Here he is! The man of the moment...!
In today's day and age of self-centered skate-consumers and multi-million dollar skate corporations, it's refreshing to find that truly skater-run companies, true skater-artists, and true skaters still do exist out there, somewhere. JJ Rudisill is unique, in that he happens to be a serindipidous combination of all of the above, which pretty much makes him a modern-day renaissance man. Born and raised on southern hospitality, Pushead, concrete, DIY attitude, and punk rock, JJ is clearly a throwback to skateboarding's golden age, where there were no rules, no reasons, and no worries. At the same time, he's also serving as a beacon of hope for those that might be looking for something... or, more accurately, "someone"... truly genuine to support/befriend in this modern age of the bullshit fake and the homogeniously bland.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Get ready to have yourself a laugh or two, 'cuz JJ's also one hell of a funny guy, to boot. Hey, man: You've been warned. My ribs seriously hurt after doing this interview- that's how much he had me in stitches. These are the kinds of interviews that journalists (like, me) live for. Which makes me wonder why noone else has bothered to interview the guy before now. Sometimes, the best things in life are right under your nose. Never forget that.
(*Phone rings*)
Hey, Bud!
Hey, JJ!! How's it goin'?!
Good, good.
Hey, do you have time to do that interview real quick...?
Yeah, I think I have a little bit of time to spare...
Okay, hold on a sec... (turns on recorder). Okay... are ya still there?
Still here!
That beep that you hear, by the way, is the 'record' indicator on my phone.
That's cool, I'm used to gettin' that from the FBI.
So JJ, how've ya been lately?
Been swell. A little bit hot, but swell.
You've also been really, really busy. It's been hard gettin' a hold of ya, Mr. Rock Star.
Yeah, well, y'know... it's a full time job, bein' all rock-n'-roll.
Seriously though, what've you been up to these days...?!
I've been up to quite a bit! The company's goin' along and we're tryin' to keep the inventory rollin' and I'm figuring out which stretch Hummer I want. And how much of it's gonna be gold plated.
JJ's illustration for the Thrasher "Beer Slave" DVD; 2007
You just had that Canvas article in the new Thrasher, right...?
Yeah, I had a two-page article in the August 2008 issue.
You also had one in Concrete Wave a few months back, didn't ya?
Actually, that was last year, and that was my first public appearance. I'd like to thank Michael Brooke at CW and Kevin Convertito at Thrasher. They were terrific opportunities...pretty much top of the line for a skateboard artist.
JJ's skate-event flyers recall the earliest days of punk rock, when pen-and-ink flyers were far more common than they are today. An art's only "lost" when nobody practices it. Thankfully, JJ's keepin' it alive and well. These are from 2007 (Old Man Jam) and 2006 (Owl's Head Bowl Jam), respectively.
So, you've never actually been interviewed before by anybody, have you?
A time or two.
Oh, really?! I didn't know that!
Yeah, yeah. But, y'know... it's usually the police doing the interviewing. (laughing) I'm less chatty when I don't have the handcuffs on (laughing).
So, let me ask you this: Which came first?The skulls, or the skateboarding?
Uhhhhhhhh, ummmmm, let me see here... I'm gonna say, the skateboards came first. Just 'cause, you couldn't really get a skull on that California Freeformer plastic...
This is pretty representative of the "JJ style"; I have a postcard version of this one in my collection. "Suicide (Kills Everyone)", digital illustration, 2004
Right! (laughing) So, when did you actually start skating?
Well, I did the California Freeformer thing... so, I probably started in '76, or something like that. Smashing-into-grandma's-car-at-the-end-of-the-driveway style. I guess I just did what everybody did for the first few years, and I picked it up seriously, maybe... 1983 or so? On a Santa Cruz Street Skate, and Indys...
Lucky you...
Just doin' it. And, Powell Street Cubics. Not, the Mini Cubics. The Street Cubics.
Wait... so, you've been skating longer than I thought you have, actually.
I'm an old man.
How old are you...?!
Thirty-seven years old.
I thought it'd be pretty funny to throw this in, right in the middle of our "age" discussion; JJ's definitely a man that can appreciate a good pun. "Caveman", mixed media, 2004.
Ohhhhh...! You just started way young, then.
Twelve years old, or sumthin' like that.
Well, shit man... you and I are almost the same age, but I started skating in, like, '88.
Oh, no, no. I'm pretty sure that I had the Boneless One on lock by '83.
