As I’m sure you’re well aware, Primitive’s latest video offering, DEFINE., released last Sunday, June 5th. I knew I’d love this video, based on the skaters involved, and equally as important; the filmers involved. 

I first became aware of Alan Hannon’s work during The Push Project part he did with Miles Silvas. I enjoyed seeing how they worked together, and I’ve watched that part countless times since its 2017 release. Since then, my respect for Alan’s work has continued to grow from projects like Primitive’s Encore and Fourth Quarter videos. 

Over the past few years, I became familiar with Eric Iwakura’s work, and have become a fan of what he does. I think his VX footage looks amazing, which is on display in this Trent McClung part he worked on. But, Eric’s brilliance isn’t limited to a VX, he films great regardless of the camera, as Alan will touch on in the interview below…

I love what DEFINE. is, and am very stoked I was able to go behind the scenes of what went into this project, with both Alan and Eric, enjoy! – 

🌀: What’s up! How are you guys doing?

AH: Doing good! Chilling.

EI: Doing good, chilling too.

🌀: Sick! So let’s knock out some basics. When did filming begin for DEFINE.?

AH: Basically right after Encore,  we did do Fourth Quarter in between, but that was only with four dudes. Everyone started filming right away, and the pandemic happened early 2020, so most dudes were just at home in their cities, and they just started filming with local filmers. People like Carlos and these other guys that were here in town were stacking clips with Eric while we were working on Fourth Quarter.

🌀: A big part of a full length video is the flow of it, which I’m sure isn’t the easiest task, especially with a big squad like you guys have. But, I felt like it ended up flowing really well, like that B-Roll at the end of Miles’ part where you see him and Dylan, then it’s Dylan’s part. What’s that process like, of filming that B-Roll and then searching through all of it to make the pieces fit?

AH: It’s cool you bring that up, because I tried to do that as much as I could. One in particular that I wanted to talk about is the clip of Pedro and Franky. That was on a trip in New York in June of 2021. They were both trying a trick at the spot, so Pedro was always waiting, then Franky would go. I was thinking “This would be such a cool shot for when I edit the video; to transition from Pedro to Franky’s part” – I kept thinking “Pedro please go back, please go back, please stay right there” –  I wanted it to be perfect. It actually worked out super good, so I already knew in my head that I was going to put Pedro’s part right before Franky’s.

EI: Wow! I didn’t know about that. That’s super sick.

AH: Yeah. With Dylan’s; we shot a ton of B-Roll with him, his whole thing was filmed in Portugal. Basically, Eric and I had the cameras rolling the entire time, to get anything and everything we could of him, because that was the only time we had to get him in the video. That little clip was super unplanned. 

🌀: Yeah, that’s sick! Eric, is that something you’re keeping in mind when you’re out filming as well?

EI: Yeah, for me I keep the camera rolling. You never know when something cool is going to show up. It happened with Tiago; this guy was talking, and Tiago had just landed his trick, he recognized Tiago and I just kept rolling the camera. 

AH: That was my favorite clip in the whole video. It’s seriously the best clip, it’s so crazy that he recognizes Tiago, he’s like “Is that a pro skater? Is that Tiago?” – I couldn’t believe it when Eric gave me his footage and I saw that. I was like “No fucking way, is this real?” – Eric is really good at keeping the camera rolling and getting things like that.

EI: I didn’t stop once, after he landed the Tre Flip I was filming him and the dude started saying all that, it was pretty cool.

🌀: That’s amazing. Was that after he grinded up that rail in NY?

EI: It was the Frontside 50-50 up the rail, yeah.

🌀: Ok, yeah, it’s so sick you captured that moment. I want to dive into the music a bit; Alan I know you worked with My Best Friend Jacob who scored the video, what was that process like?

