Mike York: Deeper than Just Hardflips - Heads - skateboarder - Brief Article - Interview

Thrasher Magazine, Feb, 2002 by Steve Randall

Why did you start skateboarding?

I was a little hyper kid who got into riding bikes after seeing the movie Rad. That's what made me look at that kind of individual deal, and then I saw the little skateboard ad in there. The Rob Roskopp and Lucero graphics got me.

So you went from there?

Yeah, I saw these kids at my school later on--my mom gave me a board. I saw these kids on a jump ramp. I'd never seen anything like that before in my life; that was the shit. Then they put it up on the wall and they were doin' wallrides. I couldn't believe it, and from there I sprung on skatin.'

Then it went straight to EMB?

Well, skatin' around El Cerrito and Albany; skatin' the BART station and the red curbs, doin' little railslides...

You miss the ol' EMB days?

For sure, for sure. That was the most free I ever was; it was an amazing time. I can't believe how much I took it for granted. There were days when I'd say, "I hate this place," and I can't believe I said that. And I'm not the only one that said that kind of stuff.

When you look back and think of all your friends that blew up with you, do you think it was only because of the fact you had EMB, or you were just into progression--everyday was a new day?

It all was in one. The Embarcadero was the place where we could get down 'cause there was so much stuff to do--jump down little stairs, big stairs, the big blocks, little blocks, whatever. Everyone had somewhere to go, to meet up and skate. Basically, no one really had anything but skating at that time and everyone was giving props to everyone else. Everyone was learning and progressing off of each other, and feelin' the energy.

What's up with the wrist guard?

I had surgery on my wrist and I'm a little older now. I'm pretty much secure on a skateboard to where I'm gonna wear a wrist guard so I don't fuck my wrist up for life, versus bein' cool for fuckin' everyone else. And it's funny about the wrist guard, because after I wore one I saw a couple of big-name guys startin' to wear wrist guards around.

Someone's bitin' your steeze?

Naw, not bitin' the steeze, but I stopped wearin' this shit basically cause I started seem' other heads rockin' it.

Frontside noseslide or frontside crooks?

Both.

You rock'em everyday?

Anyone who can do 'em knows why I do 'em a lot.

Why is image such a big part of skateboarding today?

Because it's getting so blown up as to where big corporate sponsors are getting involved. So if you've got some guy who's really good on a skateboard but can't even hang out in a room with certain people without bein' weird, or can't even speak, they're probably not going to put you on the company. But if you can speak for the camera and do an interview on ESPN, that's what you need; plus, you need to be able to talk to all these other guys. If you're a pro skater it's deeper than just hardflips. You gotta go out and talk to these dudes--everybody--shop owners, you know, make a relationship. You can't go to a demo and say, "This place sucks" with the shop owner right there.

Most people think that once you're pro, the work stops. But that's when the work starts; promoting your company, makin' the shit happen for your boys. If it says Mike York on my action figure, guess what? Get out there and make it work.

Exactly. You have to; you benefit from it. Half these dudes who are in great positions just take it for granted and chill out. That's just lack of self esteem, or they think that's as far as they can take it. Where, if you let that go and just see how far you can push it--I'm surprised I did that. I'm surprised I'm where I am. What do you want to be known for when it's all done and when the dust is all settled?

I just want respect. That's all I want; I want it. If I leave, if it's over and done and I know I'm going to come back an old man on the board at the skatepark by my house, I want fools to be, "Oh shit, that's York," and not have anything bad to say; just that I was a thorough skater. The Girl videos have always been the biggest productions in skateboarding, since the Powell days of course. What's it like working with Spike and Rick? It always seems like you guys are having a great time.

Yeah, it's fun just 'cause everyone's friends. There's all this major equipment and these dudes are going all out so we have to--Spike yells at us sometimes 'cause we'll be too goofy in the van or when we're on the Chocolate tour or during a skit, but when it comes down to it he knows what he's doin.' He'll turn something that think is just "whatever" into a masterpiece. He's a cool dude to work with. It's weird to see John Malkovich 'cause it's very Girl/Chocolate when I watch that; it has that feel to it. It's kinda rad.

What's the next video on the horizon?

I'm hearing Christmas, but you know how we do...

It will be two years from Christmas.

Hey man, we're comin' out. The best way to describe this video that I know nothing about is that it's pretty much going to be another Mouse video, everyone having a long part--the way that Mouse kinda changed skating. We're going to be able to do it again and bring new tricks out. Everyone's going to be bustin' in this video. Keenan's going to have a fuckin' part, a raw part of footage. The video's basically dedicated to him. That's why we're all pumpin' for this video. We've got a lot of new additions; it's going to be rad to see everybody come together. It's definitely going to be awesome.