Oh, man...! The Boneless One. That's a trick you don't hear about every day...
I still got it, too.
You still got The Boneless?!!!
Still got The Boneless.
That's great. I wish I had the boneless, but, y'know... I never learned it.
I've gotta be in a foot and a half of transition, or less, but I got it.
Sweet...! (Laughter)
Learn it in the grass; that's my advice. Y'gotta start in the grass.
So, you've been drawing almost as long as you've been skating, right...?
I've been drawing longer than I've been skating, actually. My first art-award was a first-place ribbon in a North Carolina art contest, for a flower I made. I still have it, right here in the apartment. I won a string of small-time victories when I was a young man, and I've been tapering off ever since.
That explains why you have a southern accent, when we all know that you live in New York.
Yeah, y'know... we had to bail. My wife and I came up to New York to pursue work. Both our job possibilities down south petered out, so we came up here to see what New York had to offer.
So, how long have you lived up there in Brooklyn...?
About four and a half years here in sunny Brooklyn, New York.
Ahhh, more photo-caption puns. Above: "Times Square", digital illustration, 2003. Below: "New York City Astronout", mixed media, 2003. I promise, that'll be the end of the punnyness.
And, how long have you had Funhouse?
I've had Funhouse...uhh, technically speaking? Almost two years. But, our first inventory came in around May of 2007. So, it's been about a year, year-and-a-half or so with product.
You have all of your stuff made here in the states, right...?
Yes, sir! American made! They're currently made in North Carolina, back where I'm from. So, yeah... American Made, American Quality, and I don't see any reason to go elsewhere.
But, it's getting much, much more expensive to get stuff made here in the states, right? I mean, I haven't priced wood out lately, but I've heard that it's getting pretty pricey.
I'm sure it is. But, the way we do our business is that if quality costs a little more, then we'll pay a little more. We're not trying to be the cheapest guy on the block. We're gonna stand by our product, and try to make the best stuff out there. And, if that costs a little more to do... well then, what's three, four, or five extra bucks...
It's a couple of cheeseburgers to me.
... but, when it's under your feet? When it comes down to it, you've gotta trust that it's gonna be there for ya. That's the long and short of why we have them made where they're made, and we don't really care about the price as much.
So, what kind of people might buy a Funhouse deck...?
Well, we started obviously with an emphasis on the pool shapes, for what we figured might be the older riders... skaters like myself that were either hangin' in there, or that might be coming back to it with their children, or whatever. I couldn't find boards that I liked to ride. The reissues were fine, but... for one, they didn't have the concave, or the dimensions, or the nose. And, for two: They were just old, anyway. There wasn't really anything "new" about 'em. For the newer kids, we do the popsickles, and we'll keep doing those as long as they keep doing well for the youngsters and all.
It's hard to say who we are. We're trying to have a Funhouse skateboard in every available size and shape, so that no matter what you're into, hopefully you can find a Funhouse skateboard to go on. Cruiser, popsickles of various widths, all the way up to The Dripper 36" longboard.
JJ's Funhouse graphics clearly show his VCJ and Pushead infuences, but with an added bit of whimsy tossed in for good measure. This one's newest model, the Cherry Bomber. Look elsewhere on this very website to see how it skates.
Which of the boards do you personally ride?
I've ridden ride them all, at one point or another. That being said, I don't regularly skate anything smaller than a nine-inch. I use my Mini Puncher for the streets around here, when I'm shootin' down to the store. In the pools right now, I've gone through the Ticket Puncher, and the Big Fish, and settled in on the Cherry Bomber 2, which is a modified version of the original Cherry Bomber. And also, my Dripper longboard. So, I'm kind of all over the place.
So, you're a definite advocate of the Dave Hackett Quiver Theory...?
I was not a "quiver man" per se, and I don't really advocate necessarily... well, how do I put it? It's fun to skate different boards, but you can't dial in your style as good when you're mixing up wheelbases and lengths to that degree. Some skaters can do it, but it's a struggle... especially if you're trying to get all tricked-out. But, I looove different aspects of every board that I make, so I end up skatin' 'em all. Because, they're all fun.
Now, let me ask you this question: The graphics that you do on your boards are obviously ridiculously detailed. Y'know, you've got the main graphic going on... but then, inside of the graphic, you've got like, a hundred other little things going on...