AH: It’s really cool, in so many different ways. I first worked with Jacob on Encore, and since then we’ve had a great relationship. He did the music for the Rome video we did in Miami, he did all the What The P-Rod videos, and all the scoring on the documentary stuff. But what was different about this process was that we had never met in person. He’s from Nova Scotia, Canada, which is very very far East, it’s a tiny, almost island, on the east coast of Canada. For this video I hit him up and told him I really wanted him to help out, and he actually had to come out to LA anyways. I set up a desk in my office and he came over everyday for almost three weeks. It was so cool, he ended up being the dude with me through the whole editing process. He’s a skater too, he grew up skating, so he knows what’s up. As far as the music; it’s an editor’s dream to be able to be like “Hey can you take the song and slow it down? Can you take the sample from this song and mix it into the original? This song’s kinda boring, can you add some breakdowns to this?” – He’d whip something up, I’d check it out and then we’d go through the process of getting it dialed. It made for such a cool experience putting this video together, versus all of the others. 

🌀: That’s really sick, it totally makes sense now that you explain it. 

AH: Yeah, if you listen to Franky’s song, the original song never changes tempo. It’s a cool song, cool little beat to it, but if you listen to the original and then to what Jacob did to it, he puts these insane breakdowns where the music slows down but keeps a tempo. He does it a couple times, it sounds like it’s totally a part of that song, but it was him going in and adding those. He did that quite a bit for me in a few sections of the video.

EI: It’s super sick! All the audio, the transitions. 

🌀: Yeah, that all really helps with the flow of the video like we were talking about earlier. There is one song in particular I wanted to ask about; the credits song is now huge and trending from Stranger Things. DEFINE. and Stranger Things released the same day, right?

AH: Crazy! I had that edited like 3 days before Stranger Things came out. Not to be that dude like “I used it before Stranger Things!” – But, I really did. It’s funny because I’ve had that song on a playlist, and I decided like 5 months ago that I was going to use it for the credits. You could almost argue that the intro of the video is a little Stranger Things-esque, with the big lines and stuff. That was one thing when me and Blaine, the motion graphics designer, were figuring out the graphics, my first thing was “Is this too Stranger Things?” – And this was months ago. Everyone was like “Nah, nah, it’s fine. Stranger Things is all red, this doesn’t look anything like it” – And I’m like “You sure?” – The exact same day we premiered the video, Stranger Things came out with that. The song is trending right now, it’s really funny.

🌀: Such a crazy coincidence haha. The story telling put a cool bow on JB’s part, and the throwback VX footage to start it blended in that 4×3 HD footage really naturally. I thought it was a really cool and creative way to edit the part, especially with the VO at the end, it was more than just tricks. How did that all come about?

AH: I’m glad you noticed the 4×3 aspect ratio. I was with Anthony Clarvall in Brazil, and he told me about Brad Johnson, which I didn’t even know Brad Johnson filmed, he’s a pro skater from the 90s. He was like “Brad Johnson found all these tapes from the 90’s, he’s got all this stuff with JB.” – Ant connected us, and Brad was super cool. He sent me like 10 minutes of JB footage, it was crazy. Immediately that thought came to my head like “Shit, this is perfect. This is my way to transition into the 4×3 HD footage that we already have of JB.” – The voiceover thing at the end; I already felt like we were telling a little bit of a story with JB’s part, and just wanted to add something different to the video, because it’s so skate heavy. That voiceover and the whole part at the end was all filmed by French Fred, which I’m super proud of, to have his footage in the video. 

🌀: That’s amazing, super sick that you were able to get that throwback JB footage! DEFINE. Included a new announcement to the squad, Dylan Jaeb, was it tough keeping him a secret when you were all on that Portugal trip?

AH: Dylan’s a really smart, calculated kid. He knows what he wants, he knows how he wants things to look, he’s got a vision. He had been running the blank boards and all this stuff. On the first day of the trip to break the ice we were like “Are you cool with us not putting you on Instagram?” – And he was like “Oh yeah yeah, I wanted to say that too” – So we agreed right at the beginning. 

EI: Yeah, I remember that, right in the beginning!

🌀: Haha that’s sick, what was it like working with someone new on a trip like that?

EI: That trip was my first time meeting him, he was super nice and mellow, super easy going personality. It was pretty fun to work with him, he does his tricks super easy, you have to be ready when you’re filming him. A lot of tricks were first T.

AH: Eric, you’re so close with the gnarliest dudes; Tiago, Wade, Rodrigo Peterson, and then to be with a young 18 year old kid, was it a big difference for you? Or did the way he carries himself make it feel natural? 

