Welcome to our “First & Last” interview with Jack O’Grady. It was a pleasure to speak to Jack about his past and present, learn more about his formative years, and see what his current reality looks like. When Jack visited London for the first time shortly before Covid had us all bunkered down, stories about what he had done began reverberating around. He came to my hometown for a day, casually reeled off several things no one had even thought to step to, and then caught the train back to similar suburbs. Those whispers had us all wondering and then “Kitsch” came out and we got to see the impressive results of his work.
Jack is one of those rare skateboarders who changes the local lore of every place he visits. Lots of “what if?” spots littered around London were sat there waiting for someone to have a good day. When Jack is on a trip it seems like every day is a good one and he made sure he left no stone unturned. It was amazing to see the mark he made in a short time and every project he has been a part of since has been full of incomprehensible moments that have had us reaching for rewind.
Since Jack first came to London there have been many new developments in his daily operation. He spent nearly two years living in Los Angeles, returning home when the Sydney summer lined up with winter on the West Coast. He has since relocated to New York for a change of scenery. Unfortunately, a couple of injuries have slowed his momentum, and his most recent, a torn ACL is in the recovery stages. When we spoke Jack was in Echo Park in LA not on the East Coast, he had checked into a daily physio regime provided for Nike athletes to make sure his first few months of healing were as productive as possible, and overseen by professionals familiar with his past rehabilitation. Knowing Jack would be out of action for a while we reached out and he was enthusiastic about spending some downtime talking about his journey so far, one which is just gathering steam. Enjoy learning some more about the Passport powerhouse beginning in the Sydney suburbs of Caringbah.
Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Jack O’Grady rolling incognito at home
First love before skateboarding?
I started skating when I was seven. I grew up in the suburbs in Sydney, all of the kids in the suburbs would come outside and we’d ride our little BMX bikes and Mountain Bikes. I would say my first love before skating would have been riding my bike around the streets by our house. We would go to each others houses, ride our bikes around, and go down to the tennis courts to make little dirt jumps with shovels. That was the funnest thing ever at the time. I thought growing up in the suburbs was awesome.
First proper skateboard?
My first board would have been a hand-me-down from my brother, a thrashed setup with two square ends and really tiny wheels. My first ever proper setup that I bought was a Bam Margera Element board. I bought pink trucks and pink wheels to go with it, and I think we ordered it from CCS. I was really into Bam [Margera] and wanted everything to be pink. They were really big, soft wheels too. I was hyped though, it was my first ever brand new skateboard.
First time you saw someone skate in real life?
It was actually how I started skating. I’m the youngest of four siblings and the brother above is seven years older than me. When I was seven years old he would always have his mates over at the house. I was the typical annoying little brother, following them around everywhere and trying to do whatever they were. One day they were all just skating down my driveway, that was the first time I had seen anyone skate. I was trying to do it along with them, skating down the driveway on my arse. Then they went inside and I just stayed outside and kept doing it.
First skate crew?
It was the same kids I mentioned from the surrounding streets, gradually other people started skating. So initially I was skating with a few of my neighbours, and I made friends with a kid who lived about five minutes away. Everyone was a little bit older than me but we would all skate together in the suburbs or Caringbah. We would all go up to this big BP petrol station, they were my first missions with the older lads. This is all before going to any skateparks, early streetskating. My cousin who is a year younger than me was skating and his step-dad skated too. They used to go to this indoor skatepark every Thursday night so I began going with them which is when I really got into it.
Age just isn’t an obstacle in skateboarding, I would meet people at the park, the people who worked there. It was when I was about twelve that I meet my good friend George Kousoulis at the indoor skatepark. My parents paid George for the day to take me out to skateparks for lessons and stuff. He would take me out, he was way older than me and had his own whole skate crew. I met him and slowly started skating with him and all of his friends when I was about fourteen. It’s a classic scenario, you’re always around the older heads. That was when I started travelling into the city and going to Waterloo skatepark. I met so many people there. Summer holidays in Sydney involved going to Waterloo every day and skating with the crew there. Suddenly there are all these people talking about crazy shit that’s so new to you.
