The wonderful thing about skateboarding is the fact that everyone comes at it with their own style and recipe. Actually for most of us there is no recipe, we just charge it and go for whatever is in our heads. Chet Childress is like a top chef in this game, coming at you with all different types of herbs and spices and the kitchen would most definitely have a huge fire that seems like it’s about to turn into an all city blaze but somehow he keeps it together and presents you with some amazing food to feast on. We’ve all been given a set of eyes in which we view the world differently from everyone else, while some chase the paycheck at the end of the day most of us are seeking fulfillment through travel and experience. Chet’s been all over the world and hopefully his words will saturate your life with some of what you may be missing…

So from what I know you grew up in North Carolina, what was that like and how do you think these country woods and Southern living affected your current lifestyle?
Well that’s a hard question. When I lived in NC, growing up thats all you really know. You dont know what’s out there for you to see. I was lucky enough to grow up by the beach and it gave me surf and skate culture to be part of as a kid. It also made me a bit tougher because we were far from California and not handed the golden ticket into skateboarding. All we knew was what we saw right in front of our eyes. I love North Carolina to death, I love my friends and family too but I did my time there. I carried the torch for years man. The road and traveling just transformed my soul an made me who I am now. I’m a completely different person now at the age of 34. I feel educated from the streets , I know whats on the other side and makes me motivated. That side could be East or West, North or South but I’m not trying to settle down until I’m dead…..

Disaster Smasher – Sequence by Jon Humphries

What’s your best Skate Barn experience? Do you feel places like this are kinda diamonds in the rough in the sense that they provide complete freedom and comfort for those who choose to express themselves in nonconformist ways?
The SkateBarn is the shit. The best thing about that place is Jimmy Ellington. He has so much soul and passion thrown at that barn. He made me feel at home everyday I skated there. He gave us hope when Wilmingtons skate scene was shot. He lets us drink beer, smoke weed and indulge in individuality away from the main stream on a dirt road in the cuts of Hampstead. He will always be a hero and roll model to me. If your reading this Jimmy, I give you the highest honors my friend…thank you…….thank you for giving it 100 percent. Thank you for taking on a challenge……you kids out there dont even know how much hes put on the line for that skatespot…..

What’s up with the tent living? I remember you and a photographer hit the road one time to just camp out and skate, how did that go?
Dude I’ve beeen camping around the world and skateboarding the last 10 years of my life. 1 trip? How about 100 trips. Spain, New Zealand, Australia, France, all over the cracker ass America, Mexico, etc. My tents worth a million dollars to me fool. It’s touched to many different time zones. I mean this is how we do it. Sometimes you need to wake up on a beach or whatever wearing the same clothes for weeks, no shower and a giant list of experiences. I wouldn’t be a pro skateboarder if I would have stayed at home and not faced challenges. It’s what fucking drives my soul. It’s what make me fucking crazy. When I’m stuck at home for months I realise that I have a disease. It’s called the road and adventure.

Ever hopped freight trains?
No but its on my list….

Where you currently living and how is that treating ya?
I’m living in Portland, Oregon and I love it. It’s got the youth culture that I need to be surrounded by.

What’s the single best thing about skateboarding in your eyes?
The act of adventure when you find that sick ass spot. That one spot that you and your friends are snaking each other and are turned back into children… thats all I’ve been doing the last 15 years. Traveling like a pirate in search of gold… to get that clip or photo to make people want to rip… make people use there imaginations….

Is there anything in skateboarding you wish you could destroy? Is there anything you wish you could spread more of?
I dont beleive in structure, I hate message boards, I hate the justice system, Southern Baptist gross me out, conformed souls of box culture give me the creeps and people that take things so serious want to make me jump off a 100 story building.. I’ve spent years breaking rules, being drunk and making bad decisions. But I truly believe that it makes you smarter in the end…..skateboarding is the shit. Hands down. It gave me an education that nobody could afford. If i can give you any word of wisdom go for it and dont look back….follow your dreams . Dont listen to that one person if they don’t make sense to you. Shit dont listen me if I dont make any sense. I’m just a kid who scratched a lottery ticket that worked.

What type of music are ya jamming out to these days?
I’m older now. I listen to everything … jazz, soul, rap, reggae and fucking rock n roll….

