Aaron Herrington Interview, Aaron passed through town on the Polar UK Surf ‘N’ Turf tour. We were lucky enough to ask him these questions while the Polar demo was going on at Stockwell.
Aaron Herrington. Stockwell
Keep an eye out for more from him soon and make sure you take in his part in the excellent Static IV. Enjoy…
Congratulations on turning pro for Polar. Has your lifestyle changed dramatically?
I work two days less now so no it hasn’t affected my lifestyle too crazily, it’s relatively the same.
You mentioned in an interview that your first trip overseas was when Pontus first flew you to Malmo. Did that spark the bug to travel?
It definitely made me want to travel more. Malmo is an interesting place but I would love to go to other places. I came here to London UK, I would love to just keep travelling.
What’s been your favourite destination on these European trips?
Bristol! A lot of hills, good food and good skating.
Photo ops at a very busy East London store Meet & Greet
You have lived in SF and now New York. Can you describe the differences between the two Cities and are there things from each you would swap out to create an ideal?
I guess the easy going lifestyle that San Francisco turns you into having, it would be nice if New York had that. New York is super fast paced. It makes you stressed, well it makes me stressed, I feel tense when i’m there. I’ve yet to go back to San francisco since leaving, I know it’s much more mellow. If I could swap out things it would be the leniency of lets say smoking weed or drinking beer in public, people are a lot more mellow so i would swap that out.
You’ve always been very productive. Working with Pontus who is the same must be a good fit, do you guys feed off each other?
Definitely yeah. When you get to skate with somebody you look up to it’s more motivating. It helps you by getting you more inspired. Skating with him has made me skate differently in ways that are more fun. I definitely think we feed off each other for sure.
With so many people living in New York and scouring it for spots are you still surprised when you find something new?
Definitely surprised, I would say it’s rare that I would be the first one to ever find one. As far as when you do find things that you’ve been wanting to find or looking for or you come across a neighbourhood that does have potential and things you’ve never seen before it’s awesome! I like finding spots that I have been trying to find on my own. I don’t really like asking people for spots. It’s surprising finding anything pretty much that’s unique or not downtown or below 14th street.
It’s great seeing the visual output from Polar, amazing ads with a strong look and narrative. Do you have much input as to how they look. Is it motivating shooting photos and knowing that they will evolve into one of these parts of the story?
It’s extremely motivating. As far as input Pontus always shows us the ads beforehand. If I want more donuts or something in the ad I can definitely always end up putting that in. If we don’t like the ad, he loves our honesty so if we are not feeling it we can change it or manipulate it a little more so it fits who we are.
How was it filming for Static IV with Josh. Were you stoked to be part of his vision?
Really stoked, I’d say it was an honour, kind of like a dream come true. Growing up I always watched the Static series. I always watched Pat Steiner, always watched Puleo’s part, just the classic ones. Being part of that and working on something for so long. I worked on it for four years with Josh. From when you are told you are going to be a part of it through to the premiere and seeing the video, it’s hard for it to settle in. It’s really gnarly, i think of it as a dream come true. I’m only 25 and I feel like I’ve accomplished a big thing.
How was the premiere?
Epic! So sick! Pontus came out, Hjalte came out, a bunch of friends. It was pretty much a non stop party for two days, it was awesome! The video was great, if you haven’t seen it go see it, go buy it, support it.
Do you have certain video projects on the boil now?
Yeah the Polar movie. I was working on that while we were filming for Static IV and am still working on that. I think we might be doing an edit from this trip. I’m trying to come out with a part that is different and unique from what you might have seen and hopefully that will come out in the next 6 months or so.
and now the travels continue?
Yeah i’m headed to Paris tomorrow for two weeks, a week of skating and a week with my girlfriend to have a nice holiday and relax.
Thanks to Aaron Herrington for taking the time to answer these questions. You can shop for all things Polar HERE
Photography – Maksim Kalanep
Interview – Jacob Sawyer