We are pleased to bring you a new “Visuals” interview with Jack Curtin. Jacob Sawyer from Slam City Skates caught up with Jack on the phone at home in San Francisco before he set off to spend the day skating the city. Find out what video part, trick, photograph, and board graphic burn bright in his mind’s eye…
JACK CURTIN STARTING HIS DAY AT PIER 7. PH: LIAM ANNIS
Skateboarding, and a fascination with the city drew Jack Curtin to San Francisco like a moth to a flame all the way back in 2001. It is the city he has called home ever since, a place generations have pilgrimaged to but where only a chosen few have forged careers. Jack’s relationship with the city has seen him apply his technical prowess to tramline spots steeped in history, but also redefine possibilities on the burliest terrain it has to offer. His propensity to handle a diverse array of spots means that his video parts have always been full of surprises. He has been pushing it in the Bay Area and beyond for more than two decades, and he continues to do so.
Jack’s innate ability speaks volumes, it found him part of the original migration to DGK when the company was in it’s formative stages. Marcus McBride and Henry Sanchez saw his potential during a period when he was prioritising Pier 7 over the lecture hall, sweeping him along with them, and chartering his course. This part of his story is one he honours, and acknowledges throughout the following article, as we hone in on some specific “Visuals” that have impacted his journey.
It was interesting to learn how a Transworld video, which he first saw in Indonesia became a significant source of inspiration, with Josh Kalis and Stevie Williams influencing his taste many moons before they were all on the same team. Pier 7 next plays host to a timeless trick flawlessly executed by Marcus McBride, one of its favourite sons, a spot, and human that have played an integral part in his story. When it came time to pick a photo Jack gravitated towards some memorable Guy Mariano magic, an image captured by Mike Blabac during a golden era where he eluded most lenses. Board graphic chat closed out our discussion, touching on a sports-inspired series from the Crailtap family before circling back to his first DGK box, and a rare Henry Sanchez board that remains on his wall today.
It was a pleasure to connect over a thoughtful selection at this point in time which finds him back on the DGK team where he began, his pro model fresh back from the factory. These recent developments have ushered in new energy, his motivation, and excitement to film for the projects ahead of him was palpable. As this homecoming signals the start of a new chapter it was nice to have spoken about some of the things that inspired him at the start of his story…
JOSH KALIS FT. STEVIE WILLIAMS – TWS: THE SIXTH SENSE (1998)
This was my first introduction to Stevie [Williams] and Josh [Kalis]. I would have seen this when I was 15 years old living in Indonesia. I was doing the math, this came out in 1998, and I started skating in 1996, so just two years at that point. The way they dressed, and skated really spoke to me. It was oozing East Coast style with hip hop flavour. Eastern Exposure 3 had been released but that was kind of before my time, I watched that video a bit later, not when it came out. When I was living in Indonesia we didn’t have a good shop where we were, Singapore was our nearest outlet for stuff. On every summer I would get to come home to the US, so would one of my friends, and another would go back to Australia. We would each buy a different video, then we would come back, and watch them together over and over. This would have been my one from that summer.
I would go to New York when I was young so I really liked the New York footage, I was always fascinated by that city as a kid, and Philly too. One of the standout tricks for me in this video is Josh’s noseblunt slide at the Pyramid Ledges in New York, that was the first time I had seen that spot. All the Philly spots were really cool too like the propped up East Coast picnic tables and bump to chain.
This part in The Sixth Sense was different for me because there was this power from ledge skating I had never seen before, and the way Josh did his flip tricks was shocking. The 360 flip in the intro already blew my mind, I had never seen a 360 flip on flatground look like that. He also nollie flips that flat gap in Dallas going Mach 10. He does a switch back noseblunt on a bench too, that was the first one I had ever seen, I’m not sure I even knew what that trick was, at the time, but I knew it must have been hard because he did it on a smaller bench. He was doing them way ahead of everyone.
The music and editing is so special, that Company Flow song gives it this raw gritty feeling. Another thing that is so classic is how Josh described Love Park in the little montage… “It’s got everything, big ledges, little ledges, long ledges, short ledges, big stairs, little stairs. It’s got everything. Skate there every day, unless the cops are there”. Something about it just lingered in your head, it made you want to watch it over, and over again.
“THIS PART IN THE SIXTH SENSE WAS DIFFERENT FOR ME BECAUSE THERE WAS THIS POWER FROM LEDGE SKATING I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE”
Then Stevie came into the picture and he didn’t look like a typical skater, he looked like he was just off the block. He had this really loose style about him, and he was wearing clothes that weren’t even skate clothes. I always thought that was really cool looking, and it reminded me of the Trilogy era too. I think that was the beginning of Stevie getting back into skating again. He had that period on Underworld Element, then he took a break from skating, It all looks like it was filmed in a very short time. I wonder if that was even his board with the Independent stickers all over it. He has that line at the banks where he’s wearing a button up shirt, and these blue leather Reebok mid tops, and the way he switch heels off the curb is just so sick. For me, it was the beginning of skating in athletic gear, that was the era. Swishy pants, windbreakers, camo pants, rugby’s, jerseys, and skate shoes that looked liked running shoes had set my wardrobe moving forward.
