ESPN Skateboarding

This photo feels really warm, but not brain-melting warm. Not the kind of Arizona-summer warm where you have to drink a gallon of H2O and soak your T-shirt to survive. Nah, it just looks warm. But, the stalefish is. It's that kind of hot.

Do you remember those "Would you rather ..." questions? Like, would you rather be stoned to death by pickles or drown in a tub of mayonnaise? Or, would you rather be covered in a fine layer of green moss or sweat cheese? I think I tripped Aaron Homoki out when I asked him one of those. I mean, the kid's a laugh and really easy going, but I just wanted to get rad like Aaron. I wanted to end the interview with something as remotely interesting as "I hang with Riley Hawk" or "I had my own personal Boom Boom HuckJam with Tony Hawk." I wanted to get in the Hawk Circle of Trust. But, that's nearly impossible, which is why Jaws is awesome and I'm stoked he's coming up.

You're from Arizona, right? Have you ever had any days when it's so hot you feel like your brain's going to melt?
[Laughs] Nah, but I've been to the park a couple times in the summer when there's nobody there and you need at least a gallon of water, if not more. We usually just soak our shirts in water and go skate. It's not that bad, but it gets to the point where you're just over it.

I remember I went there once on a road trip and the sun went down — it was summer — and I was trying to grind the coping, fell and burnt the s--- out of my back.
That sucks so bad. Yeah, it gets real hot.

Yeah, right? Well, hey, I know your nickname is Jaws and everyone asks you about it, but is it because of the Jaws in James Bond or Jaws the shark?
It's the Jaws in James Bond. I used to have gnarly braces, and my friend's brother came home one night and he was like, "Dude, you look like Jaws from 'Moonraker.'" I was like, "Ha, cool," and then it just stuck.

When he told you, did you already know who that was in the movie?
Yeah, I had seen it a long time ago, and once he said it, I knew who he was talking about.

Now that you have the braces off, has the meaning changed into Jaws the shark?
Nah, it's still the dude from "Moonraker."

So, you're on Birdhouse, right? Have you been on any serious trips with the Birdman?
Dude! Yeah! We went on a trip to Australia, and it was awesome. The Hawk was there, and it was tight.

Did you kick it with Riley at all?
Yeah, dude. Riley's actually gonna come out and stay with me for the contest that's coming up — Phoenix Am. He's gonna stay at my house. He's awesome. I didn't know how cool he was. He has a good heart … it doesn't even seem like his dad is Tony.

You mean, he's real humble?
Yeah, that's the word I was looking for.

Have you ever thought, "Man, I should buddy up with Riley so I can get in the Circle of Trust"?
[Laughs] Nah, dude, nah. Riley's just a homie. He's awesome.

I'm just joking. So, now you're on Birdhouse and you're off Enjoi. What are you going to miss the most about being off Enjoi?
Duuuude … the team manager. Paul Sharpe is so awesome. I'm gonna miss him so much. He always had my back. I'll see him around, but it just sucks.

Yeah, that's how the skate business goes, I guess, but it's cool you like where you're at.
Yeah.

You're kind of part of the new generation that skates everything, but what do you like better, kickflipping a massive set of stairs or doing 540s?
I like skating everything, but I just the skate park most -- —-- like skating tranny a bunch. But it's also fun to get out and start hucking your body down stuff.

I've seen some of your parts. You definitely huck yourself.
I don't know. That stuff's fun.

What are the parks you skate most in Phoenix?
The park that's 10 minutes away — Paradise Valley Skate Park. It's so fun. It's just my hometown park, and all my friends always go there, and it's cool.

I don't know if I've ever been there.
People don't go there. Most people go to Tempe or Peoria, but …

What's the one where they do the Pheonix Am?
They have that at Peoria.

When you went on that trip with Tony, did he give you any 540 pointers?
[Laughs] Nah, man, but we had this vert demo, and I hadn't skated vert in so long. I didn't pad up or anything but I put a helmet on, and we ended up doing this doubles run, and he did a 540 over me while I did a 540 under him. That was sweet.

Damn, you had your own personal Boom Boom HuckJam with him? That's sick.
Ha ha, yeah dude! It was so fun! He's so awesome. He's gonna take me under his wing.

Yeah, under his Birdman wing.
Yeah, under the Hawk wing!

So, you're on IPath, too, right?
Yeah, yeah.

They used to be really irie, but now they have a really diverse team.
They have a new team manager, and I think he used to work at Vans. I don't know what happened, but he is the team manager of IPath now. His name's Dave Smith, and he's really awesome. He put together a pretty diverse team — just kind of a skateboarding team.

Who do you think is the least irie on the team?
Ben Raybourn, for sure. He's this kid from Texas.

On 1031, right?
Yeah, on Kristian Svitak's company. The team manager of IPath is, like, best friends with Kristian.

So, Ben Raybourn never gets deep and philosophical? He's never banging a congo in the drum circle?
Never, dude. He's always just joking around, just laughing. He's a good kid, dude.

Rad. Well, I don't really know how to end it, so I have one more question for you: Would rather vomit marbles or cry glue?
What kind of question is that?

It's the last question I came up with — I don't know.
Probably vomit marbles, 'cause I don't want my eyes to stick together. That would suck.

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