I love the graffiti scene for that sense of mission. They know when the trains are coming and when to attack the yards. They see and study all these things, they are taking it to a whole other level. Skaters are nothing compared to that, but it’s still very inspiring because you can see some similarities between those cultures – and there’s many cultures. Think of burglars planning a bank robbery! [laughs] There is something really fascinating about this planning and the whole mission of making it possible. Just on a smaller scale, I’m gonna skate this spot, I’m gonna find a way. So what’s the future of the cities: building public spaces and not thinking about skaters, using nice polished granite ledges and not making them too sharp, having nice flat floor that is strong, and planning it as you would normally plan a nice plaza in your city? There are a few examples like EMB that you could get inspired by. Don’t get skaters involved, don’t ask the skaters what they want, build it nice, and do a good job. Once it’s public space, don’t put a shitload of security there, let people use the public space. There were many great plazas, like Union Square in San Francisco, that got destroyed – or Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., one of the few original plazas left. EMB is sick now. Here’s a message to Supreme and Nike SB and all those brands: they should try to make it okay to skate there and then rebuild the original block around it because that is one of the few really historical places.
Read the full interview here.