In this episode, I speak with longtime Austinite Oompah Fritz, Owner of Fritz Skateboards. Oompah has been a huge contributor to the Austin skate community and always supports DIY community and initiatives to keep skateboarding creative. Through Fritz Skateboards, he carries on his name and always seeks to bring good vibes to any session whether it is at House Park of at his ramp at his house. 

In our first episode of Season 4 we speak with Kat. Kat works at The Skate Gym and is also a coach there.  In this episode she speaks about her skateboarding origins in Oregon and her journey to Texas. She also speaks on some of the great things, and some of the drawback about being a female skateboarder.  Kat brings an amazing style and perspective to skateboarding that many can learn from.    

In this episode I interview Sean Haines, the founder of 512 Skate Project. What started out as giving a few boards from his collection to some kids who wanted one for Christmas has turned into a full blown non-profit. In partnership with 100% Skateboarding Sean and the 512 Skate Project crew have helped many kids be able to enjoy Christmas with a good quality skateboard. In some cases these kids have gone on to become sponsored skateboarders and changing the trajectory of their lives.   Follow the 512 skate project on instagram at: 512_sk8_project

In this episode I interview Chase, Tristin, and Benji.  They talk about a skate clothing and culture brand Chase started call Khaos Skateboarding.  The brand represents them and their local community of skaters, artists, and designers. In this episode they speak about the brand, skateboarding, marketing, culture, music and entrepreneurship.    

In this episode I interview local ripper KV (ig: @kc_is_chinked_out). He speaks on his favorite tricks, his style, and his homies. 

In this episode I interview Brian Love. Brian is a prominent skate in the Leander/Cedar Park, TX. area. He has been teaching lessons for a few years now and is an instructor at The Skate Gym. In this interview we talk about his skateboarding life, his teaching philosophy and his views on the direction of skateboarding as a whole.

In this episode of The Wood Podcast, I speak with Leander and now Lampasas, TX. legend Paul Konecci. Paul is a very eccentric skater. With his unique style and solitary sensibilities, Paul stands way outside the norm of skateboarding. Go check out his instagram at @paul_konecci  

In this episode we speak with Gus and Gabe, two of the members of Squash Skateboards in Leander, TX. Gus will be moving to Tyler, TX. soon so I wanted to make sure I got him on the mic. Squash is a local group f homies who started the Squash brand for a fun project. They are tight with all the local skaters and The Bone Crue in Leander.   Gus ig: @go0berus Gabe ig: gzbes Squash ig: @squashskateboards  

In this episode I speak with Jaxson Langley. Jaxson is fairly new to the Austin area, hailing from Amarillo and Fritch, north of Amarillo. In this episode he speaks about his hometown scene, his favorite tricks, riders, and his goals to work to become a professional skateboarder.  You can find Jaxson at his instagram acct: @_atxskateboarding_  

In this inaugural episode for Season 3, we start out the season as the official podcast of The Skate Gym in Leander, TX. We interview Kurry and Pablo, two of the minds behind local extreme sports clothing brand The Bone Crue.  The Bone Crue have established notoriety and traction in the Northwest suburbs of Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, and Liberty Hill. They encompass skateboarding, wakeboarding, BMX, surfing, and snowboarding. All their designs are homegrown and they consistently lift people up to be better riders and part of the community. 

In this episode, I askes James Harlan to come over and work on my car for a transmission flush, a tire rotation and oil change.  It started pouring rain so we decided to make the best of the time and record an episode of The Wood.  I met James through the NeverWas crew where he is the youngest guy there and was ripping during the Stupid Fest that they do every year.  James can rip both a skateboard and a BMX.  You will find him mostly around Shayla Dame Park in Round Rock or in someone's driveway fixing a car.  Give him a shout if you want your car fixed!    Parents:  James cusses alot, so if you don't like it, hide your kid's ears!  Haha.  

In the Season 3 Episode 12 of The Wood Podcast I speak with Lou Statman about his passion for slalom skateboarding. Lou invited me at the last minute to go out and meet him in the parking lot of Pflugerville High School Pfield parking lot where he frequently sets up cones and has a good time with friends charging through them. I happened to have some gear with me so I did an impromptu interview. He gives us a primer on slalom skateboarding in this episode. At the end, Cory Thornhill and Ethan Allen also made cameo appearances and shared their rigs with us! You can find Lou on Instagram at: @loucorproductions

In this final interview in the container at the Banger in the Hangar, I found the creator of the videozine, Mongochatter, Jon Hanks and grilled him with my usual questions until we started free-flowing the conversation. His take on pushing mongo was very refreshing and applies to life as a whole. Pushing mongo is an easy target for ridicule in skateboarding, but for those who dgaf, mongo is empowerment and, after this conversation, seems to be the best way to live life. Find him! Instagram: @mongochatter youtube.com/mongochatter  @MONGOCHATTER  Patreon.com/mongochatter

