Welcome to our “First & Last” interview with Sirus F Gahan. This conversation dips into the past and present of one of skateboarding’s most prolific creatives. Sirus F Gahan’s filming and filmmaking prowess has been enlisted by different brands. As a hired gun he has delivered videos imbued with his unique creative vision. His potential and the personality he transfers to his work wasn’t lost on Pontus Alv. With many balls in the air at the same time Pontus entrusted Sirus with Polar’s ongoing visual direction, a decision which has seen him rise to the challenge by contributing an additional, definitive graphic voice and the incredible Everything is Normal video which recently dropped.
In anticipation of the next Polar hardware update which announces Emile Laurent and David Stenström as the latest additions to their pro ranks, and a video crafted by Sirus set to accompany this news very soon, we thought it would be a good time to check in with this creative dynamo who hasn’t downed his editing tools for months. At the time of hitting publish their new pro boards are freshly on the wall.
Via a series of firsts and lasts we managed to uncover much of Sirus’ journey, from the Australia to Brighton transplant which started him looking for alternative entertainment to begin with, through to his recent months. It was interesting finding out about his early exposure to skateboarding and filming, the challenges of his new role, his inspirations old and new, looking at his work from different perspectives geared around new canvases, projects outside of the industry, and more. Enjoy these insights from one of our culture’s most productive auteurs…
Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Sirus F Gahan shot by Jay Izzard
First love before skateboarding?
Surfing, I grew up in Sydney in Australia and surfing was the one, I was obsessed with it. I never really cared about skating at the time. My dad skated a little bit but mainly surfed and we would go together. When we moved to the UK it was to Brighton and there was nowhere to surf so I realised I needed to do this other thing that’s a bit like surfing. My dad used to skate around with me barefoot in Sydney when I was zero years old which scared my mum a lot. In the same sense I was also out in the water when I was really too young to be out there which was really sick because I have always had an affinity for being in the water.
First skateboard?
My first actual skateboard would have been a really shitty one from Argos or something, I remember having one that had a crocodile graphic. My dad had skateboards though so I would use those, he had these old fishtail Santa Cruz boards, old G&S boards and stuff like that. I would pretty much use those. I would go down to The Level in Brighton on these mental fishtail boards, try to roll into the banks and just slam because these boards were thirty years old. They would have been the first real boards I used. The first board I bought would have been a Pig City board, I remember having one with the Rizla graphic. Also funnily, my dad’s friend Simon Levene who was a pro slalom skater had this signed Arto Saari Flip board that he gave to me. It was obviously something that was meant to be for the wall but I remember skating it, it had a rabbit graphic on it. So one of my first boards was a signed Arto Saari Flip board in about 2001.
“My dad used to skate around with me barefoot in Sydney when I was zero years old which scared my mum a lot”
First video that made you fall in love with the craft of a full-length?
I’m trying to think of an answer that’s not Mind Field but I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. The first proper videos I watched were The DC Video and Flip Sorry. I didn’t really even understand the concept of a full-length though or even that it was a film. So Mind Field was the first Alien Workshop video that I saw, and the first one where I realised you could do other stuff beyond skating in that context, and have it in a skate video, and it’s cool. Before I saw that music used seemed to be hip hop or punk, the songs seemed like generic choices in my brain. They weren’t things I was necessarily into it so when I saw Mind Field I was super into Animal Collective and I realised you could use indie music in a skate video. So that definitely turned on some light bulbs in my brain. That video is a generic answer but it’s the truth.
First camera?
I don’t know what it was exactly but I would have got it for my twelfth birthday. It was a shitty little handycam video camera because I really wanted to make skate videos. It was just a little MiniDV thing with no fisheye or anything obviously. I would just film me and my friend doing stationary ollies with that. I actually broke it really soon after getting it, I had no idea that this wasn’t a robust item. I didn’t realise it was a delicate piece of electronics so I would chuck it around and throw it on the ground and stuff. I had no concept that this was a thing which could break, then it just broke straight away.
Early parkour experiments stoked the filming fire. Sirus backflips on Brighton beach PH: Ben Tunnicliffe
First thing you filmed early on that you were really stoked on?
