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STACY ANSWERS HIS FACEBOOK FANS
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Sisley Brunon what is your favorite doc?! SP: I don’t have a favorite but I’ll list one I really like; “When We Were Kings.” !
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Sarah Guidas What director(s) of feature or documentary films do you look to for inspiration?! SP: Early on there was not a doc film-maker that I particularly liked or followed. In fact most of my inspiration was not to make traditional doc films which I felt were to staid, slow and plodding. I felt there was room for docs to be more entertaining and far more exciting to watch.!
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Chris Clayton You're an inspiration to so many fans of both skate and film. Who most inspires your work?! SP: People who are kind and accessible yet courageous.!
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Jillian Brunon Skating, filmmaking and commercial shoots take you around the world what are some of your favorite locations?! SP: I’ve been very fortunate to travel as much as I have but my favorite places are the exotic places I’ve surfed; Fiji, Indonesia and parts of mainland Mexico.!
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Greg Odell I have been compiling interviews and footage from the Syncopated Drumming culture of Long Beach CA 1960's-1980's. There is a riveting story here, any advice on how to find & contract film makers interested in this story, and how to find funding for a project like this?! SP: Finding funding is always the most difficult thing – perhaps try Kickstarter. You should try to make the film yourself since you seem to have the vision and passion for doing it. Nothing is more important than your own passion for doing something. !
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Dennis Allgeier What part of your life, in the eye of the skateboard world, when you think about it still makes you say-yeah that was so cool and makes you feel good all over again?! SP: Skateboarding during the backyard pool revolution. It was so raw, so illegal and pure at the time because it took place before the boom.!
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Tito Pietrella How it is to be one of the beginners of skateboarding?! SP: Humbling. I’m humbled I was able to experience the beginning of it all.!
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Paul Wisniewski Was Steve Saiz really on the "Bones Brigade?" a yes or No answer will do. haha!! SP: Saiz was.!
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Di Dootson Rose Want to come to 2nd Viva La Costa Reunion? July 18-20. Carlsbad, of course.! SP: Hi Di. Hope you’re well. I still have a collection of your skate newsletters from back in the day.!
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Anthony Brucato If you could, would you go back in time and do it all over again ?! SP: No because I’m still doing it now and it’s just as good.!
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Phill Hines How does it feel to be an influence to people all over the world, both young and old, and middle-aged?! SP: I’m honored and flattered but more than anything it makes me feel connected to others which is the most important thing in my life.!
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Tom Kennedy What's the hardest trick you never mastered?! SP: 360 frontside aerial.!
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Paulo Diaz Hello Stacy long time no speak my question is wen are we going sk8! SP: Paulo I have the fondest memories of you on the team. I hope you’re still doing art and pursuing your dreams. All the best to you.!
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Rob Harris I dont have a question. I just wanted to say thank you for believing in your team who made millions of people believe in themselves. I often watch the "Bones Brigade" documentary and find that i am inspired and motivated each time i watch it. And again... thank you =]! SP:Awesome, thanks for sharing.!
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Ted Watkins No question just thank you for being a inspiration on my skating when I started in the 70's. I still have and cherish my skateboarder mags from then. I still skate now. Thank you!! SP: Right back at you, Ted.!
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Julie Barrett Glad to see you back. Question: What do you think about the future of surf/ boarding in Nicaragua? There is some incredible stuff going on down there.! SP: I’ve not had the good fortune to travel to Nicaragua yet but am under the impression that many talented skaters will be emerging from there soon.!
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Tracie Neria You remember skitch Hitchcock. Original skater! SP: Of course. We skated and competed together many times. A great guy.!
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Dan Hankle When did you know you wanted to be a film maker first?! SP: I was introduced to film-making by having to make the Bones Brigade videos. Previously I never thought I had the ability or talent to make films. I fell into it. It was a gradual process.!
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Anthony Menez What's the latest skateboard trick you learned?!
SP: I just re-learned Space Walk 360s - a very tough trick that I had a hand in developing back in the 70s. Took me weeks to re-learn it. !
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Reis O'Brien If you had an action figure made of yourself, what "action features" would you want it to have?! SP: That I could ride a skateboard or surfboard in any surface imaginable. !
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Tony Terror Are you coming for the Xgames this year and any chance you'll do a meet and greet?! SP: I’ve never been to the Xgames. I don’t even think I’ve ever seen one televised. !
