John Rattray.

IN THE SKATEBOARDING WORLD TODAY, we find ourselves in a realm full of possible impossibilities--where things are being done that not long ago may have seemed inconceivable. Where even the boy next door can do tricks you only thought possible by your favorite pro or Skater of the Year, and where it seems that the hardest tricks aren't really that hard anymore. Some might consider this to be their worst nightmare--skateboarding where everyone rips. Yet in a pool of amazing talent, there's really only a small handful of true greatness; the select few who are gifts to skating. So it is my privilege to present to you within the next pages a gift: John Rattray.

Interview and Photos by michael Burnett

Do you ever self-medicate?

That's a very interesting question.

Thrasher's a very interesting magazine.

Yeah. I self-medicate a lot. Lately I've been trying to stick to the Blood Diet that Bartie told me about. It seems they've discovered that certain blood types react well to certain food types. I am of the O type blood group and prunes are very good for me but strawberries are to be avoided. I've also gone to see the chiropractor. I was at the street fair and they suckered me in. They told me to stand up on this machine where you put your feet in the two feet marks and they move these strings around and then they look like they're thinking very deeply. They told me my posture was off, which it probably was. They told me for $20 bucks I could come into the office for a spinal chiropractic exam and I did and they examined me and gave me X-rays and everything looked very impressive. It was a very impressive business he was running. Then they told me I had a misaligned spine and problems with my lower back and loss of curvature in my neck and it was going to cost three grand and take 12 months to fix. I decided i t wasn't worth it after I fell down in the pool. Which you know all about. I figured if I'm going to slam like that, what's the point?

What was the pool session like?

Good. It was enjoyable. Great fun. We went out there late at night and it was full of rain water from the storm. We had to bucket the water out. One thing a man should do is bail out a pool. It's one of the better things in skateboarding. The water was very warm I remember. I remember dipping my hands into it and being amazed it was still so warm at two am. It was almost to the point where I would have liked to strip down to my boxer shorts and lay in it.

Then you got hurt.

Then we were skating. I was drinking some beer, as I recall. Matt Mumford was skating. Matt was trying to get a trick, so I sat down to let him skate and I drank some more beer. Then he told me to get up, that he needed me to skate, to keep up with the session. Then I went to try the nosepick and it all went haywire.

You missed the entire transition.

Correct. No transition involved. It was a straight parabolic trajectory.

Is that a physics term?

Perhaps.

How do you apply your physics degree in your everyday life?

Rarely. It goes through my head, as I forget it. It's all almost gone now. It's something to do to get a job. But I just went skating.

Was there a breaking point when you knew you had to leave home?

From when Jamie got me on Zero, there was always talk of coming to the States for awhile because Jamie was sorting out a Visa. And since he was sorting out a Visa, it was an opportunity to move somewhere else--to live somewhere else. And that's when I got the idea of living elsewhere.

Did you have a period of wilding out after high school?

Oh yes. Don't we all. Sort of from 18 to 23. I drank beer. Got too drunk. Got drunk to the point of unenjoyment. And skated a lot.

Have you ever been misrepresented?

It's funny you mentioned that. In another magazine, I had something written about me recently and it struck me as libelous. This person suggested I got drunk off three glasses of wine in Australia at Dustin's house and couldn't function. I'd like to clear this up right now. First, I'd like to apologize to Dustin and Shannon for being so anti-socially drunk and unable to function. I'd also like to thank Shannon for the wonderful hospitality, which I probably didn't get. to do properly. Second, it wasn't three glasses of wine. We'd been drinking Stella all afternoon, which is a very powerful beverage. Libelous, I say, Mike. Libelous.

What was a goad road trip in the early days?

The good ones were probably camping trips. You just go out to somewhere by Royal East Side Way. Sometimes you have a tent. Usually you just have some cider--the cheaper the better, and some sort of means to light fires. So then there would be a river. You just go exploring in the forest, obviously.