When I first started making videos when I was twelve or thirteen it was just me and my friend. We would take it in turns to film each other skating. He was considerably better than me so I would film him more. We would also film parkour tricks and stuff too. There was honestly a big moment that my friend filmed, I jumped over this railing in Brighton on to the pebbles on the beach. It was a parkour-style leap. I remember watching that back and realising that stuff can look so big and epic on camera. I think it was because up until that point everything we had filmed had been quite underwhelming. We would film an ollie or something we thought looked cool and it just looked shit on camera. That parkour moment might have actually sparked my passion for filming a little bit, or my ability to see what is possible with it.
First footage you filmed to appear anywhere?
The first thing I filmed that came out in something I thought was big thing was when Dylan Hughes came to Brighton. He was filming for the Savoir Faire video and he frontside flipped over a railing in Brighton on the beach. I happened to be there and the other filmer [Ciaran O’Connor] was there. He was filming [Dave] Snaddon ollie this fifteen-stair and so I happened to film Dylan doing this frontside flip which was banging. I remember transferring it to his VX from mine with a FireWire cable. I had never done that before and it felt so industry, and so tech. I remember thinking that was a pro thing which just happened, I’m a pro filmer now. That was the moment, then I used that same clip in the promo for my own Brighton scene video which was called Lads 3.
First inkling that this is what you wanted to do/ could support yourself?
That Dylan Hughes moment may have been it. I never fully thought it was a possibility as a real job, and obviously it’s not a real job but here we are. I made loads of stupid skate videos, and montages and stuff. Then Sam Bailey who used to work at Kingpin hit me up to film an Emerica thing, it was a paid job, only £50 or something but that was when I thought “oh my god! I could be a professional filmer”. He emailed me that offer and I remember standing up at my desk and being elated at the prospect, this was the start of it. I didn’t actually end up doing that Emerica thing but that was the moment where I realised it could happen.
“That was my first industry skate job and I was fucking terrified”
Then they got me to shoot this Lakai in London thing with Jesus Fernandez, Enrique Lorenzo, Sebo Walker, and others. That was my first industry skate job and I was fucking terrified, it was with Nick Jensen and Danny Brady too. There was this Fully Flared squad basically and it was me filming them. I couldn’t believe it was happening and thought I was going to fuck it up. That was my first job and it’s all thanks to Sam Bailey. That was when I thought it was possible, this was the skate life I could live.
First skate trip outside of the UK?
I did a couple of Belgium road trips with my friends from Brighton where we would cycle around Belgium, on the first trip we drove. We hit up loads of DIY skate spots and all the skateparks. When I was nineteen I went to Barcelona with a bunch of homies and had an absolutely classic teenage skate trip time out there. Not that exciting on paper but pretty fun at the time.
First commercial work outside of skateboarding?
I used to shoot a lot of music videos which I guess were work but it wasn’t like I really got paid from them. I was asked to do them though. I can’t remember what the first one was but I think it may have been an Alex G video before he was a big musical artist. I think it was also technically the first music video made for him. It was kind of a job but I didn’t get paid, I actually lost money doing it but that was it. I enjoy music videos, they are exercises in losing money but they are really fun. It’s a good format to play around with ideas and images.
First favourite person to aim your lens at?
I grew up in Brighton but I went to school in Lewes and I used to skate the skatepark there every day after school. It was made up of shitty plastic ramps and my friend Jack Stonell was one of those kids who is just unbelievably good at skating but on a small town vibe, with no intention of taking that skill anywhere other than the skatepark. Someone with no real understanding of the skate world outside of that. He was really tech, and amazing, and he was my favourite person to film with. Also that’s my favourite type of skater, that brand of skater who just does incredible shit at the local park, then goes home and has no idea what’s going on outside of that in the skate world. I think that’s really awesome. He was a good friend and he would always do tricks I had never seen before.
Brighton to Brixton. Two photos shot by childhood inspiration Rich West a decade apart
First photographer who inspired you?
That would definitely be Rich West. I grew up with Rich and before I knew him he was the older kid who shot all of the other older kids skating. They were all the kids I looked up to from the skatepark who were better than me and my friends who were three years younger than them. Even back then when Rich was seventeen he was a fucking banging skate photographer, and a really good skateboarder as well. He was all I knew about skate photography for a long time and was an awesome person to learn from. Not that I wanted to learn skate photography but to understand that world. He was so schiz about it from an early age that he just got really good really quickly. He was really inspiring.
First photo you shot that you were pleased with?