EI: Actually, it felt natural for me. I’m not going to lie, I remember the first line he got, the Fakie Tre then Switch Pop Shuv-it. When he asked me to film it, I got a little bit nervous for some reason. I don’t know why.

AH: I was nervous too, to be honest. We were nervous and excited, because it’s Dylan. Most of us had met him before, on quick little sessions. But, this was our chance to actually document him for Primitive. It was a huge moment in a lot of different ways. I remember telling Dylan right before Eric started filming him “Just so you know, I’m probably not going to put the fisheye on this whole trip, because Eric’s the best fisheye filmer in the world” – And he was like “Alright yeah, we’ll see” – And he watched footage and was like “Oh shit, you weren’t lying Alan” – It was super funny.

🌀: Haha, I love that! Was there a certain goal for how much of a presence Dylan would have in the video, knowing he’d only have one trip to film?

AH: We wanted a one minute commercial, welcoming Dylan in the video. The Portugal trip was the perfect opportunity for us to do that. 

EI: It’s so easy for him!

AH: Yeah, like the Frontside Flip he does on that double set. That was a treacherous day dude, it was super cold and super windy. We skated all morning, then we went to that curved ledge. He did that Back Tail Varial Heel, which he battled for a long time. No one was trying to skate, everyone was sitting down bundled up. It was pretty much the end of the day and Galli, the filmer, was like “Hey I’ll show you guys a double set, we’re pretty close to it” – There was like 45 minutes of light left, and I thought we were just going to pull up and look at it, because it’s a pretty big double set. We’re looking at it, and it’s all dark and cold out, and Dylan’s like “I think I can Frontside Flip it” – And I was like “Yeah, maybe tomorrow or something?” – And he was like “I think I can do it right now.” 

EI: Yeah! Alan, Oliver and I went back to get our stuff out of the van, because originally I didn’t think anyone was going to skate it right then. He was like “I’m going to do it right now” – And I was like “Oh my God, ok!”

AH: We set up and he did the Frontside Flip second try. Then Kyo Hardflipped it second try too, it was crazy!

🌀: Wow! The young bucks. I was so stoked on that long lens top angle of his Switch Flip, I can’t believe the way he caught that.

EI: He did that Switch Flip twice. First try, and then second try (laughs)

AH: He really is that good. It’s fuckin’ crazy. That double set is big, it’s super long. It’s hard to explain skating with Dylan. We’re pretty spoiled at Primitive, to be working with the gnarliest dudes, to have someone like Dylan come in and still be so amazed, it was a really cool feeling. I know Eric, myself and Oliver were all tripping. We were at a spot, and Dylan was just messing around doing Back 360 to 50-50’s on a curb, and Miles was like “Is there anything this fool can’t do? It’s fuckin’ crazy” – It’s just shit like that. It’s not just the skating, like I said before he’s a really bright kid who is really smart and super involved with everything that comes along with skating and filming.

🌀: That’s really cool to hear. His board control is clearly on another level, and it’s sick to see that translate onto a trip like that, and into the footage. 

AH: Yeah, and quick note too, he fucked his knee up on the third to last day. He was trying a line with Eric doing a Kickflip Front Tail, and he bashed his knee into a marble ledge. He got all that footage, but it’s crazy because if he didn’t hurt his knee he probably would’ve had another minute of footage. It was like seven days of filming. 

🌀: That’s some serious productivity. Was there a standout trip from working on the video?

EI: Man, I remember the New York one with Tiago, Carlos, Miles, and Pedro. That trip was pretty unique and pretty dope for me. That session at Flushing Meadows was pretty heavy, and fun at the same time. Also, I remember going to Japan with Kyonosuke. Skating in Tokyo is a bit hard, because there’s a lot of security guards. I was talking to Kyo, and he was saying there’s one city in Okinawa that has more mellow vibes. So we brought up the idea to go there, and we stayed for two weeks. That was really productive as well…

AH: For me, that trip Eric did with Kyo was super crucial. For one, no one can travel to Japan, so to be able to have footage there was really special, and for Kyo that made all the difference. Also, Eric did another trip with Tiago to New York, which was more of a solo trip. That was a crazy one. He did the Switch Bigspin Back Tail on the Pyramid Ledges, Switch Pop Shuv 50 on that rail, and that crazy line where he crosses the street and does a Switch Front Tail on the 3 stair ledge. 

