To coincide with a brand new drop of hardware from Descent this 5000 Words feature is with Chris Pulman. Chris has a healthy obsession with skateboarding amongst other things but for him it is more far reaching than for most. He is still out there skating as many times a week as he can. Having worked with him for many years I can tell you that he loves what he does and definitely thinks about things more than other people. This combined with a critical eye for details and a joyful awe of the creative process have found him with a skateboard company and a leather goods enterprise. Find out more about Chris and Descent from the images he has chosen…
I love being outdoors: the golden sun, blue skies and the green of the leaves. I’m a big ‘seize the day’ fan. I guess it gets more intense as you get older because you don’t know how many days you have left and way less on which you’ll be able to skateboard. I’m a big nature fan too. Science and nature are honest. These leaves are of the maple tree Acer saccharum. This is the fella they make maple syrup and skateboards from. A unique set of circumstances of climate and genetics make this the best wood as far as strength and flex.
I like making things. There’s a real satisfaction in creating something from scratch and really beginning to appreciate the value of something and the skill required to make it how it should be and to the standard you desire. I like to take the time to find out how things work and how they’re made then try to do it myself if it’s feasible. Whether its making leather wallet, re-boring an engine cylinder or gripping a skateboard, it feels important to me to try… Consumerism would fall flat on its ass right now if people cared more about the quality and workmanship in the things that they bought rather than the brand associations and marketing. Only by producing something can you begin to understand the quality of the manufacturing. You have to get up to get down…
This is back from the end of 2010. Seth and I were at Stockwell just having a mid-life shred and a I bailed a 50-50 on the tight quarter there only to step back on my board and loop out, punching the floor. It took a second to figure out something odd had happened. Seth looked straight at me and was like, “You ok?” I’d hit my head too but then it dawned on me that my hand felt weird. I held it up and his eyes just rolled. I knew I’d wrecked it. Somehow in the 23 years of skateboarding up until that point I’d never broken a bone. In fact, I’d never broken any bones, ever. I was intrigued to say the least. My wrist looked like a ‘Nik-Nak’ so I had to get a photo. I’m a big believer in: ‘You have to try everything once’, even breaking a bone or dislocating your hand. It’s only by actually doing something that you can truly have an opinion on it. Sometimes you have to get down to get up too…
I got this kid. I mean, he’s my kid; I didn’t just buy him someplace. He’s pretty brilliant. Having a child illustrated to me how selfish we can be and how selfish humans are by nature (that’s why they’re such successful organisms). It also made me realise responsibility, not just to care for someone that’s vulnerable but to teach and to encourage and hopefully enlighten. Being a parent, even under the best possible circumstances is a challenge and it’s only now that I’m a dad myself that I can fully appreciate what my parents did for me. I was always instilled with the drive to be independent, to ask questions and to not assume anything. Don’t give your folks too hard a time; they’re doing the best they can, I’m sure…
You know when people do those calculations? Like: ‘you spend a third of your life asleep’ or 100,000 hours at work or 115 days laughing or 11 years in front of the TV? Well, I wonder how long I’ve spent in my life looking at this view? I mean the skateboard and the floor (not everyone likes checkered Vans painted griptape). Now I get to ride boards that I’ve produced and sponsor guys I like to watch and I’m thankful that at some point in any day I can do that and still get to take in this view.
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