I remember the first roll of film I ever got developed and made into a contact sheet. I shot a portrait of my friend Ben Tunnicliffe who is a skater from Brighton. I remember seeing it on the contact sheet and thinking that’s insane, I took that photo and here it is in physical form and it’s exposed properly and in focus. I remember seeing it clearly, then my friend who was studying photography in college made a print of it because I was so psyched on it. That was another realisation, you can click this button, all of this chemical stuff happens, and then this comes out the other side if you do the right things. I was really stoked on that concept and still am today.
“you can click this button, all of this chemical stuff happens, and then this comes out the other side if you do the right things. I was really stoked on that concept and still am today”
First perfect pairing of skateboarder and music that comes to mind that was an inspo?
The first one to spring to mind is probably [Jason] Dill in Mind Field skating to that Animal Collective song. I’m not a massive Dill guy, I hadn’t seen his Photosynthesis part prior to his part in this video. I had no idea of who he was, he was just a kooky manual guy to me when I watched Mind Field, but this part really clicked for me. It was Animal Collective who were a band I really liked at the time then this guy who was kind of weird. It all came together and I liked it. I remember watching it over and over again, listening to that song, thinking about the skating, and the two becoming synonymous with each other in my brain. I can hear that song and see the switch 180-manny back three just thinking about it now. I guess that hadn’t really happened for me before that.
First footage you contributed to Polar that was used?
I think it would have definitely been a random Jamie Platt clip. I think I first made an Instagram edit for them maybe, an iPhone clip but if not it would have been the part me and Jamie made for Instagram. I was there the day that Jamie was put on flow from Polar in Bournemouth about ten years ago. We were filming stuff together back then when he was about sixteen but it was quite a while after that when any footage got used.
First time your work appeared in an unfamiliar context?
When the series of boards I made first came out, the watercolour scenes. That was the first stuff I made for Polar. I had made those images with a board series in mind but not specifically for that. When that came out it was really cool for me, also one of the boards was Jamie [Platt]’s board. Being able to make a board for Jamie who I have skated with and filmed for over ten years was a very cool moment and something I never thought would happen, or planned on. I’m not a graphic designer or an artist in that sense so it wasn’t on the cards in my brain.
The beginning of the process. The nuts and bolts of Sirus F Gahan’s first board series for Polar
First time you felt in tune with your work and its translation to products or the first time you felt you had a handle on the process?
That first series of boards was the moment I started thinking in those terms. But there was a process prior to that where I wasn’t making stuff for the purpose of putting it onto a product. I just sent Pontus [Alv] an archive of my stuff that I had made for no reason in particular. So there was definitely a process that stuff came out from, followed by a realisation that the stuff I make in my room at 2am can be on a T-Shirt in Mexico, someone in New Zealand could be skating a board with my artwork on it. It’s something I hadn’t considered before. Something I have been thinking about a lot recently is that I am lucky enough to go on a lot of cool trips with a lot of cool people. I’m always filming and I like to document stuff using stills but am always filming because that’s my job. I realised that there’s a lot of amazing still imagery in the video footage that I hadn’t thought about in that way before
First film of yours you would show someone who has no idea of your work?
If they had no idea of my work I would just leave them like that and not tarnish their world-view, hahaha. I would probably show them the last Polar video [Everything is Normal] if I was going to show them a skate video. Because although that was an amalgamation of a lot of stuff that wasn’t mine I did slyly put my heart and soul into making it, and it ended up with a lot of me in it. I don’t even know if I like it at this point, I’m pretty sure I hate it but I think at some point I was happy with it. That’s probably the closest thing to happy I have been with a skate video that I have made so I’d show them that.
First thought destination for a skate trip?
I’ve always wanted to go to former Soviet Union spots, and wondered why more people haven’t. Places like Kazakhstan or Eastern European spots like Serbia. I feel like people have been doing it a lot recently. If it was actually up to me I would say the middle of America, exploring the USA in a van, and Toy Machine demo-style drive around from place to place. I think that would be so sick, organise demos in small towns and drive around the middle of that insane country.
First piece of guidance from Pontus Alv?
I can’t quote him exactly but while I was making the last video his kind of direction was: “be you, be weird, be dreamy, make it weird and how you want it to be”. That was very reassuring to hear, and very inspiring to hear. I wanted to make it disjointed and weird, dreamy in a sense but I was worried about it maybe not feeling like the video it needed to be. Having him backing that was really cool.
The Polar Everything is Normal video by Sirus F Gahan first premiered on Jun 21, 2024
Last skate video to excite you in recent months?
