Thrasher Magazine

Chief ollied it, Dane keeps on grinding’.         Photo: Jones

How has your life changed since the Burman super transfer?
I don’t know if it really has. I think I just put more pressure on myself to do good stuff. I just feel like nothing is good enough and I feel like every time I meet someone they’re, like, “Ahh—I like your 50-50.” That’s kind of the only difference. It’s like I’ve ridden a skateboard for 20 years and they like the simplest trick I’ve done.

The Burman super transfer is the simplest thing you’ve done?
Well, I mean, regarding actual technical difficulty, yeah. It’s a 50-50: you ollie, you put two trucks on the thing and you ride on it.

Well, Dane, that’s one of the craziest fucking things I’ve ever seen and I wrote an article to that effect.
I mean, it might be stupid and it might be dangerous but it’s not like a technically 
difficult thing.

So in this Holy Stokes video, we should expect some very technical skating 
from you?
I’d say more technical than people have seen before.

What’s your most technical move? Have you ever hardflip front nosed?
Yeah, I used to love that trick. I did it all the time. I’ve never filmed one—actually I might have filmed one with, like, friends and stuff but I did do them all of the time. They’re really fun.

What’s your most tech move?
I can switch flip back lip and I’ve done some switchflip back tails and stuff. That’s pretty tech, I think.

I was gonna ask if you could switchflip back lip, cause that seems real tech to me.
I mean, that’s one I’ve done a few times.

Nice, alright. So no more big rails—just technical skating from Burman.
Yeah, that’s all I’m gonna do from now on.

But I saw you on the commercial, you were eating some major shit on a big 50-50.
Yeah. I was gonna nollie flip out. I was gonna nollieflip the shit out of that thing.

Does the Burman super transfer go through your mind anytime you’re thinking about a 50-50?
No I don’t really think about it anymore; it’s a 50-50. I feel like it’s going to be one of those tricks I hopefully never forget how to do. So I don’t really need to think back to that one and be, like, “Alright, where do I need to put my feet for this 50-50? I remember that one time I did it.” I don’t know. It doesn’t really go through my mind.

So when you were dating that celebrity underwear model, that had nothing to do with the Burman super transfer?
No. I don’t think she gave a shit about my skateboarding.

Is that why it didn’t last?
I don’t know. Maybe that’s why my skateboarding suffered through that time. I spent too much time having sex and not enough time riding skateboards.

But did you get really good at it, though?
No, I got terrible at it.

Ah, man, after you’ve done the Burman super transfer it makes all the 50-50s look stupid. After you make love consecutively to an underpants model or a television celebrity, does it make it hard to go back to normal gals?
No, it’s way more fun. It’s like going to the skatepark and mucking around with your friends. It’s like the girls are the little fun things you skate at the skatepark: they’re not the craziest or the best or the sickest, but they’re fun.

Okay, good. That’s a good attitude. What was your reaction when you found out you no longer had a shoe sponsor?
I don’t know. I feel like I sorta saw it coming. The shoe company market definitely favors people with a lot of money. You know you have to make money to spend money, so the guys that don’t have a lot of money aren’t making a lot of money.

Do you blame Mike Sinclair?
It’s mainly Sinclair’s fault, I’d say. I don’t know; it’s hard. I don’t see any single person to blame. It’s just the way the world goes these days.

Photo: Arto

But if it was, it would be Sinclair.
For sure. One-hundred percent.

Are you going to get on New Balance?
I don’t know. Probably not. I’m honestly about to be 30 years old and I’m not in contests. I’m not a guy that’s on every other magazine. I’m not Jamie Foy. I’m not the next upcoming thing that everyone’s talking about the shit that I’ve done.

You’re beefy like Jamie Foy!
I know; I’ve been putting it on. Realistically, I don’t think I’m going to have another shoe sponsor. I don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interest to put me on. I’m not a marketable guy.

I do not like the sound of this! This is not how you—
It’s not a negative thing. It’s not a negative thing at all! It’s just, like, that’s the stage I’m at. I’m not going to be the guy that’s hanging out. I’m not going to be calling some fuckin’ random dickhead that I don’t know, like, “Hey, Mr. Blah blah blah with the shoe company. We’ve never met but I’ve had two Thrasher covers. They were years ago now, but can you put me on the team?” I’m not going to do that, but if someone’s into it or if I get along with some people and it ends up happening, then cool. I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Hmm, okay. How come Jamie won’t let you guys go on King of the Road? Zero, I’m talkin’.
Ha! I don’t know! He’s burnt on it, I guess. He’s over it. It’s too hard or something. I don’t know.



