Out There: Alex Olson

oh you don't have zoom you ain't catching [ __  ] so there was a point where i was like weirdly   like fearing i might spend time with my dad he's  living unhealthy he's not gonna be around for much   longer and he's just like oh i'm going to go to  texas to surf this waveform do you want to come   and my first reaction was in my head was like no  then i was just like oh [ __ ] oh my like i should   go we surfed a wave pool and i went frontside  i was like oh wow i never got unfronted really   whatever i like this got rebit by the surf bug i  guess and then started surfing in new york a bunch   if i can i'll go every day and there's many times   when my body's just like we're not  going like just we're resting today you know all the good things in life anyway what  are you doing just leaving county line oh [ __ ]   was any good no no yeah why would you go there i  don't know because that's terrible i have no idea it's known that i have a hot temper oh my god man   it's just like i i i've been able to like  suppress it i'm like [ __ ] what's his name   the hulk yeah but like not the ball the incredible  i'm kind of weird about it just because i've never   done it in front of people basically  i wake up and uh i do my little yoga routine uh consisting of breathing  exercises and yoga and meditation   i would like get sick mm-hmm i was i just was  like i'm so annoyed getting sick i don't want   to get sick anymore so there's like all this  is just from like being like i just don't like   getting sick you know i started then meditating i  accomplished it with meditation i just listen to   like tibetan singing bowls where you know you  see the those metal bowls where they you know   go around in a circle and it makes a vibration  i just listen to that on headphones and close my   eyes for 20 minutes and then i do a thing called  now now and that's when you take your stomach   and squeeze your organs and and then just rent  rinse your organs basically so i can do that   first you do them in twos so stage one is you push  all the way out hold your stomach and you know   then stage two is um flexing  your muscles in and out your diaphragm three is two rounds of  like making a swirl back and forth that's that's nellie for you oh the amateur you're version your organs  supposedly and if you do it every day   you won't yeah you're  detoxifying your organs basically   okay now here's [ __ ] mr wim hof i breathe all  the way in and breathe all the way out and then i start all this helps with it you know a lot i  definitely don't feel as angsty i don't know you   kind of just let things be how they are you kind  of learned through all this stuff is just like   things pass you know things will be   difficult at times and not so difficult  and kind of take the the bad with the good my radar is like being that cool so i grew up  right here at this this condo where there's so   many good stories there's an ac unit like  those like roof ac units i remember i came   home from school at roosevelt and i remember  one time not having the key mind you i'm like   six years old or seven like tied like a probably  the worst knot around around the ac unit leg and   then around myself and then like shimmied from  that [ __ ] the cover down into the balcony   my mom got got pregnant with my brother and then  she's like my grandma's just like no this isn't   like you have to find your own you have to move  out and like grow up basically and my mom's like   what i'm pregnant i remember the conversation no  way yeah and then we moved like four blocks down   uh yeah so we lived in there and that was cool  for a little bit and then i moved in with my dad let's start another traffic jam but so this  house did not look like this when i grew up   here at all it was a [ __ ] it looked like  a [ __ ] it was a surf shack and i remember   i got my first setup at rip city it was like  my first skateboard that i got to pick because   my dad would get me a skateboard from like santa  cruz or something i'm like this is [ __ ] not cool   i don't want this what did you pick i got a toy  machine monster and yeah that's that place there's   a lot of good memories there but little studio  apartment i slept in the same bed with my dad i remember i would ollie these and it felt like  i was all laying like i thought i was a mess of   mislead use when we get all of these and i  had this stupid america like leather wristband and i was like i think i forgot to  wear it one day like i can't do it   because do you remember like misled youth  around this time i was like oh my god ryan   beauvier i would come here with my dad at night  and he would practice slaloming and he would   put all the cones and all the way down  and i think i skated flat bar i remember   tapping my head and crying and then no i  tapped and it hurt and then my dad's like   you're fine and i started crying because i  was like oh you're just just be be caring there we go first of all i met alex with john  humphries in um southern california i'm guessing   maybe he was 16 and uh he was getting toy machine  flow i remember we went to the grocery store   and i showed him how to make a meal of spaghetti  he was so happy and uh he's like you know thank   you brian like i i don't really know how to cook  you know and and so alex and i bonded like pretty   early that was i had moved from malibu i was just  like [ __ ] this so i think that was because i   was hanging out with little lance and he was  flowed by toy machine i was like oh that's so   cool i want to get fly i mean like again here's  like the kid that wants to be sponsored so bad   i don't want to get sponsored i mean i would go  to venice a lot so homeschooling chris roberts   would just just what we just passed would come  grab me and we'd just go hang out in skate venice   all the time and i just like youtube had just come  out and then people had uploaded like sky pager   and you guys could watch julian's part from that  and i just remember people always talking about   