Nate Sherwood

I first seen Nate Sherwood in 411vm's Up for Grabs. Ever since i've followed him along his journey in skateboarding. The pressure flips and mannys this guy does will drop your jaw.I would keep up with his blog on skateboarding.com but grind.tv took it over and i was sad to see it gone.I got to ask Nate Sherwood a couple of questions and here they are.

where are you from and how did that area influence your skateboarding?

I grew up in Portland, OR. Chris Fissel was one of my gurus as well as Dave Hupp. He was the first guy to ever lip slide to kick flip out in like '92. I love the real teck cats from the NW, Rodd Marks, his brother Brent and Mike Chin are all dudes I

have been looking up to since I was a kid. Trevor Ward is probably the next generation of ripper from the NW, he rules.

What first drew you to skateboarding?

I was sitting on the porch when I was 8 years old trying to figure out how to kill my sister who was picking on me and I watched this bald headed dude bombing the hill I live on. He was flying by so fast on his board I was like, "That is rad,"

and this was 1988. The dude had orange and green wheels, it was dope. Whomever he was I owe him huge. Then after that I got a board for my birthday from my sister, the same one I wanted to kill and I was hooked. Thanks sis. After that I got really

influenced by Per Welinder, Frankie Hill, Matt Hensley, Natas, Gonz, Mike McGill and Todd Swank.

Who were your early influences and who inspires you today?

Man, I love Ron Knigge, Julian Stranger and Danny Sergent. I still think Chris Hall and Andy Howell were the best dudes that ever stepped on a board. Dan Lafferty and his brother Sean both are amazing as well. I think now I look up to and get stoken

on Daewon and Rodney and Haslam the the most and some of the stuff William Spencer does unbelievable as well. Not to mention Bob Gnarly, who should be on a cover of a magazine by now.

How do you feel about the x-games and big companies taking hold of the skateboarding craze?

I used to boycott anything with and X on it. Extra laundry detergent, xtra deodorant, some straight edge bands with x's on their covers. I hated x so much because of the x-games that anything that used the word extreme made me want to puke so I would run for the hills and pretend i never saw it on the shelf. now i feel x-games is a great conduit for rippers from poor countries to come in and make a living off of skateboarding. A lot of heads like Carlos D'Andrati, Fabrisio Santos and Bob Burnquist have all made a great living off of x-games alone. So it is good for some. However, it is not what skateboarding is about and it bums me out when I meet people from outside skateboarding who ask me if I've been in the x-games. It is like asking an artist if they've had work in the Louve.

So what is the Skateboard.com/grind.tv drama all about and who and how can we protest this?

Well, I woke up one day to post a blog and I could not login to my column to update it. Grind TV took over Skateboard.com and I just got an email today from the editor of Grind TV saying there will be no more individual on Skateboard.com, that it will

just feature the same articles as Grind TV which is about as stupid the Slap Magazine website having the same articles as the Thrasher website since they're in the same building. I think the guys at Grind do not understand that Skateboard.com was more about in depth articles on skateboarding rather than just generic headlines.

What do you do with your time when you aren’t skating?

Shoot pool, play darts, interview people, write articles, edit video, film video, shoot photos, help on laying out ads, hang with my neglected girlfriend when time permits and freak out about flying cause I hate planes.

What advice do you have for skaters reading this?

Do what you enjoy on your skateboard. If you want to push mongo, push mongo. If you want to do a handstand pogo and skate a freestyle setup with shin guards, do that. If you want to toss your body down a 15 stair handrail, do that. If you want to

have fun on a manual pad all day in front of the local grocery store, do that. But never let anybody else tell you how to skate or what to skate but yourself. Be yourself even if that means you're by yourself. Its better than following the sheep

off the cliff.


Any people you would like to give a shout out to?

Airspeed Shoes, Jason MacMaster, Jay Aurora, Courney, Ashley, Lindsey, Willy Santos, John Castro, Rekon Skateboards, Kontrol Wheels, Arnette Sunglasses, Bones Bushings, Swiss Bearings, Eric Stricker, the pilots of Jet Blue who are going to get me

safely to and from the east coast for the American Misfits: Quest for Gnar tour, all the people at Fuel TV, Laban, Ted, Keefer, Donez, Jeff Tully, Pedro, my main homeboy who is going to be dealing with me a lot in the the next few days, my main

homeslice in the midwest, Kohl, who is holding it down tough out there, Tim Taylor and Wil Walden. You all rule.

Local interviews

Ryan Vail

C.O.V. - If you could change the skate scene in the cincinnati / northern kentucky area what would it be?

Ryan V. -I wouldn't change anything.

C.O.V. - Where/who/what is your favorite local spot, local skater, local beer?

Ryan V. -Fav local spot is LBG. My fav local skaters are Jap and Reese. Best local beer is Burger.

C.O.V. - Who or what are some of your influences for life in general?

Ryan V. -My father who worked hard to support his family but still found time to do what he wanted to do.

C.O.V. - What is your favorite non-skateboarding activity?

Ryan V. -Watching horror movies and getting tattooed.

C.O.V. - What are some things you've learned from skateboarding over the years that could be passed on as life lessons?

Ryan V. - Skating teaches you self-discipline and to not sweat it and just have fun.

How long have you been skating? Since 95'

Goofy or Regular? Regs

Favorite trick? Heel-flip and boneless

Sponsors? Blacklist-86 all day!

Favorite Parks? Lawrenceburg, Colerain, Delaware and Ft. Wayne.