Yeah, there's always a support crew for the main character. That's just an evolution of my style. I was inspired by guys like Pushead, and V. Courtland Johnson, and I guess I just internalized that to the point where I could kinda do the main-focus sort of graphic, but then I've always got a little imagination left over. I kinda consider them rewards for people that look at 'em close enough. Y'know, people spend a lot of money on these things, and they should get their money's worth. For me, those little details are some of what sets us apart.
Y'know, when I was a kid, I would scour Mad Magazine...and, if you look in the margins of Mad Magazine, you'll see some of the funniest jokes in the whole thing. So, that's just a reflection of how I grew up. If you put it in there, somebody's gonna notice. And, whoever is looking for that kind of detail, hopefully, will get rewarded for it. Give it back a little bit, from the people that inspired me to make something worthwhile, and stay dedicated to the craft.
"Cowpoke (Manifest Destiny)", digital illustration, 2003.
How many hours are there, in any given Funhouse graphic...?
Ahhhhh... whew! It's hard to say. Ummm... it really depends on how many times I re-draw the pencil stage. That's all a part of my mania, but I'd say an average graphic could take a week. Some of them even go to two weeks for a single graphic. And, those are 10-12 hour days. Not eight-hour days.
So, that would be between 40 hours and 80 hours. Per graphic.
Easy.
Oh, wow.
I'd say that some of the simpler graphics... like, take the Mini Puncher for example. That was probably one of the quicker ones. Behind the scenes, what you see there are 15 versions of that little dude that sucked... (laughing)... before I got to that one. And then, obviously a lot of refinement on the illustration, before the actual line work. Then, you have the shape of the board, and a lot of other considerations before you begin breaking down the colors, and deciding whether you're gonna use spot colors, or a 4-color process. And then you have the borders, multiple-resolution files, and then the nitty-gritty of actual pre-press and pre-production... it's a lot of work.
So, all of your graphics begin as a hand drawing that gets scanned into the computer, and that's where the color separations are done...?
Typically, the process begins with sketchwork. I decide what the general shape of the board is gonna be, and that will influence the graphic a lot of times. So, I'll begin with a new board, and a new shape, and I'll just start drawing. It all starts with a 1"or a 2" sketch, really tiny, just with the bare minimum of detail. Usually, if I'm comfortable with it at two inches, then I feel like it'll work [enlarged]. I don't like to work "big", because I work big, the images don't get as distorted. Working small, their heads will get really big, and their eyeballs will get even crazier. If I begin by drawing big, then the art gets too detailed, right off the bat and loses focus. Small, then big, then add detail in small again.
Let's talk about this whole Do-It-Yourself thing. It seems like, at the end of the day, you're a really Do-It-Yourself kind of company. You know, you and I grew up with that. But, do you see that happening with this newer generation of skaters? It seems like they're not as... I don't know, what's the word I'm looking for, here...?
(Sigh) Skaters today... I call it the "MTV Effect". Look at the modern visual progression of skating through the prism of MTV, and you can see where I'm coming from. You started with Jackass on MTV, and peripherally you had Bam Margera, and all these jackasses runnin' around... it was pretty wild stuff. And it worked, especially for TV; they're stuffing Matchbox cars up their asses, and that was great. Then, Bam was the next thing... and, Bam's actually the cleanest guy out of the Jackass kids. Y'know, he does a few wild things here and there, but not to the extent that Jackass did. And then, from Bam Margera, we go to Ryan Sheckler. The cleanest-cut, ProActiv, white kid with the nice smile. And basically, he bitches about how he can't get laid...
(laughing)
... and, that's the kids that are comin' up! They're looking at Ryan Sheckler, and going "That's a skateboarder!" We didn't have that. Y'know, we didn't really have heroes. And, if you did have a hero, he was probably a still photograph in a magazine. I still don't know if my favorite skaters were assholes, or not. Because, I didn't meet 'em.
And, they weren't on TV 23 hours a day.
Right. Maybe I saw a little bit of video, or whatever. So no: I don't think the kids have the DIY ethic at all. I don't think they understand it. Some of them do. Obviously, some kids do, and you can tell who they are when you see 'em at the park or whatever. But mostly, they wanna be given something, or they think they're gonna be given something. They're not particularly interested in working for anything... including, keeping parks nice, or whatever. And, they're also really competitive in these really strange ways. Like, how they all wanna play games of SKATE...
I hate that game...
