Even though several questions in this interview revolve around “the craziest story” — whether it be about New York, the Gonz, or Harold — everyone in New York has a Billy story. Or twenty of them. And they’re not crazy in the sense that they stem from substance abuse or whatever else has fueled some of skateboarding’s memorable characters over the years, but notable for the fact that this is a sober person calling me at 11 AM and telling me he wants to set up the up the rainbow rail from 12th and A off the Courthouse Drop. Or to meet him at Astor Place at eight in the morning on three hours of sleep because he has a box of granola bars, a case of Vita Coco, and we’re driving to Pennsylvania with the Muska in a black Denali.

The headline for this post summarizes a lot of what Billy has accomplished this past half-decade. The prospect of a skateboarding class in an East Village school sounded as insane as a skatepark on the roof of a high school a few years ago, and both of them happened. Just like getting federal emblems printed on skateboards (with permission), skating flat in front of the White House, or filming a clip in a ninja costume or a 5XL white tee (wow, 2003 was a really long time ago) is equally absurd, just on the completely opposite end of the spectrum.

This interview is a good watch, and contextualizes a lot of this dude’s career of crazy claims that eventually turned into full-fledged realities.

If you need further evidence of Billy’s lifelong commitment to never allowing New York skateboarding to have a dull moment, a few relevant selections are embedded below.

Beyond all the obvious high-points in this video that everyone has seen hundreds of times (“If you were really skaters, you’d be here with us, not against us!”), one factor that people often miss is that he has a Shorty’s “Legalize It” pot-leaf sticker on the side of his megaphone, and these people are all still taking him seriously.

“Ever since I got kicked off Zoo, I have to pass out these things and it sucks.”

“I gave her a free Starbucks card, but it was really to go see a peep show.”

From the short-lived New York public access TV show, “Rec Shop.”

The French Franc collapsed? Not even Edgar Cayce could have predicted this.

“We’re working on the National Skateboarding Campaign and we’re trying to find out how people feel about the economic collapse here on Wall Street.”

And if you absolutely must watch actual skateboarding, here is a QS series from 2007: Billy Rohan’s Greatest Hits – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3