[GANDHI PHILOSOPHY]
ANDY MACDONALD
Interview/Camera by Erik Olsen
> How did you get into skating?
I asked for a board for Christmas when I was 12. My older brother got a board around the same time. I started and never stopped.
> Was there a strong scene in Boston?
Yes, in Boston there was a big scene but I lived about a half our train ride away. My town was full of football players. Needless to say, I rode the train a lot.
> How did you get sponsored?
I got my first sponsor just skating at Fred Smith's park in Providence one day. The guys from Jobless Clothing were there, gave me some T-shirts and told me to call them. I'd been skating for about six years at the time. I was hyped!
> When you were in high school, what did you want to do when you grew up?
By the time I got to high school I had decided I wanted to be a pro skateboarder. Before that I thought I'd be a pro soccer player for sure.
> When did you decide to move out west?
In my sophomore year of high school I told my mother I was going to move to
California when I graduated. She didn't believe me...
> Who are your biggest influences in skating or just in general?
When I was coming up skating I looked up to Tony for his tricks, Lester for his Japan airs and Chris Miller for his style of course. In my life I've tried to adopt the philosophy of a man named Gandhi. Not that I'll ever come close.
> Where do you see the future of skateboarding going?
Wherever skateboarders take it. Skaters won't ever let it become something that it's not, but more and more people pick up skateboards every day. It's only going to get bigger and better. Pro skateboarders might even make the kind of money they should some day...
> What do you see for your future?
I'm getting married in the spring. That's about as far into the future as I've looked at this point. I'd love to be able to skateboard until I'm an old man.
> When did you realize that you had accomplished what you wanted skating-wise and when did you realize you could make a living from skating?
I'll never accomplish what I want to in skateboarding as far as skill goes. There's always something new to learn. That's what keeps me skating. When I first turned pro I needed about three hundred bucks a month to live how I was living. My first contract just about covered that, so technically I was making a living skateboarding. It was spring 1994.
> What advice do you have for kids who want to be skateboard superstars?
Superstars is a silly word. Being pro is great but I think most people tend to think that there's no work involved. There's years and years of hard work to put in and it's definitely more than just being a great skateboarder.
> How did you get involved in the anti-drug campaign?
When the Partnership for a Drug Free America started its new campaign with rock and roll stars I figured athletes would be the next logical step. I was right. I contacted them about using a skateboarder in the campaign being that their target demographic was a perfect match to skateboarders. Needless to say they liked the fact that I'd never done drugs.
> What are some of your biggest accomplishments?
I guess some people would say getting to age 26 and never having picked up drugs or drinking as a hobby is a big accomplishment. As far as skateboarding goes, I'm pretty happy to have won the overall combined for the last three years.
-Erik Olsen
1. Soon after this sequence was taken Andy took the record for most consecutive backside 540's. Camera: Erik Olsen
2. Andy contemplates Gandhi before dropping in. Camera: Erik Olsen
3. FS blunt. Camera: Erik Olsen
2. FS air at an undisclosed pool. Camera: Erik Olsen
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>f.stop >retroboard >u.s. open >pandamonium >Beatbox >product|media-tion
>In Focus >the_unsaid_everything >the end