...and, they wanna have however many tricks, or whatever. They don't understand "doing it yourself", as meaning "I could make up a trick, myself". You know, Ryan Sheckler is never going to invent a trick. He's gonna do tricks, and he's gonna do them incredibly well, but he's not really in on the 'creative' aspect of skateboarding.
"Anne Frank (forPawPaw)", acrylic, 2005.
He's not like a Rodney Mullen, or somebody like that...
Right. And, that's what I thought of when you asked about DIY, that's the type of thing that I think about. When you ask that, you're asking "Well, what are you creating, yourself...?" And the kids today, they aren't creating very much. I'm not raggin' on them, but I mean, look around. Look at skating, look at anything. There's just not a lot goin' on.
So, who were your immediate influences, when you were growing up?
Well, I was fortunate enough to have Pushead in his prime. And, he skated. And, he was also an artist. I pretty much followed that line of thinking: That you could, and should, be both. Be creative in my skating, be creative in my artwork. But, I also quickly realized that I was gonna be a much better artist, than skater. As hard as I tried at skating, I never got particularly great at it.
Right. That's the thing that I never got, either. But today, there's all this pressure to get really good at it. Like, everyone forgets that the whole deal is to really love what you're doing first, and maybe, get good at it second.
And, a lot of that is caused by sponsorship. I don't know how many sponsorship videos I get from kids, where all it is, is two kickflips off a curb, and a note saying "I wanna be sponsored!" And, they haven't even given thought to the fact that I would probably sponsor pool skaters or whatnot. They're missing the point of skating, the worst part is that, they don't even do their skate history homework. I'm not particularly impressed by it all. But maybe when I was their age, I was a big fat dumbass too.
Well, our influences were those guys like Pushead, so we just sorta figured it out. Maybe we just had smarter role models...
Think about how Pushead had his own mail-order and stuff, for his own shirts, and everything else, right out of his house. I grew up buying products, that shipped them from their homes, with their own handwriting on the package. And, I loved it! The humanity of it.
It was like, more personal. Or maybe, more personable.
Right. To me, a "hero" is not... my heroes are not people that, you might put on a pedestal. My heroes are people that talked to me. That wrote me letters that said, "You're in a shit town down south, but it looks like you're tryin' to do your thing". And, they encouraged me to keep going. And now, here I am. That came from both the punk rock scene, where bands would write me back... and, that meant a lot. And also, from skating.
You'd think that, with this modern age of the Internet, it'd actually be easier to cultivate that sort of thing. Instead, the Internet seems to have turned into a sort of Bullshit Zone.
The Internet is just like... when you're a little kid, and you're tryin' to ask a girl out, you'd try to write a love note or something. Because, that's where you got your gusto up, right...?
(laughter)
That's what these forum people are, pretty much. They're gettin' their gusto up, and they're all ready to talk big, and do this or that. But, a lot of it is really irrelevant, when you're just typing...
Typing is kinda, not really the same.
...you don't have any emotion when you're typing. Because, you're just typing! I wanna meet people, and talk to people. That's so much better, and that's why I encourage people to come on up, and talk to me about my art, or just about skateboarding. You can't skate and type at the same time.
One of the things you mentioned, is that you used to mail-order from Pushead. Now, today, we have Internet skate shops. What's your stance on that whole deal? Because, it seems like one of our major debates right now, in the industry, is "what is the future of skateboard shops...?" It just seems like, they're dying...
Right. That, obviously, is a huge, huge issue for everybody that deals with a skateboard, no matter what side you're on. I guess that, first, I'd like to clarify that I don't really... I don't really know what the rest of the skateboard industry is up to. I don't know what they're particularly worried about, I don't really know how their sales are, except that they're probably a little down. I try to ignore the 'greater world of skateboarding', and just focus on the skateboards I'm making, and the stuff I'm doing here.
That being said, when it comes to the shops... we don't deal with too many of the shops. Being a newer brand, many shops won't even return our calls. Or, some of them are taking such a beating right now, that they're not bringing in any new product at all. So, most of the shops that we work with, I feel like they really understand skateboarding, and are concerned with much more than just earning a dollar. They're either skaters, or they're very in tune with the various aspects of skating. It's rare that a shop would just order a popsickle from us, for example. But, we're not really in that many shops. It's just a few.
So, most of your sales are actually done online...?
Well, the truth of it is: Mostly, we just don't have "sales"...
(Laughing...!)
... that's just, a nice, blanket statement...
(More laughing...)
...so, if you don't really have sales, then, you don't really worry about 'em...
