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| LESTER KASAI / Sensei, master, legend... |
| BLKPRJKT |
In the annals of skateboarding's various eras, the mid to late 1980's stand out in many people's minds. Those days of yore when Hawk and Holmes went toe to toe at Del Mar, when Mt. Trashmore hosted an annual knockdown, drag out event, when the original combi at Upland ate people for lunch during pro events. The days when each skatepark installed a showtime bowl only to close their doors forever more, mere weeks after the inaugural contests that they hosted. In those days, the top 5 or 10 pros were pretty much unseatable. Names like Hawk, Hosoi, Mountain, Cab, Miller, Kasai, Gator, Ruff, Blender and the like, were the upper echelon of skateboarding. Simply maintaining a spot in the top 10 at any pro contest was a battle at it's easiest, a bloodbath at it's worst. Lester Kasai earned and kept top 10 status for a long stretch, by way of massive airs pushed well beyond any sane limit of commitment, infamous moves like the unit, proper frontal inverts, and a deep bag of improvisation. When the pool era drew to a close, Lester adapted well to the vert ramp circuit, running neck and neck with Hosoi in terms of raw air height and magnitude. At some time around 1991, with the final proverbial nails being driven into vert's coffin by the magazines, Lester went off in pursuit of other exploits. His return to skateboarding signifies what most already know, if it's in your blood, you can never leave for good.
Zimmerman pinned down Lester for a bit of multiple choice interrogation, and the results are found below...
Flying high again... East Los Angeles, 2007.
Frontal rock on the combi icicle works hip, 2007.
CD: Hey Lester what's up?
Lester: Hey Ray… what’s happening bruddah
CD: Let's start with the basics. How long have you been skating?
LK: Well… I started skating around 1977 and I stopped skating transition in 1991… I started up again in 2005… a few months before the first Pro Tec Pool Party.
CD: Who are your current sponsors?
LK: House of Kasai, Hurley, S-ONE, Tracker, Bones Bearings, Socalskateshop.com, Salonpas, Attic, Adio (flow),187 kneepads, Asterisk knee braces, Gladiator knee gaskets, Black Flys, Beyond Coastal and my lady, Heather.
CD: Favorite maneuver? And why?
LK: I like doing backside airs and carves… I just like the speed of carving and launching airs feels incredible. I’ve always liked stuff like that. My mom told me I used to climb up big dressers when I was a baby and when I was a pre-teen I would jump over crazy jumps on my bicycle and get hurt all the time.
CD: Top five favorite riders? And why?
1. Neil Blender is my all time favorite skater… I’ve always looked up to him since the first time I saw him at Sadlands… the way he skates is like magic… so smooth like he was floating.
2. Dave Andrecht… in 1980 I was around 14 years old watching the Big O Gold Cup contest under the bleachers and Andrecht was doing the biggest backside airs in the capsule pool… I couldn’t believe how high he was getting… I wanted to do airs just like him… haha… I even bought his board in hopes that it would help me do airs.
3. Lonny Hiramoto… he won the first televised skateboard contest that was held at the Runway skatepark in Carson… being Japanese myself… Lonny made a huge impression on me… I bought the same flyaway helmet that he wore.
4. Lincoln Ueda… watching him launch airs on a vert ramp is amazing… he actually scares me because he goes so high and fast… his body jars are like 10 feet out.
5. Nolan Johnson… what can say? The kid rips anything he skates… street, concrete bowls, vert… etc. He loves the old school tricks but he can also bust out the new school tricks… he’s a well rounded hybrid and you might start seeing a lot of kids having that same type of style coming up the ranks.
One of Lester's favorites, huge backside air, Encinitas, 2007.
House of Kasai youth brigadeer, Daniel Vargas testing the airspace at Lake Forest.
The aforementioned Nolan Johnson. That's an air to fakie, son. Encinitas.
Lester hoists a tall invert on the erstwhile Belvedere camel toping. 2007.
CD: Steel or real coping?
LK: I like steel coping but I prefer real coping… you can’t match the feeling… the grind sound… the grit… the pop.
CD: Contests. Good or bad?
LK: I like contests… it’s always fun to skate with all my friends… a little nerve-racking though.??CD: Mandatory pad laws. Good or bad?
LK:Well… I think young skaters should be forced to wear helmets in parks… I just hear so many sad stories of kids dying from cracking their heads open because they weren’t wearing a helmet… knee and elbow pads might be another story.
CD: Mosh pit or break dance?
LK: Haha… break dance for sure… check out my breaking in the Vision Video from the 80’s… I’ve been seen in a few mosh pits though.
CD: Energy drink or coffee?
LK: Neither… just straight H2O.
CD: Mac or pc?
LK: Well… I used to repair computers for a living… so I prefer PC but I have a couple of Macs too.
CD: Mega ramp or loop?
LK: No thank you… I’ll just watch.
CD: Olympics. Yes or No.
LK: I don’t see why not.
CD: Thrasher, Skateboarder, or The skateboard Mag.
LK: I actually read them all… I like Concrete Wave too.
CD: Top 5 songs/artist on your pod right now.
LK: Dang… I misplaced my shuffle right now but I had Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Offspring, Social Distortion, ACDC and some old 80’s stuff on it.
CD: Superstitions?
LK: My mom told me not to whistle after 6pm or the boogieman will get me… oh yeah… she said don’t sit on the kitchen table or I’ll get warts on my butt… she’s from Hawaii and Hawaiians are really superstitious… you know… volcano’s and all.
CD: Last meal?
LK: Burrito.
CD: Cat or dog?
LK: My beagle Dexter… he’s a cool little dude.
CD: Ramp local or Dagger?
LK: Haha… well… Hawk and I are pool skaters in the credits for Thrashin'.
CD: Top street skater?