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Jonno Shakesby No question, just a huge Thank You! Future Primitive playing through the window of a bike shop in my backward small UK city opened up a new Universe, I'd seen the pics but the motion too! Again, thank you so very much Stacy. All the best, Jonno! SP: Thanks Jonno. FP is probably my favorite video we did.!
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Donell Wiley I would like to pick your brain about a documentary I'm thinking about doing.! SP: It’s already been picked and there is so little left.!
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Jack Dion Hey Stacy. You've had a great career as a skater and director. What is your biggest regret as a skater? Would you have done anything differently? Thx, Dean..! SP: I have few regrets but if I had a wish it would be that had invented more tricks. !
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Carrie Ann Bemis Howser how much of your life story do you give credit to luck/being at the right place at the right time?! SP: I have found that luck is really about paying very close attention to what is coming towards you and recognizing all the various hints that are always being thrown our way. Certainly growing up where I did didn’t hurt and only helped but there really is a premium to being observant, sensitive and aware of what is going on. It’s something I actually work on by meditating twice a day.!
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Eric J Albright where do you go skate?! SP: I was skating in parks for quite a while, now it’s just in the street. About one hour per day.!
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Nick Romeo Do you still speak to Tony Alva?! SP: We still surf together at the surfbreak we grew up at in Santa Monica. We’ve grown quite close over the years which is something I’m grateful for.!
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Gail Plummer-Davis A lot of people who receive fame and fortune at a young age find it hard to process and spin out of control. You seemed to handle it very well. What or who do you credit with helping you maintain your focus and drive?! SP: My parents always insisted that I have a job, if I wanted something I had to buy it. They were also very grounded people. There was that aspect and the other aspect was that I grew up thinking I didn’t have much of a future ahead of me because I didn’t do well in school in my early years. So when I became good at skateboarding it was the first time I had succeeded at something and I liked the way it felt. So from that point on I started looking down the line of my life, always looking out for what is coming so I could be ready for it. !
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R Corey Smith Who do you think is the best skater today! SP: I’ve never considered anyone the best. There are simply too many talented skaters out there.!
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Lynne M Zaun What kept you trucking on the straight and narrow?! SP: I never wanted to burn to brightly as I preferred to burn for a long time.!
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Daniel J Weinberg Stacy you are the man for sure..but I want to know how Jay Adams is doing..! SP: Jay is doing great. Just spoke with him recently. He’s healthy and doing good things.!
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Ed Nadalin Stacy, Your timeline of life is "rolling" along quite nicely and you have given everyone an opportunity to see that through your artistic ventures and history, so what is your next artistic project that could supplement so much of what you have already given us?! SP: Ed, if this is the Ed Nadalin I skated with back in the day, then a big hello. You were an amazing skater. A true one of a kind. Not sure what is next as I’m right now in a gestation phase.!
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Loren Portillo Do u have any regrets or any growing up skateboarding in the 70"s compared to now?! SP: Very few. I’m still waking up trying to grow and learn and keep my sense of humor intact.!
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L Drew Pumphrey As a business owner, how do you decide when to bring on a partner and what kind of qualifications or previous relationship should you have for that person?! SP: This is a huge question. For me it was finding someone who fulfilled something that I lacked and someone I could grow close to and trust and be inspired by.!
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David Anderson What advice would you give youth and young adults about smoking weed?! SP: Don’t make it a habit. If you make it a habit then your life becomes about it.!
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Jason Brown What did you think of Heath Ledgers portrayal of Skip?! SP: We all love Heath. He was a genuinely good guy.!
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Todd Sullivan Stacy can I have some $$$?? How is that for a question?! SP: It’s in a paper bag at the 7-11 store by your house.!
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Roger Dale Edge Do your knees hurt a lot.! SP: No but my ankles are stiff from time to time.!
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Lui Correia If you could of picked anyone else to have joined the Bones Brigade, who would it be?! SP: Neil Blender.!
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Michael Campbell would you consider to remake thee animal chin movie,with a more up to date skate style/skaters...that woiuld be si-si-si-sick ! SP: I’m asked to do it frequently. !
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Adam Authier How nasty were the conditions at Pacific Ocean Park Pier? It looked like a fun right but super treacherous...kind of like the right in Apocalypse Now...hot LZ!!! SP: It was dangerous yet very seductive.!
