Dialed In with Elliot Sloan

How many ripping vert skaters do you know who hail from the streets of New York? While it might not be the most traditional background for an East-Coaster, Elliot Sloan is anything but conventional—in the best ways possible. His style is beyond imagination, with vert skills that seem unreal and mega ramp tricks that are downright terrifying. Elliot’s approach and attitude toward skateboarding are truly inspiring. We caught up with him for our latest ‘Dialed In’ interview to discuss his East Coast roots, his new Thrasher part, the tricks that got away, his favorite Remind insoles, and much more. Enjoy. 

I know you just dropped that gnarly Thrasher part. Are you enjoying some well-deserved rest or are you already getting ready for your next project?

Yeah, it’s definitely nice to have that weight off my shoulders, although part of me wanted to kind of keep going. I had a few other tricks in mind. But it just felt like it was time to put it out and move on. It’s nice to just switch gears. I’m getting ready for that contest in Japan next month, so just practicing for that contest, which I haven’t really done in a while. But the last two weeks or so I’ve just been practicing for that. Haven’t skated a contest in a while, so just trying to brush the dust off. But it’s been good. 

Rad. What’s a typical day look like for you at the moment? 

These days, let’s see…for the last three to four weeks I've been really trying to stay consistent and stick to this morning routine that I have. But it’s been fucking hot! Just a bunch of cardio and training in the garage. I’ll usually jump in the ice bath and get on my Assault Bike for 20-30 minutes, do a few other exercises and then sort of chill, maybe work on some music or whatever random things. Then I’ll usually skate around like five o’clock. 

Growing up in New York, when did you start skating vert and what inspired you to take that route in skateboarding as opposed to street skating?

So, I used to street skate a bunch in the city but when I saw Tony Hawk do the 900 on TV it was pretty much that moment. And then his video game came out shortly after, and I was just obsessed with the game…and just still blown away from watching him on TV. I was just so inspired and blown away by that moment. Luckily at the time, in Manhattan, there were two skateparks—that are both still there—that had vert ramps. So I would just go to the skatepark and pump around on the ramp. There was another ramp in New Jersey that was indoor—the other two were outdoor—and I met some guys that were pros and older than me, and that was pretty much when it started. Once I found that crew, I was going there all the time. 

What’s a trick that you struggle with more than others? And on the opposite end, what’s your favorite feel good, go-to trick on vert?

One that I’ve always struggled with is probably frontside 540s, like rodeos. I’ve done a handful of them, but it’s just one that feels like it never clicked. And even though I’ve done them, every time it just feels like I’m trying to learn it for the first time. It’s frustrating [laughs] because it’s one trick I would love to have consistent, because when I make them, they feel awesome. I think they look really cool. So, definitely that one. Favorite trick? Probably just frontside and backside Ollies. Just simple, the most fun. 

On the heels of that, I have to ask: What’s a dream trick that you haven’t got yet?

There’s a few, but I don’t know if I want to say them [laughs]. There were three that I had on my list—one of them I battled for a while and thought I was gonna do it, but was really taking a toll on my head. It was just so many sessions. I’d go out saying, “Today’s the day” but it wasn’t. So there’s that one on vert and then two others over the gap on the Mega. One of them I was getting super close to. It’s like a backflip trick and something weird happened on one of them and kind of freaked me out. So…yeah. I’d like to get back to it at some point, but yeah…[laughs]. 

We'll just have to wait! Fair enough. I know you make a lot of music, too. Is it hard to balance skating, music, life in general or does it all happen pretty naturally?

I have this metal “project” that’s kind of a band. We actually have an entire album done, but don’t really have a singer [laughs]. We’ve put out like five or six songs. The project started with me and my good friend Tanner who’s a really incredible drummer. The idea was to have it be like a giant collaboration project with different singers and guest solos on different songs. But now, we have twice the amount of songs as last time and we’re finding it pretty difficult to get these guys to commit. A lot of dudes have said, “Yeah, we’re down!” But some of them are in pretty big bands, or they’re busy and touring…so we’re sort of switching gears and trying to find a permanent singer. But we’ll see. Music is definitely my main other passion, though. I have some other songs coming out this year, some electronic music. I’m super into drum and bass. I love all kinds of music, but those are the two I focus on writing. 

How long have you been riding Remind insoles and what’s your favorite insole?

I’ve been riding for Remind for about four or five years now and I’ve been running the Medic. They’re solid and it’s crazy what a difference it makes with or without them. Like if you swap the stock insoles out and kind of go back and forth, it’s like “Holy shit!” And for me and guys who skate vert, you’ll notice when we knee slide, we basically always put our feet down before we go to our knees. So you really feel that first initial impact on your foot before you go to your knees. And you really feel it skating the mega, like coming off the quarter pipe. Your feet can get pretty beat up. So they help a lot! 

Do you use them in all of your shoes, even when you aren’t skating?

Oh yeah, I throw them in all my shoes. They’re great. 

Who are some skaters that inspire you these days? 

These days, I don’t know if it’s inspiring or just feeling like, “Fuck dude, I give up.” [laughs] A lot of these dudes now, I’m just so blown away. It’s like every time I open Instagram, I’m just like, “Oh my god…” It’s funny, because I was actually just talking about this with my wife, like the level of which these kids are progressing is insane. I feel like I’ve known a lot of these kids since they were like infants! And now it’s like holy shit dude…calm down. They’re just exponentially getting better and better. It’s crazy. But right now, definitely Tom Schaar, Jimmy Wilkins, Reese Nelson, Eddie Damestoy from France…there’s just so many. I think Tom is on another level, man. Like, the ease that he can learn tricks is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He’ll think of a trick that if you said it to somebody, they’d be like, “Yeah fuckin’ right” and he can learn it within 10 tries. I’ve never seen him really battle a trick. It’s so insane. He’s definitely on another level. 

On the subject of “opening up Instagram,” how do you choose what to share and what to save?

It kind of sucks, you know, because it’s almost pigeon-holed me into this weird spot where I know the mega ramp clips do the best as far as engagement or whatever. So, for a while, I felt like I couldn’t post anything else besides that. But recently—and obviously having the video part come out has helped, because I sat on those clips for a while—I’ve kind of just tried to post whatever. Fuck it [laughs]. I try to remind myself that nobody else is thinking about this shit as much as I am. Everybody is just scrolling and scrolling…so it’s like, dude, whatever. You know? Keep my sponsors happy, post whatever, and here and there get something crazy. Because of this upcoming vert contest, I haven’t even touched the mega for a few weeks. I’m trying to get my vert legs back and dial in a contest run, because I don’t usually do that. Most of the time I’m just trying to film a single trick. But yeah, just trying to remind myself not to overthink. 

All-time favorite video part or skate video?

If I had to pick one, I’d say Birdhouse, The End. But also Danny Way’s part in The DC Video. Rune Glifberg’s part in Sorry. Jake Brown’s part from What If? And all of Bob Burnquist’s video parts. 

Classics! Wrapping things up—I know you mentioned the contest in Japan is coming up, but what else is on the schedule for the rest of the year?

That’s pretty much it, yeah. My wife is coming with me to Japan and we’re actually staying for five days afterwards to do some sightseeing and be tourists. That’ll take me to the end of September. Otherwise just getting ready for Halloween season. Maybe another trip? But nothing planned as of right now.