🌀: Let’s go behind the scenes on that line where he crosses the street, what was that like, Eric?

EI:  We went to the spot, and he was skating around. There’s a bump over bar, he was saying “Maybe I do some stuff over here, I want to do a line. You down to film a line?” – And I was like “Yeah, yeah for sure. I’m down.” – But right away I was like “How am I going to film this?” – In the beginning it was super hectic because he started the line, and a lot of cars were passing by us in the street. Once people saw that we were filming a line, they started helping, like blocking the cars. It was hard because I was coming from the street and I had to go up to the curb, to film the Switch Front Tail. That was a battle for me, that line was a little battle for him too. But, it looks super sick going in the middle of the street.

🌀: Yes! I was just going to say that; crossing the street in a line looks amazing!

AH: I love how the pedestrians get in the way almost, it just adds to the whole feeling of that line. Eric has been so key in that sense, with Tiago, by being able to understand how he works. A lot of people just think “Oh, Tiago, he’s the gnarliest skater in the world, he’ll just do all this.” – But he’s got his own way of working, just like every skater does. Eric’s really unlocked that with Tiago, and figured out what he’s into and not into, if he’s feeling it or not feeling it, when to push, when not to. That’s how trips like that New York one, where he got all those crazy tricks, happen.

🌀: Definitely, I love the New York footage. So obviously Carlos closes out the video with an amazing ender part. Was there a plan for him to have last part, or how did that end up happening?

AH: Yeah, I’m glad you asked that. A couple weeks after the Encore premiere, I was with Eric and Carlos at a taco spot in Long Beach. This was 2019, and I remember telling Carlos that in 2022 I want to put out a full length Primitive video; I want to get Paul involved, get Wade, JB, and this is the video for you to have the last part. 

EI: A quick note before you keep going; I remember this was two days after the premiere of Encore.

AH: Oh really? Shit. Carlos took that conversation to heart, he took it very seriously, like he does, because he’s very professional. You can see what he came up with in that time.

🌀: Yeah, he definitely put some work in. Was filming cut a bit short for him because of his ankle injury, or was his part already wrapped up?

AH: Well, it basically had to be. He hurt himself in November of last year. We had the Switch Back Noseblunt, but we kept talking like “What if you got just one more thing after the Switch Back Noseblunt, just something that people would never expect. The ender ender ender.” – Even though that’s just me being greedy, because he already had the gnarliest trick. Carlos was down. 

We thought of a trick for him to try, the Knob Buster unknobbed a rail for us, shoutout to him for doing that. We went to the rail, and as Carlos was warming up he jumped off the rail and rolled his ankle on a stair. I think he tore some ligaments or something, so that cut his part short, unfortunately. Obviously he still has an incredible video part, but it’s gnarly to think about what he would’ve been doing if he didn’t get hurt. Because that was five or six months before the video came out. 

🌀: Wow, that really is crazy to think about. Eric, are there some clips from Carlos’ part that standout to you?

EI: That line he did at Pomona College (Nollie 180 Switch Crook Half Cab Flip, Nollie FS Flip, Switch BS Flip the set), that was a real real battle for him. We went there four times I think, and each time was three hours of trying the line.

AH: Yeah, I couldn’t believe it. I was watching Eric film this line for hours and hours, and that’s the magic of Eric, he never once shows that he’s tired, he never once shows that he’s losing energy. It doesn’t matter if it’s thirty minutes, or four straight hours of filming. That really helped Carlos will through all of those sessions to make it happen.

🌀: Yeah, that line was definitely worth it. I remember when that line started with that ledge trick I was blown away, I was just sitting there thinking “He just started a line with that? He grinded like 20 feet…”

EI: Oh my God, yeah! I’m always hyped to see that after three hours someone is like “Man, I want to get it” – When I’m watching the dudes trying so hard, it makes me hyped too.

AH: What about the Back Tail Bigflip Eric? That was a crazy one.

EI: Oh man. That was unbelievable. At first when he started trying Back Tail I was thinking maybe he would flip out. His commitment was unreal from the beginning, it’s pretty hard to just Back Tail, that spot is jacked.

