Interview with Sean Graves by Chris Ono
Chris “OH NO!” Buono did this interview with Sean before their trip to Buffalo Bill out in Rado and it was sent to me right after Sean won TMMR. Sean is an awesome guy who just showed up one day and was ripping. After having spent the night at his house and getting to know his family he is by far one of the coolest, most together people I have ever met. This interview is a treat to read and should fuel your stoke and maybe make you go “awwww.”
Photo Credits: Blair Caldwell, Crystal Graves, Nick Grasso 
Chris – I recently got a chance to take Sean Graves out to show him a small piece of DC secret Gnar for a short DH session. It was a blast with Sean Graves, Christian Montoya and myself, flying past cars in the dead of night passing through the glow of street lights filing 3 wide in to a nasty right hair pin. I have been racing with Sean for about 2 years now. He’s a hell of a racer, and will smoke you if you’re paying attention or not! Not only is he a great skater in which every event I have been too he takes one of the top 8 positions, but one of the nicest straight forward people I know. One thing above all that I believe goes over looked among young men and women skaters is that he is a young family man. We have all seen Sean’s family at Phat Deanz or on the side lines cheering him on at the races. I have never seen such a happy young family!
So Sean: Tell me about yourself
Sean – Well I am 27 years old and have been with my wife Crystal for 9 years and married for 5. We have 4 crazy kids Kaydenc(5), Lorelei(4), Finnley(2), and Davionn(1) who make my life so amazing. To help support my habit and family I work as a loan officer for CitiFinancial.
C – You work full time; Married, have a big family and mange to find time to skate. How do you juggle all of that?
S – I am able to do it all because I have a very supportive wife. She understands this is something I am very passionate about, so we make it work. I don’t always get to skate as much or as long as I would like, but I do get out and ride. I will sometimes have to sacrifice and make a 2 day trip one day, just so I’m not away for too long. This May I am going to be going on my longest skate trip to Colorado for Buffalo Bill and I could not be more stoked for it. Also it helps that I have recently got my wife into riding and all of my kids love skaters and skateboards.
C – I know for most young men/women we skate and meet girls/boys and they find out what long boarding is all about when dating (whether they want to or not.) Were you skating before you and your wife met or did you find this sport after being together?
S – The sport began for me 4 years ago, so I had already been with my wife. I have always been a person who enjoyed activities that got the adrenaline pumping and when I saw a video of people riding I thought I can do that.
C – What does she think of you flying down a hill at 50mph+ on a skateboard with the responsibility of a family and work on the line? What do the kids think? What do you think?
S – My wife is very proud of what I have accomplished so far. She may have questioned my sanity a time or two, but she appreciates that I am careful and she’s very supportive of my passion for the sport. The kids think it’s cool and always want to go riding with daddy. For me at times it is very hard because I am responsible for so many lives other than my own. I don’t go out of my way to put my life in danger. I ride alone a lot and don’t have spotters or a follow car most of the time, so I take corners easy and just enjoy what time I have. I also call or text them whenever I am out riding or at an event to let them know how it’s going.
C – Does she enjoy skating, Along with any of the kids?
S – I finally got my wife into riding about 2 weeks ago and I believe she’s determined to really excel into the sport. The kids all got on a board before a year old. I have a fairly long paved driveway that has a small decline that we have family skate time on. Each one of my kids has a board of mine they can call their own. It’s really a lot of fun.
C – During our session in DC I asked were you lived. Your response was: “If you look at a map of Pennsylvania and point at the middle of no where, that’s where I live.” Can you explain that? What’s it like for family life and skate life?
S – Family life is awesome there. I grew up outside of DC and lived in Baltimore for a few years with my wife and as our family grew we felt like a smaller town would be a better place to raise our kids. Skateboarding where I live is never really a problem. I am the only one around that I know of, so people just kind of look at me weird. The town isn’t really that small, it’s just tiny compared to what I’m used to. The best thing about it is that it’s nestled in a river valley in the Pennsylvania Appalachians. There’s never a shortage of places to skate. My wife actually hates riding with me in the car because she says I never watch the road. I’m always looking for the next hill to ride and trying to figure out how to get to it.
C – So how long have you been skating for? When did you get the DH bug? How did you figure out about racing and the east coast longboarding scene?
S – I have been skating for 4 years and racing for 2 years. I got my first board in anticipation of going fast. It was a Sector 9 pintail and got run over after 3 hours of riding. So I promptly ordered a Kebbek Caften because I realized my initial board wasn’t great for what I wanted to do.
I got the bug to go fast when I was working in Baltimore while my wife was in PA. I had been looking for hills to ride and found some hill finder that had a spot only a few miles from work. So I ventured out during my lunch break to hit it up. The hill was pretty gnarly for my first major hill. I was riding the S9 pintail that I had chopped because I hadn’t received my new board yet, stock Randal’s, and no name wheels. I road with no pads, helmet, or gloves at the time, which was not a smart move. Luckily I made it safely down the mile long hill threw the sweeper, blind 90* left, and junction joint on the bridge at the bottom. The rush of adrenaline was what I rode to feel and this put me at a point of no return.
I found out about my first race on silverfish which was the first Pennsyltucky. I was only able to enjoy the first day of freeriding because I had to get home for my daughter’s birthday the next day. Actually getting out and skating with other boarders was a great experience though because I couldn’t wait to get out to the next event.
C – What is your most memorable skate moment, and family moments?
S – It’s hard to pick a most memorable family moment because there have been so many. This past weekend we got to spend an evening in DC walking around the monuments. It was awesome to see how exited they got at the sight of all the lights, monuments, fountains, and “that guy” as my 2 year old son so adorably named Lincoln.
My most memorable skate moment is drag racing side by side with Brian Peck in the finals at Pennslytucky 2. It was such a rush flying down the hill neck and neck, with Pat and Rob right on our tails. The rush of adrenaline was beyond words!
C – Worst skating crash/scars?
S – I have been very lucky so far. My worst racing crash was after a heat at the State College Race. My legs were cramped, the guys in front of me threw down a foot brake and I just wasn’t ready. I tried to get my foot down too but failed and tumbled like a rag doll around 40mph. I somehow bounced off the pavement, then back on the board and rolled my ankle in the process. Luckily I was wearing my leathers and helmet, so I just had some bruising. I have lots of scars around my elbows and hips like most other riders from just working on new things, but nothing of note.
C – Where do you see yourself with your family and skating in the years to come?
S – Hopefully my kids will continue to stay stoked with skateboarding. If they do I want to have a family skate trip in Europe doing as many races with them and seeing as many sites as we can in the process. I plan on riding as long as I can stand on a board.
C – What do you think of the East Coast longboarding scene and the future of the sport in general?
S – It’s getting bigger. More and more racers are showing up to events, which are making things a lot more fun. I can only see things growing. I hope we can get more closed road events because I think things like that will really help us get better. There are also a lot of rad riders on the east coast who I think can really make an impact on our sport
C – Well thank you Sean for taking some time out of your busy schedule to do this interview. Sean you know more so than myself that life can hard and frustrating, four wonderful kids and awesome wife and a full time job. You’re one of my heros! Keep up the good work!!! I can’t wait to ride with you again!!! I hope this interview gives stoke and enlightenment to young Fathers and Mothers everywhere!! Work hard, skate hard and tuck the young ones in at night!!
BE SMART RIDE SAFE, YOUR CHILDREN NEED YOU AND LOVE YOU MORE THEN YOU KNOW!!!!
WEAR YOUR HELMET.