How old are ya, what companies got ya back and what’s some words for the kids who are just stepping onto a skateboard for the first time?
I’m old enough to know whats right and wrong and young enough to fuck up in a second…..

Basically Nike skateboarding, Black Label, OJ 3, Independent trucks and hardware. Support Skate Barn, Double Wide, Endless Grind and Shrunken Head skate shop. Brixton and Altamont give me free fashion and keep me clothed…. I’m one lucky bitch….. Luda Crooks

Alley Oop Wallride – Sequence by Rhino

Top tens from Luda Crooks
1. Skateboarding
2. Drawing on walls.
3. Writing words (poetry) that would make a womans panties wet.
3. Drinking cofffee, boooze and water.
4. Pushing down the street and fucking with traffic.
5. Riding my bicycle miles to think. Therapy I call it. Sometimes the green stuff helps.
6. I fucking hate competition. You can have first and last place for all I care.
7. Thinking outside the box.
8. Spooning with woman. Ummmmmmm…what it does for a mans soul.
9. Not driving. I’m into walking, skating, biking or catching a ride. It gives me time to day dream.
10. Individuality. Man on Wire, Bob Dylan, Joe Strummer, The Pogues, Mark Gonzales, Basquiat, John Coltrane.

I could go on for days…

Luda Crooks has left the screen……

Frontside Wallride - Photo: Richie McCorkle

What is skateboarding to you? A mode of transportation? A time killer? An escape to freedom? A life? There are a lot of things that surround this simple toy. So much can be drawn from the act of rolling around. There is a whole culture of life that has been created from it. All walks of life are involved with each character bringing their unique style to the game. Drawing inspiration from spots, shops, or certain locations can only continue to inspire the youthful wanderer to keep skateboarding around till the day they die.

Posse up. Photo: Richie McCorkle

One of these places of inspiration I am referring to would be Black Sheep Skate shop in Charlotte, NC. Run by skateboarders for skateboarders it presents a very unique goto spot for the local woodpushers, artists, musicians, and liked minded folk to come by and find some good vibes.

Black Sheep skate shop was started in 2003 by Dieter Wagner and Josh Frazier. For the past few years Josh has been running the store himself along with a grip of others to keep things rolling.

Clean and simple

I decided to give Josh a call one day and learn about what led him to his current position of skate shop owner. We talked a good amount and I learned in the late 80’s Josh was skating for Endless Grind skateboard shop. He was cruising the streets with people like Mike Sinclair and The Shooter brothers. Josh mentioned Jed Shooter was only 6 or 7 years old in those days.

Back then Endless was the premiere shop in the southeast. A man by the name of Reggie Barnes started Endless Grind in 1986 and skated for Walker skateboards. Through that he was hooking up a few guys. There was an East Coast Skateboarding Association that held contests in Florida, Charleston, and Virginia. Josh and crew would travel to these contests where people like Andy Howell (Virginia Beach / Atlanta) were on the come up. Andy Howell is a very talented artist/visionary who is partly responsible for the creation of Underworld Element, which is now Element Skateboards.

Another skater Josh knew of back then was Shepard Fairey (OBEY) out of Charleston, SC. I am dropping these names because they were all apart of the DIY scene of street art, skateboarding, punk rock, and the early days of hip hop. To this day Josh said he is still tripping out on the fact that he was apart of a big movement that now has a huge hand in the creativity and direction of life in general.

Josh blasts a mute grab back in 1988. Photo by Kevin E. Taylor

Fast forward from 1989 to around 2003. Josh said he never expected to be running his own skateboard shop growing up but he always felt that Charlotte was in need of one. With a solid underground skate scene, a plethora of spots and rippers to get busy, it’s strange how Charlotte was never really put on the map. Josh stated that when most people think of NC, Raleigh and Wilmington come to mind because of the names that have come out of them and the fact that people move to those cities to shred and push the scene.

Along the way Josh fell into the opportunity to start a shop. He went to college and got an undergrads degree at Clemson and never really looked at skating as something that would pay his bills. After graduating he worked some corporate jobs and relied upon that to get by. Eventually he went back to school to get his masters. This was the same time when Dieter and him decided to go for it and start a shop. They didn’t have a ton of expectations from a business stand point except to push the scene and break even. Josh expected to go back to work at the bank or some corporate gig and keep the shop going on the side, but the shop took off and he’s never looked back.

