Lance Mountain

We did an interview with Lance Mountain some time ago. But it's always interesting to go back and read it every once in awhile.

15 Questions for Lance Mountain

1. How has the transition been from being a pro/company owner to being a pro team rider, and not having the responsibilities of running a company?
Lance: I will tell you the transition from pro rider to company owner in the 90s was a lot harder than company owner to pro rider again. I think about it only when asked or just here or there on days that I don’t have much to do. When I was doing the company my mind was always thinking about everything as I should, actual skating was the only time that it was clear and the second I stopped rolling it went back to trying to figure out the next issue or rider or move in the industry. I don’t regret having a company or now not having a company, it’s just another change. Being responsible now, for family and myself only is nice.

2. What’s the hardest part of skating after the age of 40?
Lance: Motivation. Not to go skateboarding, but to do it in a progressive or an aggressive way. Your mind will always think or say to you I can do that, but your Will say’s "why try when you know you could do it"

3. Is it still just as exiting to skate new spots and terrains, or do you feel like you’ve kind of "seen it all" now?
Lance: Its still fun to skate new spots and see new people but I always think the stuff to skate is not all that great now, when in reality it is better. Still looking for stuff to feel as easy as it did when I was 15, I have come to understand it is me not the spot.

4. What is the gnarliest thing you have seen in all your years skating?
Lance: Bob at Baldy

5. When was the last time you pulled a FALL GUY? (frontside invert to fakie)
Lance: In one of the early soul bowl contest 5 years ago. Maybe I will try one tonight.

6. How was it being the "goofball" in the Bones Brigade?
Lance: I want to know the name and address of the guy who asked that. I find that insulting, I was a professional athlete.

7. * Two Parter:
a.) How are your wife and son?
Lance: Yvette my wife is good. She has been my best friend since I was 17 and has been the unseen support for anything I have tried to do in skateboarding. We kind of have a new life together now that we are now empty nesters. Our son Lance Ronald Cyril (dad and grandfathers names) We were going to use Cyril as his name, just as my first name is Robert and Lance is used but everyone started calling him Jr. after a Powell ad was selling a mini, but he is not a mini, he is rad. He is now been married to Kellie for two years and they are doing great.
b.) Your son is a really good skater, how do you think he deals with Lance Mountain being his Dad?
Lance: I talked to him yesterday and he hadn’t skated for a few months and he learned front side kick flip lip slide on a flat bar, just by messing around at lunch break, that’s not one of the easy ones. Skating pro or whatever is not something he wanted to do, I don’t think he even wants to skate it’s just something that is natural to him, He said he wished playing guitar came that natural because that is what he loves to do. He writes songs. I think that him being my son made him want to only skate for fun not a job and made him want to be good at something else.

8. How was it working with Stacy Peralta and George Powell?
Lance: It was awesome, I would have to put Stecyk in there as well, and I was around Stacy and Craig more because they were in L.A. They formed my way of thinking about skating and if it weren’t for them I never would have been involved with skateboarding after it died in 1983.

9. (For the lads across the pond in the U. K.) - Do you have any memories of your time at Romford Skatepark in England?
Lance: I have great memories when I went to England to skate in 1979. My Dad was born in Lewisham, so we went when I was 10 and when I was 15 to see my grand parents, museums and skate. I skated Romford . Blacklion, Maddog, Harrow or Rollin Thunder. But I went to Rom just once or twice I think; after Shogo was there they still had flyers of him. I saw Sinclair skate the pipe and only have one photo of Henderson in the pool. I have not been back to Rom. I went back to Harrow once and just sat up above the performance bowl that was cut of and filled in and just was the weirdest feeling I have ever had. It was 20 years later and it was not even my same life it seemed. I just can’t believe were skateboarding has taken us.

10. Are you tired of "eyebrow/unibrow" questions?
Lance: I think this is the first unibrow question I have received.

Do you still skate street?
Lance: I can’t say I skate it, but I shot a photo boardsliding a 12-stair handrail last week for a slap article, hope it looks good.

12 * Another two parter
a.)You were part of Hurley’s Pool Rules Art Show, how do you feel about the effect art has in skateboarding?
Lance: Neil Blender is what I think, Skateboarding would have been a bunch of tricks or a sport if none of the other things that mold it were not part of it. You can’t fall in love with tricks only, they pass, People, Personalities, Styles, It is so lame to say skateboarding is art, But everyone looks at it different and that is what makes it change and have a life of it’s own.

b.) How do you feel about your own art and the role it’s played in skating?
Lance: I just like to try and make stuff. It’s cool if others like it.

13. Do you have any plans to ever re-release any of the old FIRM videos on DVD, say perhaps La Buena Vida?
Lance: I’m working on a website that will have all sorts of stuff archives like the England trip and photo, decks, history, art, I’m sure I will have things for sale maybe I would make that stuff available, I’m sure I will do what ever someone has interest in.

14. Did you and McGill ever share a sleeping bag on tour and stay up all night talking about how pretty the moon looked and spooning each other?
Lance: I deserve that abuse. I use to tease Mike all the time until I saw him blast a 540 over my head first try, after we tried to learn them all day 1/2 way up and couldn’t get around all the way. mind blowing.

What do you think of the resurgence of older skaters, guys who may have quit due to responsibilities, jobs, families etc, coming back on board, and the push towards old school equipment / style in general?
Lance: I remember getting to the place were I was playing add-a-trick in the brown bowls at Marina with pro’s and I was behind Brad Bowman, Just thinking I will turn pro and be in contest with these skaters who made me fall in love with skateboarding next year. But it all fell apart we turned pro and all the older guys had to go get jobs or live’s because skateboarding had no money and there was no where to do it. The new skate parks have changed that and skaters from all eras can come have fun again, They have jobs and time to skate and the product for them can be fun, different, or strange.