AH: When we first went Franky noseslid it, which was gnarly, you know? We thought that was super cool. The Back Tail Bigflip was pretty spontaneous, Eric you can correct me if I’m wrong…

EI: Yeah, it was spontaneous. We just went there and he thought maybe he could do it.

🌀: When he was sliding the Back Tail I figured something was coming out of it, but BS Flip was all I could really imagine. Then as it started to spin Bigflip I was like “No way! On that spot? How’s that happening?”

EI: (Laughs)

AH: Yeah, we were all thinking that. It’s such a fucked up trick, Back Tail Bigflip over an L ledge to drop, I don’t think most people would even think of trying that.

🌀: Was that the same session as when Trent did Front Tail Kickflip that was used in Fourth Quarter?

AH: Yep. It’s pretty cool that you can see how in some aspects we were filming two videos at once.

🌀: Yeah! I want to hear what went into Tiago’s ender, the Switch Back Tail on the Bay blocks in SF. I thought this was a perfect ender for him; a tall and crazy Switch Back Tail is very definitive of his skating.

AH: It was just me, Tiago and Dan Z. Tiago just started jumping on Switch Back Tails super easily. There’s a pretty gnarly crack, in most cases we would’ve bondo’d it, but because of how fast everything was happening, he just got right into it. That session was super hectic, there were so many pedestrians. He got into one and slid one a quarter of the way and Dan Z looked at me like “Is this really happening right now?” – And I looked at him and said “He’s going to do this.” – He started getting close, but it just kept getting more and more hectic with people. Tiago would get a little window, he’d slide almost all of the way, kick it out, and then he’d have to wait like four minutes for slow moving pedestrians, and kids jumping on the ledge. A little more than half way into the session; Miles, our homie Brandon, and Jahn Perez came over, and they really helped with pedestrians. Then it ended up working out. 

EI: Working with Tiago is really interesting because he really needs to feel right to skate right. That Switch Back Tail wasn’t on his mind to try, he just wanted to do it then, and you have to be ready to film. If you lose that opportunity, you never know.

🌀: Well it’s sick that it worked out! Next clip I have written down is Spencer’s FS Halfcab Flip in New York, where he lands and it looks like he’s at a demo, there’s kids everywhere. What was the deal with that big crew?

AH: Those kids made that trick happen. Usually with that spot you try like twice, then get kicked out. We went there, and all those kids were just hanging out, and I think a couple of them were trying to Ollie the stairs. We pulled up and asked if we could join the session, and Spencer started trying his trick. Security came out, and those kids were being so ruthless to the security, just fucking with him. The security guards got so over it that they just left, and gave us the free time. It was pretty sick that those kids helped make that session happen, and how hyped they were when Spencer landed it. Except for the one kid who roasted Spencer for not landing the Nollie Flip after.

EI: (Laughs) Watching that clip was so sick!

AH: I asked those kids “Hey, can you not post this on Instagram?” – and I already knew these kids wouldn’t listen to me, but, none of them posted it actually, which was really cool.

🌀: Oh, dope! I thought the subtitles of the kid hating on Spencer’s Nollie Flip was so funny. 

AH: Yeah, I had to put it in there just because I felt like you could miss that, so I added a couple subtitles like that in the video.

🌀: Speaking of the subtitles, Eric, I’m really excited to hear about this. Wade’s Nollie Flip Nosegrind 180 at Muni; was he asking you “Yes or No?” on every single one he landed, or what was the deal?

EI: He’s a perfectionist, and in the footage tricks will look perfect, but in his head something is off. A couple days before that he was trying another line, and he asked me “Yes or no?” – And I didn’t say anything, because it was perfect, and he stopped the line. I was like “Dude, what happened?” – And he was like “You didn’t respond to me.” – And he got a little bummed. That time (at Muni) I had to say “Go” – Because if I didn’t, he’d probably stop trying the line. After he got it I was like “Dude, see, you asked me and my voice is in the footage” (laughs) But it ended up being super funny.

🌀: It totally makes sense that you wouldn’t want to be talking during a clip, but because you did, that clip really stands out. It’s funny that he asks, because he did the trick perfectly, but your response really brought out something extra, a different feeling. Has there been a time where he asks you, and you have said “No”?