It’s also like the dawning of Stevie and Josh’s era at Love Park, because by the next Transworld video The Reason you have Stevie’s part featuring Josh. I feel like that was the peak of that shit, they were skating there every day, learning new tricks, squadded up, and Bill Stroebeck or Ryan Gee filming VX. Stevie’s skating from video to video is like going from Am to Pro or something. His skating and style was so much more dialled in by The Reason. He was fully on DC and I think Chocolate by then. I remember buying the light grey Kalis 1’s after his part in The Reason. It was this The Sixth Sense part that introduced the DC Lynx, I definitely had a few pairs of those as a kid, and got to skate the Lynx 2 when I rode for DC later on. How I ended up on being on a team with two of my most favourite and influential skaters growing up is hard to wrap my head around sometimes. Life is crazy like that.
MARCUS MCBRIDE – DECA: 2ND TO NONE (2001)
I love talking about the old Pier days. This trick appeared in the Deca 2nd to None video where Marcus [McBride} has so much insane stuff filmed at the Pier. It was mostly all filmed by Vic Neyra, and the background story on this is that Marcus did this first try as soon as Vic [Neyra] broke out the camera and filmed. The way I got hooked up with DGK is through filming with Vic at Pier 7, he was the one who introduced me to Marcus, and Henry [Sanchez]. That was around the time DGK started, when Henry left Lucky to ride for DGK they kind of brought me along as an Am. Marcus and Henry were the some of the first pro’s I made friends with in SF. This video came out right before I had moved there, I moved to the city in late 2001.
Marcus liked to go to the Pier by himself with a filmer for the most part. If he had something he wanted to film he would get down there at about 10 in the morning, and I wouldn’t usually show up until the tail end of the session. The sick thing was that after skating I would go home with Vic [Neyra] to his house. He would drop all of the clips he filmed that day onto this one VHS mixtape. He’d record it on to there so we could watch it all again without damaging the tape. We would go back to his, smoke spliffs, and I would get to watch all of the clips he had filmed that day. That’s how I got to see a lot of things before they came out. I saw a log of the Chomp On This stuff, and a lot of stuff from the Gold Wheels era, that Got Gold video was one where I was there for most of it.
“THE WAY HE DID IT IS INCREDIBLE, HE CAUGHT THE SWITCH TRE FLIP OUT, IT’S BLASTED OUT OF THERE, AND TO DO THAT IS SO HARD”
The most impressive thing I witnessed Marcus do there in the flesh was probably the tre flip over the pad in a line. The way he would push was so hard. Marcus did a nollie heelflip nosewheelie up the manny pad there too, he was the first person to nollie heel up it I think.
I used to skate the Pier every day, I took university in San Francisco for two years so I would finish class and just head down there. That was when Rob Welsh was still skating the Pier, so were Mike York, Brad Johnson, Henry, Lavar [McBride] sometimes, Nikhil Thayer, Andy Honen. Pepe Martinez was even skating there when I first moved out here. They had remodelled EMB, then after a year they knobbed it all and it was a wrap so Pier 7 was all we really had downtown. We didn’t have a skatepark in SF, that was it. We didn’t have Waller or all the shit we have now, all these different warm up spots. We just had Pier 7, Third & Army, and Wallenberg, that was pretty much it. For me the Pier was always a favourite, and it was the easiest to get to. Half the pleasure of the Pier is the location, and the scenery. It’s really cool that it’s back, a spot where you can hang out, meet up with people, and enjoy the scene, the vibe of the city. Spots like that are always the best.
As far as Marcus’ trick, this switch manual – switch tre flip, I think it’s the first time I ever saw this trick done. The way he did it is incredible, he caught the switch tre flip out, It’s blasted out of there, and to do that is so hard. There’s his one, and then there’s AVE’s one from the DC video, the two best ones ever done.
GUY MARIANO. SWITCH CROOKED GRIND. PH: MIKE BLABAC (1998)
I was still in Indonesia when this came out, the same year as the video. This was when Guy [Mariano] was kind of back skating but it was really rare to see clips of him. He was on Axion, and he had a shoe, but even in The Chocolate Tour he has just three clips, and this is one of them. I had studied Mouse by this point, and had the Guy Mariano part on repeat. I read the Chewy Cannon interview you did where he talks about that, all the little details, it was the same for me, we’re both the same age I think. Chewy talks about how Guy Mariano made switch crooked grinds the trick, the trick you wanted to do. This photo is what made it that for me, it makes it look so cool. I had this photo hanging on my wall by my bed and would just admire everything about it. His fit, the classic white tee, navy Fourstar swishy pants with the blue and white Guy Axion pro models on sitting in perfect switch crook form. I will always have this image burned into my brain. This was a big-ass ledge for back then too.
