Bleav in Skateboarding with Jim Gray

069 Clayton Graul, Skateboarder, DIY Enthusiast, leader of @UrbanSkateProject

I've seen Clayton around for years now, or at least a decade or so, just another nice easy going skater to cross paths with, or at least that's what I thought. I start seeing more and more very cool DIY spots popping up all over Southern California and notice that Clayton is behind many of them, or maybe most of them, but certainly has a heavy helping han...

Episode 068 Scott Pellet S.O.S. Friend, Skater, Hollywood Film/TV editor, TEXAN!

Scott and I met over 10 years ago when he was trying to help put together a film on the history of Texas Skateboarding. We quickly became friends and have stayed in touch since then, sharing meals, skating, stories, hanging with family and mutual friends, etc...

Scott found an interest in filmmaking at an early age.  Being a kid who grew up in the Dall...

067 Geoffrey Gunderson, Vaquero Skateboards Owner, Skater and Friend

Geoff is a skater and small skate brand owner I've gotten to know and become friends with over the past few years. He is a So Cal born, Oregon Raised, eventually a Nor Cal transplant, so we talk about that and our perceptions of the preconceived attitudes that come with each amongst other things. We have had some great sessions together over the last decade and we...

066 Chantelle Heroux, Founder of "Bridge to Skate" Non-Profit

We talked about her nonprofit, Bridge to Skate. She does great work in South LA using Skateboarding as a tool for support, motivation, and making lives better.. I am happy to call her a friend and think you will enjoy the story of how she found Skateboarding, or maybe better said how it found her. I’d say all the people she’s helped should be thankful she...

065 Dave Andrecht, Hall of Fame Skateboarder, Podcaster, Skate Industry Lifer, Friend, Inventor of one of the Greatest Skateboard Tricks Ever. Special Guest--Bobby Goodsby, founder of the first and still running Skate Camp in America.. 

Dave Andrecht, AKA "The Raver", was an early air Big Air Pioneer and he created the Andrecht Handplant, one of the most seriously cool tricks on a skateboard. It was one of my favorite tri...

064 Lonny Hiramoto, Skateboarder, Friend, Shape Stealer, and former Hoodlum...

Lonny is an awesome skater, and hit the pro skateboarding scene as a youngster in the late 70's. I assumed he was older than me cause he was in Skateboard Magazines when I was a kid, but turns out he was just amazing at a young age. We didn't actually meet until 20 years later, now he is a great friend, and die hard lover of rolling on his board, and he'...

063 Alex Romero, Skateboarder and Optometrist to Skateboarding Superstars, and to me too...

I met Alex at the Vans HB Skatepark with my friend Chuck Walstead. Alex was just another one of us skaters, and my friend Chuck said, he's my Optometrist too... I immediately said I am coming to you. I prefer to do business with skaters whenever I can. After going to Alex, I was stoked knowing I had someone who cared about my eyes and my wor...

062 Thibault "TIBS" Parise A French Skateboarder on a longer deck who sells Clay..

You may need an interpreter for this episode as Tibs speaks Fringlish which is a cross between French and English..... Just play the episode at half speed and you will be OK... Tibs talks about how he came to skate on longboards after breaking his shortboard and only having the longboard he used to get to the skatepark with him, and ended u...

061 Teddi Dean AKA: Teddi Bennett OG Bones Brigade Member, Modern Elder

Teddi was an original Bones Brigade Team Member. I used to skate quite frequently with him in the late 70's, early 80's. He had a buttery smooth surf style, growing up surfing in Huntington Beach in the 70's. He seemingly disappeared from skateboarding in the early 80's, and I always wondered what happened with him. I re-united with Teddi in 2015 and learned of...

060 Joshua Bridgewater AKA "Spina Bifida Skater"

To me, Josh is simply a bad ass, and an inspiration. Born with a hole in his back with his spinal cord outside of his body, a birth defect called Spina Bifida, his challenges started early in life, including being born at all. Well, thankfully for himself and all of us, he came out kicking and hasn't stopped. I've skated with Josh many times over the last decade or so and I...

059 S-One Helmets Dan McCashin and Chris Terins started as Insole Makers and became Helmet Icons.

These two started making S-One footwear insoles down the street from my Acme Skateboards factory in Costa Mesa back in the 90's. They share their stories as they morphed from an insole company into one of the most respected Helmet Brands in Skateboarding, BMX, Roller Derby and more.

I've been friends with them for a long time, have pri...

Episode 058 TSM Skate Media Crew... Carl Carpentier, Marcelle Johnson, Tommie Zam

The TSM boys have done True Skateboard Mag www.Truesk8boardmag.com for many years. They are also @tsm_media on insta as well. They've been doing a Podcast and Talk Shows based around the Skate and Music Scene for quite a while. I've sat in on their show before when they interview Ron Allen at Grinderz etc..... I like these guys and love their passion ...

Episode 057 Mike Mapp AKA "Micro" of Ramp Tech, Possibly the longest consistently operating Ramp Builder in the World

Micro is just a straight up skate lifer, who has been building ramps for decades, and runs his skate ramp building company RampTech out of Virginia. They build a variety of products from Quarter Pipes, Half Pipes, Rails, Boxes, Spine Ramps and more. He's built many amazing competition ramps over the years ...

Episode 056 Jeremy Wray A Skateboarder, An Artist, A Daredevil, A Filmer, A Husband, A Dad, A Wraybrother, and more

I like Jeremy Wray because he has a great smile, a great personality, is humble and smooth on his skateboard. He has countless amazing photos, magazine coverage, ads and boards with his name and art. He is embedded into skate history visually with iconic images like his amazing and insane Water Tower Gap he shot back ...

Episode 055 Eric Dressen, one of my favorite, and one of the best humans to ever ride a skateboard!!

Definitely one of my favorite podcasts I've recorded for several reasons. Eric is truly one of the nicest souls on earth. Caring, gentle, speaks with his skateboard, not his mouth (unlike me), and he knows how to make someone feel special. He has always been one of my favorite skaters as he for decades has destroyed pools, ramps, di...

Episode 054 "SPIDEY" De Montrond, Musician, Skater, Surfer, Man of Style

Spidey has a new album titled "Synonymity" coming out this week, so I thought it would be a good time to do a podcast. For the last several years, Spidey and I have gotten to know each other more than ever, and he's come by dozens of times and picked up my acoustic Guitar and played in my office. We've had lots of fun and I've seen his tale...

Episode 053 Beau Brown Legendary Downhill Skater and Long Time Icon in the Skateboard Industry

Beau Brown is a good friend of mine. He has deep roots in the skateboard culture. He grew up in Huntington Beach in a very pioneering time in skateboarding. He raced Stand Up Downhill Skateboards primarily but skated a little of everything. He found his way into the business side of skateboarding, selling skateboard stuff for many years f...

Episode 052 Wyatt Hammond, 8 year old Future Pro Skateboarder

I mean seriously what else is there to say, Wyatt is 8 years old and skates better than you, and me, and most everyone else. The thing that will surprise you is listening to how to thinks, plans, and approaches skateboarding. I've sponsored him on my Powerflex Wheels brand for the last few years, and have enjoyed watching his fearlessness, and skills. It's been fun watch...

Episode 051 Bud Stratford and Laura Richards, Skateboarders, Owners of Zeppelin Aero Works Skateboards, and Industry Bullshit Callers.

Bud is a very opinionated, vocal, sometimes antagonistic man, and of course he doesn't hold back his feelings on controversial subjects surrounding skateboarding, and that makes me love him even more. He and Laura started a new brand Zeppelin Aero Works recently, and they are even doing a Jim Gray m...