Interview by John Cardiel
Photos by Gabe Morford
Hey what up, Evan? How're you doing man?
Dude, I'm so excited man, I'm doing great.
Cool, dude. You got a minute to talk?
I got fucking more than a minute. Man, I'm stoked, I'm super stoked.
Rad, dude. What's up man? Fuckin, you fired up? You’re riding spitfire! You fucking jacked or what?
Dude, I'm fired up man. It is going so well, right out the gates I started throwing ideas out and been working on this part and shit came together so easy with John and Mack at Deluxe and everyone's so inviting.
Sick dude.
Yeah, I'm really, really stoked.
So where you hail from dude? Where you come from? Where's your hometown?
I'm actually in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where we're building in an 18th century gothic church that we transformed into a music venue.
No way.
We had one balcony wing that we already had extended on the inside. Right now we're adding another deck to the top, so it's like a balcony and then another balcony. It's like the World Theatre, Shakespeare's cathedral style where it's got the bays, there's four or five bays on each side.
Sick dude.
We're in construction right now. I took a heavy slam, heavy.
Damn dude, so wait, is it all built yet or you guys are putting it together right now?
We're framing it out right now, so we're putting the fundamental girders in for all the main weight. We're finding all the I-beams in the building, locating where to put our six by sixes and then throwing decks on top of them. We're riving it in, indoor style, it's not skate park style like skate parks like to throw a deck on top of a girder.
Right.
We're putting in joists. Yesterday, I'm climbing up, I thought one of the joists was in and it was hanging there, it wasn't even in all the way. I so happened to step on it and I fell through from the top level to the bottom level.
Damn.
I smashed my shin and my pelvis, my pelvis bone on one of the twelve by twelves.
Fuck dude.
I'm flying through, Mortal Kombat style from one level to the other, it was insane. I got smoked.
Dude, you got the carpenter blues, bro.
I got smokington’d working on the job, it was the funniest thing ever dude. I wish I could've filmed it. Tomahawked through the fucking deck.
Oh my God, dude. It sounds like they're good problems though because it's all for the good. You're building out a venue ... At least you're going to heal up and fucking be back at it again, right?
Yeah, very much so. It'll only take me a couple of days to heal. I'm bruised, you know? I smashed the joists, I'm bruised up.
I've been watching your shit man and I got really pumped up on that Copenhagen 360 that you popped to a lipslide, it looked like. It was fucking so sick, dude.
Dude, thanks John. I know, I've been hearing nothing but love from you through the homies. I'm so excited we got a chance to talk man. It's sick because I talked to Phelps recently and it was a great conversation with the radio thing. It's an awesome thing and now I have a new opportunity to talk with you, it's fucking a blessing man.
Same dude.
It's a rad thing. You guys are the type of skaters that I am. We share the same values as far as keeping skateboarding our lifestyle and not some fucking job.
For sure dude, for sure.
With that, comes a lot of respect having conversations with you guys. It makes me really pumped.
Same way brother. I get psyched watching your shit man. Do you break a lot or boards or what dude?
Dude, I break so many boards. Fucking shit. I've been trying to come up with new ways to not break them. I bend trucks and I break boards.
Dude, I fucking, the snaps that you put down I'm like "Holy shit, this dude must break a lot of boards. What the fuck, dude.”
You probably break a lot of boards too because you're buck!
Dude, I don't got that snap but that was fucking, it stokes me out dude. It trips me out. I get super jealous of that snap and it makes me super hyped to see so I get psyched.
Man, that's a true honor to hear from you, John. My heart's fucking ringing, thank you.
Real shit though dude, but fucking so stoked.
Skating is the shit man, I get it. I get so hyped on it. I've been skating for 14 years now and dude, I feel more stoked on it than I ever have. Being taller and more aware of my body, being 25, it's the time when you're really, really one with yourself and skating's been a part of that too.
Fuck yes dude. That's fucking awesome. Do you feel like you're connecting the dots with your body and everything's... You know your shit, right now, you're feeling like you've grown into it?
Yeah, I feel like 25 is like a warrior stage for most young men. That's the time when they get to really grab a fucking gun or a bow and arrow and launch and kill some shit and run free.
For sure, dude!
I definitely have been having the opportunity nonstop to go from one plane to the next plane to the next plane and that has blown my mind. Having that access, that's the craziest part about filming for the part. I went to SF five times in one month but less in between to go other places.
Right.
Stuff like that's been happening man, I'm stoked.
When you come to the city or whatever to go film, do you got one thing that you want to accomplish when you get there or whatever or you go to the city, go with whatever vibes are going that day? How do you program your shit dude?
I think most importantly when I'm going to these locations, I'm meeting up with people that I really, really care about.
Rad.
The togetherness drives me at the spot. I feel comfortable when I'm having a fucking blast with my friends and then we show up at a spot and we get to skate together.
100% dude.
I'm not going to parks and training or anything... Skating as much as I can and fucking the sessions have been real! The Copenhagen session was real!
Yes.
