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Andy Anderson – Juice Magazine State of Skate Interview

Name: Andy Anderson
Hometown: White Rock, B.C., Canada
Age: 19
Sponsors: Powell Peralta, DC Shoes, Gullwing Truck co. Skull Skates, Sandbox, Vulcan Bolts, Bones Bearings, Authentic Board Supply.

What set-up are you riding right now?
I’m riding my experimental Powell-Peralta board, shaped to do tricks from every genre: freestyle, bowl and street. It’s 9” wide with a 15” wheelbase. My trucks are Gullwing SuperPro 3’s, and I am riding these Mini Logo, 97a, 58mm wheels with Bones Reds bearings. I ride Bones griptape and Vulcan Bolts hardware and I wear a Sandbox Helmet.

What’s the most fun DIY, skater-built or renegade spot that you’ve skated lately?
By far, LeeSide, out in East Vancouver, B.C. Canada is the best! It has expanded insane amounts since I started going there five years ago. It has at least 10 different types of concrete coping and it’s a great hideout during the rainy season, due to the fact it’s in a tunnel. Steep transitions and lots of wallrides, and it’s also one of the only legal spots in Vancouver to spray paint. You can imagine all the cool art from the best painters in Vancouver, a bunch of guys skating around, blasting Fear, with lights that stay on all night. Side note: Halloween at LeeSide is something to be experienced.

Have you ever built something to skate?
I have built little quarter pipes and manny pads that my friends and I would take down my street or to a parking lot. I built a little 2ft mini ramp that I get to go learn a trick on from time to time. The roof in my garage is low, so a 2ft is necessary, if I want some transition to skate indoors.

Who do you like to skate with these days?
Most of the time, I’ll skate alone. I might run into a friend at the plaza and then go skate street with them. That’s always cool, but I like to just go out and relax on my board all day. Recently, I have been enjoying these late night park sessions with me and some close friends. It feels good to skate till the lights go off and the ramps are all dewy.

Best skate graphic you have seen lately?
My favorite board graphic, for a while now, has been the Powell Peralta, Kevin Harris graphic. It’s a Canadian Mounty, holding a Beaver by the tail. Such a classic. I love its direct relationship with Freestyle Skateboarding and also with Canada, and the fact that Kevin Harris is one of my mentors now, just makes it more fitting. I like the graphic so much I asked Powell Peralta to slap it on the experimental deck I ride.

Best thing you’ve skated in a skatepark?
I really like to skate a nice volcano. LeeSide has a super steep gnarly one and Chuck Bailey skatepark in North Surrey has a super wide one with a dish in the top so you can air in, air out, or grind around it. Bear Creek park also in North Surrey has a nice volcano, roll in style, so you can float over it or hit it like a hip. Volcanoes are fun and individual.

Favorite skateboarders of all time?
Kevin Harris, Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas, Rob Sluggo Boyce and Matt Hensley.

Is there anything that hasn’t been built to skate yet that you’d like to see built?
I want to skate more curved flat bars.

Best road trip you ever took?
The best trip I’ve ever been on was a recent Powell Peralta “Come Skate With Us” journey across the MidWest of the USA. We went through seven states, including Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, and finishing up in Reno, Nevada. We went to a whole bunch of random towns and everyone would just pour out of the van and kill whatever skatepark was in front of them. Corey Blanchette would find the craziest rail in the park and go kickflip front feeble it, and then do ten other tricks. Charlie Blair and Roman Pabich would shred every vertical transition and Jarren Duke would do a one-footed invert or something and Mighty would do a switch grind trick on some gnarly pool coping… all while the rest of the park locals remained skating. The team invites others to join the session, so they could give that kid in South Dakota the chance to maybe get noticed, and George would buy everyone at the park pizza!

Any skate-related charities you support?
The main series of skate competitions in my local area has an admission fee of either $5 or two cans of food. All proceeds go to the local Food Bank. I have been going to these contests and events since I was 7 and got to actually start hosting them about two years ago.

What music have you been listening to?
I’ve been a big Pink Floyd fan for a long time, but I also love Neil Young, Tom Waits, Ween, Frank Zappa, Lou Reed, The Flaming Lips, John Coltrane, and Bob Marley. I really like the sounds of Sonic Youth above most recently. Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, and John Coltrane really push me to skate for some weird reason. It’s like I want to glorify the flow of their music with expression through skating. Ever since I skated to the beat of the music in a Freestyle Skateboard Contest, I’ve listened to music differently. Sometimes a slower song can get me more ready for a trick than a fast one.