We all know this feeling. Photo: Richie McCorkle

Josh came up with the name Black Sheep through growing up and being labeled a skateboarding misfit. He said in the 80’s skateboarding definitely wasn’t as accepted as it is today. Black sheep refers to the spirit of being an independent free thinker, which is essential to skateboarding.

And unfortunately we also know this feeling.

One of the rad things about Black Sheep is its location. I’ve always heard the concept “location, location, location”, when it comes to real estate in general. It’s true. The Sheep is located right outside of downtown Charlotte in a hub of creativity. When it opened there were no other retail stores in the area. I remember going to one of the early Black Sheep art shows and noticing how undeveloped the surrounding buildings were. Josh’s vision was to attract people to the location and become an anchor spot. Nowadays there are art galleries which have allowed graffiti artists to customize the outsides of their whole buildings, coffee shops and delis, a banging little burrito joint, and Niche, a sneaker/street wear boutique that does events with Black Sheep.

American Apparel opened up next door after doing some research on the area and seeing just what awesomness and energy was brewing thanks to Black Sheep.

The location has a bohemian vibe in a sense that there are art gallery crawls and people can walk around, drink their man sodas, and listen to some music. Black Sheep hosts some very incredible art shows on the regular.

If it doesn't exist, create it.

Another thing that the shop has been blessed with would be the new light rail train system that runs through Charlotte. There is a stop less than a stone throws away from and for all the kids out there with no cars, this makes it super easy to get around. The store sits right between Suburbia and Downtown, and we all know how much fun it is to stop by the skate shop before or after charging downtown to share tales, footage, or just kick it.

The Sheep has an incredible website that was created by Richie McCorkle who Josh grew up skating with. Richie is a professional graphic designer at a school but spearheads a ton of the print and design media for The Sheep. He also shoots some great photos which you have seen throughout this article. Josh can’t give him enough credit for all he has done for the shop.

http://www.blacksheepnc.com

I asked Josh about the team who represents the shop and he mentioned there are ton of kids out there who are constantly hounding him to get sponsored . He said talent goes a long way but you’ve also got to have a good character and be a cool person in life. It boils down to a family vibe. He has always had a weakness for saying “Ok, these 6 guys are on the team” and he is more about supporting a crew who are hyped on the shop and what its all about.

He said a lot of support that goes into the scene is under the radar such as hooking people up, hopefully steering them in the right direction, working with contests/events, and fostering the scene. Thankfully the business has been successful which has enabled him to help others. He said from a business standpoint a lot of the things he does don’t make sense for the bottom line, but philosphically they will come back in the form of good karma or good will.

Sheep Rider Ian Eisenhower - Fakie Flip - Photo: Richie McCorkle

I asked Josh if there were any companies out there he worked with more often than others and he said Bob Reynolds of DC Shoes has always been a huge supporter and helper of the store.

The question of working with companies led Josh to let me know that some of his team riders are hooked up and getting flowed product. These guys are Ian Eisernhower (Converse), Oj Farrar (Venture, Hubba, Nike SB), Justin Pittman (DC), and Travis Kirkpatrick (Adidas). Clearly seeing shop guys getting support goes a long way in getting the younger kids hyped and pushing themselves to progress. Josh wanted to thank all those companies for all the support.

Sheep Rider OJ Farrar - Switch Frontside Shoveit - Photo: Richie McCorkle

My final question for Josh was what he would tell the future generation of skateboarders or if there was a direction he would like to see skateboarding go in. He said that was a big responsibility but in his words:

“I feel like theres a lot of emphasis on people wanting to be sponsored, hooked up, and wanting material things from skateboarding. I guess I would just encourage younger people to enjoy skateboarding for what it is ya know, and not be so concerned with coming up. I think skateboarding has a lot more to offer such as hanging out with your friends and enjoying your youth and life and creativity.”

Josh with a Frontside Hurricane to Fakie - Photo: Richie McCorkle

Daniel Johnson hardflips in the heat while birds fly, crackheads crack out, and girls wear bikinis.

