30th Anniversary Interviews Mike V Part 1 - TransWorld SKATEboarding 

Vallely loves talking about skateboarding more than anyone. You can tell he's in loves with it.

Mike V , and Natas was so badass on street. Here i am how many years later my nephews come to skate vert and they have their birdhouse boards, I ride the original SMA Valley double kick on the mini(yeah the one with the ducks, and use the G&S trucks also), then the SMA Martinez on the full. Granted I am 43 years old and cant do near as much as I used to. I can still wow my nephews(although it hurts later that night). Thank you Mike V and Natas for keeping street alive when vert took over. Its just street is a young persons game,IMO. It's a great thing to watch my nephews thumb through the 30 years of boards I collected. I let them ride any they pick out, but they still agree that the orginal Mike V double kick is the best.

Mike's absolutely right about the Questionable video. As fucking great as it was and legendary as it is now, as a kid who had been skating for 7 years at the time, that was the first time my friends and I saw something that made us say "fuuuuck, what are we doing? No way we can do this stuff." We didn't stop trying, of course. But looking back, it was the time where, at least for our scene, skating started to change. Before when you'd see a skater somewhere that you didn't know (always looked for the worn shoes back then), you'd go up and talk with them cause you felt connected. But after that video it seemed everything in skating got a lot more judgmental. It was an extension of the changing attitude in the industry at the time, probably much more than the video, but they did coincide. Mike's perspective about that time might seem bitter to some who weren't around or skating then, but looking back, it was definitely reality for much more than just him. No matter what, Questionable was great and that company and those guys were so instrumental in pushing skating to another level.

I like Mike V because he is real. He always skates his own way regardless of all the new tricks that come out, he never changed his style. You have to remember that the old dogs built the foundation and that's why you have to respect them. They are the pioneers, the rest are imitators.

Vallely, Natas and M.Gonzales were to street skating like rock and roll was to music. Watching those three blew me away and drew me in, they made me feel like i had to go skate. Skating in it's rawest most natural form; Spontaneous and fluid

that was the best interview i have ever seen with vallely

Song is "She's Alright" by Muddy Waters. This version is from the "Electric Mud" album. Get it.

Respect to him, respect. Good last sentence Mike.

It was Gonz and Mike V who really showed us we didn't need 'spots' or parks, or ramps. Just skating over to your mate's house and then cruising around doing tricks wherever you could see them was as big a thing. Years back we cut one of his parts, where he's skating in the rain around town, to the music from The Littlest Hobo.. was just perfect and still makes me laugh when i think about it.

these videos are tight. It feels good to know most pros appreciate what all the other guys are doing and still feel compelled to do there own thing. Keeping it artistic. skating is one thing that you can push your creativity and physical limits. love it.

What a brilliant interview. Loving what Mike says here.

absolute legend, what its all about!!!

The street skating feeling..priceless

A very honest approach here from Mike V...It must be really tough when you look around (being an innovator and one of the best just a few years ago) and your fellows are ripping under-flips and staff and you are like....Oh, my...Mike did stay true to himself and embraced his own abilities(which are great to begin with) and, by the end of the day, stayed true to his love of skateboarding.

awesome. street skating is indeed an adventure and a gift. mike v. is epic...

Mike and Natas were my inspirations back in the 80's when I skated. They were both a couple years older than I was at the time. Rodney was freestyle and not really a "Street" skater at the time, but Rodney's tricks were incorporated into the Street Scene. I think Mark, Mike and Natas not to mention Tommy really took the technical aspect of Freestyle and self expression skating to the street in a way no one else did at the time. Of course Rodney adapted out of necessity rather than choice right? haha The rest is History. You guys Rock.

Big fan of vallely. Always spoke the truth like a true skater philosopher to me

Mike, don’t listen to anyone else, do your own shit and be proud that you are you.