First video you rinsed?
I would watch Fuel TV all the time because they had these skate video nights on Fridays. The first video I ever watched was Let’s Live which was an Australian Volcom video. I used to watch that a lot, it familiarised me with Shane Cross for the first time. I remember it blowing my mind because that was when I was going to the Waterloo skatepark in the city I mentioned. There were clips filmed there and it was the first time I thought “holy shit, I know that place!” That was the first video which blew me away.
First mag you remember seeing?
I remember the first magazine I went and bought from the local shops. We had a newsagents up the road and the first mag I bought was an Australian mag called The Skateboarders Journal. This is quite random but the Gonz [Mark Gonzales] had the front cover. It was a picture of him where he’s flipping the camera and doing a wallride at the Brooklyn Banks. It’s shot fisheye from the top, he’s in the grill and The Skateboarders Journal is in a pink font. That was the first skate mag I ever saw, the cover just looked really cool to me so I bought it. That was the first one and then through skating with my older mates I ended up seeing loads more, my friend George [Kousoulis] gave me heaps of magazines.
Mike O’Meally was there to snap Jack next to Nick Boserio on his first ever Nike SB trip
The first time I appeared in a mag was from my first ever Nike SB trip. I was with Nick Boserio and Alex Campbell and they were filming for this video Two Up which they made. I started getting shoes from Chris Middlebrook when he was the Nike TM for Australia. I think I was about fourteen at the time and they all came to Sydney: Brass [Nick Boserio], Alex Campbell, Josh Pall, and a few other people. Mike O’Meally was with them shooting the whole trip. I tagged along for five days but I was pretty shy at the time. I ollied this gap to lipslide and Mike O’Meally shot it. I didn’t really know who he was at the time. He was fucking with me and I was so young that I was being cheeky back to him. We shot the sequence and that was my first ever photo, it was either in Slam or The Skateboarders Journal. After that came out I saw a photo of Shane Cross nosegrinding El Toro with O’Meally’s name credited at the bottom. It blew me away that he was who I had shot that with.
This gap to lipslide sequence was Jack’s first ever mag appearance. PH: Mike O’ Meally
First person to take you under their wing?
I feel like there were so many but probably my close friend George [Kousoulis] who took me out skating when I was younger. He would pick me up and take me to the city. He was friends with my parents as well, they trusted him and felt safe letting him take me to the city. He introduced me to everyone, he lived near me so he’d pick me up on his way in to the city. He would film too and that’s how I became part of the first video I appeared in which was called Treat Yourself. I would say George for sure, and still to this day. He was one of the main people who helped get me on Passport, that was through him being friends with Trent [Evans]. He was vouching for me and still is to this day. George is an amazing skater, he’s made some great videos, and filmed some incredible stuff over the years. It’s not just me he’s helped either, he’s done that for so many people without even trying to.
First person you looked up to who set the standard?
When I was younger I was just skating, I definitely had the dream of doing that for a job one day though. As I got older I would definitely see Chima [Ferguson] around at Waterloo after having watched him in Let’s Live. I would say him because of the level of respect he had, what he’s done. Getting older and learning more about it made me realise. He’s from the same place as I am, he made that move to America back then. Skating has changed so much now but when I was growing up I thought to make it in skating you had to be in America. He was in that scene making it happen years ago. The level he achieved, how he holds himself, the humble person he is, I would say Chima for sure.
First ever coverage?
Definitely the Treat Yourself video I mentioned, I had a part in that. They made discs of that video and it came are with Slam magazine which is pretty sick. So there was that video and not long after that Nike SB made this Sydney video called Cumberland County. I didn’t have a part in that one but I had some tricks in there. When that video came out was when I first got on Passport and went on my first international trip. Being in that video felt like a big step for me.
Darling Harbour Bridge Banks play host to a noseblunt slide from an eleven year old Jack O’Grady
First spot you’d revive that’s done and dusted?