“I HAD THIS PHOTO HANGING ON MY WALL BY MY BED AND WOULD JUST ADMIRE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT…FOR ME THIS IS THE PERFECT PHOTO”
Funnily enough back in Indonesia a distributor handled Girl and Chocolate. Towards the later years of high school we got pretty good, we ended up meeting the distributor out there. They had Girl, Chocolate, and Fourstar. We pitched to them that we could make a video promoting the brands, and feature the Indonesian skaters they wanted featured if they gave us product. So for six months we got some Girl, and Chocolate boards, some Fourstar stuff, and Reef shoes! That was part of the package too. It was amazing, we were living the dream making this local video, no Axion shoes though. We would buy those on our trips back. My friend had those Guy Mariano Axions in navy. When they came out they were the coolest shoes ever.
I’ve never been to see this ledge but everything has been done by now, and it’s super awkward to skate I’ve heard. For me this is the perfect photo. Another photo from this time period I picked was [Eric] Koston’s backside noseblunt on Hubba Hideout, another Mike Blabac photo. He was a photographer who was definitely in the right place at the right time during this golden era.
I was a huge Girl and Chocolate fan growing up. A series that I always loved was the College series from 1998. Every graphic in that series is dope but I had like two or three of the Sean Sheffey “Fighting Irish” boards and I didn’t do boardslides on it the whole time I had it because I didn’t wanna mess up the graphic. I remember it being the nicest complete I ever had. That was the first one I was in love with, I would just stare at it. That was the first one I felt really good about. I loved how simple and clean that graphic was, and how it had that sports look to it. Every board in that series was great, there was a Colin McKay one where they re-did the California Berkely Golden Bears logo, it says “Col” instead of “Cal”. Tony Ferguson had the University of Tennessee one so it was just a big orange T, and Mike Carroll had the North Carolina board with “MC” on it.
That Colin McKay board was amazing looking back on it, it was a clean one. I remember thinking it was big at the time, I think it was 7.9” wide back when I was riding 7.5”’s. It’s amazing that DGK still make 7.8” boards, that’s what Kalis and Kevin Bilyeu still skate though. I’ve been riding 8” boards for the last few years, I tried to go up to 8.1” but I realised it was too big. I have had a slight issue transitioning from Skate Mental shapes to DGK ones recently but it’s all good now, the wood is great too, they use Bareback which is the best. Back when I had that Sean Sheffey board I was pretty much exclusively skating Girl, Chocolate, or Alien Workshop. My mum worked for the embassy when we were in Indonesia so I could PO Box order stuff. We would get together with my friends and place orders with CCS. Once I figured that out it was a wrap, I would bug the shit out of her.
When I picked a board from the DGK Jersey series for this, I then realised later that they’re both sports related. That very first drop of boards from DGK will always be special to me. My favourite would be the rare Henry Sanchez SF Giants board, I don’t know if it even hit shops but I have one hanging on my living room wall. It wasn’t released because he was only on for about three months, that makes it extra special. I had never seen a board that looked like the actual jersey, they even printed the little hesh marks on it. There’s a signature on the board too, it just looked super professional. Stevie had the Philadelphia Eagles one, and Marcus had the San Francisco 49ers. I had them all in my very first box. Stevie had a Philadelphia Flyers board too, I have footage skating one of them at Fort Miley.
“THAT VERY FIRST DROP OF BOARDS FROM DGK WILL ALWAYS BE SPECIAL TO ME. MY FAVOURITE WOULD BE THE RARE HENRY SANCHEZ SF GIANTS BOARD, I DON’T KNOW IF IT EVEN HIT SHOPS BUT I HAVE ONE HANGING ON MY LIVING ROOM WALL”
That Henry Sanchez board with the Giants graphic is the favourite for me though because of the overall connection, and because it never came out. As far as SF pride, when I was a kid I was a 49ers fan, even back when I was living in Washington DC. My dad would always watch football, he was a Redskins fan. I just loved the 49ers uniform, but also Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice were amazing. So that put them on my radar, I was always fascinated by San Francisco. There was the football team, the bridge, and then for skating obviously it was this big epicentre. I was fascinated for years, and always wanted to live here. I moved here in 2001, and it’s been 23 years now which is longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. When it comes to the Giants, Tony Vitello took me to my first Giants game when I first moved here so I became a fan, Washington didn’t even have a Major League baseball team at that time.
JACK’S HENRY SANCHEZ INSPIRED RETURN TO DGK “BIP CITY” GRAPHIC
The Henry Sanchez Giants graphic is what inspired my new board for my return to DGK. Matt Daughters asked me what my favourite boards had been historically. So the Henry Sanchez board became the inspiration, with the colourway, and the Giants colours as the concept. The design team came back with that little character, and I thought he was perfect. He looks like a little Bay Bipper. They sent me my name, the little dude, and the wording beneath said “Hello again”. I didn’t think that worked so suggested it say “Bip City” instead being as that’s what we call this city lately. There’s an actual criminal in the city recently who was interviewed, and it went viral. He’s name is “Jack the Bipper”, this dude has been arrested 44 times, and he’s still on the streets. Bipping is slang for a kind of smash and grab. I thought we had to tap into that. It’s just part of the shit we deal with, it’s a Bay Area special.
