Like I said, Jay-Z is one of my favorites. An interviewer asked him once, “When you do a deal with Def Jam or whoever, does that take away from your street cred?” And he’s like, “Not to people who have really been in the street.”
I think that Illegal Civ is similar in a sense that we really are skaters for real and put that time in, put that blood and sweat into it, and a lot of other people know that. And all the people in the skate industry know that. So it doesn’t matter if I hang out with Tyler or Chief Keef or whoever. Because you know what’s up, you know? There’s nothing I can do to take away from my credit as a skateboarder. I’ve spent too much time doing it, I’ve put too much of myself into it.
And every time I’m with those people it’s to bring skateboarding up and help all of us. Skateboarders are the lowest paid athletes in the world, it’s crazy. There are people who play cricket who make more than skateboarders.
Anytime I’ve ever had someone criticize me it’s always someone who didn’t put that time in, who wasn’t a part of it the same way I was. I’ve fought people over this, I’ve been hurt over this. I don’t care what you say.
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