Straight away I’d go for Darling Harbour Bridge Banks. When I was first going into the city when I was young this spot existed at Darling Harbour, a section of Sydney city on the water. There were these three perfect long pyramid hip banks. They weren’t too high, the perfect size, and there were three in a row on a slight downhill. I grew up going to that spot and maybe a year or two after regularly visiting the city they were gone. They locked it all down and flattened it out, renovated the whole area. That spot was so sick, we would session it a lot when we were kids, it was the best. It was made from these smooth lacquered bricks and it would make the sickest sound. Shane Cross does a line there in that Let’s Live video I mentioned.
First sponsor?
My first proper sponsor was Ruckus Trucks and Pig Wheels, Ruckus came first. At the indoor skatepark I used to go to was a guy called Aha who was giving me trucks after a little park clip I put out there. The same distro who handled the trucks also sold Pig Wheels, Dekline shoes, Toy Machine, and Foundation. I started by getting a few sets of trucks, they were crazy, fluoro coloured but I was fucking juiced. Then I started getting some wheels, the occasional pair of Dekline shoes, and some Foundation boards here and there. It was sick, they were the first boxes to turn up at my house.
First place?
When I was younger I would enter competitions for sure, just the local ones. There was this small competition at Bondi skatepark. Everyone knows the Bondi Bowl-A-Rama event, this wasn’t that, it was at the little skatepark not the bowl. It was a pretty weird setup but they had this little competition there. I was thirteen at the time and my mum took me there, it was my first competition ever. There weren’t too many kids in the comp but I remember getting first place and receiving this big Spitfire sticker. So I came first in my first competition ever which is pretty funny. After that I was really juiced to enter competitions. Then I entered my second one and didn’t win. I set the bar too high for myself with that first one, haha.
First trip out of Australia?
I’m not sure if you have “Schoolies” in England? In Australia when you finish school everyone goes travelling to mark the occasion, everyone goes to Bali or somewhere like that after their exams and we call it “Schoolies”. I went to school in this beach town but it was full of jocks, so obviously I wanted to go away, but I hated going to school with all these jocks already, the last thing I wanted to do was be stuck on some island with them. When I just got on Passport was when everyone from school was going away to travel. Passport had been planning a skate trip to Athens. I remember the night I got on, Trent [Evans] said to my mum “he’s coming to Athens with us”. My mum was stoked on the idea. It coincided with “Schoolies” but that’s what I chose to do instead.
“I hated going to school with all these jocks already, the last thing I wanted to do was be stuck on some island with them”
It was the best thing ever. It was my first Passport trip and also my first time out of the country going skating, my first time in Europe. It was my first trip out of the country with all the older guys and everyone was giving me so much shit. Athens was insane, everything was completely different to me, the food was amazing, and obviously the skate spots were sick. It was crazy place to visit, such a good time.
First cover?
I had a Slam magazine cover. There’s this spot in Melbourne with a bank out the front of this building. The number of the building is on top of the bank, three big metal numerals and the last one is a seven. That means you can gap out of the bank, bonk the flat top of the seven and land back into the other small bank. I did a backside 5-0 on it and my good friend Isaac Matz from New Zealand shot the photo. I went back to Sydney from Melbourne after that and went to Waterloo skatepark one day. Trent [Evans], JP [Josh Pall], Juan [Onekawa], and [Cameron] Sparkes were there and surprised me with it. They surprised me with it on an iPad though which was weird. The mag hadn’t gone to print or they didn’t have their hands on a copy but they surprised me with it fullscreen on the iPad. It’s weird with stuff like that, you kind of recognise the photo but with the font of the magazine included it’s so confusing at first. I couldn’t believe it when I figured it out.
“I couldn’t believe it when I figured it out…”
Jack doing the math for his first cover. Backside 5-0 from bank to bank in Melbourne. PH: Isaac Matz
First pro board?
There were two boards made at once. There was actually a graphic which never saw the light of day for a few reasons. It had a reference that no-one thought was bad in any way. Trent [Evans] made these two graphics and then one skateshop contacted him to say maybe one of them wasn’t a good idea for certain reasons. So one graphic that had already been sent out had to be recalled from every shop. Those got washed out and screened back over with a new graphic which is quite crazy, one graphic never made it.
