London calling.

Interview by Shelby Woods

I HAVE NEVER SEEN BRYAN LONDON LEARN A TRICK. He just kinda does 'em, you know. He's a freak He is as big a skateboarding fan as he is a skater. You won't hear him bad mouth anyone ever, it's just not in his nature. Bryan just goes to a spot, gets a trick in his head, and goes to war. If he gets it, fine. If he doesn't, you can bet your ass he'll come back and handle it when he heals. He doesn't do it for his sponsors or his peers; he does it for himself, which seems kinda rare these days. He just skates to see what he can do-it's that simple. Give it up for London. He's in the zone and just getting started. -- Jason Rogers

Where are you from Bryan?

I was born in Bakersfield but my parents spilt up when I was about 7, then I moved to San Diego with my mom. After high school I got smart and moved out to LA. I've lived in Reseda ever since.

What was Bakersfield like?

It's the closest equivalent to Hell on Earth, at least in the summer. It gets pretty hot there. I'm glad I moved out when I was young. You couldn't even skate there in the summers without passing out.

How did you get into skating?

When I moved to San Diego--I think it was the summer of 5th grade, I saw one of my friends Calm skating with a new neighbor. His name was Seth and his brother was pretty good, so I decided to start skating with them. After a while they all quit skating but I didn't.

What was your first set-up?

It was a Damian Carbajal Evol set up. It had a guy on a bed jumping up and down with a guitar. I had ventures and blank wheels.

First sponsor?

I was on K-5 skate shop, but I guess my first board sponsor would have to be Arcade.

How did you first get on Arcade?

I took a video into Arcade with my friend Brett who worked there on summers and had him put in a good word for me. I talked to Jason Rogers who is the owner/team manager, and eventually he started flowing me.

Was that the first time you met Jason?

Yeah, that was in '99, I believe.

Did you remember Jason from the H-Street days?

Yeah I remember seeing all of the H-street videos when they re-released the set. He was the mini-ramp champ, man. He still is. He just doesn't give himself the credit. He can do everything he used to do. He's just too busy these days.

Do you remember what your first photo was in the mag?

My first ad was on the Beverly nine, 270 lip. Daniel Haney shot the photo. That was when I first went am.

Were people bugin' out when that came out?

I don't really know. I was just trying to get something for my first ad. We were on a deadline.

Didn't Haney shoot a couple photos of you?

Yeah, he shot my 180 over that rail. He's a pretty good photographer.

Does he still shoot flicks?

I don't think he takes photos anymore. Well, of skating I mean. He's always taking pictures of every pointy-top building he sees on tour. We couldn't walk 10 feet without him taking a photo while we were in Europe.

I went pro about a year ago.

When did you first go pro?

Do you feel like you're an underground skater?

Not many people really know about me. I may have gone pro a little early, I just didn't have enough coverage at the time. Arcade offered. I was anxious and jumped the gun.

Do you think you needed more time to get your name out there?

Yeah. If I would have waited and put a couple parts out first, things may have gone better. I'm not really a contest skater, so I knew it wasn't going to work that way. But I'm happy with the way things turned out.

How do you feel about the skateboarding industry today?

It's blowing up. So many people are coming out of nowhere and just destroying. People are too concerned with how many stairs there are, or whether it's a record. People just need to chill and just skate.

Who did you look up to growing up, skating-wise?

My favorite skaters were Ronnie Creager and Tom Penny. Koston, too--my two favorite videos were Trilogy and Mouse.

Now that you're pro, is it weird skating with all the people you always looked up to?

Yeah, especially at contests. It's weird to look at a heat schedule and see your name next to Kenny Hughes and Rodrigo Tx. I get too nervous seeing them against me. That's why I suck at contests.

How did you like the Grand Prix contest this year?

Actually, it was really good. It was built like real street obstacles and you got to skate with a couple people at a time. Not so much pressure.

Do you think all contests should be that way?

Definitely--all skateparks should be that way. I'm hoping to design skateparks after I take some drafting classes. No more local disaster cement parks. It's the least I can do.

If you could take one of the obstacles home with you from the Grand Prix, which one would you take?

That would have to be the Hubba Hideout.

Why?

It's the exact copy of Hubba. How great would that be, to just have it in front of your house and skate everyday?

But then you'd have a bunch of dudes hanging around on your Hubba stoop drinkin' 40s and pissin' on your steps and skating 24-7.

Yeah but it would be worth it. At least until it got chunky.

So who do you usually skate with around home?

I usually skate with Casey Rigney--my roommate--when he's around, and my friend Chris Hyde and Kenny Thompson. I'm always skating with someone different.

If you could choose a city to film a future part in, where would it be?

Definitely Barcelona. I'm planning on trying to move there for a couple months to film, actually. The women are as good as the skating. There were models working in McDonald's practically. Rent is dirt-cheap there, too.

So how were the girls in France?

Better than here, but not quite as good as Barcelona.

Is it true you brought only one old pair of shoes to Europe?

Yeah, they were Emericas that lasted two months and then practically fell off my feet.

Did the shoes help you pick up on any girls in Barcelona?

Nope, no luck. Apparently they think Americans are all jackasses. That's why you go to Japan. They love Americans there. But it's just not the same.

So you think you can get a chick in Japan with those shoes?

I'll tell you when I get back from my next trip there.

So what made you move to Los Angeles?

