Name: Pat Black
Hometown: Point Arena, California
Age: 50 clicks
Sponsors: Embassy Skateboards, Ace Trucks, Meeksterbrau, Bones.
What set-up are you riding right now?
I’m riding a Pat Black board from Embassy Skateboards, Ace 55’s Trucks with Bones hard bushings, janky loose! (Loose trucks save lives, kiddies!) Bones SPF wheels, 60mm Bones Swiss Bearings, griptape, anything that will rip your skin off will keep your feet on! 1/8-inch risers, 1” hardware, Borgy copers… Oh wait, I don’t ride those no more!
What’s the most fun DIY, skater-built or renegade spot that you’ve skated lately?
It has got to be Lincoln City! Best park in the world, or my back/front yard! I’ve got a nice little gutted pirate ship with a dinghy.
Have you ever built something to skate?
I’ve been building ramps since I was eight. I started building ramps for contests in the mid ‘80s. The bowl I have at my house is a creation! Elliptical trannys just over vert, pool coping, poured coping and black steel coping, Ramp Armor surface. The middle of the bowl is 6’. One side escalates up on both sides to 8’ with a foot of just over vert. All steel coping. The other side is 8’ and 9’ with 1 and 2 feet of just over vert. The decks have 1/4 pipes to launch into or out of, with concrete poured coping and pool coping. On one 6’ side, the deck is the flat bottom of a 5’ tranny, 5’ tall bowl with pool and pool ball coping and a roll in on one side, and it’s still growing since ‘99. I milled up most of the wood from trees on my property. She’s a beauty.
Who do you like to skate with these days?
My favorite people to skate with these days (any days) are the girls, young or old or just in the middle, and with those little kids that I want to slap every time they drop in and just KILL it, and with ALL my friends past and present that include even the old dudes that are older than me, you geriatric defenders of shred!
Coolest skateboard graphic you have seen lately?
This question involves memory, which I… well, the bottom of a board that has been used and abused with no nose and no tail and the kid still kills it! How’s that?
Best thing you’ve skated in a skatepark?
Best thing I ever skated in a park has to be the shit that scares me! Lincoln City snake run is badass all the way down and back!!!
Favorite skateboarders of all time?
Favorites? This is a loaded question. I’m gonna get in trouble with this one! The memory thing too… Lizzie, Alysha, Bev, Pammy, Kat, Drea, all the Jens, Zoe, Charity, Minna, Izzy, Julz, Jean, just to start, A-Z, all of em… Get the picture! Chicks kick ass, and everybody else that feels the pleasure of addiction! Too many favorites.
Is there anything that hasn’t been built to skate yet that you’d like to see built?
It hasn’t been built yet? Man, I’m getting up there. Handicap ramps are looking sweet these days.
What’s the best road trip you ever took?
They are all fun, especially when you can’t remember because you know you had fun!!!
Are there any skate-related charities that you support?
SkateMD, Healing Hearts Through Skateboarding. Melanie Tillotson and Andrea Bibelheimer started a program to help kids with all kinds of disorders through skating. It is amazing to meet these kids and see the transformation they go through in just a couple of hours. You have to check out their website www.skatemdhh.com. Words cannot express what goes on, a real tear jerker, and a loud shoutout to all the volunteers who help make it happen.
What music have you been listening to lately?
Straight up noise, as my pops would say, punk rock, maybe some blues! Too many bands to list!
What do you consider the responsibilities of a professional skateboarder?
Responsibilities? We don’t need no stinking responsibilities other than skating like there is no tomorrow and, when you slam, name it ‘cause you own it and get up and do it again!!! Might wanna mention your sponsors now and again like Ace Trucks, Embassy Skateboards, Meeksterbrau, Bones and shit like that!
Which skate shops do you support?
Well, if you knew where I lived, this question would be obsolete, but there are some cool ones like Nor-Cal Surf Shop in Pacifica, CA and Proof Lab in Marin City, CA. Both have badass ramps you can skate. Freedom Sk8 Shop in Ukiah, CA, doesn’t have a ramp, but if you knew where they were, you’d support them just for that!
What is your take on girls skateboarding?
Now I’m really gonna get in trouble! Girls? I love girls! I’m a guy. Girls skating? Imagine drool, enough to fill a pool! Come on. Girls? What’s not to like? Also, it’s quite humorous that, when the girls come to play with their shred on, the little boys run away. Skating is an art! Anyone can do it. Girls just do it better and look better doing it.
What skateboarding memorabilia do you have that means the most to you?
Probably my body. Definitely not my brain! Everything else is obsolete!
Who contributes the most to your local skate scene?
NOT the City of Point Arena, so I guess me! Come skate my bowl!!!
Top three favorite skate tricks?
The last three I made will have to answer this one. Any guesses?
Do you think skateboarding should be in the Olympics?
To me, skateboarding is raw! There are no rules other than break the rules! How can you judge what can’t be judged? Even though I compete, I am not a fan of contests. To me, everyone wins that skates. To answer your question, I don’t watch the Olympics.
What is your proudest moment in skateboarding so far?
I plead the fifth! You be the judge!!!
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…