The one that replaced it is because my nickname is “Squish”. When I was younger and used to skate Waterloo I was really chubby so people used to say “giving me some of that squish” and squish my fat cheeks. It stuck and people still call me that today. The graphic referencing that is a face getting squished in a vice and the head almost exploding. The other graphic is because of my car, I have a four-wheel-drive in Australia, a Toyota Hilux, and the gear stick in there has an 8-ball shifter on top of it. They got the exact same model gear stick with an 8-ball on top and shot that for the second graphic.
The board that never made it to production had a graphic of a boot squishing a cockroach. It was a skateshop in Germany who called that out as having nazi connotations. That is obviously not what Trent was doing at all but the distro out there told us that’s what people would think it was referring to. So we knew we had to get rid of that graphic, that’s the one that never came out.
First trick that comes to mind as a vivid memory?
One which comes to mind as an experience in my brain is a 50-50 I did at Martin Place on this kinked rail that almost has a death drop on one side. I tried it on three or four separate sessions times but the only way to really do it is to fully commit to it by leaning on the scary side. I didn’t make myself lean on that side until the one I actually did. That was an experience, every time I went there I didn’t want to lean on the scary side. I convinced myself that if I do nothing will happen and I’ll be fine. Skating is all inside your head, it’s obviously physical as well, but your mind is the most powerful muscle in your body. If you can trick your mind into letting you do something scary that’s half the battle. That’s how it goes for me.
Jack leans on the scary side at Martin Place for Thomas Robinson’s lens
First time LA felt like home?
I don’t know, never. I’m here right now and it definitely doesn’t feel like home, it won’t ever. I’m moving to New York but I’m not going to live in America forever. I have the opportunity to try it now though, and I’ve dreamed about it my whole life so I’m going to do it. When I’m in Sydney I’ll be annoyed when people I know ask me when I’m going back home. Sydney is my home and the only place that has ever felt like home is home. Being far away from where you’re from really makes you appreciate home even more. Sometimes it takes going to other corners of the world to realise that where you’re from is actually the best. I think when you grow up somewhere you take it for granted. I thought growing up where I did, taking those trips into the city, and going skating like that was just normal. But for someone growing up skating in LA that would be a completely different experience.
First place on your to-visit-list on your next trip to London?
When I go back to London I’d have to just go to Peckham Rye and kick it there. When I first went there Matlok [Bennet-Jones] was living out in New Cross, that’s the first place I stayed. Then I stayed with Will Miles and Kyron Davis out in Peckham. So then every time I visited after that involved staying south in Peckham, I like kicking it there, chilling in the burbs.
Heelflip levitation over the wall at Stockwell. Jack’s first trip to London in 2019. PH: Thomas Robinson
First Australian export/creation you’d direct someone towards who has no idea about the culture?
The first movie that comes to mind is Two Hands which is a Heath Ledger movie, that represents scenes around the city but the storyline doesn’t really have anything to do with Australian life. I’m not sure what could communicate what life is like in Sydney. People have crazy ideas about what it’s like, it’s happened a couple of times in America where people have asked me if there are kangaroos everywhere. One good movie that represents Oz is The Castle, not even the storyline of the thing it’s just an old, funny, suburban movie.
“I’m happy to have gone through that, to have felt different and been weird…it’s dope to be an outcast, it feels powerful”
Generations before me had a harder time as skateboarders, they were definitely rebelling against the norms. Skating is cool in today’s world. I’m hyped I grew up where and when I did because I still heavily felt that sense of being an outcast. It was a very jock-heavy, suburban bubble. Everyone plays Rugby League there, I played that when I was younger too. I went to an all-boys school and I was the skater kid. I’m happy to have gone through that, to have felt different and been weird. For kids growing up today skating has been completely normalised, it’s mainstream. It’s been like that in America for a long time but in Australia it’s a new development, it’s cool now. I remember on Fridays for school sports day you could wear whatever shoes you wanted with your uniform. I would be wearing high-top Nike Blazers and people would be asking me what the hell I was wearing. I knew they were the sickest shit ever and they had no idea. It was sick to feel like that, it’s dope to be an outcast, it feels powerful.