EI: No, all of them were perfect. Never say no to him in the middle of a line, just “Yes!” or “Go!”

🌀: Haha, that’s amazing. It’s hard for me to even picture Wade landing a trick sloppy, he’s so on point. Alan, let’s dive into that hype shot after Trent’s ender, which I thought really gave that trick some well deserved attention. 

AH: That’s a homage to Sight Unseen, there’s a clip that leads into a montage where everyone’s huddled around a camera and it shows their reaction. Alex Kissinger and I have always been talking about trying to recapture that moment. There’s been so many times where I’ll be filming everyone huddled around the camera, but everyone just high fives then walks off. This was the closest I’ve gotten to that Sight Unseen moment, so that was my main excitement about that clip. I remember texting Alex and he was like “You got it!” – And we had a good laugh about it. It worked great, because Trent said he wanted to do that trick, but it wasn’t like he was planning on filming his ender. He was surprised I used it as his last trick, but I knew that with that hype clip at the end, and the way Eric and Galli filmed it, it looked so cool. It reminded me of Mike Mo’s trick in Fully Flared. It was such a cool way to end his part, and transition into the next section.

🌀: Haha, it’s sick you captured that reaction! Eric, back to you. Peacock at Pier 7, with an insane two trick line. How did that play out?

EI: That trip to San Francisco was my first time meeting him, and right away we got along super well. The first trick in that line was kind of a warm up trick, which is crazy. For some reason, I just kept filming him when he rolled away, and he did the Nollie FS Heelflip Switch Manny Shuv-it out. 

AH: Yeah, completely unplanned.

EI: Yeah, it was super sick. He was like “Oh, you filmed that? I didn’t know you were rolling the camera.” – I was like “Yeah dude, I got it!”

AH: Yeah, such a crazy moment. I know that in my head I would’ve just filmed the trick and done some weird pan out, and then stopped rolling. Then I would’ve watched the second trick with my own eyes and been devastated that I didn’t film it. It’s really cool that Eric kept rolling, it made that section of Brian’s part pretty epic.

🌀: It did! It’s crazy that it was unplanned, and I also don’t know if anyone else in the world could do those two tricks back to back. Especially that second trick, it is not low skating it that way.

EI: It’s not low!

🌀: Let’s talk about Miles’ ender, the Switch Flip FS 50-50, on the very familiar Stanford hubba. What’s the story there?

AH: Usually when Miles has an idea of something he wants to do, he’s going to do it. He’s super professional in that way, he’ll go to the skatepark and Switch Flip 50 the hubba a bunch of times, to be prepared for when he gets to the spot. We were trying to think of a last trick for the video, and saw Jamie Foy and Patrick Praman skate Stanford, and we thought it was super random because it had been knobbed for a ton of years. We confirmed that it was unknobbed, and then Miles was like “What do you think of Switch Flip Front 50, do you think that would be an ender?” – And I was like “Are you kidding me? Of course that’s an ender!” – Miles went to Stanford by himself to look at the hubba, which is crazy because that’s a two and a half hour drive from Sac, then a few days later we went together for him to try it. It was kind of windy and weird, but Miles got right to it. He did Back 50, a couple of Switch 50’s, and when he did that, I knew he was going to make it happen. I think he committed to like four total, and they were all super chillin. He had a moment where he was kind of popping weird, he’d just kind of pop and jump onto the ledge and jump down, and he started to get pretty tired. Then he just did it. Perfect. Switch Flip Front 50. No photographer or nothing, just me, him, and a small squad, on the second to last weekend to film for the video. 

🌀: That’s a gnarly mission! That’s cool to hear he drove all the way out there just to scope it out the day before, that’s some commitment. 

AH: Yeah, and for the record, that’s Miles’ eleventh video part. Not a lot of people know that. Not a lot of people even do eleven video parts in their whole career. It’s pretty cool for me to be involved in every single one of them. I filmed his Kickflip Backtail in the LRG video, so it was cool to be back there all these years later to film another gnarly trick.

🌀: Wow! Yeah, I was stoked on the ender being at Stanford, since he had done that Kickflip Back Tail and Switch Back Smith there in the past.

AH: For sure, that’s what we were excited about too, knowing Miles’ history with that spot, it seemed like a very fitting ender for him.