The last one to excite me would be Don’t Like by Matt King. He’s my favourite skateboard filmmaker and I find him thoroughly inspiring. That new video is super sick, it’s totally him. I don’t think he ever used to work in skateboarding that much but he films for Sci-Fi [Fantasy] and does edits for different brands. When I started working for different people it made me change how I work but his new video hasn’t changed at all from his old Arizona scene videos. Then Daniel Wheatley’s video [Soul Crusher] which was sick to watch too.
Last thing you filmed you were really stoked on?
It feels like I haven’t filmed in so long. We went to Portland a couple of months ago and Emile [Laurent] did a frontside tail stall on this bank to fence and did a frontside 360 back in. I’ve never seen anyone do that before and never imagined anyone could do it. It’s the best trick I have ever filmed and not because of how I filmed it. He just did it so fluidly. He was having a religious experience while he was doing it too, it was 38 degrees, and it took him a while because it’s insane. It’s insane to even get into front tail on this thing so to front three out is mental. He probably had heat stroke and he was talking to himself, talking to god I think or a higher being. He did it and as he was rolling away we got kicked out of the spot. Most of the time in skateboarding all of that shit doesn’t go your way and that day it went perfectly. It’s the best clip I have ever filmed I think.
“Emile [Laurent] is always surprising. When I think he’s fully burned out from skating he just has infinite energy”
Emile Laurent getting as high as possible at Burnside and setting the scene for his first pro board. PH: Rich West
Last member of the Polar squad to surprise you?
Emile [Laurent] is always surprising. When I think he’s fully burned out from skating he just has infinite energy. He is always so inspired to skate, and to skate shit in a different way.
Last person not on the Polar squad to surprise you?
I don’t get surprised that much. Recently while I was having a depressing time in my room editing my housemate surprised me with a massage. He didn’t give me a massage, he booked me a massage which was really sweet, and a surprise, and really cool.
Last musical discovery?
I’ve been addicted to listening to the Dear Catastrophe Waitress album by Belle & Sebastian since May this year for some reason. It just brings me joy & sadness simultaneously. Otherwise the actual most recent thing I heard that I enjoyed was at this random fashion show last week which had really banging music. I dug around and found one of the songs was “Dystopia” by Mezer.
Last Polar trip?
The last trip we went on was to Portland to finish Emile and Davide Stenström’s video where Emile did that insane trick.
Last time your artwork appeared on a Polar board or clothing where you were particularly pleased with the results?
When this interview publishes there’s a new board I made for Jamie [Platt] with some artwork I shot that’s coming out. I’m always stoked when my art is on anyone’s board obviously but it means a lot when it’s with Jamie and I’m hyped on this one.
Last project you enjoyed outside of skateboarding?
I did a project for Polaroid where I shot skaters in their bedrooms and I really enjoyed that. I really enjoy shooting stills, and I enjoy hanging out with people and shooting them in their spaces
Last filmmaker outside of skateboarding to inspire you?
The one off the top of my head is Mike Leigh, I just watched his film from 1983 called Meantime a couple of nights ago. It’s an unbelievably good film. What I thought were new concepts in filmmaking I realised were not. I found that film and him as a director really inspiring.
Last thing skateboarding brought to the table you think the world needs more of these days?
Absolutely nothing, hahaha. It’s not the last thing it brought to the table but I think skateboarding in general brings a fun look at the world we inhabit. There are less hard parameters in skating, the world can be used for different things. I think that’s a good outlook, it’s the classic thing where you’re not meant to be skating something and someone has a problem with it. Why do you have such a problem with it?
Last thing you achieved working for Polar that was challenging?
The whole Japan thing was a big challenge where I was a little out of my depth. I had to edit the video which isn’t out of my comfort zone but does take a lot of work and brain power. Simultaneously we had all of the art shows and premieres around the world. I had to plan the art shows in Tokyo, London and Leeds, and get everything ready for that. I also had to plan the book, the products, and it was all happening at the same time. It took a lot of brain capacity to make all of that happen.
Last encounter with a member of the general public that made you despair for humanity and last one which restored your faith?
The last one that made me despair for the human race is because I try to take a lot of street photos. I took a photo on the street where there was a woman who was possibly in the photo, I don’t actually even know if she was. I was quite far away from her and I wasn’t making a thing about framing her or doing anything like that. She got so upset that I had taken a photo on the street with her in it, she was threatening to beat me up, it was thoroughly depressing. Then I was in Morrison’s the other day and this old lady asked me to help her find the frozen roast potatoes because she couldn’t see properly. I was very happy to help her find the frozen roast potatoes and she was very polite. It was just a nice interaction, I was happy that she asked, I found that very sweet.
