Catching up with Anthony Johnson

Posted on | September 29, 2009 | No Comments

AJ_Deck_mod

Skateboarding ambassador and House of Cat contributor Anthony Johnson on his new pro-model deck, life on the Struggle team, backyard riding and what the future holds.

How’s skating going?
Excellent. I am really stoked on all of my sponsors. A lot of fun projects coming up. The Struggle Skateboards promo vid is coming out soon and it is off the hook!!! And just riding a skateboard is always amazing, sponsors or not. I am still having as much fun skating as the day I stepped on one when I was 8 years old.

What have you been into riding lately?
This spring I put a ramp in my backyard so I have been skating that a ton. Other than that, I have just been street skating around town. This summer I was in Southern California a lot skating with the Struggle team. It is so motivating skating with the team. It is amazing how hard we push each other. It is like someone does a trick, it inspires someone else to try something new, and it keeps progressing at every skate spot. That is why the promo video is going to be so awesome.

Tell us a bit about your new deck.
I am so stoked on it! It is my favorite pro model yet. After I got home from a trip with Ruben Najera, he called me and told me he wanted to do a pro model for me. I was stoked. We started talking about graphic ideas, and it pretty much came together within a 15 minute phone conversation. I have always been amazed with elephants and felt a compassion for them. They are such powerful, loving, peaceful, strong, beautiful creatures. I have elephant paintings and statues all over my house. So it feels great to have a pro model that portrays a part of who I am.

What drew you to Struggle?
Ruben, who pretty much runs the show at Struggle, and is also pro for them, and I used to be teammates on another company. I always have had a lot respect for his style and skating. I was pro for Rock On Distribution and they got bought out by another company and dropped the team. Ruben and I were talking and I told him what was going on, and he asked me if I wanted to skate for Struggle. I was stoked. He started sending me decks and products and it has been an awesome situation ever since. It feels like a perfect fit for me. I am all about what Struggle stands for. The Struggle team are some of my closest friends.

What’s up with the Trick of the Month contest?
It is contest where anyone can send in one trick to me during the month of September and I choose one winner. That winner gets my new pro model and Struggle posts the trick on their site.

What kind of entries are you getting?
I have gotten a few really cool entries. I get stoked to see kids getting creative and skate things in a different way, or try tricks that you don’t see every day. I have received a pretty wide variety of tricks. One was so hilarious…this kid did a kickflip off of a launch ramp and his skateboards exploded in the air. It is wild to see what people send in.

What’s next for you?
I am going to keep hustling on my board. Keep skating hard and having as much fun as possible. Keep filming for the full length Struggle vid. I am working on a few signature items with Nobis. I have a few demos and one contest I am doing this winter. Other that that, I just always try to chill as much as I can with family and friends, chill in the mountains and at the ocean.

For more info on Anthony Johnson, be sure to check out his regular House of Cat column Anthony’s World of Skateboarding.

Visit StruggleSkateboards.com to find out more about Anthony’s new deck and meet the rest of the team.

Get in touch with Anthony through his MySpace page.

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Category: Anthony's World of Skateboarding, Culture
Tags: Anthony Johnson > new deck > Nobis > pro-model > Struggle Skateboards

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