What do you consider the responsibilities of a pro skateboarder?
A pro skateboarder holds a really heavy title. I think that a professional has to not only be an amazing skateboarder, they would either be risking their life on a Do or Die trick every once in a while for a good shot, or they would have to seem like a really good investment to a large company. Somebody who has a positive attitude and a following that cares about seeing them get bigger. Someone who is truly dedicated to the activity. A professional would have to think on the spot a lot, and be ready to throw down a death-defying trick two minutes out of the van, and still be tame enough to sign autographs and talk to kids.

Which skate shops do you support most?
I fully support my local shop sponsor, Authentic Board Supply, and Skull Skates and P.D.’s Hot Shop. Skull Skates is the oldest existing skate company in Canada and they are still supporting the scene. With a selection of decks, setups, cruisers, pool shapes, bananas, old school road bikes, surfboards, skimboards, and any article of clothing you would expect from a skate company, P.D.’s Hot Shop is the spot. With their wild history, and iconic logo, Skull Skates has stood strong as a skateboard company since 1976 and it’s still run by PD himself.

Favorite skate photo of all time?
I really enjoy that shot of Neil Blender doing a woolly mammoth in a pool’s deep end where Neil is rocking some blue and yellow Gullwing Pro3’s, shot by Jim Goodrich.

What is your take on girls skateboarding?
I think it’s something that has always existed but has been out of mainstream skating for too long. Girls can skate. There’s no doubting that. I’m stoked to see more girls out there killing it. I am happy to say it’s definitely picking up in Vancouver.

What skateboarding memorabilia do you have that means the most to you?
I won this Banana Board that has #ALLINGOODFUN branded in the top at the DamnAm Costa Mesa contest. I won the board for having the most fun and I’m going to have a lot more fun when I eventually set it up to rip around on.

Who contributes the most to your local skate scene?
I would have to say my good friend Hippie Mike has contributed a whole lot to the local scene. He pioneered 10 years of skateboarding events in the city of Surrey B.C., and started skate lesson programs, which I signed up for many years ago. Another ginormous contributor is Kevin Harris. Through the ‘90s and early 2000’s, Kevin owned multiple giant indoor skateboard parks that birthed skaters like Colin McKay and Sluggo. He was also the first ever professional skateboarder to come out of Canada. Riding for Powell Peralta, Kevin paved the way for Canadian skaters to make it big. Now he runs Concrete Mag and also Ultimate Dist. (The largest skateboarding distributor in Canada).

Top three favorite skate tricks?
My favorite trick is the 360 spacewalk. It feels great and really stretches your back out. It’s a very healthy way to warm up. Another trick I love is the front-foot impossible. A quick flick of the board sends it wrapping around your front foot, and back into the original position. It’s very complete and feels great. The last trick I’m going to call out is a backside boneless. If you get a nice stretched out one, they can really feel good and look nice when timed/tweaked right. Plus, it’s always a little scary.

Do you think skateboarding should be in the Olympics?
Touchy Subject… To tell you the truth, I support Freestyle skateboarding in the Olympics and I understand Vert Halfpipe in the Olympics, but I think Street skateboarding is too difficult and diverse to judge. I think my friend Eli said it best when he told me, “Skaters are known to not belong or really fit in. Skate things where we shouldn’t. So wouldn’t the Olympics be the best place to go and not belong? Show the world who we are and that we can be World Class athletes.” And all without tons of forced training and steroids and tights. I support the growth of skateboarding as a whole but, when there are rules applied, things get a little weird.

What is your proudest moment in skateboarding so far?
Last May, I won the title, #1 Amateur Freestyle Skateboarder in the World. There is a local freestyle contest in a suburb called Cloverdale every year for the last four years. I only showed up the first year because my ex-girlfriend wanted to go to the rodeo where the contest was held. I was told about the contest, by the wife of one of the hosts, Monty Little. I entered 30 minutes before the contest started with my little Skull Skates Freestyle shape. I had no idea it was the World Round Up, the world’s largest freestyle contest. I placed 5th and was blown away. This year, I planned out 3 different freestyle runs all timed to music. I ended up getting 1st and George Powell happened to come out to watch. In the end, I was offered a sponsorship from Powell Peralta. There are only 5 Freestyle contests a year: Japan, Germany, Rio, Philly and Cloverdale. The one in Cloverdale just so happens to be the largest of them all. It’s all just weird, man.