🌀: Staying on Miles here for a second, I remember being blown away by that Pier 7 line he did on Instagram, and come to find out he also filmed a line for the video that same day. How did you guys decide what was going on Instagram that day, versus what was going in the video?

AH: It’s funny nowadays, the lines are getting more and more blurred with what goes on Instagram, and what you actually film for a video part. Arguably you could say that the line he posted on Instagram was better than the one that we filmed for the video, but in Miles’ mind, he’s Switch Back Heel’d Wallenberg. A Switch Back Heel over the block for him isn’t really stepping it up. We filmed the line, and he did it pretty quick. That was actually the first clip he filmed after being off his board for like 5 months from a slightly fractured ankle. He was pretty excited, so he asked if I could film something on the phone. Everything after the Switch Back Heel was unplanned, but I remember him doing that and I was like “Shit, well you just filmed a better clip for the phone than you did for the video, haha.” – But that’s just how it goes. We went back the next day and he did the Fakie Flip Fakie Manny Fakie Flip going up it, so having those two clips together solidified everything.

🌀: Yeah, having the two Pier clips back to back was a cool look. Eric, any other clips from the video that you wanted to get into?

EI: The Carlos Switch Back Noseblunt, the ender. Alan, correct me if I’m wrong, we were in Sacramento, and Carlos wanted to go to SF just to skate Clipper, right?

AH: Yeah, we were in Sacramento on a Fourth Quarter filming trip, when Gio Fakie 50-50d that triple kink rail. Carlos drove separately and was like “I’m just going to come, I kind of have this idea for Clipper…”

EI: We got there and JP Souza was with him, to help him with his mental, because Switch Back Noseblunt was pretty gnarly.. He started with Switch Back 50, then he was doing a Switch Ollie and pretending to lock the Switch Back Noseblunt and kick the board. He has his own process, he had to step certain ways, and he unlocked the trick. It was a little battle for him, but he ended up doing it. It was me, Alex, Alan, and Chico showed up too…

🌀: Whoa that’s sick!

EI: Kyle Camarillo was there too, he took the photo. It was pretty heavy.

AH: Carlos actually went the day before and Switch Back 50’d it by himself. He drove separately on the trip because he didn’t want to have to bring the whole crew to SF, just in case he didn’t get the trick. He flew JP out for the day that he did the Switch Back Noseblunt, so we had a little squad.

EI: Once he did the Switch Back 50-50, he was like “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can do the Switch Back Noseblunt.” – That’s why he went solo, just to be sure. 

AH: It’s pretty similar to the way Miles works. I think that’s why they work so well together.

🌀: Yeah, and speaking of those two; I saw you posted some raw footage from their session at Muirlands. How was that sesh?

AH: That was really cool. Carlos had been there before, but I knew that he wanted Miles to skate it with him. There was a big chunk of the video where Carlos and Miles were feeding off each other, especially with big spots like that. We had Miles come to LA, I hit up Burnett, which was the first time I had hit him up to come on a session with us, and we made the mission. Miles had never even been to the rail before, so it was still kind of up in the air, and they both unlocked it together. It was really funny because Carlos was really scared to try the Switch Back Lip, it was hard for him to commit on the first one, but the only way Miles could get himself to Switch Back Smith it was to try a Switch Back Lip first. Miles was like “I’m sorry dude, I have to Switch Back Lip it.” and Carlos was like “No, please do!” – It’s just funny to think of that dynamic. Miles didn’t land the Switch Back Lip, he just had to slide it a couple times. The fact that they both did those tricks on the bench too, you could’ve definitely just done something pretty casual before the rail tricks, but that’s not what Miles and Carlos do.

EI: Those lines were insane!

AH: Carlos’ Kickflip Front Crook pretzel then Switch Back Lip is so fucked up. He went to straight too, which was really cool. I don’t think that was planned, I think that’s just how it worked out for him. Miles had dislocated his shoulder a couple months before that, and it ended up popping out twice on that session, but he shook it off and still made it happen. 

