#twsfeatures

Hey Jake, whats going on?
Not much mate, it’s my birthday today so I’m having breakfast with my mum and girlfriend, then I’m going to an arcade in Chinatown later. I’ll be leaving here tomorrow for the states on a New Balance trip.

Oh sick you’re coming to the states for NB? How did the whole NB Numeric thing come about?
Yep, I’ll be there in a couple of days. A bunch of the dudes came out to Australia a year or so ago for a trip, Arto spoke to me about it while he was here. He let me know the vibe of the company and how they ran things over there. I guess we just kept in contact and when the time was right, it all happened. I’m stoked to be a part of what they’re doing.

You recently got on Dickies as well how did that happen?
JoeFace helped me out with that. Again, it all came down to timing. I left DC around the same time Dickies were looking for someone from Australia. I’m really stoked.

How was that first Dickies trip to Texas (article and video coming soon to TWS)?
That trip was a lot of fun. It was the first time I got to meet pretty much everyone on the team which was sick. We went into the Dickies office and saw where they make pants. Pretty cool experience. Texas has good spots too.

What’s rooming with Jake Johnson like?
It was rad. He’s a pretty intellectual person so he’s always got some words of wisdom to share around.

Are you planning on moving here full time?
Hopefully one day. It’s such a mission to get a visa sorted out. So much paper work back and forth.

What are you going to be working on?
I haven’t got anything specific to work on. Hopefully I can just skate with the Dickies Guys, the New Balance guys and the Deathwish guys and see what comes up. My friend has a video coming out for Sunday Hardware so I’ve just been working on a part for that while I’ve been at home.

You won Australian SOTY, how did that feel? Were you pushing for that to happen? Or did it just come about naturally?
It was really cool. All of my friends surprised me and popped bottles of champagne all over me and shit. We skated around the city for a while then went up to the bar and partied there for a while, such a fun time. I got runner up last year when Gabriel Summers won. I had a couple of video parts and interviews throughout the year with Slam, so it all just worked out nicely. Can’t really believe it though, so psyched.

How important do you think it is for your career as a skateboarder to move over here?
I feel like it was much more important to be over there before the Internet and Instagram. Now, not so much. People can still make a name for themselves in other countries because everybody is connected through Instagram. Having Australian companies which are internationally recognized, like Pass~Port, also really helps. They have their own unique thing going on, with a sick team and good art direction, it really helps Australian skateboarders. The benefits of living over there is that you’d probably get invited on more trips and get to be involved in more stuff.

Who are your biggest influences in Australia growing up?
Dustin Dollin, Dane Burman, Chima Ferguson, Jai Smith.

What’s the difficulty difference in coming up in Australia as opposed to the United States?
It’s very different. Being from Australia, I feel like I’ve gotten a bunch of different opportunities as opposed to someone from the States. The population of skateboarders here is so much lower than America, resulting in the skateboarding industry here being a lot smaller. It has it’s pros and cons.

Best australian skateboarder of all time?
Lewis Marnell / Shane Cross RIP!

Anyone you want to thank?
Everyone who has helped and continues to help me. You know who you are.

More Roll Calls:
Jack McNulty
Chris Colbourn

Video / @thejoeface