that part like sub-zero or like blind days when i  was younger where like i've you they were so hard   to attain at that point yeah i had never seen them  but like all the older heads would always like   chris casey out hot rod or chris roberts chris  roberts made me one of the most thoughtful gifts   and probably it shaped my skateboarding for  my birthday he'd made me a tape of like rub   a sheep 20 shot sequence video days all like a  mixtape but vhs i just remember just watching like   mark's part from video days and jason lee's part  and being like oh this is [ __ ] i mean you just   hear about these like not tall tales but just  like these like these videos that have such   like mystique about them that you're like once  you finally like have it you feel like you're   in the club and you're like oh you're studying  it you know i'm trying to think of when i i was   like hanging out with spanky and just like just  trying to like skate but like those guys were   like accomplished skaters at that point and i was  just like trying to still figure out my [ __ ] we went to third army one night or one day and   [ __ ] i saw rhys what had just gone like nike had  just started and reese was [ __ ] skating so good   just with so much power and so much just he had  his own style you know what i mean there's been   like so many like pillars of like people that  i saw skate in person and like oh my god like   huff scott johnson my carol reese i can think off  the top of my head before those four guys and i   just remember i was like trying to like jump down  stuff and not trying to do the america like baker   toy machine thing i think i just realized at one  where i'm like i i don't like hey i can't skate   like that it's like not my skating but it was  such the zeitgeist of that time that was like if   you weren't jumping down [ __ ] you're not gonna  get sponsored so i was like trying to kind of fit   into a mold that didn't work essentially and  uh seeing like rhys forbes at the time it like   really like informed me in a way where i  kind of was like wow you can skate like that and i had just admired him his style right away  i was like damn that looks that looks good like   the way he skated you know never felt contrived  i only speak on this because i got interviewed   in an old thrasher with lance mountain i remember  he was like you were kind of one of the first kids   to be like the all-around kid even though that's  not true there's been people on for [ __ ] years   that have been all around but like that was my  thing you know everyone had you know divisions   or like a click of something you know like if  you rode for girl you were fresh and you never   see a hesh person but when they put ba on and rick  mccrank you're like they're kind of not the same   outline as all the other guys and i thought  to myself at the time i'm this guy who is not   some fresh dude you know i was just so flattered  that uh they they put me on action because there   was almost nobody on action at that time so i kept  that sort of feeling when girl wanted to put me on but i was already on four star so um i was already  under that roof with my buds so i was kind of   a different character but they also already  had uh rick mccrank who wasn't a quote like   dope baggy pants like tech skate you know  rick's rick mccrank he's he's amazing you know   because of his upbringing with his father  steve and and growing up around skateboarding   he probably took a lot of influence from a lot  of good skateboarders and therefore he ended up   having a really awesome style i think dylan and  myself and a lot of other people were part of   that you know like dylan for instance could skate  [ __ ] but also could like you know escape tables   and like you know meshed all the all the things  together it was a mixture of carving and power   uh mixed with a little bit of surfing more so  than the average new person that was on the   scene you know i have nothing against people that  uh are just drop in and do some nollie heel nollie   out stuff but he he could carve yeah i think there  was kids that they grew up skating street but then   [ __ ] became this new thing and then everyone  was like oh i can back smith you know a deep   in the deep end and you could get a photo and like  yeah i don't know i think that just became like   the progression of it meshing together  into what it's now it's [ __ ] crazy   you know what i mean it's insane like how [  __ ] good the kids are you know i think it was   it had a lot to do with him being skating and  being friends with my carol and mike was like   he should be on girl you know so i was so happy  when he got on girl i was like yeah yeah you know it's pretty ugly but like is  everyone goes that way but what's the normal one what do they say your like physical space is  how your mind is i i got burnt out twice doing   this i wanted to assist i really was like at a  point in skateboarding was like not interested   and i was just like well what happens after this  around the period when bill would pull out those   like vx like black and white videos like the  quicksilver days kind of i'd come out here and   i'd go and assist and skate and just go on shoots  and kind of learn lighting and stuff and sometimes   it was really fun and sometimes it really really  sucked i think i had a moment of like clarity of   like oh skateboarding is actually really really  better because like there's an equal respect   across the board everyone because everyone got to  where they are you know everyone has a different   story but like we all got to a certain place and  so we all have a mutual respect for one another   whereas like maybe fashion or something it's  more like who's the flavor of the month and i was no but like i don't know i think i got i  actually was like more in love with skating   then because i stepped away and then i could  appreciate it and come back and that's usually   the story how it goes how he keeps coming back  and forth like oh i hate it i love