SURF SKATE STYLE WITH DARREN HO. INTERVIEW BY JUICE MAGAZINE. PHOTO BY JIM GOODRICH.
When did you first hear of SurfSkate style?
At the time, when I heard of SurfSkate, it meant to imitate your favorite surfer and his moves on the wave. Larry Bertlemann and his crew, Buttons and Mark Liddell, had the heaviest influence on our riding styles. We’d be in a skate spot trying our best to make it look like we were riding a wave.
What does SurfSkate style mean to you and who has the best surf skate style?
Style means everything to me. If you didn’t look good doing it, it wasn’t worth doing. I was lucky enough to hang with some of the most stylish skaters out there. TA, Jay, Shogo, and Roy Jamieson heavily influenced the way I skated. Jay Adams had the best SurfSkate style, hands down. He had such unpredictable lines when he was riding because he would rarely ride the same line or repeat the same move. It reminded me of surfing, never the same wave, always something different. It was a great style to emulate when skating. His crunched up rail grabbing moves were the essence of the “Surfing style.” Even when you did aerials, you had to tuck your knees close to your body to make it look good.
How has surfing influenced skateboarding, and skateboarding influenced surfing?
Both surfing and skateboarding have influenced each other by providing opportunities for both groups to try both sports. There is such a strong common ground between the two and they continually inspire each other’s style. For me, it gave me the opportunity to be part of the surfing community. I was able to meet legends like Larry Bertlemann, Rory Russell and Dane Kealoha through skateboarding. Rory used to have a skate ramp in the front of his house at the North Shore. It became a gathering place for a lot of pro surfers and skateboarders at the time. You could do a serious skate session and then head straight to the beach to catch some waves. It was truly the best of both worlds.
Is SurfSkate style important today?
Definitely. Going back to skateboarding so late in life, it was important to me that I start to look like I was riding a wave and not to have a mechanical looking style. It wasn’t easy at first, but it’s coming back now. I can recall older skate sessions from my past for inspiration and use them to shape the moves that I am doing today.
JUICE MAGAZINE SURF SKATE STYLE STORY:
The influence of surfing on skateboarding has been discussed since the beginning of both, yet we have now entered a new era, where skateboarding has returned the favor with its own unique influence on the surfing world. In order to get to the core of this cross over and to try to define the origins and current state and status of surf skate style, we’ve interviewed some of the most innovative skateboarders, surfers, artists, documentarians, photographers, filmmakers and musicians on the planet. In honor of the great, Shogo Kubo, who once said, “To me, style is everything…” welcome to our exploration of Surf Skate Style featuring interviews with Aaron Murray, Aaron Astorga, Abraham Paskowitz, Art Brewer, Bennett Harada, Brad Bowman, Brandon Cruz, Brian Brannon, Carter Slade, Chris Miller, Chris Strople, Christian Fletcher, Christian Hosoi, Craig Stecyk III, Darren Ho, Dave Tourje, David Hackett, Dennis Martinez, Dibi Fletcher, Don Redondo, Eric Britton, Garrett McNamara, Gerry Lopez, Glen E. Friedman, Greg Falk, Greg Galbraith, Greyson Fletcher, Herbie Fletcher, James O’Mahoney, Jef Hartsel, Jeff Ament, Jeff Divine, Jeff Ho, Jim Fitzpatrick, Jim Gray, John Van Hamersveld, Jonathan Paskowitz, Josh “Bagel” Klassman, Kalani David, Keith Morris, Kirra Kehoe, Larry Bertlemann, Laura Thornhill, Lizzie Armanto, Marc Emond, Michael Denicola, Michael Early, Nano Nobrega, Nathan Fletcher, Nathan Florence, Neil Stratton, Norton Wisdom, Pat Bareis, Randy Katen, Ray Flores, Rob Nelson, Robert Trujillo, Scott Oster, Shane Allen, Shaun Tomson, Shota Kubo, Solo Scott, Stacy Peralta, Steve Alba, Steve Olson, Takuji Masuda, Terry Nails, Tim Curran, Tim Hendricks, Tim Kerr, Tom Groholski, Tony Alva, Wes Humpston and Zach Miller.
FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, ORDER ISSUE #75 AT THE JUICE SHOP…
