Saturday, May 6

Eric Koston Interview

Just because youre Eric Koston, doesnt mean youre comfortable with a microphone in front of your face.

Check out this video clip of Eric Koston from the Tampa Pro.

Seriously. Just think how hard it would be to relax in an interview situation, especially when youre expected to come up with brilliant answers to some of skateboardings toughest questions. What was your first set up? and  Who are your influences? can really tear at a guys soul, you know?

How about phone conversation, though? Now thats a different story, especially with all those great long distance plans out there today. Heck, thatd be just like talking to your friends. You could talk about the family, dogs, the weather, and if it came up (since, of course, you are Eric Koston), you could even talk about skateboarding.

Damn, that would be sweet, wouldnt it?

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Hello?

Eric?
Yeah, sorry. (phone breaking up) F*ck. Im scrambling around here. Okay.

Are you driving right now?
Yup.

Youre not gonna crash are you? Do you have a headset thing?
Yeah, I do have a headset thing.

Does it sound good?
Uh, kinda.

Is it a law in California that you use one of those when youre driving?
I think so. I just got it so I can eat and drive at the same time.

Do you have to spend a lot of time in the car on the phone?
Sometimes its easier to get phone calls done when youre driving. When Im home I dont even want to call anybody. It seems like I want to watch TV or something.

Car time is kind of dead time anyway.
It is, so the phone is the best way to pass the time.

You miss rocking Led Zeppelin super loud, though.
Yeah, I do miss out on that.

Hows that road rage going out there?
Pretty good, at times. It can be pretty nice. (laughs)

Have you had to fight anyone or anything like that?
No, Ive had to yell at some people.

Did they hear you, or do you keep it in the car?
The last guy I yelled at was blatantly being a jerk. I pulled up right next to him and started in. I was pulling out of a gas station near a corner and a light. There was this big gap right there in front of me so I went into it. I got my nose in there because, hey, theres space and I gotta get out too. So this guy pulls forward, kind of inches around me, and takes away the space he wasnt using until I tried to move into it. He was this fat older guy and he was smoking and I just kinda started yelling at him.

Did he yell back?
No. He just sat there and looked at me.

Do you think he was scarred?
No. He just looked at me and I called him a couple of names. This and that.

Do people tell you to watch out, like youre gonna get hurt? Or get shot?
I havent had to yell at too many people like that. That was rude so he needed to be told.

Noseslide.

Does having to drive around finding places to skate and then getting kicked out get old?
Yeah, definitely.

Its weird. Skateboarding has gotten huge in this environment where theres really been no place for people to skate without being kicked out or hassled. Now thats turning around  I guess what Im asking you to do is predict the future. Skateboarding got huge with no real abundance of places to skate. Now that people are building more and more parks, will it get bigger or will it have the opposite effect?
Hopefully itll just keep getting bigger. If you have places to skate, youd think it would  if they keep building them.

Would you rather skate parks or would you rather keep skating real street stuff?
Both. Sometimes you just want to go where you can skate, not be hassled, and not deal with anybody or anything. But if you do that too much youd burn out on it and want something new  thats what makes you go out an look for new spots.

Have you ever admitted to being a competitive person?
No.

Are you, though?
No. I mean with myself? Sure. But I dont think Ive admitted it. Like, have I wanted to beat someone in a contest?

Yeah.
No. I dont care.

How about with other stuff?
We play basketball at the park twice a week. You always want to win then, because that way you can stay on and keep playing.

Where you born?
Bangkok, Thailand.

Where is that?
Its in the southern part of Asia.

Have you ever been back?
I just went back, actually. That was the first time Ive been back. It was the beginning of February. Where I lived was a province about an hour away from Bangkok. I was probably pretty close to the hospital I was born at, but I didnt know. Its changed since then. Thats what my mom told me.

Is your family from there?
My moms from there. My dad met her there when he was in the Air Force.

Do you still have relatives there?
Yeah. A couple.

Did you look them up?
We didnt have a whole lot of time to do stuff. We spent about total there and we were filming stuff for the iS video. I definitely want to go back.

My cat peed in my basement. What am I supposed to do about it?
See, thats rough. I dont have any pets. Im considering a dog. My girlfriend wants a dog.

Do you have a yard?
Not really. Its a courtyard, but theres no grass. But I guess thats cool theres nothing for him to dig up.

For how much cement there is in Los Angeles, there are really a lot of dogs.
Yeah, but Id want a puppy.

So you could bring it up right and teach it to love.
Teach it to kill. (laughs) But they tear sh*t up. Im just getting new furniture.

Thats gone. Its gonna eat that.
I got new carpet, too. Its gonna pee all over that.

You did it in the wrong order. You should have gotten the dog before you got new stuff.
I could get a muzzle.

Yeah, or keep it in a shoebox.
Yeah, raise it right.