Hey Don, where are you right now and what did you do today?
Hey Jojo, I’m in Detroit, and i just got home from taking my two nieces to Chucky Cheese. If you didn’t have these as a kid I feel bad for you. Skee-Ball.
How’s life in Detroit? Are you blading a lot? How’s the scene, with who you’re blading?
Great. I Got married 6 months ago. I was skating a lot while filming for my Skate park deal “Not Cereal” . Since I stopped filming for that I’ve been recovering from a hurt rotator cuff and it is taking way longer than id like to heal. Detroit has always had a very solid scene and nothing has changed there. If I wanna skate Brian Weis is usually my first call. That dude loves to skate.
“They fired one of their most loyal riders”
You had a pro boot from Razors, got fired and the year after you received a pro boot from USD. And just a little bit later you disappeared. At least that’s how it looked like for most people in blading. What exactly happened in the weeks / months after your USD boot came out? Did you leave USD or you got fired and what was the reason it ended?
I was in Oakland at the Shredweiser house chilling for like five days trying to get some last minute clips for “Pariah”. The last night I was there Billy came downstairs and told me the outrageous news that USD fired him. They fired one of their most loyal riders for years for if I remember correctly walking down the street holding Shima’s Blades. A photo was taken and posted online and apparently boss man didn’t like that. The next morning I flew home, sometime that day I checked my email only to find that they decided to drop me too. There wasn’t really too much of an explanation. Oh well.
As far as disappearing there was a lot going on for me at that time. I was losing a struggle with alcohol drinking all day every day even while filming. I was also burnt out on filming sections. So once I got fired it was a necessity for me to walk away for a while and straighten out my bullshit. It was completely bizarre time in my life.
Your last full length section was in Charg!ng (with the footage that was supposed to be in the Razors video) – am I correct? Are there plans on another section anytime soon, or is there no motivation for such thing anymore?
In Charging I had my razor clips section but I also had a part in Carbons made by Sk. I have lots of motivation to make more things. I fell back in love with skating for a second time making that edit.
Even if there are no statements or whatnot, it still seems like the whole “being a pro blader” things isn’t your cup of tea. If so, why is that?
Ha . Well I’m assuming that your talking about the fact that I don’t like skating in competitions? (or even showing up that once). I try not to take skating too seriously that’s when its not fun. Competitions aren’t fun to me. I like to film video parts. Most of my favorite skaters past and present aren’t/weren’t competition skaters . Generally competitions only last in people’s minds for about a month while video parts and shit like that last forever. Competitions are necessary don’t get me wrong, but nine out of ten comps i’m at i’ll be spectating.
Could you live from blading when you were on Razors or USD?
Yes I could, but I live in a cheap place and like to live pretty modestly.
What are you doing now? Working? University?
I work with my pops part time remodeling houses and stuff of that nature.
Last weeks edit looks like you`re still (or again?) having fun on blades and it also seems like the people love to see you skate. Any plans for more edits?
I have been having so much fun skating lately. I am excited to get outside of skateparks again and roam the streets. Brian and I do have plans to make future deals but we believe in quality over quantity. So the next one will be done when its ready.
A while back you could travel the world a lot. Now you’re back in Detroit and there’s not much traveling. Do you miss it, or you’re glad to be able to stay home?
I have so many good memories from all of my travels. At the moment I am enjoying the slower pace. Having my own camera and learning the basics of editing has made everything easier for me. Now I’m able to just go out and gets tricks at my own pace, its a lot less stressful filming wise. When the road calls again ill be ready to roll.
Are you checking the blading media? What was the last blading edit that caught your attention?
Bolino Bolino Bolino. Not really the last one to catch my eye, But he’s just da best one.
Top 5
Top 5 things people don’t know about you
– I was a Goalie
– I drive a moped
– Im afraid of heights
– I have never lived in California
– My dad built Airbornes handrail
Top 5 words to describe yourself
– Creative
– Loving
– Motivated
– Clean
– Stubborn
Top 5 Ways to annoy you
– Pull into my neighbors drive way and lay on the car horn
– Kick me out of a skate spot
– Design a perfect spot at a police station
– Lack of skatepark etiquette
– Act Selfish
Top 5 reasons to yell “FUCK!”
– When the hockey game is on the hockey channel you don’t get with your cable package
– When you trip on a crack and eat shit while blading with the dog
– Walking into a room and asking yourself “why did i come in here again?”
– Owning an iPod and forgetting to ever use it in the car
– Parking tickets
Top 5 things to do besides blading
– Improve/Maintain my house
– Sitcoms
– Listen to music
– Watch sports
– Think about skating
Top 5 Joe Navran videos
– Coup De Tat
– Amatuer
– Millennium
– F.OR. 1 & 2
– USD Tour Video
Top 5 things about Detroit
– Its My home
– It has always had an abundance of indoor skateparks
– The thrift stores are great
– Red Wings, Tigers and Lions
– Brian Weis
Top 5 bladers of all time (you can’t put an order to this)
– Aaron Feinberg
– Chris Farmer
– Chris Haffey
– Alex Broskow
– Jon Julio
Top 5 favorite bladers when you were 13
– Aaron Feinberg
– Dustin Latimer
– Brian Murphy
– Louie Zamora
– Brian Shima
Top 5 places to visit before you die
– Australia
– Hawaii
– Spain
– London
– Africa
Top 5 things about blading
– Its Fun
– All the homies you’ll make over the years
– Your never done learning tricks
– Cess slides
– No rules
Top 5 foods
– Pizza
– Buffalo wings
– Steak
– White Castle
– Reese’s
Top 5 people (Not including family and friends)
– Bill Burr
– Rodriguez
– Alice Cooper
– Daniel Tosh
– Pavel Datsyuk
Top 5 things about being Pro
– All of the Traveling
– Getting paid to do what you love
– Having good friends around the world
– Having pro products, videos and magazines to show your kids some day
– All of the unforgettable and forgettable memories
Top 5 things about not being Pro
– It gives me a lot more time to be with my wife and dog
– It made me want to learn to film
– It made me want to learn to edit
– A lot less airplane rides
– Everything is done on my time
Top 5 things about blading
– Valo
– Vibralux
– Street
– Trust Mfg
– Create Originals
Top 5 worst things about blading
– Its to easy to look uncoordinated on rollerblades
– Not enough kids getting into skating at a young age
– The mentality that quantity is just as important as quality
– Sunshine Distribution selling scooters
– Politics
Top 5 ways to spent $5
– In the gas tank
– Dollar store
– 2 coconut waters
– 5 dollar hot and ready
– 2 40’s
Top 5 things to worry about
– Health
– Bills
– Making sure my wife is happy
– Keeping my dog occupied
– Injuries
