How would you describe what you do?
I'm always scanning everything, looking for something that catches my eye and speaks to me. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I know it will reveal itself sooner or later and I'll be like ‘oh! There it is!' It's part of looking for new spots to skate. It's like a sixth sense. I'm motivated right now, I'm happy with the natural flow of things lately and I have found a creative process that works for me. I feel like I'm the best version of myself and my taste has matured. I'm ready to be creative full time because making art is just something I've sprinkled into my skate career here and there. I only really make stuff when I know I have a show coming up or need to make a graphic for Palace, but I wanna start making art work regularly.
Why do you do it?
It makes me feel alive. All the work I've done is a true sign of life. Proof that I was here. To give life to an object or canvas or a skate spot and make it mean something to me and others is the thrill of it all. I think I could have a great career in the arts and make a living of it. I'm only a struggling artist if I don't make the work. When I make stuff, people seem to wanna get their hands on it. I've sold pieces to some people who have Basquiats and Warhols in their homes. My goal is to be in museums and cool books.
Who or what inspires you?
I wanna make stuff that's gonna shock people or make them go ‘wow, that's genius, that's brilliant'. I'm inspired by it all, literally every corner of life. I also just wanna have fun and kill time. Life can get stale. Making art is a nice way to spice it up. I don't care if I sell. Honestly, I'd rather keep everything I make because the things I make become objects of my affection and I just wanna be surrounded by them all forever.
What creative work got you excited when you were a teenager, and how does it align with what you're into now?
I used to love those eye spy games and colouring books. I'd rip apart my action figure toys and glue them back together in bizarre ways. In school, I was always hyped for art class. And during academic classes, I'd always get in trouble for drawing and being a class clown. I had this notebook of all these wicked things I sketched and my teacher confiscated it and had my mom come up to school for a serious talk because my teacher was concerned by the drawings, lol. And my mom was just like ‘are you kidding me?' She's always supported me skating and my art.
How would you describe your experience of working with Palace Skateboards?
I wanna know how Palace would describe their experience working with me first, lol, but yeah, basically, all the king's horses and all the king's men at Palace put me back together again. I've fallen hard in my life, being a real Humpty Dumpty, but Palace has been there to pick me up. It's been ugly, it's been beautiful. I feel lucky and I don't take it for granted anymore, and I wouldn't trade it for any other ‘job' in the world.
What were your thoughts on Palace prior to working with them?
I loved that they were using VHS to make their skate videos. That resonated with me because me and my brother love VHS tapes and the 90s. I knew nothing about house music or drum and bass or whatever, especially it being mixed in with skating, but then I was like ‘wow, I love the way this is making me feel adrenaline'. So when I hear a certain tune or sound similar to tracks in the vids, I'm like ‘that's Palace music'. I think A Clockwork Orange was all I knew about England at the time. I would never have guessed that London would basically become my second home and favourite place, and we'd all be travelling the world together becoming the coolest brand ever, opening shops all over the world. I just thought in the beginning, ‘ok, cool, I'm getting some free boards and cool colour block clothes with parrots embroidered on them. Everyone on the team is sound and rips'. I was still like, this isn't gonna go anywhere for me because I had no dreams and goals of becoming a pro skater and travelling. I was ready to just work some city job as a janitor or doorman and be stuck in New York for the rest of my life and skate for fun. Palace opened up the world for me. I will forever be thankful about that.
What are you currently working on?
I'm working on a never-ending poem. It's made up of things I've overheard on the streets, television, radio, my own thoughts. And I'm working on myself. I'm on a health kick and it's paying off. I'm skating and filming in New York right now. Working on my ‘retirement' part, lol. I've been shooting a lot with disposable, and I'm gonna make tons of paintings and statues.
Anything you'd recommend?
Places: Flushing Main Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, Upstate New York, Long Island, London, Korea, Japan. Books: mostly random poetry books I find, Paradise Lost, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, The Outsiders, A Streetcar Named Desire, the Bible but not for religious purposes. Just go to the library or a book store, pick up any book and flip through it. You might be into it. You don't know unless you try. Read more and write more. It's good for you. The brain is a muscle.
Tens of thousands of real human Wallpaper* print edition readers are out there: what is your message to them?!
I hope everybody has a good day and nobody gets hurt. Your attitude towards life and the people in it is everything. If you find yourself stuck in a tight situation, try to think of the next best thing you can do to get yourself out. If you're struggling, ask for help. Tough times come and go. Go for a walk and listen to some music. Eat something good for you. Drink water. Sleep. Take care of yourself.
- Meet the entire Palace Creative Universe