Meditative Progression — An Interview With Karl Watson

Intro, Interview & Photos by Adam Abada

It honestly feels a bit silly introducing Karl. How many times does his EMB pedigree need to be brought up? The style? The smile? Karl has been doing it for more than three decades and his influence is still all around us, but it isn’t like he’s gone and calcified in stone. He’s a living, breathing, creating presence still very much ensconced in the Bay Area scene and the skate world at-large. He has his own company, Maxallure, and is involved in the impending resurgence of Satori Wheels.

I got in touch with him to see what those three-plus decades do to your perspective and even scored a session with him and the Maxallure team in the 105-degree summer heat of the San Fernando Valley. I don’t know if it’s the energy from his young team or if he’s still got it like that, but it was a pleasure to see him and his squad sweating it out in pure skate rat form.

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