Andy-ANDERSON-one-foot-grind-DEVILLEtif
ANDY ANDERSON MIXES THINGS UP WITH A ONE FOOTED FRONTSIDE GRIND IN BISMARK, NORTH DAKOTA, JUST BECAUSE HE CAN! PHOTO BY DEVILLE NUNES

 

ABOUT THE JUICE MAGAZINE STATE OF SKATE:

When we started Juice Magazine 22 years ago, you could count the number of skateparks on one hand and grindable pool coping was mostly a distant memory. Now there are thousands of skateparks all over the world, along with a vast quantity of DIY spots built to skate. In 1993, the majority of skateboarders listened to punk rock or hip hop exclusively. Now skateboarders listen to almost every kind of sound created. Two decades ago, skateboarding related charities were non-existent. Today, there are numerous non-profits giving back to skateboarding in many ways. One of the most important differences between now and then is that, 22 years ago, there was a clear division between old school and new school skateboarding. Now that wall of separation has followed the same path as the Berlin Wall, allowing for an unprecedented unification of skateboarders all over the globe. Great strides have been made for girls that skate as well as the acceptance of skate history and long overdue recognition for skateboarding’s pioneers and its artifacts. At the same time, the current generation of skateboarders is taking skateboarding to new heights, previously unimaginable. As the landscape of the skateboarding industry changes on a daily basis, and the topic of skateboarding in the Olympics rears its head once again, along with the disturbing subject of who controls skateboarding being tossed about by corporate entities, we decided it was time to take a good look at the State of Skate. We asked 20 questions to 100 skateboarders, ages 8 to 58, and found that skateboarding is as diverse as the skateboarders that are addicted to it, no one controls skateboarding except skateboarders, and the State of Skate is savage and strong. Now get out there and skate tough!

JUICE MAGAZINE STATE OF SKATE features interviews with 100 skateboarders including: Tony Alva, Dave Hackett, Chris Strople, Duane Peters, Steve Olson, Dave Duncan, Steve Alba, Tony Magnusson, Pat Black, Jesse Martinez, Bill Danforth, Jim Murphy, Ric Widenor, Lester Kasai, Glen Charnoski, Bryan Pennington, Peter Furnee, Jeremiah Risk, Ryan Smith, Jason Jessee, Omar Hassan, Cam Dowse, Jen O’Brien, Depth Leviathan Dweller, Brett Roper, Travis Beattie, Chris Gentry, CW Dunn, Chris Albright, Charlie Wilkins, Cairo Foster, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, BJ Morrill, Dr. Lenore L.A. Sparks, Sid Melvin, Jesse Irish, Packy Fancher, Greg Lutzka, Jimmy Larsen, Adam Dyet, Luis Tolentino, Greg Harbour, Frank Faria, Ryan DeCenzo, Dave Bachinsky, Johnny Turgesen, Casey Meyer, Edward Sanchez, David Gravette, Ben Hatchell, Brian Geib, Felipe Gouveia, Eric Santos, Kyle Smith, Cameron Revier, Josh Stafford, Justin Grubbs, Etienne Eden Archila, Sanzio Piacentini, Josh Elder, Eddie “Mighty” Moreno, Kevin Kowalski, Otto Pflanz, Jeremy Smith, Adam Wiggins, Jimmy Wilkins, Danny Gordon, Jake Hilbish, Corey Blanchette, Adam Legassie, Nick Santos, Trey Rounds, Curren Caples, Justyce Tabor, Andy Anderson, Sarah Thompson, Coral Guerrero, Collin Graham, Derek Scott, Ace Pelka, Sonny Rodriguez, Jarren Duke, Mikayla Sheppard, CJ Titus, Noah Schott, Emily Earring, Julian Torres, Wyatt Wisenbaker, Josh Forsberg, Nathan Midgette, Roman Pabich, Yago Dominguez, Jack Winburn, Jonas Carlsson, Kiko Francisco, Bryce Ava Wettstein, Desmond Shepherd, Matty Jessee and Luke Kahler.

FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, ORDER ISSUE #74 BY CLICKING HERE…

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