Toy Machine teased “Scorched Earth” a few months ago when they brought Myles Willard onboard as pro, and now that the film is dropped, we’d have to say it was worth the wait. The heavy video is full of solid skating and near-subliminal art juxtaposed with bone-crunchers, making it a real experience. Myles may be the star, Leo Romero’s and Dashawn Jordan’s parts are not to be missed.
Thrasher’s Gary Smith took this opportunity to interview Myles and get to know the new guy a little better, too.
Kinda strange that you grew up watching Tum Yeto. I’ve heard stories of you having Toy Machine posters on your wall. What made you like Toy Machine so much?
I was a little kid and had a bunch of things I would hold onto. But Toy Machine was the earliest thing. I think it was a mix of my friend Sam—every board he got was Toy Machine and I thought it was super sick. Growing up I missed out on Good & Evil and Suffer the Joy. I watched Jump off a Building, though.
I still think it’s so crazy you had the Toy Machine posters on your wall when you were growing up. I’m telling you—no one gets to ride for the company they wanted to ride for. I wanted to ride for Girl. Girl was the best. I was on Media. No disrespect! I’m glad I still got the chance. But it’s pretty surreal.
It’s insane. Once I became aware of Brainwash, I was watching that video damn near every day.
If you could pick your favorite Toy Machine rider from any era, who would you choose?
That’s hard. I think initially it was Leo. I had a bunch of Leo posters. His demeanor and how he skated just struck me. He had a big influence on me early on. Even now, that all still holds up. But diving into more Toy stuff, I’m a big fan of Brian Anderson and Jordan Taylor. But all time would be Leo.