Work in Skateboarding, Massafumi Kajitani

Work in Skateboarding Presents

M a s a f u m i

k a j i t a n i

Masafumi Kajitani interview When did you first get into skateboarding?

What’s your career history in skateboarding?

I got into skating in 1985, when I was ten. My whole family had just moved to the US (Seattle WA) for dad’s work. It was tough for me as I couldn’t speak English at all and I was put in a local elementary school. One of my classmates brought a skateboard to my house and I got hooked. I didn’t even know that tricks even existed so all I did was push around and cruise down hills. Because I started skating, I was never home, either at school or out skating. So I think I learned to speak English quicker than other people because I was always with skate buddies who only spoke English. My family lived in the US for four and a half years but I’m the only one who can speak English.

I came back to Osaka Japan in 1990 and started out with a shop sponsor and entered local contests. Eventually I started a skate crew kind of thing called Sant with my buddies and made skate videos. After that I got sponsored by a Tokyo-based domestic clothing brand called Choice and started riding for Rookie Japan.

Started a wheel company with my buddy called Strush Wheels. That’s pretty much it.

What is VHSMAG and why was it started?

VHSMAG is an online skate magazine out of Tokyo Japan. We started right after that massive earthquake hit in March 2011, so this is our 6th year. Actually I’m not the one who came up with the idea of starting this, but the guy who did offered me to join the team. We didn’t really have a legit online skate magazine or the infrastructure in Japan. I guess it was the right timing for us.

Do you have a university degree? If so where and what did you study?

I went to a university but I dropped out. I just couldn’t get along with the people there; I just wanted to be around skaters. I even flunked in the second year of high school. Looking back, I should’ve stayed in school and studied more. I made a wrong choice.

I was studying comparative culture, which I would be interested in today. I just wanted to skate and not study back then. I just didn’t like school and I simply regret the choice because had the chance to learn and I didn’t. But at the same time I guess that choice led me to be where I’m at today.

What’s your role at VHS? I’m the chief editor… whatever that means. I interview, write, translate, speak with clients, etc. We all wear many hats here at VHSMAG. How did you get involved in VHS? One of my friends who had a lot of experience in the skate industry in Japan called me up to start VHSMAG. The idea was to share what’s going on in the skate world

to Japanese skaters without language barrier, and also get Japanese skaters out there to the world.

Does VHS share articles in English about Japanese skateboarders and the Japanese skate industry?

Yes, we have translated interviews of Japanese skaters into English but there are so much more we need to improve… Hopefully more content about Japanese skateboarding, translated in English.

What aspects of skate culture do you think appeal most to Japanese skateboarders?

I think it’s really diverse these days so I can’t really speak for all Japanese skaters, but maybe creativity? Tricks for example, I don’t know why but not many skaters in Japan are good at jumping down big stairs and skating handrails. So I think they chose, or maybe had no choice but to be creative and do something different?

But there are many skaters here who like hammers and tech tricks as well.

What’s the most challenging thing/things with getting worldwide notoriety of the Japanese skate industry?

I think the biggest problem is language barrier. Maybe that’s the reason why Japanese skate industry seems to be left behind. All we have is pretty much distributors of overseas companies, which I feel makes it hard to build and make the scene bigger.

Also I feel there’s not enough money in the industry. Even when there are very talented photographer, videographer or any kind of people who could make the scene/industry grow, they don’t necessary stay in skateboarding because they can’t make a living.

They leave and move on to different fields.

The way people in Japan look at skateboarding could be one of the reasons as well. Majority of people here still think skateboard is just a toy for kids. They don’t realize that this is something special that has its own unique culture. But skating might become a part of the Olympics in Tokyo 2020, maybe things will change both in a good and bad way.

How are you trying to overcome this/these challenges?

Is it easy to make a living in the Japanese skate industry or do people need to hustle?

We’re working with brands and distributors, but also we’re trying to promote Japanese brands as well. We‘re trying to create a stable platform where people involved in skateboarding can make a living, which is a very big challenge. Also we team up with companies like Casio and help put together skate-related public events, so that people outside of skateboarding can have the chance to know more about skating. All we can do is to do whatever we can to bring good changes one step at a time.

If you work at a distributor or at a big company, you can make a living. I think it becomes difficult when you’re trying to make it just by skating or doing your own thing like running a brand. I know a lot of famous skaters in Japan with a day job. Even some of skate shop owners here have to hustle. I think it’s still hard.

