Thrasher Magazine

Feeble pop-over. Photo Rhino

Posted: April 1st, 2009
Interview & Photos: Rhino

What do you think of Silas Baxter-Neal winning SOTY 2008?
A damn robbery. Only joking. Dude is the man; he’s been killing it for a while and everything he does just gets better and better, so congrats. Keep fucking shit up.

Did you make it up to the party in San Francisco?
No, I didn’t. I was too lazy on my couch smoking blunts. I bet it was raging, though, with Phelper there. Oh yeah, Too $hort! It was definitely hyphy, shake them dreads.

Who else do you think was killing it in 2008 that had a good chance of getting it?
Mariano or Malto, for sure.

Which black man has won SOTY in the past?
Fool, I don’t think there’s been a black SOTY.

Correct answer. When is there going to be one and who might be the contender?
The BSOTY contenders would be Devine Calloway, Kellen James, Karl Watson, Jeron Wilson, and Keenan Milton (RIP). Those are my contenders.

What video parts are you working on at the moment?
The gangsta-ass Black Label video called God Save the Label. It should be illin’.

A lot of good videos came out in 2008, and some good ones will drop in 2009. Will the Label video be a gnarly one?
There should be some rad moves in there. You know, the helicopter and all that good stuff.

50-50. Photo: Rhino

You recently got tattooed. What did you get?
I got this Japanese Samurai skeleton holding a head, it’s sick. I’ve always been into that type of stuff. I got it from this dude Bill Canales in Ocean Beach, he did a great job.

Are you going to get sleeves?
You never know. I might dabble a little. It feels good, but it depends.

Are you going to be covered like Antwuan Dixon in two years?
He got all thuggy with it. Fuck it. I don’t think I could get face tats. That’s raw.

If you had to get one of his tattoos, which one would it be?
How about Skate and Destroy?

I also hear you got a few dogs as of late. What kinds did you get?
I got a pit-lab brindle named Ciko, aka Big Dummy, aka Shit Eater, and a Chihuahua-terrier mix named Shadoa, aka Lil’ Trick, aka Lil’ Bitch. They’re chilling, got to love ’em.

Have they ever pissed on your skateboard at your house?
No, don’t think. Maybe when I’m gone. I recently bought this dog-sized stuffed animal from the swap meet so he could play with something that was his size. Me and my chick bring it back home, and at first sight of the stuffed animal he goes up and starts sniffing it, checking it out, and then out of nowhere he jumps on the stuffed dog and starts humping the shit out of it for like 20 minutes. By the time my dog got done the whole damn stuffed animal was all juiced with dog juices. Shit got tore up. He had the best time of his life—but yeah—actually he did walk up and start pissing on my chick’s leg out of nowhere. That’s about all the pissing and humping for now.

Did you vote in the presidential election this year?
No, I didn’t really bother. Don’t really like to get into that type of shit.

What do you think of Obama winning?
Shit is crazy. Our president is black, holla! It’s history. We’ll see what happens—just get Bush the fuck out of there. Obama’s the main pimp now, bitch.

Crooks transfer. Photo: Rhino

You’ve been pro for about a year now. What’s better about it compared to being an am?
No more sleeping on couches, more skating and smoking, more good times with the fellas, more traveling—more of everything. And just keep fucking shredding.

Do you have a say in board graphics over at Label?
I have say for graphics at Label. John Lucero does a lot and so do a bunch of other dudes. I got a couple of drawings myself coming in the future, so got to love it.

What’s your favorite board graphic that you’ve had?
I like all of them. The 20 Years of Label collaborations are ill as fuck. If you haven’t seen them, check them out. Ed Templeton did a drawing for one of my boards that I liked a lot, and I do appreciate it.

What kind of car are you driving?
A 2004 Nissan Altima, sitting on spokes.

Is that the first car you’ve ever owned?
That’s it besides my skateboard.

I hear you don’t even have your driver’s license. What’s up with that?
I never got it as a kid; too much shit was going on around that time for me and I never had any money, so I just never got it. It was just my skateboard and me, but I’ll be getting around to it soon.

When are you getting a shoe over at Osiris? Have you been working on any designs?
It’s been talked about, so we’ll see. That would be crazy. I’d be hyped. I did a couple of colorways before, that was cool too.

What’s a typical day like for Shuriken when you aren’t traveling?
Wake up, take a leak, then go sit on my couch, roll up a good morning blunt. Smoke it, eat some Cocoa Puffs, go take a shower, then hit up some heads to go skate the streets of Diego. Then I roll a warm-up blunt, smoke that one too, go roll, then I’ll come back to my pad and roll up some more goods and kick it with the chick. I’ll end up drawing or painting or doing some random shit somewhere, and start it up again in the morning.


Kickflip. Photo: Rhino

Do you seem to get more stuff done when you’re on a skate trip or at home?
More stuff gets done on trips because I’m always on a constant go, and I’ll go to a spot that I’ve never been to before and want to skate it. As for back at home, I’ve seen and skated it all—I can go to spots at home whenever. As for spots on the road, you never know when you’re going to go back to them.

Favorite skate spot in San Diego?
Any red curbs, and Patrick Henry High School.

I hear King of the Road is on again in 2009. If you get picked, are you going on the two-week mission?
Only if Phelps is in the van with his skateboard and a 30-pack of brew and some apples to throw. It’ll be all good.

Has the Aggro Negro calmed down a bit?
The Aggro Negro is chilling. Everybody’s got the aggroness. Let that shit roar, son.