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Renita Wickes What do I have to do to get you to come to Ft Irwin for the day and spend time with our troops and their families?! SP: Thanks for the offer, Renita. Please send them all my best.!
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Paul Civ If you could re create the Bones Brigade today, using current skaters, who would be on the team?! SP: Very hard to say.!
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Aram Anthony Stacy, this is my question too. Glad I checked before submitting it! Nice one Paul!!
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Jennifer Netzer Hartley How did you keep your sweet, kind demeanor after all the hype, popularity, success and glory. You do not have any hubris ! SP: I was very aware that I was fortunate and that it could end at any second. Being good at something doesn’t give anyone the right to feel superior and I never liked those people who acted that way. We’re all in this together.
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Andrew Hardin When was the moment you realized skating and filmmaking weren't only for fun but a viable career option?!
SP: My goal in life has never been money but it’s been to make a living doing what I love. It’s how I live today.!
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Seth Peralta Are we related? It's crazy b/c I'm friends with Seven Adams here in Sanat Cruz. Just kidding I know we're not but it's weird bc I happen to own a surf/skate company too. Anyways, I just get asked it a lot. Cheers and keep on kickin ass! P.S. Been following and skating since the VHS Bones Brigade.! SP: Aren’t we all related in some way?!
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Dilly How was in bosnia ?! SP: There is a very cool skate scene there. Very underground and very pure. It reminded me of my early years.!
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Jens Ritchie can I have one of your warptails! SP: I have so few left.!
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Rash Wildcat "People who don't learn from the past, live in the past". I read these words for the first time, from you, years ago. These words came back into my mind when your documentary about Dogtown made it appear like a forever lost promised land. I understood then, that you were saying out loud the low pivotal style was not only a stylish attitude but a way of living the best, smoothly, under the radar, far from the rest… Have you noticed a wind of change in the skateboard industry after your documentary ? Do you think the media could use more of a low pivotal style to be out of sight for a second ?! SP: I like the way you think. I hope you’re a writer. If you’re not maybe consider becoming one as you have an interesting point of view. !
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Julian Barajas What would you do different if you had to relive your after dog town days?! SP: Worry less about my future.!
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Aj Schneller I saw Brian Logan and TA are still on surfari, chasing waves, and camping out in Baja...and I wondered, how much and where you've been surfing lately? Peas!! SP: I’ve been surfing a lot in central California. !
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KM Donohue Which phase of your life has brought you the most satisfaction and why? Youth, skating, managing, filmmaking, middle age, family, etc?! SP: I’m beginning to realize it’s all one gigantic moment with thousands of reflections and angles. After a while then all merge into one life. All of my past memories are still very much alive, they don’t dominate my present but are alive within it nonetheless.!
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Joe Engelhart and honestly how much do you still correspond with the original Zephyr team??!
SP: Bits and pieces. I see Skip, Tony and Jay the most of anyone. Sometimes I see Jeff.!
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David S. Verduin If you hadn't discovered skateboarding, where do you think you would be today and what would you be doing?! SP: You’ve stumped me. I have no idea as skateboarding changed my life dramatically. It has been a doorway to all that my life has become.!
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Ryan Robertson Are you interested in getting back into design and production of skate boards and related products?! SP: No. I did the best I could do and have little to offer there anymore. Though I do have an idea that I may be expressing with George Powell sometime soon.!
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Rich Derksen We've seen skateboarding evolve from freestyle, to pools and vert, to streetstyle, and now it seems the sport is more diversified. Where do you think skateboarding is heading in the next 10 years? What are the prospects for professional skaters?! SP: I really don’t know as I don’t keep up with the industry much anymore. I just continue skating because I love it so much.!
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Rick Sinnett What inspired you to make Crips and Bloods: Made in America and do you think it has hopefully helped keep kids out of street gangs?! SP: There were gangs at my high school; Venice High and there have been so many senseless killings over the past 30 years. I wanted to make the film to shed light on the tragedy of it all and hopefully draw some positive attention towards it. So many young people are loosing their lives through violence and/or being locked up for life.!
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Daniel Smith Hey there Stacy - any moves that you have imagined from long ago, that still have not been done? What has been unexpected?! SP: I actually never thought I’d see the day when we see what we’re seeing today. It’s so far surpassed what I had imagined.!