The Copenhagen session was real! It was a fucking five day festival bender where we all partied and skated and road bikes from location to location. Only skateboarding will bring that to your life, there's nothing else like that.
Straight up. Dude that's so sick, that's the vibes though man.
Yeah vibes.
Because if you're around those people and that energy, it's like you want to express yourself, you want to put it down like that, I swear. If there's haters in the sesh or there's some weird egotistical energy popping off, it's so hard to let it be in the current.
Let it go, let that shit go because when that shows up, it makes it about something else.
Right?
It's not a communal thing.
Exactly.
It's like somebody hopping in the van and rolling a joint and smoking it to themselves.
True.
That's the best that I can describe it. I would be like "So whack. We all smoke too, motherfucker. Pass that thing over here".
It looked like you were catching the vibes at that dime jam dude. You were smashing.
Dude, talk about community vibes. You saw all those Bob the Builder homies bringing shit out, left and right, had their little hard hats on bringing out some hectic ass shit. Sluggo's on the roll and ripping his shirt off, we're all hanging out, having a good time man. Man, dude for all the kids out there, there's nothing like skating. You can hear it from John and myself.
Yes.
Nothing like it, it's the most insane thing in the world.
Oh my God dude.
I'm so honored and humbled.
You're vibing me up right now. Dude, I flipped out. When I seen you do that switch heel 360, fuck dude, that shit was so buck.
We had the gangster challenge, everyone would land and try to be Wade Desarmo.
I had to recheck when I was watching it because I resonate with you dude, because you're goofy. I'm like "all right cool, it makes sense" but then I had to trip on that. I was like "wait, that shit's fucking backwards dude" and it was so sick. I'm not trying to gas you up dude, but the shit was heavy dude.
Dude you're the shit, dude.
Yeah, yeah just listening man. I wanted to trip on that because that whole session looked fun as fuck dude.
That's what it's about man. Everything that we're talking about, that was what it's about. I mean, that was a contest too. There's some contests out there... Sorry, I'm running full speed through the venue, phone's about to die. There's some contests out there that bring people together, you know? There's a contest where it's head to head, there's some whack ass shit, but those are the ones that are really important right there.
Sick man. Well, fucking I'm stoked man. At least you're continuing the pirate spirit out there man and fucking enjoying the vibes bro. I don't know man, I want to chat you up on the strength, keep it ground round bro.
Yeah for real, for real John. It's funny, I just walked into my uncle's room to plug my phone in and right next to his bed is a skateboard. It's the coolest thing, we're talking about how much we love skating.
For sure.
My uncle has got his board right next to his pillow dude.
Sick.
That's so sick.
Generate the vibe transfer.
Literally radiated the vibes through the building then I walk up to the skateboard. The only place I knew where a charger was, my uncle's board's right here.
Rad, dude. Oh man, that's fucking awesome.
Intergalactic shit, John.
Right back at you, man. I don't even know, bro. I'm psyched, dude.
Check this out, when I have been coming up to SF, I've been hanging out with Frankie a lot and we've been on the sesh and dude, talk about generating some skate vibes. Me and Frankie G have the most fun dude. I can go to SF and skate with him, just go out and skate with him. I don't have to go film or anything, we go skate. That's exactly what I'm looking for, that realness. We both fire each other up and try random things.
He's skate rat’d the city in his time there that he knows all those little mini nooks, that little mini bump behind the fucking little restaurant or some shit, all that shit, you know what I mean?
Yeah, we'll be cruising from spot to spot and he'll be like "Oh check this alley out" and yell something and I'm scared he's going to turn down one of his gnarly hills. I’m just falling behind him all fast like "Uh oh." Why go down one of these hectic roads?
So sick man, well you're still alive so it sounds like you're doing good.
Yeah, I'm seriously alive man. I don't think I've ever felt more alive. That's for sure.
Awesome, dude.
Yeah.
Shit, Evan, man, I'll fucking get out of your fucking ears man. I wanted to fucking hit you up and fucking, I don't know, say hello.
Dude that's the shit, dude. I really fucking appreciate you calling, man. It's so nice to hear from you on the real, you know? I don't get a chance to talk to the close homies. I know we're different friends groups but they're so connected in such a way and now being around P Stone and Alden and Daan Van and stuff, I feel so connected, it's rad.
Oh yeah.
I'm glad that we got this time, you know?
Now we're bonded by fire, dude. Spitfire.
Yes, now we're bonded by fire, dude. Dude, thanks for doing everything that you've done for skateboarding, man. You literally paved the way for me and all my friends and all your friends.
Dude, we're keeping it paved. You're laying the work right on top brother, it's fucking all love.
Yeah, dude, that road didn't come from nowhere though, you know? Serious respect on those intergalactic levels.
Give thanks brother and I appreciate it. Evan, man, and be safe out there brother. Maybe ask somebody if they drilled that part in before you go climbing up there.
Yo, yeah. Watch your back too, man. I know you're into some building, watch your back out there on the construction site, I got smoked. Not even funny, dude, that's not even fun.
Strength, brother.
Fuck yeah, John. All right, take care.
Right on, you too Evan.