The Wood - Skateboard Podcast

In this episode, I askes James Harlan to come over and work on my car for a transmission flush, a tire rotation and oil change. It started pouring rain so we decided to make the best of the time and record an episode of The Wood. I met James through the NeverWas crew where he is the youngest guy there and was ripping during the Stupid Fest that they do every year. James can rip both a skateboard and a BMX. You will find him mostly around Shayla Dame Park in Round Rock or in someone's driveway fixing a car. Give him a shout if you want your car fixed! Parents: James cusses alot, so if you don't like it, hide your kid's ears! Haha.

In the Season 3 Episode 12 of The Wood Podcast I speak with Lou Statman about his passion for slalom skateboarding. Lou invited me at the last minute to go out and meet him in the parking lot of Pflugerville High School Pfield parking lot where he frequently sets up cones and has a good time with friends charging through them. I happened to have some gear with me so I did an impromptu interview. He gives us a primer on slalom skateboarding in this episode. At the end, Cory Thornhill and Ethan Allen also made cameo appearances and shared their rigs with us! You can find Lou on Instagram at: @loucorproductions

In this final interview in the container at the Banger in the Hangar, I found the creator of the videozine, Mongochatter, Jon Hanks and grilled him with my usual questions until we started free-flowing the conversation. His take on pushing mongo was very refreshing and applies to life as a whole. Pushing mongo is an easy target for ridicule in skateboarding, but for those who dgaf, mongo is empowerment and, after this conversation, seems to be the best way to live life. Find him! Instagram: @mongochatter youtube.com/mongochatter @MONGOCHATTER Patreon.com/mongochatter

In this episode at the Banger in the Hanger, I interview freshly turned pro skateboarder Dakota White, along with Pat Morehead and Brian Michaelsick from Hellsick Skateboards. Pat and Brian talk about their roots as a skateboard company and the importance of their graphics. Then Dakota jumps in and speaks about the significance of the graphics of his new pro model on Hellsick skateboards that Pat designed. The imagery of the buffalo and lighting tie into his Native American roots and the star quilt pattern on the top tie into his Grandmother's Native American quilt making skill. This graphic is amazing. The board is high quality, and the rider, Dakota White, rips. I have no doubt this board will become iconic.

At Banger in the Hanger 2023 vert contest in Houston, TX I got to meet Brad Roberson, the Owner of Texas Skate Shop located deep in the sticks of East Texas in a little town called Gilmer. In the least likely of skateboard markets, Brad is spearheading a burgeoning skateboard culture that was simmering underneath the fabric there. He builds his own skateboard deck from scratch, and runs the Ditch Skateboarding International Facebook groups as well. He is a natural born teacher and will take any chance he can get to evangelize the positivity that skateboarding can bring to a life and a community. Was really great to meet him and I look forward to collabing with him somehow in the future.

In this episode I ran into Hubba (William LeMaster) at the Banger in the Hangar contest in Houston, TX. I already knew he was basically a pro skater, has his own board with Cockfight Skateboards and is a complete ripper, but I did not know he grew up in Dallas and that he grew up hanging around the spots of all the Dallas pros like Jeff Phillips and Craig Johnson in the 80's. Hubba is super genuine and very modest. He lets his skateboarding do most of his talking. I felt very fortunate that he came on to share some of his origin story. Thanks Hubba! Be sure to look out for more Banger in the Hangar interviews between The Wood Podcast and Won't Shut Up and Skate Podcast!

In this video I interview Andy "Bastard" Escalante. Andy has been one of the folks behind the scenes at the Lizard Ditch Skateboarding DIY in Austin, Texas. Andy walks us through his skateboarding life and how he came to find his home community in this ditch. He speaks on his philosophy around community and building DIY skate spots and shares some valuable insight into how we can be a creative and constructive force in Austin culture by building placers like Lizard DIY. A special thanks to Andy for sharing his wisdom and doing this interview. And also a special thanks to all those folks who are out there building!

In this episode I sit down for the long haul with Darin Hoops. Darin came to Austin 18 years ago in 2008 from Arizona. His experience with the Dream Destroyers, scrappy skateboard part collecting, and DIY spot building on slabs was brought here to be a strong influnce on the DIY spot culture here in Austin. Darin is a creator, a collector, a curator, and a talented stroryteller. The interview was long, but it felt super short as I was deeply immersed into his verbal imagery.

This episode is a sort of bonus episode. So not totally about skateboarding. Doug and I grew up together in Kingwood and skated together with all of our crew. But Doug has always been more of a BMXer. The BMX and the skateboarding world in Austin has always been closely related. We skated/rode many of the same places, we partied together, we have the same DIY spot philosophies, and we all seem to know each other. My brother Casey, who is best friends with Doug, crossed both worlds of BMX and skateboarding. This helped me to keep in contact with Doug and be aware of both worlds. This episode was an emotional episode for me to make as it is still hard to see my friend, (who was always ripping and pushing the boundaries at whatever he did), confined to a wheelchair. Doug won the Nationals and worlds for BMX. Doug was chosen to go to the 2012 Beijing Olympics to represent the US for BMX. He never made it due to the accident. He is not supposed to be alive. But over the course of this interview, I realized that Doug is still Number One. Despite doctors and people telling him he can't do things, he is continuing to push the limits of what he can do everyday and is claiming lots of small victories. Doug has shifted his perspective and wants to world to know he is still here and still Number 1.