Three Thrasher covers from 2020-2023. Shot by Michael Burnett, Sam Coady and James Griffiths respectively
Last piece of good advice you received?
I feel like I’ve been getting heaps of good advice from people recently, I even had some good advice from a fortune cookie last night. Maybe this isn’t advice but I was talking to my best mate Raphcoup the other week. We were talking about growing up, skating, and the life we’re living now. I have a dream of having a farm one day when I’m an old head. I was imagining it and we were talking about how sick it will be, that he can come and visit. The bottom line of the story is that he was talking about how you live your life now, then when you’re an old head you just sit around and talk about all the shit you’ve done. The realisation is that at the moment we’re doing all that shit, building all this material so that when we’re old heads we can just sit around and talk about it. I had never thought about it like that. I feel like when you’re a skater you’re always stressing about getting older or losing time. I was thinking I can’t wait until I’m an old head reminiscing about the shit I did. It got me juiced to become old eventually.
Last place you visited that’s top of the list for for future trips?
I’ve had a real urge to go back to Japan recently, I’d like to go back to Tokyo just on a holiday. I went there about ten months ago. I reckon Japan is the best. I’ve been there on skate trips but I’d really like to take a holiday and just walk around, eat food, and do nothing. My friends went there recently, I watch Lost in Translation again the other night, and it’s made me really want to go back. That’s my favourite destination I think because it’s so different to anywhere else. It’s so fun just walking around, getting food, and exploring, it feels like a game. There’s so much going on everywhere, it’s this crazy other world, and it just feels awesome. My friends just got back from Costa Rica and told me stories of seeing toucans and sloths. I’ve never been but I’d also love to go there and see some sloths. I’d really like to see Dubai as well, I feel like that would be a crazy experience, to go and see some sand dunes, that would be insane. They are two more dream destinations.
“The realisation is that at the moment we’re doing all that shit, building all this material so that when we’re old heads we can just sit around and talk about it”
Last time you scared yourself?
I don’t know, all the time. I don’t even mean that as far skating, I haven’t skated in a minute because I’ve been hurt. I think the human brain can be really funny, and interesting. At the moment I’m going through an injury so I feel like my brain is growing. I definitely scared myself the other week because being in different head spaces can be funny. For four days in a row I was the most positive I have ever been in my whole life. Then there was a random switch up and for four days I was more negative than I’ve ever been. That scared me because I was wondering what the fuck was going on. I feel like the human brain is so crazy, one day I’ll wake up thinking something and the next it will be the total opposite.
Ollie into a wild one outside Brockley station. South London exploration captured by Henry Kingsford
Last trick you battled for?
I was battling for the trick I hurt myself doing but the trick won that battle.
Last injury?
Last year I fractured the patella on my right knee and I was out with that injury for six to ten months. Then I was almost one hundred percent by the time I went on my first trip back. I felt fit at skateparks, I felt good on my board but I was yet to film something. On the second day of the trip I got really excited and tried this trick. I was getting close and almost battling in my brain whether to fully commit. That’s what it is most of the time, you need to have tunnel vision and be confident in yourself. I was trying to 50-50 this ledge, drop down onto a rail, and then pop into this bank. It was a flat rail though so if you don’t pop out at the start, you keep grinding and you’re faced with a bigger drop to deal with. So I was grinding the rail but I was so locked in it was impossible to jump left or right. I got stuck on it and ended up jumping into the bank when it was higher than I anticipated. I hurt my other knee which sucks but that’s what happens, your body compensates. I’ve been learning so much about that recently. I’ll be back soon, not for that trick though
Last trick you learned?
I’m trying to think because I’ve been injured for ages at this point. Coming back from the last injury involved learning all the tricks I could already do all over again. So the most recent ones have been revisiting old ones.
Last visit to Bromley?
