Meet the Boss - interview/article with Andrew Reynolds
I was flown out to LA in the beginning of 2009 by Sole Tech, as part of a media trip. Three days of PR events, including presentations, late night bowling sessions, food fights and an interview with Andrew Reynolds at his house in the Hollywood Hills. The article got published in RELOAD magazine (NL) and Bitchslap magazine (DK)
Translated to German and published in Bitchslap (DK) and RELOAD (NL) April 2009
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Ā Meet The Boss
After excessive alcohol and drugs consumption during his Piss Drunks period professional skateboarder Andrew Reynolds has been sober for the last six years. Nowadays heās owner of several companies and at the head of his own clothing label, Altamont. During a visit at Andrew Reynolds house in the Hollywood Hills we talk about the past and the future of Andrew Reynolds. āThe whole Piss Drunks period was a phase which we all went trough. We were living a delusionā Text: Jeroen Smeets
Itās quiet in the Hollywood Hills. The steel gate opens silently and there is no sign of life. Not really the scenery you would expect on the way to the house of Andrew āThe Bossā Reynolds. The only visible life is of two construction men who are working on the house. The house is still in development. Andrew walks out, talks a bit with the construction men and welcomes us into the living room.
The Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles are the uptown of Hollywood. Hollywood celebrities crowd the streets, but with former Piss Drunks colleague Jim Greco resides nicely in his new house. Andrew talks enthusiastically about his new house. First off the garden got redone. With plans and trees everywhere a patio, a pool and a skate park arise from the ground in no time. Andrew himself proudly designed the skate park in the back of the garden. Itās most definitely not a skate park where the new hammers are being filmed. On the contrary, the skate park looks like you could find it in a catalogue of a garden architect. āI just started walking around in the garden and with a spray can I marked where I wanted which obstacles on the ground. I followed the flow of the garden. The quarter pipe is built against a hill and the bank is located at the highest point, which makes for a nice drop in, for the small 4-stair set. I didnāt build the skate park for hammers, but more for a little bit of fucking around and some warm-up rounds. I stopped learning new tricks anyway. Iāll do a kickflip, frontside flip of nollie 180. I concentrate on the basics and try to find bigger gaps and stairs to jump off from.
When asked if he doesnāt feel the heat from all the young kids with their technical switch tricks Andrew answers that he actually looks up to the new generation, and the other way around as well. āIn this way we inspire each other to skate better. There are always going to be younger kids that skate better then me. Iām getting older! But skating for me hasnāt gotten any harder then when I was 19. Iām still skating, Iām still doing my tricks, and Iām still filming for my partsā
In his professional skate career Andrew went from a reasonable well-behaved period at Birdhouse, with at that point still baggy pants, to hanging out with the likes of Jim Greco, Erik Ellington, Dustin Dollin and Ali Boulala. This group would soon get recognition as the Piss Drunks. āThe whole Piss Drunks period was a phase which we all went trough. We were living a delusion, and everybody was in it with the same mindset. But you canāt continue that way of life forever. How weird it might sound, its hard work to get drunk or high all day. You are constantly looking for the next fix. There is no moment of rest. Meanwhile Iām happy to be sober for six years alreadyā.
Altamont Speedway Free Festival
In 2005 Andrew left Birdhouse and started his own company Baker. His nickname āThe Bossā appeared to have a business side as well. Not only is Andrew owner of Baker Skateboards but together with Erik Ellington and Jim Greco he is also the boss of distribution company Baker Boys Distribution. Besides that Andrew also started the clothing label Altamont. The name refers to the Altamont Speedway in California. The spot where on 6 December in 1969 a concert of the Rolling Stones festival went out of control, one death was the result. The concert at which the Stones made the fatal decision to hire the Hellās Angels as security is seen as the end of the hippie era. With Altamont Andrew Reynolds tries to end the era of āshitty looksā from so many of the other skateboarding clothing. āWhat Iām looking for a pants is real simple. I want a pair of paints in which I can skate for three months, then Iāll wash the pants and I will wear it again. Simple thingsā
Two years after starting the brand the collection from Altamont has grown from jeans and T-shirts to a wider collection of sweaters, jackets, caps and accessoryās. Collaboration with visual artists, photographers and musicians has always been important for the brands. People like Jim Hendrix, Neckface and Patrick OāDell have all done collaborations with Altamont. One of the latest collaborations is with Boogie, a Serbian photographer from New York. Boogie is known for capturing the rawest form of street life. In his collaboration with Altamont he used photos of dead rats, guns, crack and mean pit bulls.
Started as a relatively small brand Altamont is now even being picked up by celebrities, like Lilā Wayne. āI have no idea how that happened,ā tells Andrew. āHe must have picked it up somewhere. We havenāt sent anything out to him thatās for sure. Andrew tells that he is cautious with stories like this; they should not get blown out of proportion. āIf Lilā Wayne would have picked it up when he was putting out his Drought mixtape it would have been a lot cooler. Nowadays heās huge and every brand will send free clothing to him. People might think weāve done the same thing. But Lilā Wayne is hanging out with Sheckler. Thatās not cool anymore. But yeah, what can you do? Lil Wayne stays a genius.ā
The future is looking bright for Andrew, and with Ali Boulala as only tragic exception (after a motor accident in which Shane Cross lost his life he got disabled, and is currently in Australian jail for the accident) the rest of the Piss Drunks crew is also taking new steps in their lifeās and careers. Erik Ellington en Jim Greco are busy putting out Deathwish. Lizard King is off the booze and filming again (with a new Battle Commander on The Berrics). On the Internet there are rumours of a Piss Drunks documentary in the making, but no information is to be found. Meanwhile a new generation of kids that copy the lifestyle of the Piss Drunks can be found. āThe new generation doesnāt give a fuck, about nothing. Even though we were completely wasted, we still had a feeling of right and wrong,ā tells Andrew. āThe new kids are walking around with Piss Drunks and Baker tattoos. There fucked upā
Working seems to come easy to Andrew āI donāt really work, things just kind of happen.ā The new video āStay Goldā is about to be released by Emerica, and Altamont is doing well, with more and more people picking up on the brand. For somebody that doesnāt work, he sure has a lot going for him. In the mean time Andrew is living his life in the Hollywood Hills. Skating in his backyard, putting the finishing touches to his house, and having fun with his daughter Stella. Live is good in the Hollywood Hills.