When I got out of high school I wanted to move out right away. So I stayed in San Diego for about seven months and couldn't do anything but party every night. I mean, what do you expect, I had nothing else to do. All our spots were busts or knobbed. So when Jason told me we were about to start filming the upcoming Who? video, I wanted to move someplace where I thought I could get shit done. So I thought LA, but I was just looking for what I could afford at the time, and that was in Reseda.

Did LA fulfill your expectations once you moved there?

At first it was pretty good. All the spots were new. When I moved here I went looking for spots and I met this guy named Dario. He was the local filmer in the valley. So we started skating together and he took me to all the spots. But now that I've been in the valley for a while. it's starting to get a little old.

Tell us what a grenade is.

Well, it's when you have two girls come up to you and your friend. One is hot and one is not. The friend tells you to lump onto the grenade so he won't be bothered with his girl's tremendously ugly friend.

What if they're both ugly and you're sportin' beer goggles?

That's when you run for cover, an A-bomb is coming.

So have you jumped on any grenades?

Yeah I've taken a couple battle wounds for my platoon before.

Yo, we want details.

I jumped on my first real grenade in Europe. I was in France and my friend wanted to get with this fine half-Japanese, half-white girl, but her friend was. I'll just say a grenade. Don't hate, girls. I did no more. than kiss her, I couldn't even it with beer goggles. I'm glad. I didn't though.

Do you think pros have to jump off buildings just to produce footage in today's skating?

I don't really like to be forced to skate. If I try to plan a trick at a spot, then it will never go down. I just like going out and skating, if I film a trick, cool, if not, oh well.

Do you like taking photos and filming?

I love getting new footage, hut when I take photos I always feel like I have to get something, like I'm pressured by deadlines. But who can really complain about that?

So when is the who? video going to be done?

By the time people read this it should be out, so go buy it. Just some finishing touches and it will be out in shops in no time.

What parts are looking good right now?

Casey has a really good part, Jr. too. I don't think people are going to expect what's in it. Arcade has changed a lot in the last year.

How did you first meet Casey?

There was an Arcade demo up in Bellingham, Washington. He rode for this shop called Alliance that showed us around the local city spots. He basically landed about five or six bangers in about two hours, so we had to pick him up. Eventually he moved to San Diego and we started skating together.

Doesn't he live with you now?

Yeah, I remember he lived in Pacific Beach and we would stake all the time. So eventually Jason, Casey, and my other friend Chris all moved out into a house in Linda Vista, San Diego. It pretty much became the party/skate house, so Casey and I decided to move out to the valley to get some filming done.

Are you planning on moving again?

I was thinking about it. It's kind of ghetto outside of my apartment. Casey's car got broken into once. They took some CDs and a Discman. Nothing too drastic, but, it was sort of a warning. I think that's why my insurance rates are so damn high.

So how many times did you get hurt while trying to put this interview together?

Oh shit, a lot. At least 10 or more times. Europe wasn't so bad. I seem to get hurt here in the valley. It's usually because of heel bruises and my knee.

How many boards do you go through in a month?

A lot, usually like 20, but it's different every month. Sometimes I'll go to a spot and break two boards just skating flatground. Then other months I'll skate one board for like three weeks. It just depends on how much I skate.

What about trucks--don't you go through a lot of trucks too?

Yeah, I bend a lot of trucks. But the new Ventures aren't bending as badly. It wouldn't matter, I break everything.

Do you fancy yourself a rail skater or a tech skater?

I like everything really; whatever looks fun to me, I'll skate.

How many times do you have to roll up to something crazy before you huck yourself down it?

It depends. If it's a rail it takes me a while to get myself down it. If, I think I can do it, I'll just try it.

So what things interest you outside of skateboarding?

I like basketball and sometimes I'm down to play a little golf. Other than that, I guess my favorite thing is just traveling and seeing different places.

Basketball? Can you dunk on fools, or would you be like Larry Bird and just hit hoops from the three?

I can dunk on some courts. I use to play a lot, but over time I had no one to play with.

What if all the skate teams got basketball teams together? Who would run shit?

There are some pretty good basketball skaters out there. They have games at tradeshows all the time. I guess I never have time to play I'm always skating, traveling, or I'm hurt.

You consider yourself a road scholar?

I've been around, I would travel even if I didn't skate, you gotta see the world, ya know.

So what are your favorite movies?

Scarface, Fight Club, Goonies, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, just to name a few

Video games?

Right now my favorite game is Street Fighter on PS2 I'm addicted.

What about music?

I'm into rap and hip hop. I like Andre Nickatina and X-Raided now, but I'm always down for Barrington Levy or Eek-A-Mouse.

List five great moments in skateboarding.

I guess one would be Pat Duffy grinding the first huge double kink. Two would be when Mouse came out, three would be when Koston backside noseblunted Hubba, four, the PJ Ladd video, and five, the Flip video

What about Clipper Street and Tony Hawk's 900?

The back noseblunt was amazing, so was the 900...there are lots of good moments.

I'm talkin' about the front blunt on the other side--that's some other shit. If you could be in any other profession, what would it be?

I'd probably be an architect. I like building things.

What would you build?

I'd build a house and a skatepark in my backyard. I'll let you know when that gets done.

Can you build me a coffee table? Mine just broke.

Buy the wood and you got a deal. Oh, and 10 bucks.

Who would you like a thank?

I'd like to thank my mom, dad, and family, Chris, Andrew, Kenny, Brett, Casey, Jason, Ben, everyone at Arcade, Venture, Autobann, Blues, all my friends in Europe, Merlin, and God.