Portrait and sequences by Jansen van Staden
Tell us about where you grew up and who you grew up skating with?
I grew up in Paarl where I spent most of my time skating with Dylan, Alessandro, Jp, Bennett, Alwyn and Kyle, there were a lot of other kids at the time but most of them just died out. Other than that we were always at The Shed, which was this indoor park in Stellenbosch.
You currently work at The Shred Skatepark, can you tell us about all that you do there?
Well I handle most of the social media shiz, like posting stuff on facebook and instagram, and replying to queries. I also design a lot of posts, posters, flyers, T-shirts, any design they need really. And then there’s filming and editing, not just skating, but also birthday parties and the odd event here and there.
Do you have previous experience filming from before The Shred, like making any independent videos or something like that?
Yeah, I’ve made like 2 independent videos, both can be found on youtube, one is actually on the Session Magazine page called ‘Summertime Smut’. Other than that I filmed some of the clips in Dylan Vaughan’s AV debut and I do like 1 trick in the Plankie “Shake it loose” video.
Do you live at The Shred too, and if so, what’s it like living at a skatepark?
I do and I don’t… like I’ll stay here in the week, but that all depends on public transport, otherwise I’ll take my chances with the 1 hour trek back home. Living here isn’t all that bad, but not ‘coz of skating but because I get to be at work early even if I don’t wake up early hahah!
Who are the best young rippers coming up at the park that we might not know about yet?
Geez! In the age of instagram I’m sure we all know the up-and-comers, but for me Matt Cilliers and this 9-year-old kid Adam Faclier definitely stand out.
Who skates The Shred more than anybody else?
Jean-Marc.
I know you guys have CCTV in there, what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever witnessed on the cameras?
Apart from the ample people I’ve caught stealing my tips and board, the number one for me was when Brad was busy doing weird tic-tacs in the shop and somehow the board slipped from under him, he tried grabbing the table to stop himself from falling, but just ended up grabbing this loose wooden display thing that smashed his face on the way down… Good times!
You’re known around Cape Town for doing crazy wallie, boneless and no-comply tricks, and have been doing them since long before they became popular again in the more sort of mainstream skate world, what was (and still is) your inspiration behind the way you like to skate?
It’s because I suck man hahah! When I started skating most of my friends were knee deep in learning all kinds of shit and all I wanted to do was get to that level ASAP, but it wasn’t easy so I did the next best thing, learn weird shit that no one wants to do and now thankfully it’s not weird anymore ‘coz everyone does them and I’m finally cool haha!… Right?
Can you list your five favourite video parts that get you hyped to go out and skate?
There’s so many… Louie Barletta, any Louie Barletta! Corey Sheppard in ‘Blind – What If?’, Rodney Mullen in ‘Almost Round 3’, Erik J Pettersson in ‘Sweet and Sour’ and Jeff Stevens in ‘A Happy Medium’.
Tell us about your art: what got you into drawing, where has some of your work been featured and where can someone reading this perhaps see more?
I’ve been drawing since I was 5, my parents always left me in front of the TV as a kid and I think all those cartoons got me into it. You’ll mainly find my stuff on The Shred posters, T-shirts, etc. I’ve also done stuff for Dope Industries and Plankie Skateboards, and a few logos here and there. One of them is actually the bird on the Scary Canary logo. You’ll find most of my stuff on instagram or behance, and some of my animations on youtube.
Do you take commissions for artwork, and if so, how can someone contact you?
Yeah, anyone can hit me up on any social media really, get me on facebook, instagram or email me… thegreendays1992@gmail.com – Am I allowed to leave my email here? Hahah!
When was the last time you went skating in Paarl and what is the scene like back there nowadays?
Well my board was stolen out of my car last week, so I haven’t skated in a long while. As for the scene in Paarl, l honestly don’t know hey. It’s definitely not what it used to be, but in all honesty I’m just glad kids are still skating that side. Not like Dylan and I used to, when we’d skate all over that town looking for spots, now it’s a bit more of a status thing, but I guess I should be glad they’re still “skating” regardless.
Any final words to end this off?
Just thanks to my family and friends and just everyone who puts up with my shit on the daily, you’re all golden and I love you. Peace!
