Freedom Skate Shop Madison
How old are you and where are you from?
27, the land of milk and cheese
What was it like trying to find skateboarding there?
It found me, my parents gave me a skateboard for my birthday when I was 5. I remember there was a hobby shop downtown on college ave that had a ton of skate stuff in there. I bought a set of cockroach wheels from them and put em on my plastic trucks and department store board that me and my dad repainted. He did a silica sand grip tape job for me. Originally I remember it saying “ollie” on top, between the grip.
Who and what first influenced you to start riding skateboards?
As a little duder whenever I’d hear a skateboard cruisin down the street id run outside and watch em cruisin down the street pushin hard and goin fast and bein loud! It was the moment that the fire got lit!
What kind of a skateboarder would you call yourself?
A lover.
What goes through your mind while you’re skating?
Now only if I was listening to reggae… and circles and geometry and math.
Being a talented longboarder as well, where do you stand with the recent growth in longboard popularity?
I usually stand on the top of my skateboard, sometimes I lay on the ground too. Just as long as you dont push mongo its good.
Some people call you Donut. Why in the heck would anyone want to do that?
Cause you know me, cause you respect me, or maybe you just heard someone call me that…
How long have you been growing your beard?
The beard…maybe 6 years
You recently came back from a couple years in Colorado, what are your 5 favorite things about it?
Well…thats quite easy, 1. awesome skateparks and backyard bowls everywhere, 2.babes, babes, babes, moms 3. MMJ and all the dispensaries. 4. mountain fresh air 5. amazing healthy fit conscious people everywhere
What does a dream session look like for you?
Hmmmmm…definitely Lord Stangaroth, Elyse and Grumpy, Nick and Wade from Colorado, the whole Fort Collins/Market skate scene, Blake, Lerker, Samantha Glass, Billy Jack, Brady, Donovan, Ryan Leary, Mild, NaeNae, Kenny, LJ, Austin, Stick, the dust babes and bros. Just endless concrete to grind, with some super boomin bass…i love bombin hills on my longboard with Mouse on her roller skates.
What does working at Freedom mean to you?
A job…(laughs), but really it means endless stoke. Supplying the best products to get the job done right!
Favorite place to eat on State St?
This is a loaded question… MEDITERRANEAN CAFE!!! Big up to FIZ and all the med caf crew!
What kinds of things do you do when you’re not at Freedom or skateboarding?
Ride my bicycle every day, make/eat great food, lurk at the dust hole, spin reggae music, go on skate trips, meditation. I only got one shot at this so im just livin it to the fullest.
What gets you stoked?
My girlfriend, she plays roller derby, and thats real inspiring, watchin her just crushin other babes. I love listening to a bush full of birds on a sunny day just singin away. Espresso. My friend, Red, he’s so fast on his bike, I’m just tryin to keep up! Definitely Cyclo-touring. I took a 6 week tour down the coast of Oregon with Weinerstick, we brought our skateboards and just skated and biked from town to town.
What bums you out?
The smell of cigarettes, roller blades, scooters, and bikes at skateparks, iceberg lettuce,
Your top 3 skate park picks…
I’d say my 3 skate spots would be: Hermanns Hole, the Dust Bowl, LaFayette Colorado, really any team pain concrete is cool, and the stuff people build in their yard or warehouse is always the best.
Words to live by…
I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. Genesis 1:29.