great episode Schmitty!
Thank you Greg and Toad! Really really appreciate it very much!
Shout Out!
That was awesome! Turned out so good! Thank you!
this one kills with the Cardiel behind the curtain sneaks
Where can I find that Hill bomb line?
Thanks Schmitty! I love these episodes where the guest is someone Im not very aware of. Gets me to do more research into their back catalog and become a fan of something I didn't know I was missing. For anyone reading the comment Thrasher has a Adrenalin promo on Youtube that is super sick. It has the phone pole trick that they reference in the podcast and is all around super sick and will get you hyped to go skate!