Dialed In with Chris Cole

What’s been going on lately? Are you working on any projects?
Just filming as always, skating with the Zero crew and woodworking… things like that. 

Best skatepark in SD right now?
My favorite park in San Diego is definitely a split between City Heights and Poods park. I like them both. At City Heights, I have more memories and better times with my friends because they have lights and Poods doesn’t. Otherwise we’d probably do a lot more Poods skating. It’s wild what people have done there, though. It’s almost turning into a Berrics at this point—like Dane did 101 tricks on the rail. And then you got dudes like Cordano and Midler showing up and doing all the wild tricks nobody else would ever do (Midler: fakie bigger spin back lip the handrail). It’s like that meme “No one:” and then Midler doing that trick [laughs].

What’s a trick that you struggle with more than others?
I mean, I’ll always say hardflips, because there’s a mechanic there that, like—I get it… but I don’t like it. There’s a laziness to it that almost feels like trying to ollie after your front wheels have already gone off the curb. There’s just a laziness to it that I really dislike. So I’ve always tried to hack the mainframe and figure out a way to pop them and make them feel normal… and not lag. It’s just a trick that’s always given me trouble. I still learned them and can do them, but on flat and down stuff, it’s like—have done, can’t do. 

On the opposite end, what’s your favorite feel good, go-to trick?
That’s a tough one. Backside flips always feel good—they feel good on everything. On a bank, a ramp… they feel good on flat, they feel good down things. Off of bumps, you know? And then just a really good floating ollie is always cool. 

I was on your Insta the other day and in a recent post you mentioned how you’ve never landed a no-comply after landing a big trick. I just wanted to confirm if that was really true [laughs]? 
Yeah, that’s true. I think I may have actually made one recently after filming a trick and it was like the first time ever. And I was like, “Dude!” And we all kind of commented on it. But it wasn’t like all the other ones I’ve tried, like you go flying off of something pretty fast and land a no-comply. This was a while after… like on my way back. 

I loved the John Rattray Dying to Live reference in the same post, too. 
Yeah, dude, he kickflips that street gap and he’s just hauling and he does that one, and it’s just like—that got everybody [at the premieres] so hyped. There are people out there who do tricks, and then there are people who know how to ride a skateboard… Rattray knows the physics of skateboarding. Like, he understands it. He can manipulate the board to do things because he just understands. He’d be really good on one of those Japanese skate shows with those obstacle courses [laughs]. 

Oh, he’d kill it on one of those! What’s your favorite Remind insole that isn’t your signature model?
You know what, I did a run with the Destin for a while. That wasn’t mine. I think it was the Zack Wallin. I did that for a minute but I always go back to the Medic. Just like, the standard, generic Medic. That’s what I was running for a long time, way before I ever had my graphic on it. Love those. 

What’s a current song or band that’s currently been on repeat lately?
Ooh, that’s a good question. The last Every Time I Die album was really good. Like, ridiculously good. So I’ve been listening to that a lot lately. Tracy Chapman. A couple songs are just so good that I didn’t even know existed. Like, “Baby can I hold you” by Tracy Chapman—I just didn’t know that existed for some reason. Like… how did I miss this, you know? 

And on the subject of music, I know you’ve been playing your guitar a lot lately, too. 
I play it a lot, yeah. And I think people just enjoy the little clips that my friends and I put up. So it’s fun to have a song stuck in your head, go home and learn it, post it and keep the Riff Offs coming. They’re fun. We’ve tagged in some actual guitarists and they’ve come to the table and done it. So sick. It’s fun. 

What’s your favorite personal video part that you’ve ever put out?
My personal favorite video part that I’ve ever done was my Fallen Ride The Sky part. I think that’s the most dialed that my skating can get. That was the first video part of mine that I watched and wasn’t bummed on anything. There wasn’t like that one trick, you know? But my most accurate as far as the way I skate normally with my friends would be the Hot Wax video parts. Like, that’s how I skate. Two different personalities to video parts [laughs]. 

What’s your favorite video part, just in general? I know this is probably hard. 
Yeah, that’s so difficult. Hmm… Geoff Rowley from Sorry is always going to be one. I mean, that dude is the first face on my Mount Rushmore. Jeremy Wray from Second Hand Smoke. Everything Marc Johnson ever did—ever. There are so many parts that are phenomenal. Jamie [Thomas]’s Welcome to Hell part is obviously always going to be up there. It’s just neat that we have all these video parts that shape who we are and you let them make an impression on you, but you don’t imitate, you know? Like… they’re already doing it, and they’re doing it pretty good. You just kind of let it have its fingerprint on this new creation. Like, my favorite skaters are “these guys” but I don’t skate anything like them. 

Who are some current skaters that are getting you stoked right now?
I always like Tom Asta. Ishod, always. I like seeing P-Rod doing it more, showing us all he’s still got it. Love it. I mean, dude, there’s a lot. There’s a lot of people who are popping up right now that are awesome. It’s hard to pinpoint. 

Last question, but what’s a dream skate destination that you’ve yet to visit
Let me think. I like this question but I just have to figure it out… I’ve never been to the Philippines or Singapore. I feel like those would be good and know some teams have gone out there. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland on a skate trip, too. I know that it’s sort of counter intuitive because the ground is going to be weathered and it’s going to be rainy, but I think the photos and the footage that come out of it would be worth it. 

Browse Chris Cole’s Medic insoles here. 

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