STEVE OLSON

JUICE MAGAZINE 13 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
STEVE OLSON
INTERVIEW BY STEVE OLSON
PHOTOS BY TERRI CRAFT, ADAM WRIGHT and LANCE MOUNTAIN

Listen… Form no opinion. Make no judgement. We’re all wrong anyway…Honestly, just take a look…

“When I was younger and I would look at different magazines like hot rod magazines and ‘Sports Illustrated’, I usually looked at the pictures and then read a little bit if I was into the dude. I read about Muhammed Ali, Johnny Unitas, Joe Nammath and those kinds of sports figures. Then you have David Nuuhiwa and all those cats. To interview someone in surfing, punk rock or skating that had a huge impact on me as a kid is really quite sick. There’s an admiration there. I look up to a lot of the people I interview. It’s totally fulfilling. It’s really dope. I talk to these cats and I ask them questions that I sincerely have interest in. I want to know about them and their whole lives.”

Hello.
Hello.

This is it. I’m going to talk to myself. Are you listening?
No.

How did you ever come across interviewing people for ‘Juice’?
I have totally no idea. I met the people at ‘Juice’ and I just volunteered. I wanted to help out and I like talking to people that I find interesting. It’s on like that. When I do interviews, I don’t do much research on the person. I just kind of get the vibe from the get-go. Sometimes I already know them. When you’re talking to people you have respect or admiration for, if you just talk to them like regular people, they’ll talk back normal. It’s as psycho as this interview.

Do you have any other questions?
This might take time because I have to think of questions. I have no idea what I’m going to be asking you. I have to come up with something off the top of my head, which is the same way I roll into an interview. I like working with ‘Juice’.

Working with the crew at ‘Juice’ is dope. It’s total freedom. Whomever I want to interview, it can go down. They make it happen, which is sick.
The magazine is fun. That’s just how it’s going down over there. It’s raw. That’s as sick as it gets. They call these people up and set up the interview and we do a three way call or meet up in person. It makes perfect sense.

I don’t know what the next question is.
The fact is I quit smoking. This is good. I haven’t had a smoke in three days.

[Laughs.] Tell that to the guy on the other line. Let’s go back to the interview.
When I was younger and I would look at different magazines like hot rod magazines and ‘Sports Illustrated’, I usually looked at the pictures and then read a little bit if I was into the dude. I read about Muhammed Ali, Johnny Unitas, Joe Nammath and those kinds of sports figures. Then you have David Nuuhiwa and all those cats. To interview someone in surfing, punk rock or skating that had a huge impact on me as a kid is really quite sick. There’s an admiration there. I look up to a lot of the people I interview. It’s totally fulfilling. It’s really dope. I talk to these cats and I ask them questions that I sincerely have interest in. I want to know about them and their whole lives. It’s just too bad that this magazine doesn’t get all over the joint. Why? I don’t know. I think more shops should carry it. Everyone who reads it digs it. I get compliments on doing interviews and it’s like, ‘Yeah, duh. I’m obviously interested in talking to this person or why would I be wasting anyone’s time.’ That’s how it works for me interviewing people for ‘Juice Magazine’. I love it. I think it’s an important thing to be involved with. That’s all I have to say about anything again in my entire life.

There’s nothing more to say. Do you want to interview yourself some more?
Totally.

I’m just talking. It’s the best. I can just say one thing and talk about that thing. This self-interview technique is a new therapy that I’ve come up with for people that think talking to them selves is insane. It’s not. You’re just communicating with your soul mate inside your little penis. I’m just kidding. Please.
That’s funny.

It’s my new form of therapy, and I’m marketing it through this interview. So thank you, because when I become a millionaire it will all be because people are talking to themselves. Sorry. That was a tangent.
Help. Running out of gas. Pulling over. Can’t seem to make it to my destiny.

I’m out of my mind. I don’t want to interview myself right now. I’m too stoned.
But it’s good. You’re just rambling.

It was fine to talk to Duncan stoned. He’s on the other end high as fuck. Anything I asked him he would come back with the same answer. ‘I love skateboarding.’ How do you approach an interview? ‘I love skateboarding.’ Do you like interviewing people? ‘I love skateboarding.’ Free drink party. Sounds good.
You should interview me more tomorrow. Right now you’re too stoned.

There’s more.
I have to get off the phone because I’m feeling claustrophobic. I feel like I’m trapped in this leather seat. Someone seems to be tailgating me and I can’t seem to shake him. I’m running for my life, but I forgot to put my Nikes on. I need a little service but my GPS system fried the computer in my car. I can’t drive any further. The car has stopped running completely. Malfunction in the computer system from the GPS system. Please send help now. My cell phone is going to die because I have no battery. Charge it.

Olson.
Sorry. I was just passing the time. You’re recording this I hope.

Of course.
That’s all I need to know.

Okay. Don’t get too carried away over there.
Slow down.

Hey, buddy.
What?

What are you doing?
Skating with a passion for skating. We’re rebels on the streets. We do it for Johnny. That’s why we do it.

Are there any similarities between the people that you interview for ‘Juice Magazine’?
They all have the same passion.

It seems like the common link is that they all do what they dig. Then it becomes their career and they become a professional, but they’re all coming from the same spot of digging what they do. Whether it’s rock n’ roll or surfing or skateboarding or artists, they all have the same burning passion. Maybe that means if you follow your passion the payoff is greater than some other cherry gig, unless you can accomplish both.
One time, on the 154, we were streaking down the hill naked on our skateboards. Eric Capers was there. This was back when streaking was happening. He fell and scraped his pecker. He quit skateboarding after that. We kept skateboarding because we thought it was fun and we liked it.

Does that have anything to do with anything?
No.

I didn’t think so. I’m thinking of a question. Let me get my Duncan cap on. Whoa. It’s heavy.
When I’m interviewing someone, going freestyle allows for spontaneity. Maybe you don’t know them that well, and you’re just talking to them normally and then something happens. It sparks something in you to think of a question that you’d never thought of before. If you talk to people and you’re genuinely interested, they respond hugely.

I forgot what you were talking about.
Nice. What is this interview about?

It’s your interview.
I’m having a black out. ’77. New York City. It’s dark where I am, man. I have no candles. It’s scary over here, but we have rock n’ roll.

Excellent.

FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, ORDER ISSUE #62 BY CLICKING HERE…

STEVE OLSON INTERVIEWS
Steve Olson interview by Jim Murphy
Steve Olson interview by Steve Olson
Steve Olson interview by Terri Craft

STEVE OLSON ART

STEVE OLSON COVER – ISSUE 57