Backside Magazine Interview: VOL 33 • January 2026

BROdela
Dec 30, 2025
3 min read

I don't do many Interviews but when someone as cool as Michele from Backside Magazine asked I couldn't say no........

When I DM'ed you about this interview, you mentioned that you do not normally do stuff like this. Why not?

I've always just been a behind-the-scenes type of guy. I've been in the industry for about 25 years at this point and done just about every job you can think of, but unless you're sponsored, a pro skateboarder, or even a high-end filmer or photographer (who's doing it for a living), who wants to hear your opinion on life? Let's save that for the guys who are really doing it. For the past 25 years, photography has always been my side hustle, and that was intentional. I fucking love photography and never wanted it to be my sole source of income; I felt full-time could ruin my passion for it. Here I am, all these years later, and not only has my passion never waned, but at this point, I love it more, so maybe I made the right choice? Don't get me wrong; travelling the world as a skateboard photographer would have been amazing, and that opportunity came very close to happening, but when it fell through, I decided to be an industry kook and go for the guaranteed paycheck. I resigned myself at that point to staying behind the curtain. That, and I speak my mind, and that can sometimes get you in trouble, so I thought it best to stay away from interviews.

" I'm too old to be canceled, so who cares what I say at this point?"

So why do this now?

Well, I am leaning more into filming and photography these days because I just can't skate like I used to, so I am ready to do some more creative projects, and I think it's time to come out of my shell and hype myself up like all the kids do on TikTok's and Instagram's. That, and I'm too old to be canceled, so who cares what I say at this point?

I am glad you made an exception but only because you broke your femur, and you are bored. What happened?

If you don't mind, I'll back a few years to give you the complete picture of my recent issues. It's been particularly bad stretch as far as injuries go, and a lesser person probably wouldn't have been able to make it through all this shit.

After COVID, I left a skateboard factory where I worked for 17 years. I helped build it almost from scratch - we produced 500 boards a month when I joined the team and ended up hitting a million dollars a month at the end. I mean, those were fake COVID numbers, but we were killing it before COVID too. The same story you hear on the streets happened to us that happened to a lot of brands after the COVID spike; the knucklehead owner thought we were on easy street and figured those million-dollar months were going to happen forever, and he spent all the money on tractors and crystals instead of bracing for the downfall. Well, sure enough, those numbers dropped faster than they went up, and we ended up in deep shit. No one needed custom boards, and the overstock in the industry was insane. There just weren't enough sales at the old skateboard factory to support a full staff, so I took a severance package and bounced. To say it was tough for those next two years is an understatement.

"Well, sure enough, those numbers dropped faster than they went up, and we ended up in deep shit. No one needed custom boards, and the overstock in the industry was insane."

Have you considered working for a different industry?

Well, there weren't any jobs in the industry worth taking and going outside of the industry was frightening to say the least, but I did consider it. But I did my best to stay in the industry. I had a great business plan I drew up for a new type of skateboard distribution, I found a backer, and managed to get it off the ground, but the industry wasn't recovering anytime soon, and sales just weren't going to happen to support my project. In any other time, my distribution plan would have been a resounding success, but my backer was losing patience, my mental health was in real danger, and I found myself in a deep depression for the first time in my life. I unfortunately was going to have closed doors and

move on.

Read The Full Interview Here