Last time you got to go skating?
I went down to Brighton to visit my mum recently and got to hang out with my friends for one day. We went skating in Lewes at a new DIY that I think Diggs English’s dad built. I skated for about five minutes and was too knackered to carry on so I sat down for three hours catching up with my friends.
Sirus takes an Autumnal opportunity to wallie out of a tree for Felix Adler’s lens
Last piece of good advice from Pontus Alv?
I was just on the phone to him before speaking to you. His advice was to come to Amsterdam to finish the video and that’s what I’m going to do because I’ve just been sitting in my room for two months going crazy by myself. I’m going to meet Pontus in Amsterdam and we’re going to finish it off together.
Last new piece of camera equipment that has improved your life?
I recently made an investment in a proper 16mm camera which I got off this guy who used to film extreme sports in the early 2000s. It had this fisheye because he used to film snowboarding for the BBC and the Extreme Sports Channel. It had been sitting in his shed for about fourteen years. It’s a camera that I’ve always wanted, it’s an Aaton which is an old French camera. I’ve always wanted to own one, it’s my favourite 16mm camera. So I got it off this guy who shot surfing, snowboarding, and skating on it. Also because I shoot skating he gave me a really good deal on it which was really cool. I really enjoy using it and I don’t enjoy using many cameras.
Last last-minute meltdown moment making Everything Is Normal?
I did have quite a few meltdowns. The last one was probably while I was in Japan for the premiere. The video was done at this point but I was there organising all of the gallery stuff. I was also finishing Blondey [McCoy]’s video [Pigeon-Wise] at the same time. I was in Japan, I was jet-lagged, and I hadn’t slept. I had been editing the Polar video endlessly by this point. I had graded Blondey’s video on the plane then when I arrived there were things he needed to change. I was in this tiny hotel room in Tokyo, it was fucking hot, and I had a proper meltdown. I have one every couple of days to be honest but that one was particularly pressure cooker. Blondey had set the deadline for the video release for his birthday, and Pontus had set the release date for the Japan video for his birthday. Their birthdays are exactly one week apart
Last book you read?
The last book I read was Oblivion by David Foster Wallace. He’s a bit of a cliché writer for a male in their early-thirties to be reading but I just finished that last night. It’s a book of short stories. His writing makes me feel sane. I feel quite insane in this world but his observations about how things work, and the minutiae of interactions makes me feel like I’m okay, and maybe everyone else is insane.
Recent sample of Sirus’s street photography shot while assisting a shoot at a magic convention
Last pleasant surprise on the lightbox?
I was recently in Blackpool shooting the world expo of magicians [Blackpool Magic Convention], it’s the biggest one in the world. I want there to assist my friend who was making a short film. I managed to shoot some street photos while I was there. I shot this one of these two women with pink hair and it’s nothing special but the hit rate when you’re shooting street photos is very low. That makes when you get something which has some kind of feeling to it quite nice. This was one of those, the last time I looked down and thought something was actually good and not shit or out of focus.
Last great photo you saw?
I can’t think of a specific photo but the first photographer I think of is Jerry Hsu. I’m always blown away by how amazing his images are.
Last Words?
Just breathe and try not to freak out everyone because it’s a lot, everything is a lot isn’t it? Hahaha. My last words would be the thing I keep saying to myself, my new mantra is “Think Less, Do More”. I tend to think too much, and do too little, so it helps.
The latest Dane Brady, Shin Sanbongi, and Nick Boserio Polar pro boards designed by Sirus
We would like to thank Sirus for taking time out of a hectic editing schedule for this one and look forward to seeing the next video instalment which is coming soon. Follow Sirus on Instagram, get lost in his YouTube channel, and check out other work at SirusfGahan. Be sure to shop with us for all of the latest hardware and clothing from Polar.
Related reading: Everything is Normal – an interview with Sirus F Gahan , 5000 Words: Rich West
Previous First & Last interviews: Andrew Brophy , Nick Boserio , Jarrad Carlin , Colin Kennedy , Henry Sanchez , Mike York , Amanda Perez , Mark Gonzales , Lance Mountain , Brian Anderson , Danny Brady , Wade DesArmo