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Martyn Bourke How do you feel about being in the z-boys , and putting together the bones brigade ,both changed the face and direction of skateboarding forever .! SP: So fortunate and so grateful. Both were a dream come true.!
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Mark Caruthers You excelled in all kinds of skating...pools,freestyle,slalom..etc...in your experiences and opinion..who was/is the best overall skater you have ever had chance to witness ?! SP: Tony Alva is the best from my generation for sure. No doubt about it. !
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Colin Beattie What was your first deck?! SP: An old beat up Hobie skateboard that was left over from one of my friend’s older brothers.!
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Keef Bartkus "Art is never finished, only abandoned" - Leonardo Da Vinci. Is there one film or video, in particular, you wish you had more time with?! SP: Every one of them after Future Primitive.!
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Graig Gilkeson Who is your favorite living filmmaker? Who is your favorite not living filmmaker?! SP: Favorite is Sidney Lumet. All time favorite.!
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Cheyenne Summer Roberts What's your favorite memory with the Zephyr team?! SP: The freedom we all experienced together. The bond and the identity of being on that team. !
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Don Coffman Who's idea was it to cut the fins off the Cadillac in The Search for Animal Chin? And where is the car today?! SP: Stecyk. He’s a car freak. We left the Cadillac in the desert with the keys in the ignition. !
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Doc Skaterock What are you favorite songs from the Bones Brigade video soundtracks? (And in case you allow me asking a second question: will there ever be a second volume of the Bones Brigade Video Soundtrack CDs?)! SP: I don’t think I have a fav. Don’t know if George has anything planned.!
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Tom Ragee Your defining moment? Thanks for all the memories Stacy.! SP: Every time I fail I’m defined because those are the times that call out my strength and belief.!
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Jebena Psiha how was on the trip to Bosnia?! SP: Amazing. Loved the people and the place.!
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Derick Smith I was wondering if there was going to be a release any time soon of the club mumble decks ?? I got a Grant Brittain.... Would like to add the other two to my collection. Thanks Stacy !!! SP: What is club Mumble?!
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Dale Dennis If you could go back and do it all again would you do anything different and why?! SP: I don’t think I’d do much different as it all worked out pretty well.!
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Greg Echevarria Why did he not include John Palfreyman and Tom Lund in the DogTown documentary?! SP: In every doc film I make I have to put some kind of limit on how many people I feature. Too many and the audience can’t follow and gets confused. So I tried to base it around just those who were the original skaters on the Zephyr team.! !
Patrick Poix Did you think about a skateboard hall of fame in California, where it all started...you deserve to be one of the kings of skateboarding...! SP: They put me in a few years back. I followed Alva.!
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Allan Matus If yiu were a pizza, what topping would you have?! SP: Kale. !
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Heather Mann Will there ever be a Bones Brigade feature movie like Lords of Dogtown?! SP: Not if I can prevent it. Don’t want to go down that road again.!
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Michael Gould Hey Stacy, what's the one thing you would tell your younger self, I know there's probably a lot so maybe even a couple things you'd tell your younger self?! SP: Don’t worry so much. It’s all going to work out. !
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Joe Engelhart on skating alone, not wealth or popularity, if you could trade skateboarding abilities with someone who would it be and why?! SP: I couldn’t trade. I like what I have. !
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David Lober What were the biggest differences from how you felt leaving G&S to leaving Powell Peralta?! SP: One was a change for career advancement and one was a change for life.! ! David Slade Stacey, What did you really think when you came to England in the 70's and visited Newbury who had a really bad wooden indoor Skatepark. Just to let you know we were in awe!! SP: Being a touring pro back then and traveling through Europe was very very challenging as the terrain in many places was simply unridable.!
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Tony Idone How did you get past the recent loss of your son???! SP: I deal with it everyday. I meditate twice daily and I read a lot of spiritual material to help me through this, not religious but spiritual. It’s been the toughest thing I’ve ever experienced. !
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Mark Barno Kneass If you had the deepest video archive of Burnside's "early years" (first 4 years) with a bunch of legendary skaters, what's the coolest thing you would do with it? Tryin' to figure it out...thanks Stacy! SP:Not sure…!
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Thanks to all for submitting your awesome questions! Stacy had a lot of fun answering these! - Stacy’s FB Team!
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