Cary Jackson aka: Carjack is a Skateboarding data dump. He has been around the Houston and Austin scene for a very long time. Beginning skateboarding in the 70's, then diving deep into the 80's Houston pool scene, cutting teeth on local park building and DIY spots, to becoming a world traveling skatepark and X-Games contest park builder, Cary has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of skateboarding and the park-building industry within it. We met up at one of the oldest ditches in Austin, the Turkey Bowl, for this interview. Follow along as Cary takes us through a narrative just as bumpy, gritty, gnarly, and unique as many of the the pools he has skated.

This was a banger of an episode. It is a long one, so sit back and relax and enjoy all the amazing Texas skateboarding history that Chip can spout out on demand since he was right there experiencing it all in real time. Chip is a long time OG Texas skateboarder and contest announcer for skatebaording and and for the. Texas Rollergirls. He has been around the block and has the stories to prove it. This episode has zero dull moments and makes you realize that right now, everyday you are out there skateboarding with your homies, you are making history and nostalgia for every following wave of skateboarding to come. Chip reminds us of that fact and expresses beautifully how we are all a part of that in our own "free to be us" way. Thanks Chip!

One of the locals from Garden Ridge in north San Antonio was at Jaws in New Braunfels ripping and we got to talking. Turns out that not only is he a ripper on a skateboard, he is also a Fitness Trainer. We were talking about strengh, mobility, flexibility, recovery, nutrition, and everything else surrounding physical wellness and skateboarding. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I want The Skate Gym to be about all of that. Most of the time when I am at the park I just want to skate and hang out, but on occasions like this where the incentives align, I can't resist taking out my 4-track recorder and doing an improv podcast recording session. Thsi episode came out great. Trevor is an incredible skater and an incredible person. I hope to have him come to the The Skate Gym to do some skateboarding strength workshops!

In this episode, I interview Cat, the Founder of Cherries Wheels. Cat is not just the Founder of a skateboard wheel company. Since the day she stepped on her first ramp and bashed in her nose on the flat-bottom of a skatepark ramp, she was hooked on skateboarding. But not just skateboarding, but also the wider community surrounding skateboarding. Everything she does, from working a skateshop, creating zines, organizing contests, building DIY spots, to creating the first woman-owned wheel company, Cat forms a story and a community around it. You can clearly tell she is a Madrina of the DIY scene and brings to life the corners of the city where most don't venture to go. At the same time, she creates a high quality, professional skateboard wheel for everyone. You can find out more at: cherrieswheels.com - https://www.cherrieswheels.com/ Instagram: @cherrieswheels

In this episode I speak with Will Caston at Fredericksburg Skatepark. Will has spun the wheel and let fate decide where he has lived and skated in lots of places from Jackson, MS, to North Carolina, to Salt Lake City, to Portland, to Austin, and has always carried his stoke for skating everywhere he goes. He is a true soul skater.

I met Chad at House Park on October 1, 2022. He was gracefully grinding that deceivingly hard curb at the front of the park and had a mellow vibe to him, so I ask him for an interview. The guy has been skating for a long time and in a lot of cool places. He definitely knows how to find his happy place on four urethane wheels in the morning no matter where he is. He also brings some cool stories about the Ohio skate scene ad the military base in Germany. Thanks Chad!

In this interview I interview fellow skater and podcaster Jason Cabello. He is fairly new to Austin and brings his experiences from Miami and LA with him. He is also a podcaster and knew how to tell a good story about his life as a skater and his battle with addiction to recovery.

In this episode I speak with another fellow Kingwood homie. Dave has a weird style and a mellow persona. His comfort zone is in nollies and doing low-key dork tricks on one curb for hours at a time. With his creative and unique approach to skating and life, it was a pleasure to get him recorded!

In this episode I sat down with Brian Farmer. He is a low key street skater who generally skates with the Foundry-Hellsick folks. Also coming from Kingwood, TX. like much of the crew. He describes his influences from the early days and what it's like being a teacher in the institution who is also a skater who grew up hating the institutions, and how it affects the way he teaches and communicates to his kids.

San Marcos park local, Josh Chappell charges everything. "Holdin' on for dear life", and "try to stay upright as long as you can". I love this outlook on skateboarding. I'm sad this interview was cut a bit short as my recorder battery ran out. He had alot of great stuff to say.

Shane Wolfe is born and raised straight out of the ditches as an Austin local. You can tell his ditch style in everything he rides. Hitting every possible line and corner of a bowl he sweeps it up.