it i hate it i was all all hyped because i just got a nike   and i was just like all right cool it's on  and i just like try to film a part you know uh you know it was great that spike was  involved so much and you know sometimes   it was stressful for a lot of the skaters  on the teams we had permits you know so we   we had to make sure we were there which  is bizarre sometimes when you grow up   just skating in the streets and now all of a  sudden you have a permit and you have to be at   a schoolyard and like try and get your best stuff  i smithed it i mean it's completely different now smith and front board wow this  is depressing just here this is   what i did over here and this is what i did there   i don't [ __ ] care whatever but i i pretty sweet  came out i moved out here just pretty sweet was so it was very gumball at that point you know what  i mean like there was a beat by dre like product   shot and i'm just like this is really not what i'm  about and this is not what like this isn't mouse96   you know i mean like even though everything  with girl was totally fine um i had no bad blood   nothing but i thought geez i'm getting a little  bit older maybe i should make my own board company   you know um and at the time i  was still with four star i was   obviously on like esp and i thought i want to make  my own board graphics i want to challenge myself   he was just i was just so excited for something  new and like we were talking and then i think   he felt like doing his own thing and when i told  him that i was doing my own company he said i'd   like to ride for your company brian he showed me  the graphics and i was just like i was like what   what is this this is like skate mental part two  i no i don't skate first game mental i want to   skate for 3d and obviously it didn't work  out within like a couple months he was like   i don't know about these board graphics  and layout and uh and it was cool we   alex and i had a conversation in new york city and  and i said if you're not happy with poor graphics   and you're not happy with the way it's moving  then do your own thing because you're my friend   and i want to skate with you forever so i like  always had like neil blender in the back of my   mind of like you know just like make music  for the video and like do this and that and   all just wide eye and start you know daydreaming  and so i i always had that before the 3d thing   i think he wanted to like do the same thing maybe  that i was doing like he wanted to experiment and   just do something different and so that's when  bianca started and then a year later 9-1-7 started uh wow i think he is motivated to look at things and be  influenced to create things for his companies and   there are a lot of people that if they didn't  have the internet they probably never would   have gone to the library and they never would  have found out about different artists i think   even if there wasn't internet alex would probably  be going to the library and looking at books but   yeah so i started then i started buying all these  fez tools to do that and this is that's a router   yeah i'm a project guy i'm a diy guy that does  doesn't do it himself i have like five projects in   my mind going on i have like graphics i have to do  i have to do i haven't done bianca stuff yet today   it's hard for me to concentrate because i like  i want to make finish this guitar i want to   record a song i want to finish this i i don't  have the piece the pieces in place to do it in this room oh yeah too much  interest but like yeah i don't know i   i like you know like you see skaters like paul  rodriguez and stuff and they're buying cars   i'm buying synthesizers you know what i mean  like this shouldn't be dusty this is like   i made a model because i was like oh i need  like i want like a long big like designy desk and this is like really like designy guy  i remember putting on my backpack and then   one of these caught onto my bag   like the chest strap caught on like this i  was like oh wow this looks kind of fashiony whatever this is what it's [ __ ] supposed  to look like i don't have a full mirror   the worst one right now is i want  to learn how to shape surfboards now   i mean this is a bit ridiculous but i was  like oh what if you made like a cadillac fan   yeah i just like if i get interested in  something i get really interested and i   get interested in another thing and then i'm  like trying to do those and i get interested   in there and then i'm trying to like spin the [  __ ] plates you know and just like trying to do   everything at once is not possible but  whatever you got to live and learn right now you see the graphic you know the book  you gave me i mean it's super epic right i want you want mine i'll give you  my hand just for the atm real quick   how much has changed uh how much has changed  probably the [ __ ] whole world changed since the   last time we filmed because we've been talking  about the past mostly what do you think about getting good good getting good  at surfing and making music   one of the two things that like literally the  music thing is like a plague basically because   it's constantly in my head thinking about it  where it's like a disease almost it feels like   it's being djing to making music  to them like playing music to   going surfing and getting better at that  and that's like the new skating for me yesterday it was like kind of good and like  dude it's crazy when you actually like it's   like getting a skate trick just getting a wave  like a good wave and having like a good long ride   it's just like oh i got it that was like the same  high that i got from getting a skateboard trick you

Channel: ThrasherMagazine

Views: 212,727

Keywords: Thrasher, Magazine, Thrasher Magazine, King Of The Road, Firing Line, Double Rock, Skateboarding, Skate, Kickflip, Hall of Meat, Full Part, Out There, Alex Olsen, Brian Anderson

Id: 86ahPs3oX5I

Length: 24min 35sec (1475 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 31 2021