In this episode at the Banger in the Hanger, I interview freshly turned pro skateboarder Dakota White, along with Pat Morehead and Brian Michaelsick from Hellsick Skateboards.  Pat and Brian talk about their roots as a skateboard company and the importance of their graphics.  Then Dakota jumps in and speaks about the significance of the graphics of his new pro model on Hellsick skateboards that Pat designed.  The imagery of the buffalo and lighting tie into his Native American roots and the star quilt pattern on the top tie into his Grandmother's Native American quilt making skill.   This graphic is amazing.  The board is high quality, and the rider, Dakota White, rips.  I have no doubt this board will become iconic. 

At Banger in the Hanger 2023 vert contest in Houston, TX I got to meet Brad Roberson, the Owner of Texas Skate Shop located deep in the sticks of East Texas in a little town called Gilmer.  In the least likely of skateboard markets, Brad is spearheading a burgeoning skateboard culture that was simmering underneath the fabric there.  He builds his own skateboard deck from scratch, and runs the Ditch Skateboarding International Facebook groups as well.  He is a natural born teacher and will take any chance he can get to evangelize the positivity that skateboarding can bring to a life and a community.  Was really great to meet him and I look forward to collabing with him somehow in the future.  

In this episode I ran into Hubba (William LeMaster) at the Banger in the Hangar contest in Houston, TX.  I already knew he was basically a pro skater, has his own board with Cockfight Skateboards and is a complete ripper, but I did not know he grew up in Dallas and that he grew up hanging around the spots of all the Dallas pros like Jeff Phillips and Craig Johnson in the 80's.  Hubba is super genuine and very modest. He lets his skateboarding do most of his talking.  I felt very fortunate that he came on to share some of his origin story.  Thanks Hubba!   Be sure to look out for more Banger in the Hangar interviews between The Wood Podcast and Won't Shut Up and Skate Podcast!

In this video I interview Andy "Bastard" Escalante. Andy has been one of the folks behind the scenes at the Lizard Ditch Skateboarding DIY in Austin, Texas. Andy walks us through his skateboarding life and how he came to find his home community in this ditch. He speaks on his philosophy around community and building DIY skate spots and shares some valuable insight into how we can be a creative and constructive force in Austin culture by building placers like Lizard DIY. A special thanks to Andy for sharing his wisdom and doing this interview. And also a special thanks to all those folks who are out there building!

In this episode I sit down for the long haul with Darin Hoops.  Darin came to Austin 18 years ago in 2008 from Arizona.  His experience with the Dream Destroyers, scrappy skateboard part collecting, and DIY spot building on slabs was brought here to be a strong influnce on the DIY spot culture here in Austin.  Darin is a creator, a collector, a curator, and a talented stroryteller.  The interview was long, but it felt super short as I was deeply immersed into his verbal imagery. 

This episode is a sort of bonus episode.  So not totally about skateboarding.  Doug and I grew up together in Kingwood and skated together with all of our crew.   But Doug has always been more of a BMXer.  The BMX and the skateboarding world in Austin has always been closely related.  We skated/rode many of the same places, we partied together, we have the same DIY spot philosophies, and we all seem to know each other.  My brother Casey, who is best friends with Doug, crossed both worlds of BMX and skateboarding.  This helped me to keep in contact with Doug and be aware of both worlds.  This episode was an emotional episode for me to make as it is still hard to see my friend, (who was always ripping and pushing the boundaries at whatever he did), confined to a wheelchair. Doug won the Nationals and worlds for BMX. Doug was chosen to go to the 2012 Beijing Olympics to represent the US for BMX. He never made it due to the accident.  He is not supposed to be alive. But over the course of this interview, I realized that Doug is still Number One. Despite doctors and people telling him he can't do things, he is continuing to push the limits of what he can do everyday and is claiming lots of small victories.   Doug has shifted his perspective and wants to world to know he is still here and still Number 1. 

Cary Jackson aka: Carjack is a Skateboarding data dump. He has been around the Houston and Austin scene for a very long time. Beginning skateboarding in the 70's, then diving deep into the 80's Houston pool scene, cutting teeth on local park building and DIY spots, to becoming a world traveling skatepark and X-Games contest park builder, Cary has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of skateboarding and the park-building industry within it. We met up at one of the oldest ditches in Austin, the Turkey Bowl, for this interview. Follow along as Cary takes us through a narrative just as bumpy, gritty, gnarly, and unique as many of the the pools he has skated.