What else do you do in the Japanese skateboard industry?

I work as a freelance writer at a quarterly print skate magazine called Slider. It started in 2009. I used to travel to the US and Europe, team up with a photographer in San Francisco name Ken Goto and do interviews and photo shoots. It was really fun but unfortunately my work got very busy and I haven’t been able to travel with Goto for quite a while.

I also help a video production company called Far East Skate Network. They’re very important video production company in Japan. They put out so many videos and they’re responsible for making Gou Miyagi worldly famous. I help them out with all English-related things, like subtitles.

Why and how did you learn English? Do you speak any other languages?

I used to live in the US. I only speak Japanese and English.

What are the main cities that have a large skateboard community in Japan?

I think Tokyo is the biggest but I think Sendai has got an interesting thing going on. Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Shonan… there are different types of vibe in each city.

What are your favourite Japanese cities to skate in outside of Tokyo?

I would say Osaka, because I used to live there for about ten years before I moved to Tokyo.

“ All we can do is to do whatever we can to bring good changes one step at a time. �

What are your favourite Japanese skate companies right now?

I would say Evisen. They have the sickest board graphics and I like their distinct vibe. They’re planning to release their first full-length video this year so I’m looking forward.

Are there any Japanese skate companies that you think have a good chance of breaking into the international skate market?

I think Evisen already has some overseas distributors. I hope they have a chance of breaking into the international skate market, because they’re pushing Japanese style, not mimicking the Western style.

Are there any Japanese skate companies that are doing great things for the Japanese skate community / industry at the moment?

I think every skate company in Japan is helping out the community/industry in one way or another. But I think especially Evisen and Lesque is working the hardest. I think every company is good as long as you don’t get in the way of people who are trying. Also it’s a video production but FESN has done a lot for Japanese skate community. They’ve inspired Magenta guys in France and planted the seed to promote Japanese skateboarding. I think the way FESN made skate videos influenced so many people and created a lot of followers.

Who are your top 5 Japanese skateboarders and why?

In alphabetical order because I can’t really rank them…

Daiki Hosoda: Dopest style. Creative skating.

Shintaro Maruyama: Aggressive on tranny and I like his attitude.

Takahiro Morita: Originator.

Shin Sanbongi: Super skilled. Beautiful style.

Tsuyoshi Uchida: Gangster.

“ I think every skate company in Japan is helping out the community/industry in one way or another.

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How else has your ability to speak English benefitted your career?

I used to translate the whole issues of Kinfolk magazine, which is a lifestyle magazine out of Portland Oregon. It was for their Japan edition.

My work at VHSMAG and Slider got busy so my wife took over that job. Now I just help her out here and there.

Outside of skating I also do English stuff for DJ KRUSH. He’s a legendary DJ in Japan. I think I started helping his management company back in 2008. His management company used to have a charity project to help HIV patients in Africa, and I visited an African country called Malawi (I think the second poorest country in the world) as a translator. We drove for hours and got on a boat and sailed across a gigantic lake to get to a village, and held HIV test at a church for three days. I think about 1/3 of the villagers were HIV positive. It was a surreal experience. No water, no electricity, no toilet, nothing.

But that experience led me to help out KRUSH. I started helping him after his manager left the company.

KRUSH just released his new album called Butterfly Effect last October and I helped him communicate with guest artists, European label and tour promoters.

Also translated the lyrics of guest artists like Yasmine Hamdan and Divine Styler to help him get the idea of what they’re singing about when working on his tracks. I’m a long time fan of KRUSH so it was an honor to have my name listed in the back of his record. I still fan out every time I see him.

What piece of advice would you give to people outside the U.S who are passionate about pursuing a career in skateboarding? – Maybe something you wished you knew when you first started?

I think the most important thing is to set some kind of goal, and have the right team to make it happen. You can’t do anything on your own.

With the Internet it’s gotten so much easier to connect with people across the world; I think you need to create a solid ground and good environment so that you can take good opportunities. Also to keep the passion and motivation, because when it becomes a job it can get hard sometimes. I’m always trying to remember that I’m making a living by doing what I love instead of working for some asshole. Always be humble.

a long time fan of KRUSH so it was “ I’m an honor to have my name listed in the back of his record.

I still fan out every time I see him.

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