Read our exclusive Jim Greco interview which coincides with his new shoe…
The Supra Hammer Snake arrives in our Covent Garden store today. We have very limited stock and they are available only from our Covent Garden shop. To coincide with this release we have an exclusive interview with Jim Greco…
You’ve just returned from the Philippines. What were you doing out there?
Yes, it was the last country of the Supra invasion tour.
Are the clothing experiments we’ve seen going to be made available?
Yes, most definitely. I am building an online store as we speak.
You must be stoked to have House of Hammers your own skatepark now. Can we expect to see a lot of footage from there or is it a retreat?
I don’t want to put out a bunch of polished shit, over-saturated over-produced garbage but having some rad skating filmed there and shown on a website would be rad. So yes you can expect to see some cool stuff.
What gets the most action in there?
I skate the China banks the most.
From your time on Birdhouse to Zero to Baker to your most recent Deathwish part filming has been a constant in your life. What part was the hardest to film and what was the most enjoyable?
The most enjoyable and most difficult part was the same part. It was the Deathwish video. It was an amazing experience for me.
Do you get the madness picking music for a video part?
Yes at times I can, I’m getting better about it though.
Can you think back to a specific trick in a video part where you think ‘phew I got away with that!’
270 Ollie to fakie nose grind revert on the bank to bench at seventh Street, it was in my DW part.
Whose video parts would you most likely watch to get hyped to go skating?
Any Jeremy Klein part, Julien stranger, Andy Roy, Coco Santiago.
Who were your biggest influences growing up?
Jeremy Klein, Tim Upson, Julien Stranger
Your recent Deathwish part has some unexpected tricks in it. We read that Jeremy Klein offered some pointers on the fast plant and Rodney Mullen had some tips for getting out of Casper slides. Who had the best advice you grew up skating with, did anyone break it down?
My Buddy Shark. He told me he didn’t do airs cause Sharks don’t have wings.
Do you feel you have been a good source of advice teaching other people?
I try to help when others ask, I don’t know though.
When you were injured you put the time into learning new ledge tricks. With a new skatepark in hand can we expect to see a lot of new tricks in the future?
Yes, I skate there a lot. The thing with my skate park is it’s like a bunch of real street spots in an abandoned warehouse with a roof on it. It feels like the real streets.
Many of us here are past thirty and still skating but certainly not taking the impact you do. Do you have any advice for maintaining this level?
The more you do it, the more you can take. I enjoy a lot of other shit besides just jumping down things, Nowadays especially.
You have got to a point in your career that you have carved out where it seems you are in total control what with Baker Boys, Deathwish, Brigada, and your involvement with Krew and Supra. Was Jamie Thomas an influence in this approach to the industry?
Yes. He was one of the first gators that I can personally relate to that owned a bunch of rad companies. Also he’s one of my friends so I was able to witness the evolution of this process.
Of your involvement with the business side of things and with a variety of roles what is the most enjoyable?
Skateboarding the actual act of skateboarding is the number one most enjoyable thing. But I have an equal passion for creating products, decks, and especially clothes. Just creating in general is what I love to do. My new brand Hammers is going to be 100 percent made in the USA.
Do you play a big part when it comes to shoe design? Tell us a little bit about designing the Hammer…
Yes. For this one, I wanted a simple shoe that was light and took a lot of impact and had a lot of board feel, and felt broken in right out of the box. The designer and I were going back and forth with the drawings changing a few lines here and there and we were both able to develop a rad shoe.
You’ve been on a few trips with one of our team riders Lucien Clarke, do you have a good Lucien story?
No specific story, that dude is just a rad dude that rips. He looks like he’s supposed to ride a skateboard, he’s really smooth. I’m really stoked he’s on Supra.
We read that you’ve been wheat pasting a bit of late and your Deathwish logo is everywhere the way the Vato rat was in the 80’s. Describe the enjoyment you get from this side of things…
It gets my message across, it’s something fun to do when I’m hurt and it’s a rush like skating. A search for spots and finding the perfect spot to lay the hammer.
What can we expect from Jim Greco this coming year?
A lot. I’m going to be launching a house of hammers website and also a store for my clothing brand. I’m going to be filming commercials with Supra and traveling with them. I’m going to be putting in a lot of work over at Baker boys. And I’m hopefully going to be skating a lot as long as I’m healthy.
Thanks for your time, to sign off what advice do you have for the kids?
Have fun with whatever you do either creating or riding a skateboard, don’t do it to be sponsored, do it for the love of skateboarding and the love of creating and everything else will come through that.