Are you ready?
I want to go! I’ve asked you like 100 times to take me on it. I’ve asked to be a Mystery Guest. I wanna be in the van! I wanna be in anyone’s van. I don’t give a shit who’s there; I wanna be in a van!

Maybe next year’s Mystery Guests’ theme will be crazy 50-50 guys. It’ll be you, Daniel Haney and the Muska.
I like that. That’ll be good. You should have Adam McNatt there too because I know Muska and Adam will be able to go head to head on some shit. That’ll be cool.

That would be so cool. I wanted to recreate the McNatt’s rainbow rail.
The one he accidentally did the 50-50 nollieflip on?

Yeah, the one that went through a park.
Yeah! He did 50-50 nollie 360 as well. That’s amazing. I watched that part, like, three days ago.

So are you going to have the best part in the video because you live with the filmmaker, Ant Travis?
See, that wouldn’t be an unfair expectation. Because people from the outside looking in would be, like, “Oh, that guy—he lives with the filmer. How can you not have the most footage?” But I feel like when you live with the filmer you don’t get to go and skate with them, because everyday you’re, like, “Hey, should we go here?” “No, we can do that any day. We live together.” So everything gets pushed off and pushed back. I can’t remember the last time I asked Ant, like, “Let’s go to a spot,” and we actually skated it. It’s more, like, dudes come into town and stay at our house and they’re only here for a this amount of time. What do they want to skate? And we go to their spots and—I don’t know. I’m not technically that talented, although I’ve been trying to get there, like we’ve already talked about. So I can’t just—I don’t have a trick for every spot.

Well, these are the last couple days. What are your tricks? This is the last weekend. What are you going for broke on?
Nothing! I can’t skate right now. I went to San Diego yesterday and tried to huck myself over a thing and my butt’s all swollen. I can’t walk.

I have this funny picture of some guys in suits escorting you out of a skate spot. What were you guys talking about?
Guys in suits escorting me out of a skate spot? Where was that?

Gap to nosegrind a Mile High.     Photo: Rodent

In Miami.
I have no idea—Oh! Was it at the old Jamie Thomas ollie spot?

Yeah.
I think he was trying to say some sort of bullshit. Someone had some serious beef with those guys, though, I can’t remember who was with us, but someone went off on those guys. Probably John Note. He loves to get real fired up off some stupid shit. I think he was having some serious words with them.

So the Burman super transfer was the craziest fuckin’ thing I’ve ever seen on a skateboard. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen?
I don’t know. It’s weird because I have this way of skateboarding and a way of looking at skateboarding and I think I understand how people do stuff and I could understand how they get themselves to do it. But then there’s stuff like Shane O’Neill does and, like, I don’t know even—Daan and those guys that can do every single trick. And I could never fuckin’ fathom it. I could go skating with these dudes and they do a trick, like, 100 times on a flat bar at a skatepark that, like, I could never wrap my head around and that seems like the craziest shit in the world to me.

So back to the tech shit—
Yeah, back to the tech shit! Shit that I can never do.

Are you going to go back to Philly and do that grind to frontside air out?
I thought about it; it’s crossed my mind. I should probably get there soon since they’re probably going to rip out the Municipal building soon, I think. They got rid of the—what was other one across from Love where everyone used to skate?

City Hall?
Yeah, they got rid of City Hall, they got rid of Love and next is the Muni building. I gotta get back their soon, huh? Gotta get that stinkbug.

Have you ever tried to fight a filmmaker when you were making a video?
I don’t think so. I think a filmmaker has tried to fight me. Me and Russell had an argument while we were in the Philippines somewhere. I can’t remember where we were. We had an argument over some bullshit, and I think it was just because you spend too much time with some people on trips and you get on each other’s nerves. It all came out at a skate spot and it turned into a yelling match and Russell likes to hit some people when he wants to, you know. He’s a little bit of a brawler when he needs to be. It almost came to that but it didn’t.

Oh, that’s good.
Yeah, we’re still friends.

That would be bad for team spirit. This is a 4K feature film directed by Russell Houghten. Does one of the Ks stand for kangaroo?
In the 4Ks, I think it was actually a 3K film but they decided 3K didn’t sound good so they added another one that doesn’t much stand for anything.  

What are the 4 Ks?
Kalm, Kool and Kollected. The whole video is Kalm Kool and Kollected. We already went over the 4th K.

So judging on your attitude, this is the last video part you’ll ever have. Anything you want to say to the Thrasher fans before you move home and gain 200 pounds?
Yeah, you should have bought more of my shoes so that I could buy a house when I move back to Australia. Now I have to go back and work in a warehouse.

Advice to the kids: buy my board! Alright, thanks, Dane.

Flat and down, for all the normal girls.     Photo: Burnett