Do you know who the fuck Daniel Johnston was? Do you know who the fuck Daniel Johnson is? Alrite so check it, there was a musician named Daniel Johnston who was pretty fucken smart (actually considered a genius). He worked at McDonalds and sold a fuckload of casette tapes of his music in which he drew custom artwork on each. He ran away from home and went on to join the circus at one point, ate acid at some show and went insane and found himself in a mental institution. Luckily there is a kid with a similar name who I am referring too who probably won’t end up a mental insitution because he’s got skateboarding to keep him grounded. So where the fuck am I going with this? Oh yea, the interview. Let’s get this shit started.

Switch variel heelflip at Bumfights (rip)
All Photos by Ethan Messina

Like past interviews I have a recording of my discussion with 17 year old Daniel Taylor Johnson who was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. You know this kid rips because he’s getting some props here on the wonderful site of SkateNC. When I first met Daniel a few months ago he had an afro the size of fucking king kong. My first question to Daniel was how his life changed after he cut that shit off. Everytime I’ve shaved my head I’ve somehow met a girl really quickly afterwords, is it the clean cut fresh shaven look? Or is it the fact that you can now feel the breeze and hear a little bit clearer while skating down the street? Who the fuck knows.

Daniel mentioned he digs Bob Dylan, Ladytron, and fuck, I can’t remember who else. Let me consult the recording. Fuck facebook man. God damnit. I’m sitting here all ADD and shit. Fuck ADD too. If you got that shit good job, it means your a hyped up motherfucker like me with too much energy for their own damn good. Your alive. Don’t take pills. Go bang on a drumset or scream or draw on a freight train, just don’t get run over or caught on that last suggestion.

Daniel mentioned he liked Techno music and that’s how Ladytron came in. I should have asked him if he liked Justice. Justice is pretty ill. They got a Christian thing going on but whatevers, they make hype ass shit.

Switch lipslide at Costco

So we talked about skating, I asked Daniel what he would be if he never found skating and he said he’d be haggard. Yep, skateboarding gives us lost souls something to focus on and really have a damn blast with. It’s the fountain of fucken youth for christ’s sake. I don’t understand the term christ’s sake. Who started that shit? And who was the first person to whistle? Were the cavemen whistling at the cave woman?

Surprisingly Daniel’s skate video cherry was popped by watching Carolina Love. I’ve never met anybody whose first skate video they saw was Carolina Love. I was kinda hyped on that. After that he watched a Darkstar video which probably introduced him to switch bigspin heelflips which I have some cell phone footage of down the 3 flat 3 at Wachovia in RTP but that shit’s janky, the footage, the trick was ill as fuck.

The width of this image is 420 pixels. Bob Dylan would be smiling too. Heelflip into speed.

Daniel skates with the Mad Clips crew and he wanted to give all them cats a shoutout. John Keiper, Big Mike, Kent Willard, Jimmy White, and all the Cary kids. Somehow nobody is hooking this kid up with product which is a shock cause he’s killng it, but in due time, in due time. He didn’t seem too concerned to run out and get sponsored which is good, this kid is skating for the fucking fun of it, which is what skating should be about. Go and just push around, no stressing except for when the camera comes out and your trying to get buck and perform for the masses in the future. The Mad Clips crew is working on a video, but it has no name. The way Daniel put it it kinda reminded me of how a Tilt Mode video would be, just going out and goofing off, no plans, just whatever.

Daniel’s only been skating for 3 or 4 years which is fucking amazing. I mean damn, the progression rate of kids is increasing. Is teenage birth rate increasing too? Are kids just getting gnarlier and gnarlier? I mean when are kids gonna get so influenced by the previous generation that a child pops outta the womb, looks at his or her mom and says, “Bitch, I want a face tat now!”.

Front shoves over the rail to grandmothers house we go

Daniel hasn’t traveled out of NC to shred yet but like that face tatting wanting baby I just mentioned, I’m sure he will break out of this womb sooner or later and escape the South. He did just go to Myrtle Beach and mentioned the abundance of curb cut kickers. He also said he found a 20 foot room with a mini ramp and some other shitty ramps. He only skated it for 10 minutes but legit skate spots at campgrounds are always awesome.