Watched in Awe as he tore Tampa Pro-Am a new one.. Saw him chip his board and 5 minutes Later bought his deck from him.. 5 bucks.. Nice guy.

In 1992 I was able to hang out and skate with a bunch of the dudes from Las Vegas. Ryan Fabry, Kenny Anderson, Paul Smith, Mike Chu, Larry Jones, Joe Nemeth, Otis Christian, Brian Lotti, etc. and they were all super good. I also remember that whole change in vibe and egos within skateboarding. I can totally relate with what Mike V. Is saying. It was kind of sad and lame at the same time. A jock/rockstar mentality. Not skating for fun.

I had a Valley deck back in 89' thru CCS ,at that time is was the top street deck ,everything new ,shape ,tricks. and east at that.

My skateboard idols Mike Valley jimmy Acosta Butch sterbins Matt Hensley

Mike telling the truth, as always. Big up!

So true

The antithesis of being humble

wise words

I wish more ppl seen this so, they would know mike v put street skating on the map. sick of hearing kids in the skateparks " all he does is boneless everywhere and ride ramps". Mike kills it!! skating is so robotic now, it's time for ppl to get creative again.

3:05 to 3:20 Me and my friends skate there :D its in New brunswick by the rutgers college dorms!!!

Glad you did your own thing.

god the double kick....who can forget the double kick....

It’s true. Questionable is undoubtedly one of the greatest skate videos of all time, but skateboarding did get shitty in 92. Too many people weren’t having fun, just having bad attitudes. So much ego. That’s why the whole big pants small wheels thing got ridiculous - people were trying to outdo each other. There was a huge change in a short space of time - board shape, wheelbase, low-top shoes, fashion, and tricks of course. It certainly pushed skating on a technical level, but it was all pretty slow and boring until about 96 when people started having fun again with more simple tricks, style and speed.

This video reminds me of why, in part, I quit skating in 1989. I had been really turned off by the first H-Street video. It seemed so egotistical to skate for the sake of progression rather than just do it for fun with progression being secondary and letting it come naturally. That said I regret quitting skating then but at least I picked it back up in 2000.

he looks like varg vikernes in this

background music isn't jimi but one of his main influences...Muddy Waters

I kinda felt like he was really angry as a kid and in the would industries doc, he seemed super pissed about it all and even in his Etnies doc. But he seems older and more acceptable to the past which is cool. I don’t see any of the other Bones skaters talk about him which I think is weird.

sounds like Jimi Hendrix (could be wrong). No idea about song title though. If it's not Jimi you should check him out anyway 'cause he sounds like that.

I think Mike could learned all those tech tricks he just didn’t feel it enough or want to do what everybody else was doing

Muddy Waters "Electric Mud" album= classic

from Big Bird into Mike V - theres a transformation

🐐👊

he really changed

I suggest you read The Mutt. It tells you otherwise.

Lo en cos la cahas?

"Fuck plain b movement"...

You Know

ohhh yet...

Jacks Teller rips

I don't know if it's just me. but shit mike v looks like ryan gosling

Interesting what he says about the Plan B team and their elitist vibe, i can really see what he is talking about how they were changing the sport in a bad way.

New Brunswick=skate mecca of jerz.

What is killing the soul of contemporary skateboarding, one answer =nike s.b

Gtf Mike v shitn on him real street skaters @rollin_god fmgsg

No music needed in this interview.

30% narrow view bullshit. Rodney and a hundred other skaters were already doing exactly what he is trying to tell you he invented.

People here really seem to think he actually plays the same ballpark Natas does. WROOOOONG! This guy somehow was convinced in his early days of pro-ing of being the hottest streetskater at that time, and he never gets tired of telling everyone. In fact nobody cared about his skills back then, he just got lucky on his first graphics on Powell, making his board and shirts sell millions. Natas would never ever be that self centered. Seeing the MV always makes me angry, he seems to be the blueprint of the US citizen of today, allowing DT to be their president.