Favorite skateboard site? Thrasher 


Gary Collins


C.O.V. - You have been a fixture in the Cincy skate scene as long as anyone. How does it compare now to when you first started skating? What has improved and what still needs to improve?

Gary - I dont really know how it compares to back then, maybe skateboarding was a little more tight knit since there were way less people. The level of skateboarding has improved in general, as well as the public perception. What still needs to improve is the shop relations. They're all competitors so thats gonna be a hard one. Also if people are gonna run companies here, they need to step their game up. The reason instrument does so well is we give people something to be proud of.

C.O.V. - What is your favorite Cincy skate memory?

Gary - Another tough question, theres so many memories but id say the beach house era on wheeler. For those who didnt experience that, we had the best ramp ever tucked behind brads house on wheeler. Seriously the best times.

C.O.V. - Congratulations on Instrument's 5 year anniversary. What is your secret to success?

Gary - Well like I said before, we give people something to be proud of. We're not trying to get to NY or LA. We're doing it right here from Cincinnati. The team plays a big role in the success as well. Maybe i just know how to pick em? Also the quality of our products keeps people coming back. No cookie cuttershit here.

C.O.V. - What would you like to accomplish with Instrument? Short term/long term?

Gary - Well, the skys the limit man. I've already built a platform for skaters to be recognized from here. Getting on Instruments not like any other small company. Our guys are picked because they have the ability to get to the next level, and a couple guys have moved on to bigger things. We dont just give people boards because they can help with sales. Short and Long term just more sales, more states, countries, travels, and continue to put Cincinnati and the rest of Ohio on the map.

C.O.V. - Where/who/what is your favorite local spot, local skater, local beer?

Gary - I have a ton of favorite spots man, the DO at sundown, P&G and the rest of downtown at night, and the hills anytime. I love the hills. My favorite local skater right now is prob Alex Davis. we grew up skating together and he's killing it extra hard right now. Gotta say Devin, ED, Jordan, Doug, and all the guys gettin it in. Local beer I like Hudepohl, Mt.Carmel brewing co, and whatever someone hands me.

C.O.V. - What is your favorite non-skateboarding activity?

Gary - I like designing clothes, gambling, guitar, Madden, chilling with my soon to be babys mama.

C.O.V. -Who or what are some of your influences for life in general?

Gary - I take influences from a lot of people and things so it's hard to narrow it down. I like creative people and people who arent afraid to put themselves out there and go for whatever they might be trying to do. I like music also, alot of jazz, reggae, rock , rap whatever really just good music.

Bio...

How long have you been skating? 20 years

Goofy or Regular? Goofy

Favorite trick? OLLIE

Sponsors? Instrument, Anonymous, and I get shoes from Nike.

Favorite Parks? Burnside, Colrain.

Favorite skateboard site? Instrumentskateboards.blogspot.com, Dont really follow other sites.

Benjamin Osborne

                       

C.O.V. - What do you think of the skate scene in the cincinnati / northern kentucky

area?

Ben - Well the Cincy skate scene is kinda weird man, it's really diverse, there are a ton of super talented amazing skateboarders but... depending who you're skating with it can be a bust. There are quite a few Negative Nancy's out there unfortunately.

C.O.V. - Which is older you or Old Lews beard?

Ben - haha I think I have at least 16 years on Lew's beard.

C.O.V. - Where is your favorite local spot, who is your favorite local skater, and do you have a favorite local beer, if so you got any?

Ben - Any painted curb is good enough for me, I mostly ride parks though. The new Colerain park is super sick, I've been up there like every day. I think that Danny Bauer is probably the sickest local skater, amazing style, goes faster than the speed of light and he does amazing tricks... like have fun for example, the single greatest trick you can accomplish on your skateboard. I don't really drink beer but I would go with a Sam Adams for sure, pale ale.

C.O.V. - What do you think about such events as street league and where do you see it taking skateboarding?

Ben - I actually don't really know what Street League consists of but I'm pretty anti-competition... I'll join in a local competition for a good cause and to have a good time but I'm really not in it to win it man. I unfortunately see such competitions as destroying the individualistic and artful aspect of skateboarding. It's all a pissing contest...

C.O.V. - What is your favorite non-skateboarding activity?

Ben - I work alot... but I absolutely love music. Music is always gotta be on for any activity or reason. Basically I just listen to music and drink a ton of coffee.

C.O.V. - Who or what are some of your influences for life in general?

>Ben - Bob Dylan has always inspired me to play music and to look at things from a different perspective. I'm really down with the teachings of Jesus and I like to read my bible. Sometimes I don't really want the title of "Christian" because it is such a thrown about term that many people perceive as a bad thing, but I guess if you're gonna label me go ahead.

C.O.V. - Do you like starbucks coffee cause, im drinking some and it is really good?

Ben - I don't exactly advise feeding the corporate machine that destroys local coffee houses all over but Starbucks is always there and I'm constantly in some random ass place with no coffee. If there is a local coffee shop close by that I know of I will go there. But man do I love coffee... and I always go with the red eye, coffee and two shots of espresso no sugar, just cream.

How long you been skating? I've been skating for nearly 9 years now

Goofy or Regular? I'm goofy footed, but I'm usually going to fakie.

Favorite Trick? Flatground frontside 180 no-comply's, and on tranny frontside 5-0 grind backside revert

Sponsors? I ride for Fickle Skateboards and that's pretty much it.

Favorite Parks? Delaware OH, Colerain OH, Centerville OH, Bowling Green KY, Wave Country Nashville TN, And last but certainly not least Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville Florida.

Favorite skateboard site? Thrasher Magazine is my homepage..