And set it ablaze?

Well, no. You can contain your blaze. We were respectful in some ways. Most of the time.

What's your take on the kids you meet?

I think they're much the same as when I was a kid. Some kids are shy. Some kids are loud and confident. Some are rude and some are nice.

Have you ever had an unpleasant encounter with a skate fan?

I must have. I probably blanked it out. They're all fine. It's nice when they've searched out a photograph of you. That's always an ego massage.

Are you good at the promotions side of the job?

Yes. It's all show business. I'm reasonable. I do my part. I try to be accommodating.

Was it a hard decision to leave your bros at Blueprint to ride for the flashy American company?

Yeah. It was at the time.

Did you catch any heat?

More just what I gave myself Nobody that mattered gave me any heat, Everyone was pretty understanding. I told Shier about it a long time before I decided anything.

Was he your closest friend on the team?

Yeah. Him and Colin. I'd been hanging out with Shier a lot at the time.

Did you make a living off skating then?

Yeah. We did pretty well. I was living at my mom's house, sleeping on couches at the time, but yeah. I could have supported myself.

Why did you want to switch to Zero?

Just 'cause I like a challenge. I saw it as a type of challenge.

Was Jamie's schedule much different from what you were used to?

Well, it's much tougher. But I'm quite happy with my contribution to Zero. Yeah. As long as he's happy. I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

Who do you skate with most on the team?

Mumford. I like skating with all of them, but Mumford. I get on with him the best.

Is it because you're both not Americans?

Yeah. I suppose. That's probably what made it easier. We have some sort of common ground.

What's struck you as odd here in the US?

Something I've been noticing recently is the fact that people drive around in what seems to be financial status symbols. You get that a little bit back home but not like here. It seems to come down to who's got the biggest SUN I don't get it. They're the most heinous vehicles to drive.

America's not doing very well with international opinion. What's wrong with America?

Not being able to buy beer at Albertson's without a photographic ID that has my description in words. You won't get that problem back home. What's wrong with America? That's not for me to say. I've never seen any reasons to hate Americans. I've always been interested in America. I got interested in it because I was interested in skateboarding. I actually quite like it, except for that Albertson's thing. I started a book of hate.

Yeah?

Of things I hate since I've been here. So far all I have is that Albertson's thing and one day when we got kicked out of a spot, not because we could be sued by the people there, but because we might sue them. That was the reason given. That just seemed totally topsy-turvy to me.

What motivated you to make a book of hate?

The Albertson's thing it hasn't progressed very far.

What was the first good skateboard you had?

A Magnusson Hell Concave.

Did it hurt your feet?

No. They were too small.

What age did you start skating?

Nine, I think. I'm 25 now.

Were you always better than your friends?

No. Not at first. I think I started to get better after my dad passed away. You have to get a bit crazy in the head to get really good. You need to go a bit crazy.

How did you go crazy?

Just being 13 and losing your dad to alcoholism is enough to drive a hid crazy. So then I had some crazy years just being a weirdo.

What did you do?

I don't know you. You'd have to ask my family. It was mood swings and being withdrawn in the household. Outside on the board, not so much. I was channeling That's when I got better at skating.

Do you feel you've gotten anything from your dad?

I don't know. Maybe an alcoholic potential.

Did it make you want to swear off the booze?

When I was a hid it did. But then you fall into the crowd. It's a big part of everything, especially back home. It's just hind of the whole social culture revolves around it back home.

Is it because of the weather?

Probably.

What were some desperation spots back home to escape from the rain?

The Benburn Car Park. You'd just have to go there. It can't be described, It's a beautiful place. Lots of fun to be had. There's all sorts of ways you can go there--up, down, around. It was great.

Describe the first time you went to Livingston skatepark.

I had a baseball hat that I'd cut the bill off for some reason. I cut it off because the bill was too long. That was it. I thought I could cut it down, so I cut it hail off and then the plastic insert fell out and the material was hanging down in my eyes. I had to cut it off. It was my dad's. I'd found it at the bottom of the wardrobe after he'd passed away. I wanted something I could have right then and there.