🌀: Yeah, to echo what you said about the bench tricks, I can’t believe that’s what they did before a trick down a long 14 rail. Those bench tricks should be how you end a ledge line. They’re on another level. Let’s get into P-Rod a little bit. Alan, I know you were stoked on that Switch BS Flip and Switch Front Heel he did…

AH: Yeah, I think that was the first thing he filmed for the video. He went back a few times to get that, he finally got it, and wasn’t too happy with it. But, Paul has his standards and obviously, he knows what’s best. We went back and he Switch Backside Flipped it perfectly in a few tries. He hadn’t talked about doing a Switch Front Heel down it, but I’m sure in his head he was like “If I do it quickly, I’m going to try this trick.” – The whole session was pretty fast. He Switch Backside Flipped it in like four tries maybe, and then Switch Front Heel second try, but put his hand down, then did it the same way a couple tries later, and then got the one within six or seven tries total. Then we were out.

🌀: Geez!

AH: It was crazy, it was such a classic P-Rod session. Like vintage Paul, just doing these tricks on a deep valley spot. He was wearing the P-Rod 1’s, which Spanish Mike encouraged him to do. He got him super excited to break those out of the closet and film a trick in them. That was a cool little touch. 

🌀: That’s super sick, good call on that. Was it your idea to reuse his song from Yeah Right?

AH: Yeah, that was me. For some reason that song came up, and I was toying with the idea. The more I started thinking about it, with how many nostalgic tricks and things he had in this part, it just felt right to use that song. The Switch Frontside Flip, his last trick, is what sealed the deal for me. His last trick in Yeah Right was a Switch Frontside Flip down a 13, and this is 20 years later, and he’s damn near doing the exact same Switch Frontside Flip on almost the exact same size set, which is crazy. I just felt like there were too many things that were an ode to Paul’s skating in Yeah Right to not use the song.

EI: Yeah that song is so sick. When the beat goes down during the Switch Back Smith Switch BS Flip it’s so sick!

🌀: Yeah, I feel like it ended up being the perfect way to kick the video off, everyone got so stoked at the premiere, and it fades into Wades part so well. It set a good tone for the rest of the video.

AH: Yeah, and when the Primitive logo comes on the screen he used a sample of that instrumental so you kind of like start to come into that track. I was really happy with how the beginning sequence came together.

🌀: Definitely! Carlos seemed to have a lot of NYC footage in this video, how did that come about?

AH: The coolest thing for me was that he got that baby blue NY New Era hat, and he got all juiced on that, and he’s wearing that hat in all of his clips

EI: (Laughs)

AH: But he got some really cool and different stuff on that trip. The Ollie up on that ledge then Kickflip over the two trash cans that Eric filmed, that spot is really gnarly. You have to go so fast, I can let Eric touch on how that was…

EI: He approached me like “What do you think if I do a Kickflip over here?” – And I was like “Damn, this is pretty dope, it’s hard. Maybe I can roll with you.” –  I realized it was so hard to catch up with him, because he was running and running before throwing down. So I was like “Ok, I’m going to start right here, when I say “Yes” you can come.” – It was a little mission, there were a lot of cars passing by, but he ended up landing it and we rolled across the street. I was like “Yeah man! You got the trick, New York, it’s different for you, and it’s at night!” – And was like “Man I’m hyped, skating in New York, so sick!” – That night was special.

AH: Yeah, getting that one and the Switch Back 180 Nosegrind 180 into that bank was super gnarly.

EI: That one was incredible. That spot doesn’t really translate in footage, for how hard it is. It’s gnarly.

AH: That trick was actually a request by Matt Schleyer, shoutout Matt. He’s a great dude, great filmer, he knows all the spots. He had never seen anyone do Switch Back 180 Nosegrind 180 into that, and he wanted to see it so bad. I don’t know if he told Carlos that, or if Carlos said he wanted to do it first, but Matt was super excited about that trick. Carlos battled that one, it was super gnarly, and something different for him. You don’t normally see him skating banks too often. It was definitely a cool trip for Carlos. 

🌀: Yeah, that bank trick got me stoked. Like you said, it is kind of out of character for him, and for the viewer it really grabs your attention. 

AH: Exactly, yeah.

🌀: Well that’s all I got. Thank you both for pulling some clips to talk about. So stoked we were able to do this!

AH: Yeah, thank you! I’m glad we were able to do this together, it’s a cool dynamic.

EI: Thank you, man!