When he was 13 his friends and him ran from the cops while skating an old warehouse but they got surrounded by them and detained for a few hours in a small room at the police station. Luckily they were set free and allowed to continue to roam the streets in search of fulfillment and love. Love, what a thing. Be careful kids, that shit will get your heart, twist it up, spit it out, and rock your world.

Just please continue to keep loving that piece of wood with wheels that rides through some of the nastiest shit in the city, for even though it’s beaten, destroyed, and stepped on daily, it will always be a great tool to guide you on this path into the unknown.

The kid who came outta Goldsboro, North Carolina and can currently be found performing his skateboard mastery on The Berrics.

How did he make it this far what can we expect from him in the future?

First off let’s drop a little background history on Josiah. He grew up skating in Goldsboro, North Carolina where pretty much there was nothing to skate. Luckily he had smooth pavement around his house to toy around on and he skated anything and everything, including a knocked down basketball hoop. His brother got him into skating but eventually quit after he found an interest in drinking and drugs. Josiah suggested I leave that out but it came into play throughout our talk.

After seeing how his brother would no longer skate due to his new use of his time Josiah told himself he didn’t want to go that route in life and therefore he pretty much decided then he was going to skateboard as much as possible and that was it. It was all he wanted.

He graduated high school at the age of 16 by being home schooled. His mom was a secretary at a church and the church allowed Josiah to setup ramps and whatever else inside during the winter and summer months when it was too cold or too hot to skate. Josiah isn’t sure how he got away with that for so long because he mentioned he did break some windows and damage some property along the way. But the church didn’t mind until a year or so later when he started really getting awesome with it and that’s when they got a little afraid and decided it was time to stop the skating inside the church.

Currently Josiah is staying at Chris Pastras house in Los Angeles, California and he is an amateur for Stereo skateboards. How did this kid go from skating off wooden trailers in his backyard to skating The Berrics on a daily basis? It was all a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

As it turns out he was on tour with a ramp company from Missouri who went through Arizona. He ended up staying in Arizona at the guys house who makes The Berrics Wax. The guy made a phone call to Jason King over at TB and asked if Josiah could go skate the park. As it turns out the ramp company was going to LA to film a promo for their video and they stopped by TB.

When I started talking to Josiah he was telling me about how he just recently completed being a stunt double on the show Cold Case. I guess they had a replica of Love Park which was called Peace Park and 2 skaters were battling for the best trick in the world. The other skater was being stunt doubled by Billy Marks. I think Josiah’s character ended up losing the battle and killing Billy Mark’s character to steal his trick. TV shows, gotta love em. He mentioned all the other actors were telling him about joining the actors union, but Josiah mentioned he was gonna stick to the skating for now.

I asked Josiah what his daily life was like in LA and he said he’s been working hard on a Recruits for TB. We ended up discussing TB’s impact on skateboarding and how it’s really pushing skateboarding. I compared it to his church back in the day and how it was kinda like that in a sense that it’s a spot he can go to and just shred nonstop. Josiah said everyday he’s up there he feels like a kid at a demo because there are so many people there just ripping on a regular basis.

Josiah’s been skating with Billy Marks and says that guy is a true professional in the sense that he gets things done. He mentioned Billy talks about the most random things whiles hes skating but he constantly destroys everything. He also mentioned how he was around for the filming of Mike V’s recent clip. He said Mike V is one of the most motivated skateboarders he’s ever seen in his life and how he will stop at nothing to get what he wants to get.

Josiah is one of the rare skaters out there who doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke cigs, or do drugs. You can see it in his style. You can also hear the drive in his voice. He said he just always wants to be happy and focused on skating without any distractions. Sometimes this focus can drive him insane. He said he pushed it super hard the first few days he was in LA and he pretty much destroyed his body because he was never stopping to skate. That nonstop energy caused him to have to take a week and a half off because his legs were so wrecked. This kids on a mission.

Aside from skateboarding Josiah is a super talented artist. His church’s pastors son was a computer programmer and kinda turned Josiah onto working with computers. He says he’s glad he has that skill underneath him because when he’s older it will come in handy if he wants to run a business. Creativity is key.

