📝 Intro + Interview by Greg Navarro
📷 Photography by Greg Navarro & Cole Giordano
You’re at a spot late at night, about to film a clip. You put your phone, keys and wallet in your bag. Two hours fly by and you’re deep in, battling this trick. You sit down to catch a breath and check your phone: 12 MISSED CALLS, 9 NEW TEXT MESSAGES from your girl. You’re cooked. It’s past 1 A.M. and your partner thinks you’re either dead, cheating or in trouble. What you doing? Maybe this could have been avoided if you just shared your location indefinitely. Or if you weren’t a skater.
I called up my brother Soo Saxton to chop it up about his new part. To give all you dedicated readers some context on who he is and his origins.
Where are you from and how did you get into skateboarding?
I’m from Ossining in Westchester County, about an hour up north from Manhattan. When I was young, my brother had a skateboard, and I think I saw it laying in the garage. I put it on a ledge sideways, tried to flip it and somehow I broke it. He got so pissed off. That Christmas, I asked for a skateboard. After that, it just took off. I really wanted to learn different tricks. So I just went on YouTube and taught myself the basics.
At what point did you go from Ossining to New York City?
From middle school and high school, I’d go out maybe once, twice a year to New York to skate. When I got older, I stayed in Westchester at the local and hit a bunch of spots throughout Westchester. But then I moved out to the city about 4 or 5 years ago for work.
Backside Lip Slide Shuv Out by Greg Navarro
Who were some of your early friends you first skated with?
I first started skating with Julian Flores, a kid I grew up with in Ossining who went to the same middle school, high school. He started filming me early on. We always stay connected. And he made my first video part, “SWAN.”
Then I met Gabe Shah. He approached me in Washington Square Park one day; he saw me skating and said, “I got this camera, I want to get into filming.” So that’s how we got connected. Over a two year span, we filmed two different parts together: “JONESIN” and “WE’LL SEE.” Shortly after that, I met you, Greg Navarro at a skate event.
How do you compare your skateboarding now to those earlier days?
During “SWAN,” I was more of a hucker. I was really into stairs, rails, big gaps and throwing myself down things growing up. Over the years, I wanted to get more creative. I started challenging myself on ledge tricks. But also with age and having a full-time job, it took my focus away from skating big stuff.
“SWAN” by Julian Flores
I found out about you through “JONESIN.” You really made a name for yourself when you jumped off the building on the Upper East Side. Can you give the backstory of that?
Gabe, Hopper, K.J. and I went to a rail on the Upper East Side. We were skating that, and then we were looking to film different spots. We came across the classic silver rail on the wall on Second Avenue. Next to the rail, there’s a wall where you can actually stand up on it. So I got up on it, and I’m like: “Yo you could just drop off this way to the sidewalk.” I’m looking around and walk over to the other side of the wall. I come across the big gap where you can go over the silver rail. I was like, “Dude, I need to see somebody do this. That would be so sick.” Hopper was just like, “Fuck it dude, I’ll do it right now.”
So he went for it on the first try, and fell on his shoulder. He was done. Gabe and I were halfway through filming for our video “JONESIN.” I thought about how it’d be cool to get the ender done already. So I was like, “Alright, let’s try it.”
So I got up there. I’m looking at it for five, ten minutes and I roll up to it maybe like 25 or 30 times. It’s super windy. And I’m just thinking about being midair. People are watching. This one lady thought I was trying to kill myself or something. She starts calling the cops, and I’m like, “We got to do it. I got to get this.” I threw my board down, just sent it and got it first try. It was a crazy day, it was very unexpected.
Ollie by K.J. Dillard
Do you think you could ever do something like that again? Are you still a hucker?
Some days I do not feel like eating shit, but if you wanted me to do it again, I would do it.
With all your early footage when you were younger, did you ever pick up a board sponsor?
I had a few small companies reaching out through Instagram offering to send boards. I was good friends with [the crew at] 2nd Nature, so they’d hook it up sometimes. But nothing ever really came about. About two years ago, Charlie Butterly [Nimbus] reached out through Instagram. He sent me some of the graphics so that got me hyped. I’m a New Yorker, so I love to support any New York brand. I parted ways with Nimbus, no board sponsors for right now. But boards are up to like $80 a deck with the grip. So I’m definitely looking for something.
Half Cab Tailslide 270 Flip by Cole Giordano
Is there a backstory to your new part, “Share Your Location?”
There was no plan to film a part. We just started stacking clips and it turned into a part, but, you know, I think we wanted to make something that stood out and that was a little different from your classic three-minute part with rap music. You came up with the concept of how everyone’s trying to contact me.
Noseblunt by Greg Navarro
Is that actually your girlfriend in the video?
No, no, that was like from past personal experiences that we wanted to put in the video. That was actually Marcello Campanello’s girlfriend. My girlfriend didn’t really get it, but it’s all for fun.
You have about 50% of night footage in that part. Do you like skating at night?
I work a full-time job, 40 hours a week, 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. So by the time I get home, grab my stuff, get ready, and go out to skate — it’s around 5 or 6 P.M. During the winter, we have less daylight, so most of the clips just ended up being at night. But I like skating at night. I think it looks cool on camera with the light, especially in the city. I’m a night owl, so I do well at night.
I heard that you have a pretty honorable job. Can you tell me about what you do for a living?
I work for an organization called Release Recovery. It started back in 2017. We help people who struggle with substance abuse and mental health. All ages, all people. I got into it because I went through the same program when I struggled with my own mental health, back in 2017. By the time I completed the program, I fell in love with the people and the community of it. I got the job through volunteer work there.
I just wanted to help out and give back. And then it turned into a job and now a career for me. I’ve been working there for five years.
Backside 50-50 by Greg Navarro
Do you feel passionate about what you do? Do you feel like you’re making a difference in people’s lives?
I think any mental health job has its moments where it’s very tough. But the good outweighs the struggle, because when you see a client come in who is totally broken down, they don’t know who they are. And they’re really struggling for weeks, even months. But then you see these glimpses of growth. By the time they leave, they’re a whole different person. And it’s really cool to see that. Like, you’re able to help them and put them on the right path to make them more self-sufficient and live the best life that they can.
What message do you have to anyone out there that’s struggling with either mental health or addiction?
I would say finding a sense of community. Just from personal experience, from the time that I was struggling, I didn’t really have anybody else. I had my family, but they didn’t know what was going on at the time. So I didn’t have anyone to talk to. It’s very important to find someone you can talk with; don’t isolate yourself at home.
Crook by Greg Navarro
Did skateboarding play a part in your rehabilitation?
Skateboarding is all about community and being around friends which is really important to me. That helps me stay straight. I still have those days where I’m just not feeling it, but if I go out and skate, it helps my mental health a lot.
You got anything else in the chamber you’re working on right now?
I’ve released a bunch of single parts, so I really want to get involved in homies’ videos. I’m working on a small part with Julian Flores for his video, and then also the Central Park video. Dude, we gotta get that shit done. What’s taking so long?