It was possibly the day when I did the 50-50 on that slide. Actually a couple of years ago we were skating in London and we were checking out this Instagram page ran by some scooter account. I’m petty sure the spot we saw was in Bromley, it looked like this really good square ten-stair rail. This account has all the pins so you message them and they send it to you. I went out there on the train with Sam Sutton and Will Miles at the end of the day to check it out. It ended up being the biggest catfish ever, the people who run those pages just want people to hit them up but then the spots are rubbish. The rail itself was amazing but the spot wasn’t. That was my last visit but the time before that we had a whole day there, it was the first time I met Tom Knox who is a legend. That trip to Bromley was cool though, we went to the skatepark, that slide spot was next to it. I saw a hubba on the way to the skatepark which we skated on the way back. There was a roll-on grind that went down heaps of stairs too, I ended up sessioning that withTom [Knox] while people skated something else. Bromley is dope.
Just two of the clips filmed in Bromley on the same day on a day trip with Will Miles
Last album you listened to the whole way through?
Probably Eternal Dust, they are a Sydney band that aren’t really a band any more. They are our friends, The band was a couple and one other friend but then the couple split up. They aren’t going to make music again but I like what they made. I would have listened to an album of theirs called Spiritual Healers, Defense Lawyers.
Last good film you watched?
I watched American Psycho for the first time the other day and I also watched the remake of Beetlejuice. I’m in LA right now and all of the people you can think of linked to the movies are located here. There’s a theatre here called The Vista, it’s owned by Quentin Tarantino and sometimes he plays his films there. I went there the other night to watch Pulp Fiction with my friend. It was just dope to watch a Quentin Tarantino film at his cinema, it was an awesome, touristy moment for me.
Last thing you acquired that has improved your life?
Probably some whey protein powder for the smoothies I make. Either that or some curl products for my hair, some random small shit. I have this pomade hair gel that’s a hack for curly hair. I got that recently and I reckon that’s helped my life a bit.
Last hardware tweak that made a difference?
For ages I would only run six bolts, I think I just lost hardware and ran with that for a while. I would then grip boards and only make three holes front and back. I think when I eventually replaced those two bolts it helped me a bit. I also skated Spitfire Formula Fours all the time, and opted for bigger sizes but more recently I switched to 52mm Classics and they felt good. I used to skate the conical shaped wheels forever, I liked how they looked big and square. Now I’ve gone back to that rounded, classic shape. It’s nice looking at something different sometimes, change is healthy.
Last random encounter that made your day?
Hahaha, I’ve got a real good one which happened the day before yesterday. I was with my mate Kevin. We were going to meet our mates for dinner, and then going to watch Beetlejuice. I was in Highland Park at an intersection. The light was green and I was waiting to turn left. There was a bus in the way but there wasn’t a green arrow so I had to wait for the green walk man to show. No-one was in sight so I went to go but at the last second these people popped up behind the bus so I hesitated and stopped in my tracks. It was Chris Roberts! I was stopped there but he was motioning for me to go so I drove off. I was cracking up with my mate “holy fuck I just almost ran over Chris Roberts!” hahaha. That’s some classic LA shit, you drive around and see all kinds of people. I was cracking up though imagining him talking about me nearly running him over on the Nine Club, it was pretty funny.
“holy f*ck I just almost ran over Chris Roberts!”
Last person you watched skate in the flesh who blew you away?
Probably Matthieu [Lucas D’Souza] who skates for Passport. He’s from NZ but he lived in Melbourne. I had never been on a trip with him but I went on one recently. He’s so nice to watch in person, one of those people who I feel translates better when you watch them in real life. His footage is sick but when you see it go down in real life it really hits the spot. Watching him manhandle some shit with ease was awesome, it was a blessing for sure.
Last board graphic you were super stoked on?
Passport did a recent series made of collages made up of photos the camera roll on our phones,. Lots of random photos. I put this photo of my dad on the board and he was really hyped. I was hyped that he was hyped, it got me really juiced. He was loving it, telling all his mates and stuff. He was really funny, he told me one of them said they’d have to bring the board around for two signatures because he’s pro too. I love that one because my dad and all of my friends are on it.
Last video to hit the world wide web you had to rewatch?
The Croons Theatre II video, Croons Theatre is my friend’s local company from Sydney. Support your local! That one is from the bros in Sydney. My good friend Gary [Almeida] made it and is ripping in it with Ben Hennessy. I like watching all sorts of stuff but sick footage from your hometown, I don’t think anything gets me more juiced than that. It’s sick to see some epic, raw, Sydney skating.
