Steve Nesser: "represent skateboarding in a good way" - Heads

You're moving from Minneapolis out to Oakland, right? How's that going to affect the whole Iota thing? Aren't you running some of that shit?

Not really. I just try and figure out what's going down with skateboarding for Iota; keep the skaters in the mix. Other than that, Joe and Dan pretty much take care of it, so I'm going to be able to lounge.

What's one of your favorite bands or musicians out of Minneapolis?

Babes in Toyland. I used to love them.

Babes in Toyland? They're from out there? I didn't know that.

Yeah. I was super into punk rock five, six years ago and those chicks just ripped it. I used to see them play all the time.

Is that the one chick where Courtney Love got her whole style?

Kind of. She wore dresses and shit. She'd just drink bottles of vodka on stage and get wasted and cause a scene. And they were super tough.

Tough broads. Like the Duane Peter's chick? Did you see that show?

How gnarly was that? That chick was crazy.

He looked like an animated hobo. Alright, Slayer or Green Day?

Green Day for motivation, Slayer to get psyched up.

You ever go skinny dipping in the Mississippi with some ladies?

Actually, yeah. There's a bunch of swim spots that are hidden to go dipping in. Mostly just lakes, though, because the river moves pretty fast. We got so many lakes out here.

When you first started coming out here you used to hook up with Thiebaud, right? What was that all about?

My sister drove out to California and I went to stay with her, and Seth came with. This dude said, "Yeah, I'm skating this guy's ramp in his backyard, you should come." It ended up being Thiebaud. TG was there and Chris Pastras. The rely who brought us didn't even know we knew what's up with skaters. He was in a band or something. He didn't really skate, and we were total skate rats. We got there and we were tripping out. Then we were thanking Jim and Tommy, telling them it was so much fun. So I got home and wrote Jim a letter at Deluxe. He wrote me and Seth a letter back that said call me whenever you guys need shit. Hooked it up, dude, then we just started ripping. That pretty much got us going. That got us so amped to keep progressing and trying to come up.

You ever read any of Jim Thiebaud's books? Loose Change?

He had a book of short poems. I read that one. That was pretty sick.

What's your earliest memory of skateboarding?

The launch ramps sessions.

When you saw that you were hooked?

Yeah. And with bungee cords wrapped around the trucks and your feet. Huck airs, no grabs over the spine.

That's sick. Kids need to do that today.

Yeah, man. We just had such a fun posse, and we'd skate anything.

How'd the whole Fobia thing come about?

Basically, Joe had this tiny little shop back in the day. He started giving discounts to some of the skaters that came in there--me and Zed, Bratrud, and Billy Kahn. Some dudes decided to start a team. I'm not sure who it was, but they started up and decided to put all the locs on. Then we started taking it into our own hands, making shitty little flyers for the shop and posting them up everywhere. Then we did a video and parties, like premieres, and it just went from there.

Took it into your own hands?

Yeah. Take some ghetto photo, and then go to Kinko's and make a thousand copies. Then I'd just go post them up at night so I could rep the shop. Fobia would get calls from the cops or the city; "Hey, you know you're putting up all these flyers ..."

That's cool. You guys had your whole clique out there and a lot of those guys got hooked up with Consolidated.

It was the time of making sponsor-me tapes and Billy was ripping here. I think Billy was sending Jason footy all the time, then they kind of built a relationship through that. Then Todd and Billy were living together and because Todd does art he was sending it with Billy's shit. Then Todd met Moish. That's pretty much how it all clicked, because then Billy went out to Cali. Then Todd's like, "I'm going out to Cali to do art." It all just started from there.

How was it the first time you ever met Jason Jessee?

Sick. I had a photo of him and asked if he would sign it. He wrote the craziest shit. I got the photo right here: "Steve ... Me, you, yes disposable, just as the perfect shoe is thrown away. So what the country we live in is bought, sold, disposed. Live not to bore. Stay on the tips of their tongues. Jason Jessee, Team Pain."

"Team Pain," he said it. How would you like Iota to influence skateboarding?

To be known for doing it, for being a quality company and having good skateboarders. Represent skateboarding in a good way.

What's a good Consolidated tour story?

Remember when Richard had been eating shit the whole time on his elbow? And his elbow got all swollen? We went camping that night and we all passed out and everybody woke up with mosquito bites everywhere, but he had them only on his elbow.

Sucking the blood out of his swelbow?

It was just a big-ass juicy elbow lump.

Did you notice on tour how we were always camping out, and at every skatepark or shop we went to there was a cemetery?

I remember one time you ran through one. I got the footy. You frolicked through it.

The dead were watching over us. Is there a new concrete park near you?

Grindline, Mark Hubbard and Shaggy. YMCA got a budget out there and they were like, "build us a park." I don't know how they got in contact with with those dudes, but they're building the craziest park. The only park in the middle of the country like that. It's going to be pay to skate and full pads, because it's through the YMCA. We went and had a meeting with them--we were trying to hook up the whole Fobia crew and they're just clueless, dude. At least they got good guys building their park.

Who's all on that Iota team?

Emeric Pratt, Chad Benson, Jeremy Reeves, and Brian Heck, from "Nodak." North Dakota.

You're all Midwesterners?

We're all from here, Iota is just based here. It'd be sick to have people from elsewhere. We're totally open to anything. That's not to say I don't have Midwest pride.

What unknown is coming up?

Jeremy Reeves. He's from here. He's definitely on a mission--one of those kids who gets out of the car and just goes for it, doesn't think about warming up or nothing.

Who are some of your favorite, more well-known skaters?

Cardiel is the all time. That dude always looks so sick. His energy level is so good it just gets you hyped. But I like skating with you and Zed and Bratrud--the local sessions are always fun. Koston's one of my faves too.

What was it like growing up in a Lebanese family?

Lots of garlic. Hard language. All the Lebanese run their own businesses. That's who I've worked for my whole life--at a gas station, a car wash, a roofing company, and a Lebanese restaurant.

Want to say what's up to anybody?

Just to all my friends and family, and my girlfriend Jessie.

Sponsors?

Iota skateboards, Fobia, Indy, Spitfire, Swiss, Shorty's and Black Magic.

What else do you want to talk about? I'm coming up short.

Remember when we almost died in Mazatlan? These girls picked me up and we went drinking in the back of some kid's truck. You guys were back at the hotel, though. I was like, "Let's go pick up Karma." Went to the hotel, swooped you, then drove up to that lookout point. We were getting all goofy.

Wasn't the bay shaped like a heart?

The heart of Mazatlan. We were up there drinking ... Remember how steep that hill was? We were in the back of the pick-up, you at the tailgate and I was by the front ...

... The dude stopped at the top of the hill and started revving his engine ...

He was dipping down the hill and we couldn't see because we were facing the street. Then all of a sudden we spun out. He cut the corner too late.

He was bombing a hill on a curve.

Exactly, but then he popped his tire over the edge of the cliff. Remember that?

Into the trees! We were doing a 50-50.

I was holding the side and those chicks almost fell out. The girls were yelling at him and we were kind of freaked out. I remember the whole way back you were like, 'I'm going to tuck this dude up. I'm going to fuck this dude up. As soon as we stop the car it's on right now." As soon as he stopped the car I had to be like, "Karma, just go up to the hotel, dude. Just go up to the hotel." We just jumped out of the car and didn't even talk to him. Then you guys went to that restaurant where I brought you a cup of tequila with foil on the top. I handed you the cup and then that one-legged bum came up, and you ended up giving the tequila to that dude. He just kept telling us how much he loved us. He drank the whole fucking thing.

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