It's no secret I'm pretty hyped on this weekend buzz series, contrived drinking scenarios aside. The level of familiarity we have with today's pros, as a direct result of an over abundance of Internet coverage, is unparalleled in relation to years prior. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for transparency. I don't think things should be sugar coated, especially in a culture such as skateboarding, which has always seemed to embody the idea of anti censorship. I mean just look at the old big brother mags. I think that skateboarders tend to be a strange collection of odd personalities, that makes a lot of them quite entertaining. It's probably the journalist in me but I'm always drawn to any form of candid interview involving skaters, as I think it lends itself to spontaneity pretty well.In the saturated media landscape that makes up today's world, you would be hard pressed to find such an honest and straightforward interview with any other form of professional athlete, especially ones who are still active and making a living off of their involvement.
That being said, I found today's episode featuring Lizard and the Nuge, not only refreshingly honest but also completely entertaining. These dudes, perhaps with the exception of their fashion sense and skateboarding, seem worlds apart as far as their personalities are concerned. Lizard, as anyone who knows anything about skateboarding knows, is a rambunctious, energetic ball of passion who tends to torture those who he surrounds himself with. I don't know either of these dudes, I've met Lizard once at a signing in Toronto, but I feel like there is enough lifestyle footage of him out there to make this assumption. Nuge I have never met, but also feel as though as far as he has been portrayed in the past, seems like a super mellow, laid back, fun loving dude. Their friendship has been pretty well documented since the Hellrose days and I think it's super sick to see how skateboarding can bond too totally different people, and turn them into the tightest of homeys.
These dudes were both so honest and funny in this interview, it kind of reminded me why, not including their skating, skateboarders are such rad people. It's obvious these dudes don't give a shit what people think about them and in today's image obsessed climate, that's pretty admirable. From Nuge explaining how he met his wife topless, to married life to Lizard's insane story about 2 month drug binges, his Sunday school teacher Mom, Wicca weddings and subsequent sobriety, were to someone like me who enjoys fucked up shit, pretty engaging. I heard some people at the park this morning talking about how fucked up that was and how many kids, actually mostly kids watch this shit and they shouldn't have put it all in there. To an extent I can see the relevance of this point, but I think if you have any analytical ability you'll see this just doesn't hold true. Yea Lizard talked about doing drugs and shit, but he's also done that before in numerous outlets. The point he was making in this segment, the point that should be absorbed, is that he is sober, he quite doing drugs. He straight up explains how he's 27 now, he's a professional skateboarder with responsibilities and deadlines, and partying just really isn't a priority. I think this is actually a pretty positive message. Tons of people experiment and go through rough times, but if you have a purpose and keep your priorities straight, it's totally possible to emerge from these dark times. I'd also imagine that most of the kids who watch these things, skate themselves, or at least I would hope so. That being said, Lizard is pretty much explaining that if you want to have a career in skateboarding, and actually want to make it last, drugs probably aren't the best route to go. All in all I thought this was pretty cool. As someone who has been obsessed with skateboarding for the majority of my life, I have an invested interest in the people who ride these boards, and I can't help but caring what they have to say. Most of the time.
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