Last Nike SB shoe you stockpiled?
The latest one from Nike SB I’ve been stockpiling is that Dancer Blazer Low, that’s such an awesome shoe. That Blazer Low GT has changed a bit over the years but they’ve brought back a little bit of the older one, it’s the classic shape, simple look, less is more. Comfort and look-wise you can’t really beat it. I’ve also been stockpiling a regular Nike shoe called the Air Monarch. It’s a dad shoe I suppose you would describe it as. I get them in all black or in black and white and they are like a puffy cloud, that’s what I like to wear when I’m not skating. It’s like having a little cloud on your foot. People sometimes make fun of me for wearing a dad shoe but I think they’re steezy.
Last fond memory of Keegan Walker?
The first one that comes to my mind is the first time I properly ever met Keegan [Walker]. He started a company called Hoddle but when I first met him I thought it was called Hoodle, the same way you would pronounce poodle. From that moment onwards he would always call me “Hoodle C#nt” and we all still say that to this day. So saying his company name wrong to him, and him thinking that was real funny will always be a good memory.
More Sydney City action. Jack Lipslides into St. James Station. PH: Thomas Robinson
Last thing that made you trip on the global influence of skateboarding on culture at large?
One thing that’s annoying is that people who don’t skate are even dressing like skaters these days. That’s the new thing. You’ll be in your hometown and see someone with certain clothes on and think they look familiar. It’s like they’re dressed up in your friends clothes. That would happen to me a lot in Sydney, I’d be driving and think someone looked familiar but it’s just what they’re wearing. I feel like everyone looks like that in Sydney now, they’re all wearing the same shit. It’s funny, and interesting to see that.
“They may be inspired to build these parks with the Olympics in mind but that park might inspire some raw-as kid to start skating who could become the rawest ever”
One positive thing is that Sydney struggled so hard to get any skateparks built. When I was growing up there was only really one. Now people are trying to get them built all over and slowly it has changed. People talk shit about skating being in the Olympics but there are positives, they’re building lots of new skateparks in Sydney and I feel like that will have a big impact on the future. They may be inspired to build these parks with the Olympics in mind but that park might inspire some raw-as kid to start skating who could become the rawest ever.
Last thing skateboarding brought to the table you think the world needs more of these days?
Beef, there is nothing better to watch than people beefing. When Austyn Gillette and Elijah Berle were going off at each other on Instagram. It began with Austyn saying something about Elijah in an interview on the Nine Club, then Elijah got back and there was this ongoing beef. They were saying the meanest shit about each other and going in on each other’s careers. I think the skate world needs more beef because it’s just amusing, it’s so funny. I’m not saying it’s good to go out there and talk shit but back in the day people would have mad beef and it is what it was. I think the skate world is getting too nice. I’m not starting beef with anyone but it would be way funnier if mad people had beef with each other.
Jack’s first zine “Piccolo” was released last year and there is a new one in the works
Last art project?
I just started working on a new zine/book. I had never made a zine before until my last injury. I challenged myself and made this little book called Piccolo. It was made up of photos I had shot and drawn over the top of, it had a bit of a scrap book vibe to it. That was a great challenge and I learned something new. I’ve had this Pink Digi Cam for about eight months before it broke on me and I started making this new booklet from the pictures. I recently found this Mark Gonzales book made up from photos he had shot on a camera phone, these pixelated photos looked so awesome and it inspired me to do the same. It’s a good little project to keep me busy. I’m hoping to bring it to life soon
Last words?
You’ve got to look at the positives when you think there are none. When you think it’s the worst case scenario it’s never actually that bad.
We want to thank Jack for spending some of his downtime speaking to us for this interview. Be sure to follow him on Instagram as well as Passport for updates. We recommend watching Jack’s Pass-Port part, his part in Kitsch, and 7Ball, then cap it off with his Squish part.
We want to thank Thomas Robinson, Henry Kingsford, and Mike O’Meally for sending us photos to use for this one and also Trent Evans at Passport for other assets and support.
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