Chris and I crossed paths on the streets outside the dorms at art school. We immediately hit it off and we skated the streets and plazas of Philly night and day. He was always having a blast on the board and memories of those sessions still make me smile.
When did you start skating?
I first started skating in 8th grade, so that was 1987.
What was your first skateboard?
My first skateboard was a Nash Tuff-Top that I bought second hand from a friend who introduced me into skateboarding. I remember it because the grip tape was sprayed on, and it had big, fat orange wheels. The first real board I had I think was a generic G&S board with Indys and big old school wheels. Which might have been Sims wheels.
When did you stop or slow down significantly?
I have to say post-college I slowed down as a good portion of my friends we used to skate with moved, got into other things, dropped out of the scene, or got jobs. Definitely it slowed down. I never really stopped, but there have been periods when I won’t step on a board for a few weeks, but it never stops.
What do you do for a living?
I am a full time art teacher in the Philadelphia area, as well as being a professional artist.
When you are not skating, how often do you think about skateboarding?
All the time, even in my dreams, and when I am falling asleep. How I look at the city, people see trash, I see opportunity to make or create something that I can skate. I think about it all the time, even if it is in the back of my mind, it is there.
How did skateboarding affect the direction of your life?
It is funny this question is being asked, as I just recently finished my M.A. degree at University of the Arts, and skateboarding was about 1/3 of the thesis on how it has affected my life. Here is a quote from that thesis:
“From the beginning, skateboarding culture was something I became immersed in, both socially and physically. It influenced the way I dressed, who my friends were, and how I acted, talked, and behaved. It even colored my view of trash and urban decay, which is different from most people. Skateboarding was something I took very, very seriously, the same way in later years that I look at and approach my artwork. I endured hours of practicing, self-sacrifice, devotion, and suffering for this unobtainable thing– perfection of practice. Call it pursuit of craft, skill, or technique; this is what drove me. Plus, it was fun and rebellious, much like my art and my teaching in later years. Practice and persistence defined my life.” – Sweeney, 2012
So in retrospect, without getting weepy or too personal, it is a huge influence on who I am, what I do, and how I view the world.
What is the connection between skateboarding and creativity?
I could write a book about this question. Skateboarding is life, life is art, and art is creation. There are so many things, especially from a DIY era such as the 80-90’s,which I grew up in, that I learned how to do things, since there was no Internet, iPhone culture, etc. We had to create our own fun; we made ramps, zines’, t-shirts, flyers for shows, etc. There was no googling thing; it was word of mouth and creating things from our minds. I know that is why I enjoy my job, because I can use that same craft knowledge I learned to makes things out of junk into art. Also, I think having no rules made it more creative, no constraints, and no teachers telling you what is right and wrong. This breeds creativity, when you are working on things you enjoy, not what someone wants you to do in their class. I try to foster this same mindset in my own students.
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