What was the park like?

I don't really remember. I remember I went down with my mom and step-dad Graham and my friend Martin. I remember just having a chase session around the car park with Martin. He was irritating to me because he was really picky about what he would eat and the only cereal he wanted in the variety pack was the Cocoa Puffs, I was running around in the car park with the Cocoa Puffs and he caught up to me and I was happily munching away, half-way through them. I thought, "This'll show the bastard. He'll have to eat the Corn Flakes!"

What about the time Tony Hawk was there?

Yeah. I'm in the background of Ban This. When Tony Hawk does the stalefish McTwist in the bottom of the halfpipe you can see me in my little yellow T-shirt. Is it Ban This? I think so.

Do you remember that moment?

Yeah. I remember all of it. I spoke to him. He said, "Go," like, he was waiting for me to go. He told me, "Go," and then another kid snaked me. I told him, "I was going to," and he laughed. Then he probably did a stalefish 540 or a tailgrab 540. And I went and learned chink-chinks.

In the vert capsule?

Yeah.

How old were you?

Twelve.

Man, you were good. Was was the most challenging trick in the Zero video?

Probably the lipslide on the steep ledge. That's a nasty one.

How do you get yourself to do all of that gnarly stuff?

Wanting to get it over with. Knowing you can't go back. Knowing even if you can, you don't want to go back. Sometimes it's Slayer, sometimes Rowley. Those things are motivators. Just thinking about Rowley is a motivator. Thinking about Cardiel.

You lived in Barcelona for a few months. What's so great about Barcelona?

You can skate out the front door and it has the weather of San Diego. You can learn Spanish.

How's your Spanish?

OK. I was quite impressed.

Is there anything wrong with people coming to feast on Barcelona's skate spots?

C'est la vie.

That's life.

Exactly.

Under what circumstances do you lie?

Only when it's funny.

Describe a time when you were embarrassed to be a skateboarder.

That has never occurred that I can recall. Although I went through a depressive period when all your emotions just get crazy wacky topsy turvy all at once and you have no clue as to whether you're coming or going, so every waking moment during that phase along with a thousand other out-of-control feelings that don't really count.

What are your three favorite maneuvers?

The 5-0 on a red curb. The 5-0 to fake on a good ramp. And maybe the calzone or the hot pizza--that's a tough one.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I am satisfied with the hand I've been dealt

Which grab is clearly superior?

The stalefish, of course.

What American slang have you grown fond of?

I am partial to the words "coop," "shernp," and "gorf," but I'm not sure what gorf means.

What quality do you most admire in a friend?

The ability to insult creatively. Creative insultship.

Describe a time when you feared for your life.

The last time I smoked weed. It was with Lindsey, in Vista I went to go to sleep in a darkened room and had this spinning delusional notion that his Buddha had been laced with anthrax. I think it had something to do with the fact that Lindsey is from Florida or something, but it made sense at the time.

Who is your favorite skater under 18 and over 30?

Under 18? Maybe Herman if he's under 18. There must be someone back in Scotland, but I haven't been back there enough lately to know for sure. This summer I shall find out. Over 30: Gary Broone. Although I haven't been skating with the fellow for too long. Soon, in Blantyre, I hope.

When are you most at peace?

When I am asleep.

What circumstances do you always try to avoid?

Having my balls ripped off by a Labrador.

What's next?

Next in skateboarding is for people to really get onto some thin stuff. I suppose handralls are thin but you can't roll down a handrail. People need to start going up rails. I want to see someone grind up El Toro. I don't think that's really possible, is it? I also need to say thanks to JT and the rest of the Zero nut bars and all at Blackbox. Ahboddy at Savier. Philippa for teaching me valuable lessons every day. Thunder and DLX. And all my wonderful family and friends. I love Anbudee.