Mike McGill Interview - chrisnieratko.com

Mike McGill Interview

[ photos by dan bourqui ]

What have you been doing with yourself?

Well, I have my skateshop in Encinitas. McGill's Skateshop. And then I go skate in the afternoon over at the Y a few times a week. I mostly skate with Rob Mertz and Kevin Staab, and once in a while I skate with Tony Hawk at his ramp.

Are you usually in your skateshop?

yeah, yeah, in the mornings.

So, if I went down there I could have Mike McGill put my board together?

Yeah, that's right.

Can Mike McGill grip tape my board?

Oh. yeah.

Can you cut out a Rat Bones for me on my grip tape?

Nah. I decided not to do that anymore.

When did you stop doing that?

When George Powell decided to try to reissue my board without my name on it like he's done with Ray "Bones" Rodriguez and a few other guys.

Were you able to stop him?

Well I guess we'll find out, I don't know. Let him do what he wants, I mean, he's shooting himself anyway.

Do any of those guys get any money for that?

Nope.

How was your relationship back in the day with George Powell?

Uh, cold. Stacy was the man.

So, you were part of the infamous Bones Brigade?

Yeah.

I got to ask you, did you ever, you know, gay off with the Bones Brigade?

Nah.

Not even a little bit?

What do you mean?

You know, just heavy petting.

Only when I had to take care of Tony in the Hawaiian hotel.

I heard you started taking acting classes after Animal Chin, is that true?

I did a few while I was out here waiting for skateboarding to make some more parks and become alive again.

What did you learn in those classes?

I learned that I move my mouth too much when I'm not speaking.

Oh, really? Did you learn that you're a bad actor?

Yeah, that too.

Were you pissed off after Animal Chin with the decline of vert and the rise of street?

No. I wasn't pissed off. I just didn't find skating rails and stuff as interesting as skating ramps and pools, you know? But a lot of people didn't have the advantage that we had, the opportunity to ride all kinds of ramps and pools and stuff, and a lot of the guys in the cities of course had nowhere to ride, so they had to make up what they could.

Have you ever done a rail?

Yeah, oh, yeah.

Was it a real long one?

Nah, short rails.

Short rails. Did you chop up a lot of them though?

Chop 'em up, what do you mean?

You know, chop up rails, like Gator.

What's that, you mean hop on a rail and jump on?

No, like doing lines.

Ha ha! I think you're-- I don't understand what you're saying there, Chris, but, no, that's not me.

You never liked to party with Hosoi and Gator?

Nah, I just liked to watch 'em.

Do you have any stories about those guys?

No, I wasn't around him much, but Hosoi, he cracks me up, man. I can't wait until he starts coming back, maybe he'll skate some of those masters contests or something.

Do you got any stories with him, any of him buying people stuff or Just being eccentric?

Actually, when I first met Christian, Stacy introduced me to him in San Diego when I came out from Florida, and I was looking over there, and some other kid goes, "Yeah that's the new kid on your team," so I went up to Stacy, and I said, "Wow, she's really good." And I'm like, "Man, that's the best girl I've ever seen."

But you had long hair, didn't you get mistaken for a girl sometimes?

Yeah, I did. Well, not really.

Hey, tell me about your deal with Wal-Mart.

I think they're grooming me to be the next Martha Stewart. Which I don't mind as long as I get to design their stuff and they don't call me Martha.

What is it that you're doing for them?

I design some skate shoes. I guess they make some kind of skate shoes, but they're all funky, you know? So they asked me to design some shoes and some pads.

So do you have like a Wal-Mart card that you can just go in there and buy whatever you want free?

Yeah. 50% off.

Really? Do they have barbeques there?

I think they make popcorn out front. I can get all that I can get all that I want though.

Man, you got it good. So how come Tony Hawk is always claiming that he invented the 540?

Do you think he is?

You know what, every time I see him that's all he wants to talk about.

Nah, c'mon. Actually that's the big question in our shop when kids come in. They ask me, "Hey, Mike, did Tony Hawk invent the McTwist?" And I said, "What's my name?" "Oh, oh yeah so you must have invented it."

How did you wind up doing it?

Actually we were at a summer camp in '84 in Sweden with Lance and Rodney Mullen, and one night I just wanted to skate without everybody around. I wanted to try this trick, and I actually got inspired by Fred Blood a few years before that in Cherry Hill, he was doing them on roller skates.

So, Fred Blood invented the Mctwist?

The Blood twist.

Wow, the truth comes out.

Yeah, but anyway, so I taped up my wrist guards and put hip pads in-- and actually Bod Boyle was sitting at the ramp. So I was skating, and I just tried this trick, and after probably ten or 12 tries I actually made one. bod helped me make it because I kept asking him, "What does it look like? Does it look like I can make it?" And he didn't know what to think, he didn't know what I was doing, but as soon as I made one he went running back to the camp and told Lance and all those guys, and then Lance came out there and just killed himself trying to do it because he couldn't believe that I made it that quick.

So within 12 tries you did the McTwist?

Yeah.

Wow. And then could you do it every time after that?

I did. But then like about a couple months after that, I couldn't do it. I don't know why, there was just something wrong, and then it slowly started coming back again. I had to rethink it.

Are you kind of pissed at Tony a little bit because Tony has almost doubled your 540 with the 900?

No, as long as he knows who started it, that's all.

Fred Blood.

Fred Blood, that's right.

What's your greatest memory of being on the Bones Brigade?

Actually, when I first came to California with Alan Gelfland. He brought me out and introduced me to Stacy, and Stacy gave me his old trucks, and that was it, man, first time to California.

That doesn't sound that exciting, Mike.

It was exciting for me. Growing up in the worst parks in the world in Florida and getting to come out to California and skateboarding was great.

I heard in the Bones Brigade you used to wear a cup all the time.

No.

And you'd tell those guys to kick you in the balls. Is that true?

Yeah, maybe there is some truth to that Chris, I don't know.

Well, shit, I don't know what else I'm supposed to ask you, do you have any questions?

Yeah, does Larry Flynt like skateboarding?

I think he does now that it's making him a lot of money.

Does he know who invented the McTwist?

Probably not, but I think he knows who invented the 540.

Oh. Fred Blood!

Comments

brian
03 Oct 2007, 13:12

What's up with the low grade product at Wal-Mart with McGill's name all over it. I'm O.K. with selling at Wally World, but don't sell crap product. All that does is screw up skateboarding and put money in someone's pocket

brian
03 Oct 2007, 13:12