Interview and Profile of Michael Early /Pool King Skateboards Introduction and Interview by Jeff Tatum Photos by Ray Zimmerman and JT
Michael Early is a genuine underdog in the American skate scene. Whether it's designing skate products, shaping skate decks, building skate parks, winning skate contests or starting a new age skate company, Michael has been a mover and groover in the skateboarding industry for over thirty years. At forty-six, Michael's skate life is still young and thriving. Michael has many skating aspirations planned for his future and is committed to accomplishing them. After recently converting to a long board, Michael is already the best over forty-five long board bowl rider in southern California, maybe the world. When it comes to heated pool sessions, Michael can hold his own with some of the best rippers in town. His latest contribution to skateboarding is one of the coolest skateboard companies to pop up for quite some time, Pool King Skateboards. Like everything Mr. Early does, Pool King comes from the heart. After starting as a hobby with the chance of being a success, Pool King Skateboards has evolved into a major skateboard industry contender. Mike's knack for vision and creation have both attributed to his company's success. Michael Early is the epitome of a true core skate addict.
This is the first in a series of interviews conducted by John Ozman, of Volcanic Productions. As part of the run-up to the Maryhill Festival of Speed, we'll be feature the entire series of gravity sports athlete interviews on the 'Fish. We start now with Fredrik Lindstrom...
Fredrik, first off, I would like to congratulate you on an impressive 2006 IGSA World Cup Season. Becoming Downhill Skateboarding Champion is very impressive.
Fredrik -Thanks! It’s been a great year. A lot of new friends. A lot of partying. And some riding.
Volcanic - Tell us a little bit about who Fredrik Lindstrom is?
Fredrik -Ask my friends!
Not an uncommon look for the cheerful Lindstrom. photo: Simon Brismo
Volcanic - Come on, I am sure you can dig deep and tell us something.
Fredrik – Well, my sport when I was young was alpine skiing. I have competed since I was 5 but I gave it up for snowboarding when I was 17, since then I just ride boards. Me? I’m married with a beautiful wife and two kids. I run a tire and wheel shop in Stockholm.Age? Well I’m somewhere between young and stupid and old and wise.
Walking the halls of ASR we were more than astonished by the the shapes and dramatic stylings of the sticks on the walls of the SHUT booth. With his finger truly on the pulse, yet again Rodney Smith brings SHUT to the forefront of skateboarding. Rodney gave the 'fish a bit of time and shares, his views, a skatepark fantasy and the best slice of pie in NYC. Read on while the teacher speaks.
SF: We’ve read a number of tales of your first board. Legend has it your brother caught you taking his deck out and on one fateful day he caught you riding it. As the story is told you proved your worth by showing him how well you were in command of the board by riding it. What skills did you display that one fine day that convinced him to relinquish the deck.
RS: Well… up to this point I had only had the opportunity to " catch a ride " from locals who where not "bound by the hip" to there skateboards. Limited skills but with ability to bomb the short Henry street sidewalk, with cracks about 1 1/2 inches wide. You had to carve every crack to not get a wheel lodged and get thrown to your face. So... I displayed a sketchy carving technique for my Bro and he thought I had skill's. Seeing as he sucked and could barely stand on a board ( while it wasn't rolling) I was in like flynn.
Out on the streets, in those moments when skaters wax philosophical, the walk back up the hill, we occasionally get inquisitive: "why don't we see the same level of thought and extravagant mechanical design for skateboards that we see in other sports? Recently, while cruisng the aisles of ASR, we encountered the Skub Bros. booth. Staggered at first by the bling and delirious visual impact of what Mike puts out, we were soon impressed with the prowess he displays in word, as well as work. Read on to get behind the mind of the Longboard Spinner King. The following is an example of someone literally pushing the envelope and proving that skaters will pay for quality they can enjoy both rolling and standing-still.
Why don’t you introduce yourself and give us a bit of your background?
My name is Mike Miller. I grew up skating west of Los Angeles California in the San Gabriel Valley. I’m a married middle-aged dude with two kids in college and two in high school. I still skate today with my boys and our friends and it’s that love for long boarding and my kids not allowing me to become a fat old man that has landed me where I am today with SKUBS. Where I grew up we had the Goddard Bowl, which was an old abandoned retention basin and Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) as our skate parks. As kids, none of our parents would drive us to Pipeline in Upland. As we got older the great thing about GMR was that we would follow a buddy in his car as you came down the mountain, and if you went too fast you could gauge yourself off the back of the car to slow down. What was cool was that sometimes you would accelerate and not allow your friends to slow down. That was only funny when you drove the car. And when we got bored with that we would strap ourselves to the surf racks on top of my car and take turns speeding down the mountain. Is that enough background? I think that helps to explain what kind of a childhood you had to have to one day grow up and put a spinner on a skate wheel.
The man behind Insect Skateboards; Steve Hopper, took some questions from Silverfish. In return, he hands us a tome of dropped knowledge. His synchronistic beginnings, his stoke for what he does, as well as how he hasn't had a vacation in three years 'cause people keep buying decks... all here. It's hard being popular.
Want to give us a bit of a background on your life?
I'm about to turn 38, married, with two young daughters, and living in Seattle, Washington. I'm originally from the industrial part of the Midwest, a.k.a the "Rust Belt". Born in central Ohio, moved to northeast Indiana at age 9, then to Michigan at age 11. My family lived in Michigan until my dad got a promotion and we moved to Seattle when I was 16. I'd been lobbying my parents unsuccessfully for years to move to California because of the surf and skate scene there, but I figured Seattle was close enough and it's an incredibly nice place to live.
Interviews 