LK: Daewon Song… people sometimes come up to me and call me Daewon… I say I’m not Daewon and they say yes you are.
CD: If you had to choose... Bmxer or blader?
LK: Well… I’ve never had blades but I had a rad bike that looked like a motocross bike with shocks and a fake gas tank… it was so funny… I had to stop riding bikes though… I kept flying over the handle bars… what’s that called? An Endo?
CD: Worst injury?
LK: Ruptured kidney… locked up on a lien to tail on vert when I was 19. I decided not to do lien to tails or Madonnas anymore after locking up on a Madonna at the GVR 2006 contest… two ribs popped out, two jammed fingers, rung my bell pretty good, huge hipper and jacked up shoulder… dang that hurt!
CD: Best session?
LK: Sessions with my cousin Terence, Mountain, Lucero, Blender, Hago and Armijo in the clover bowl at the Skate City Skatepark in the 80’s.
CD: Biggest payday?
LK: Royalties from my first oakleaf boards from the mid 80’s.
CD: What scares you?
LK: Spiders… they freak me out.
CD: What drives you?
LK: Fun and positive people.
CD: Congratulations Mr.Kasai your loan application has been approved. Ha Ha Ha!
LK: Haha… nice… I might need one.
CD: Advice for the young guns?
LK: Don’t be afraid to be yourself… that’s cool.
CD: Advice for the old farts like me
LK: Haha… eat your vegetables and don’t be afraid to wear some extra safety gear.
Legendary House rider Adrian Demain, applying some Jet Li action at the Combi.
Another House youngster, Andrew Miller, picking melons.
Lester gets freaked out by spiders, yet he will jump high in the sky and not even think twice. Arachnophobic air, Encinitas.
Shoulders of steel. House resident, Jon Jon Bryan shows correct invert form. Encinitas.
CD: Okay. Let's get to The House Of Kasai. This is a second coming right? Tell me a little bit about the original House. What was it like then and who were your riders?
LK: Yeah… this is round two for the House. Well… the first time around… I had Tracker Trucks as a partner… we just came out with a deck based on Japanese culture… it did very well and we decided to make a team. Adrian Demain, Jon Jon Bryan, Richard Salzar, Scott Clemenes, Matt Goldsby and Jason Dill were all riders for the House… things were looking pretty good until vert starting dying out in the early 90’s… we had to fold the company… I really didn’t have enough involvement or passion to continue with the company… I really didn’t know what to do. I got some various jobs and attended college… I didn’t skate much at all except on the occasion where I had to use my board for transportation… like when I ran out of gas, broke down or skated to school. I got into surfing, skim boarding and snowboarding. The House of Kasai was no more.
CD: What made you decide to bring it back?
LK: I started one of those MySpace pages and a bunch of people asked me to bring it back and they would tell me how much it meant to them… so that planted the seed in my head and I figured… why not… I hope I can offer some kind of positive contribution to the skate industry.
CD: So who rides for you now? Can you tell me a little bit about each of your riders? What do see in each of these guys.
LK: Well…I have to say that all the guys on my team are just such cool guys with super cool attitudes… they are very friendly to all skaters… something that I’m very proud of. Adrian Demain is one fantastic guitar player as well as an insanely stylish skater… one of the nicest guys you will ever meet… loves to skate the Kidney at the Encinitas skatepark. Jon Jon Bryan is one gnarly dude… he always puts it on the line when he’s skating… I’ve known him since the old Sadlands days in the 80’s… locals at Costa Mesa skatepark. Nolan Johnson… dang… that kid is incredible… he has so many tricks… nice kid and so creative… watch out for this wonder boy… you’ll be seeing a lot of him. Garrett Shigenaka… another super nice guy and a total shredder… Naka’s got some sick lines… he taught me all my lines in the combi pool at Vans… Naka also has some crazy skills behind the camera too… check out his website… sk8session.com if you haven’t yet Shane Cox… friendly and nice guy… ripping street and transition skater… this guy has some sick style… he locals at Etnies and Costa Mesa parks. Daniel Vargas… what a cool and positive kid… full of talent in street and transition… a local at Etnies skatepark. Andrew Miller… the youngest on the team… this kid has a huge bag of tricks… he will amaze you… another Etnies skatepark local.
CD: I really like the graphic you’re running right now. How did that come about?
LK: Thanks Ray. The oak leaf is a “kamon” or Japanese family crest. Long ago samurai warriors would place these types of kamons on their armor so they could identify each other on the battlefield. I used this same oak leaf on my original House decks from the 80’s. The oak leaf is basically my company logo. I really like Japanese tattoo art... like the Japanese water fingers and Koi fish. I really wanted to incorporate some of that style into my board graphics. My business partner, Corey Miller, and I came up with the graphic idea… Corey is a very well known tattoo artist… you’ll see him in the new “LA Ink” show.
CD: What's on the horizon?
LK:I will be coming out with some really cool new graphics from some well known artists… we have a few lined up already.
CD: In closing?
LK: Yeah Ray, it’s been really cool hanging out with you lately… bummed that you got injured but I know you’ll heal up fast… you have a lot of support from a bunch of great skaters from CD and SCS… I was so stoked on your rock and rolls at Belvedere... bruddah!
CD: Good luck at The Soul Bowl.
LK: Thanks Ray… the Soul Bowl is such a fun contest… right on the beach… skate the bowl and then jump in the ocean to cool off… I hope to see you there bruddah!
CD: Thanks Lester.
Naka rides for House of Kasai, and does things like, oh I dunno... win contests at the Combi maybe?
Parting shot. Master Kasai airs out an effortless backside ollie into the hot pocket at Belvedere.
-BLKPRJKT / PHOTOS MRZ |
Wednesday 25th 2007f July 2007 20:45
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