Alex Moul

Thrasher Magazine, Oct, 2004 by Geoff Rowley, Clifford Unsworth

Alex Moul a great Oxfordian lad, stepped on his board quite some time ago. He's been shredding hard with unique style and skill since day one. Alex has seen a lot of different skateboarding go down all over the place and throughout skateboarding's different, and sometimes heinous, faces. Skating back in England was not exactly a bed of roses. With most likely the worst weather in the world and rough surfaces, he decided to come to Cali and continue what he loves to do--skateboarding, life, making beats, getting hammered with his mates, and having a laugh.--Arto Saari

Where are you from, what are you about, and where do you live? And why?

The classic question. I'm from Oxford, England, and what am I about? I guess skating, living and having a good time. Where do I live now? Huntington Beach, California. I like to schralp with the homies. I guess that answers it.

Question number one, B: When was your first pro model?

I have no idea.

Come on, how old were you?

I can't remember. Fifteen or 16?

Clifford Unsworth: Now it's ages ago, '91?

Yeah, but that was a UK pro model; it wasn't a worldwide pro model.

You trying to make him look good?

Clifford: Yeah. He's been pro for 15 years, that's ...

... What are you talking about? I'm still 21.

Where do you get all those fucked up tricks from? Do you think of them in bed or over a smooth Heineken?

Well, half of them were probably late night in bed when I was younger, but some of them these days are definitely over a smooth Heineken.

How's living in the US changed your outlook on life or skateboarding?

Whoa, that's a good one, eh? It's obviously changed my outlook on life a little bit as in the fact that I don't really want to live in England again, right at this moment in time.

And skateboarding?

It didn't change my outlook on skating at all. I still skate mainly for me and because I do what I want to do, really.

Was it easier just going to town back home and skating spots, as opposed to sitting in the car here?

Well, it was a lot different back then, because you just went out skating for a laugh. Now you go out skating for that as well as trying to get stuff done for interviews and videos and stuff. You'd film a video part in four days back then. But obviously the tricks you were doing back then weren't as harsh on the body.

Well, times change for the worse and better.

Absolutely.

Where do you see yourself in five years' time? Or do you see yourself?

I don't, really. I mostly live for the moment, and a few years ago I didn't even think I was going to be able to skate for much longer because I had a serious back problem. But that all turned around. I guess I live for the moment. I'm not much of a big planner: I just hope in the back of my mind that things will go right and I'll still be skating. If not seriously, I'll still be skating to the shops and back for a laugh.

Clifford: If you never would have started skateboarding, where do you think you'd be now?

I'd be sick I mean, who knows?

Clifford: BMXing?

No, 'cause I tried BMXing for a bit but I was too small I didn't have the body weight or body strength to lift the bike up that well, so I certainly wouldn't be doing that. But I'd probably be in a job doing the normal rat-race bullshit.

Clifford: Selling fish and chips.

Yeah, like that. Thank God I got into skateboarding.

Clifford: And skateboarding thanks you. Before you moved to Southern California you were heavy into the drum and bass scene, DJing and the like, and were really well known for it in the UK. Is that still a part of your life?

Totally, dude. It's fully a part of my lifestyle still. I have a lot of my friends who produce drum and bass in England as well as over here, and I still do a bit of DJing up in LA. I'm still working on tracks every now and then when I have a bit of free time ... which is a lot of the time. Yes, it's still completely part of my life; music will be forever. It won't ever stop.

The Piss Drunks/Warner Ave will go down as one of the heaviest times in skateboarding. Do you have any good Boulala moments?

Yeah, plenty of moments, but Boulala definitely took the cake on this one. Flip had gotten us an apartment on Warner and we were living together, and this is just when he was starting to go off the rails a bit. I remember I'd spent the night away for some reason and I'd come back in the morning. I opened the door and I noticed that the whole carpet was glistening like a river in the sun. But basically the whole carpet was covered in glass; the entire place was smashed up. He was still asleep; there were seven girls from Arizona fluttering around, saying, "Oh, we've cleaned up most of it. We've cleaned it all up." And I was like, "Really? Well, what the hell happened?" I went into my room and my room was all right, luckily. I went over to Ali, and I was like, "Hey, what's going on?" He was still asleep, by the way. He was like, "We had the best party here last night! In your own house you missed the best party!"