Interview with Brian Petrie of Earthwing
Brian Petrie is the man behind Earthwing Skateboards out of NYC, which has brought the world the best tech sliding gear there is as well as some unique boards that can rip anything using complex building techniques and materials. Earthwing also hosts the Friday Night Rips which should be an inspiration to all to set up and or attend weekly sessions.
Anthony – So how long have you been skating and what got you into it?
Brian – I have been skating since about 1982, but I have had a skateboard for as long as I can remember. The skateboard itself was always interesting to me, but I remember specifically the day that it was tattooed on my heart for good. I lived on a pretty gnarly hill, and I was about 6-7 years old screwing around in my driveway when a group of punks showed up with these new fat street decks. Keep in mind it’s the early 80’s. When I say punks, I mean punks. These were not cleverly dressed emo rockers in their sisters jeans, these where the real deal. They were in a crew called “Snake”. Back then you had crews. Their logo took over our town, and for a bunch of punks, they really had a knack for marketing. Everyone knew of them, or at least that is the way I perceived it. Anyway, they start bombing the hill – something I would never attempt to do – doing full blown slides, colemans, toesides, and stand-ups at top “I don’t give a shit” speed.
Amazing.
I never had any idea any of this was possible. They had ollies down, early grabs… this was all new to me. I was totally fascinated with the whole thing. These guys didn’t answer to anyone. They had complete freedom, and owned their shit for sure. I started inching my way closer to the action, sort of hiding in the shadows with my plastic yellow banana board, and one dude calls me out and says “what the fuck are you looking at bighead?” And for some reason, that was it. I wanted to be that guy, not because he was a dick, but because he owned his shit. He knew who he was, and could care less what anyone else thought about it.
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A – How did Earthwing happen especially in regards to your board construction and lay ups? You guys use a lot of composites, but unlike any other company, to make really affordable product with the characteristics that go along with those materials.
B – I have been modifying, tinkering, and shaping decks forever on some level, but the first Earthwing branded deck was in 1998. In the 90’s I had 2 jobs while in college, and after. I started out working at a shop in Manhattan, then I worked for a wheel manufacturer that made inline wheels. This is where I learned about the action sports business. I also learned about everything there was to know about making a wheel. The “slide a” compound started there with that company. It didn’t just fall out of the sky. My boss was a one man show who had a big history in skateboarding. The company folded. Not because of anything we did wrong, it was a rollerblade company, the whole industry folded. For the record, I don’t think I ever put on a pair of rollerblades in my life. Nothing wrong with it, I just had zero interest. After that, I worked for another big shop in Manhattan as the snowboard buyer. This is where I learned everything there was to know about constructions, and manufacturing processes. Mike Olson was, and is a god to me. He is the owner, genius, and nutcase that owns Lib Tech. The innovations he has done changed the game several times over. With my knowlege of snowboarding, and love for skateboarding, I just felt like skateboarding was leaving itself very limited just doing seven ply constructions. As a skateboarder living in NYC, you learn real quick how to skate fast. And I wanted to find a way to make it easier to skate fast, and push efficiently using what I learned from snowboarding. So I set out use what I know to make the lightest sprinting deck.
A – You guys also make the most widely used and regarded wheels for trick sliding, how did you get into that kind of riding and basicly cornerning the market? You guys hardly even have hills to skate in NYC yet your team includes some of the most innovative sliders.
B – Refer back to question one. Personally, that has been the foundation of my skateboarding since day one. Even in the big pants, 39mm wheels era of 1992, I was still bombing hills, and doing stand-ups pretending I was snowboarding. As for the team, we just skate for fun. Believe me, Earthwing can’t afford to give them everything they deserve, so it really is just for fun. Maybe someday soon, I will be able to kick back more. We don’t have a lot of hills, but we have access to cars, and watchtower is a steep hill that can serve as a good TF here in Brooklyn.
A – Most of us on this website know Pat Schep well through our travels and have noted the prototype he’s been riding for freeriding, any word on what that board is about and when we might expect to see it in shops?
B – Supermodel. In March, and it will be excellent. It will have routered rails built in for early grabs, and deep wells for big wheels without sacrificing the valuable real estate near the trucks. Of course, it has new school, and old school mounting holes for INDY’S!! Gotta at least try some 215’s on this thing. The price will be a shocker. It’s not a rocker, it does not have w concave, or gas pedals or anything else. It has a deep tub elliptical concave like a Mystery Model. It works.
A – What else do you have up your sleeves for the future and what are the goals of Earthwing?
B – I am launching a new website soon for EW, working on more smaller street, cruiser wheels. New EW bearings. I am going to try to delete the word “core”, and “campus cruiser” from our vocabulary. New constructions, new shapes.
A – Where do you see the direction of skateboarding going? The street skate industry and huge companies are all really complaining about shop decks and blanks, trying to argue that it’s destroying skateboarding, yet the essence of skating has nothing to do with sales figures. What’s your take on all that nonsense?
B – Simple. Blanks will always be there, and have always been there. If you are a company only making 7ply decks, relying on marketing to sell them, then I see why you would complain. Just make a better skateboard, and give the skater a reason to shell out for it. Earthwing wants to make better stuff you can’t go buy anywhere from other companies. That’s how it started, and when I can’t do that anymore, that’s how it will end. I have never seen a “blank” Earthwing.
A – What do you think of the scene on the east coast? Things have really picked up in the last year with more people making events happen than I can ever remember. Where do you want to see the scene going and how is Earthwing going to help that happen?
B – Exactly the way it’s happening. There are skaters who love it enough to go out and kickstart their scene. Start races, build crews, and just live it fully. I wish I could give more to these small outlaw events. Earthwing is broke, anything it makes goes back in to build it, so I can do what I know is possible. You have not seen anything yet. I give what I can, but it’s not much right now.
A – Who’s your favorite skater?
B – Mark Gonzales.
A – What’s your favorite terrain to skate?
B – Sprinting through traffic in Manhattan.
A – Can you think of anything else you want to ad?
B – A twin tip pintail to the line-up for high speed switch dancing.
Brian was awesome and got back to me super fast on this and I want to give a big thanks to him. To check out more about Earthwing and see their line up click the logo above or go to www.earthwingskateboards.com.