The crazy thing is Josiah led me to my next adventure in life by suggesting we originally do the interview on AOL instant messenger. Once we realized me typing super fast on a laptop and him pecking away on an iphone just wasn’t gonna work we switched to the old school voice-phone.

Oddly enough I haven’t used AOL instant messenger in years and while I was on it for the 20 minutes or so an old friend sent me a message and informed me Justin Brock, Brad Staba, Theotis Beasley, David Clark, and Dan Plunkett were all in Winston-Salem. A phone call later and now I’m catching a train in 3 hours to attempt to go meet up with those cats.

I told Josiah this and he said Theotis is one of the nicest people he has ever met and the rumors are true about that. Josiah mentioned when Theotis was leaving he put his hand on Josiah’s shoulder and looked into his face to tell him goodbye. He said he’s almost abnormally nice, but its the best and he’s the raddest dude on the Earth.

In closing I am sure you are gonna be seeing a lot more from Josiah in the future. He’s got a level head, an upbeat and stoked attitude, and you know all he wants to do is skate to the best of his abilities.

Thanks again to Josiah for taking the time to talk. You guys can see him today up on The Berrics playing Cairo Foster in a game of skate.

I first met Robert way back in the day when I was working up at Project 58. He was a young kid who would show up to skate nonstop. He definitely had talent. At one point he got into some trouble and was sent off to prison. I recently caught up with him and asked him how that experience changed his life and also learned more about just what life behind bars consisted of.

I tried to record our conversation but my recorder’s batteries decided to die on me. I’ve had that thing for nearly 7 years now so I can’t really blame it.

You know that point where your talking to a friend and things turn to a more serious tone instead of a joking around happy go lucky tone?

Rails, Robert and I were kicking it up at the Durham Courthouse as the sun set. A homeless guy walked by and watched us skate for a little bit. We were enjoying ourselves for sure. Such a simple device and simple pleasure. A piece of wood with wheels, some waxed up granite ledges and smooth ground. No controllers, no advanced physics (well…), just us young adults living it up.

I tend to take these times for granted, just imagine all the people you’ve skated with and how at some of those sessions you just weren’t having fun. It can be a toss up at times, the ups and the downs. Luckily for most of us we’ve never had to experience a life of seclusion and entrapment. Most of us have enjoyed the freedom of being able to leisurely skate.

I remember when Robert got sent away, it didn’t really affect my life. It was just a friend who you used to see all the time and now he was on his own path. Robert said everything happens for a reason, and thats true. Some of us will go on to do great things, some of us will die young, some of us will outlive the rest, some will succeed, some will fail…

I have to admit, it’s good to see Robert out skating again.

As I asked Robert about prison it was a quiet serious talk. You could hear the tone of his voice change, no laughter really, except for when he told all the people he was on lock down with that he would grind any rail on the property if they gave him a board. I asked him if prison systems would ever allow skateboards, instantly he said nope. Not even considering a skateboard as a weapon Robert let me know people would wreck each other with those things. He said he saw a guy get his face bashed in by a barbell, and also saw a guy get his neck sliced. Prison life ain’t pretty.

I asked him about the food and he mentioned in prison the food was actually pretty decent, a lot better than jail. He said they would get cake with real icing. He mentioned the real icing twice throughout our conversation, just goes to show you how the little things in life make all the difference when the rest are taken away.

While in prison he watched Life with Ryan. I’ve heard so many peoples views on that show and it was nice to hear someone who didn’t critique it but was just hyped to be exposed to some sort of skateboard lifestyle. He said each episode got him more stoked to get out and shred.

In prison there was a fight club. You were given a number and then all numbers were placed into a hat and drawn randomly. Whoever you got matched up with, you had to fight or suffer the consequences of getting bullied around for the rest of your stay. Robert said he fought out of necessity, he had to stick up for himself and show he wasn’t afraid. Luckily he said fights weren’t an everyday experience.

He mentioned he read the Book of John in the Bible but didn’t want to explain his interpretation from it.

It’s good to see Robert back out in the world free from constraint. I just hope it stays that way because when he steps on a board, people take notice.

Robert’s been ripping on the board, let’s hope he can continue to kill it with less legal troubles, and more street destruction.