(laughing...)
... but, we do do a little business through the shops. And, some of the shops do some volume. But, most of the time, it's smaller numbers, and we keep small numbers here, and we move out small numbers, so it all works out just fine. We also sell a lot, just by hand. There's a big skate community in Brooklyn... pretty much, when people see our stuff, they buy it. Which is why the limited number of shops that we're in, tend to do a lot of re-ordering.
What I wanted to say... because, it's the truth... is that, our best customer in the New York City area (not including New Jersey)... but, our best NYC shop is Blades Board And Skate. Blades is actually a chain store. It's not a Zumiez, but it is a two-store operation in New York. And, typically, you would consider it more of a mall store. With that being said, they've bought more decks, pound for pound, than any skate shop, anywhere...
So, why can't you sell more stuff, through more "hardcore"skate shops...?
Because, 90% of the shops that we approach won't even return our calls, or write a return letter! Even some of our local, "hardcore"skate shops won't even talk to you, unless you're a major brand, like a Zoo York or something. We've tried to contact a number of shops... I send them all personalized letters, explaining who we are, and what we're all about, and the quality of our stuff. But, we never hear back. Only about five percent of the shops that we write to, ever even bother to write back.
But, Blades did.
Yup. Blades did. So, I'm actually getting most of my support and sales, from the most corporate of shops. Because, they gave me a chance. The buyer looked at our stuff, he took a chance... and, they hung it right over the register. Now, people come in from all over the world, and all over the country... and, they see the boards. And, they like them. So, they take a chance, they buy them, and they go home happy with them.
That actually brings up a good point that I wanted to ask you about. It seems like, maybe 15 years ago, most skateboard companies were actually owned, and run, by skateboarders. Whereas today, more and more often, that's just not the case anymore. More and more skateboard companies are owned by a board of directors, or a whole bunch of shareholders, or by some dude that maybe used to skate, but can't be bothered with it anymore. It just seems like...
Or, a surfer...
Right. Or: A Surfer. Which, y'know... whatever. But: What is happening to this concept of, a skateboard company, that serves skateboarders, that's run by skateboarders, and that supports skateboarding? Where is that going...?
Yeah, well... I think that it's still probably here. There are still other small, solid companies like ours, and they're making good products, and they're struggling to get it out there. But, they're there. And, they're probably the most critical part of the thing.
But really, I could care less what happens to skateboarding. Because, I'll always have my skateboard, y'know? I'll make my own, and I'll always skateboard, personally. So, if my business dies? Or, there's just no more kids in the world, or whatever? It doesn't matter, I'll still make skateboards and whatnot. The corporate stuff is what it is. And, if people are buying corporate stuff instead of your stuff, you just have to deal with it. It's like, how the best-looking guy in your school usually dated the best-looking girl. You could sit there and get all pissed off about it, but it's never gonna change anything. Stealing the girl with your sincerity or sense of humor is where the interest lies. I just concentrate on making the best stuff that I can, and I don't worry about them. I do feel like there should be more companies like me, and there's room for it. And, I feel like the corporate guys will eventually bail out of it. They were in it before, and when the money goes, they go. And, that's fine.
And then, all that will be left, will be skaters.
Yeah. It's kind of like, the blank phenomenon. If you wanna set the whole interview on fire...
(Laughing)
You won't get any complaints from me...
My stance is: Bring 'em on! What do I care? If kids wanna buy a blank board, and ride it, versus a different company's printed boards, then they should do that.
Instead of making a huge ado about it.
And, that's all there is to it. Kids should do exactly what they wanna do. They should have a blank board available, because I would rather have a blank board, than 85% of the piece of shit graphics that are out there right now! The quality, whatever... whatever your money buys you, is what you should skate. Whatever you think is a good deal for you. If you can't afford a Funhouse, or you think "This is retarded, I'll never pay that!", then fine: Don't buy it. Buy whatever makes you happy. If you can't afford it? I can understand that. Or, if you can get two shitty decks... or, even two okay ones... for that kind of money? Then, go for it.
The last thing we would wanna do, is stop a skateboarder from skating. If blanks are a part of the market, or a big part of the market, then that's fine. Other companies just got worried, because they weren't doing shit for graphics. They have no identity for their brand, past whoever's skating for them... and, they just don't know what's goin' on. So, of course a kid bought a blank graphic, versus a Ryan Sheckler signature down the whole board... who gives a shit about that?! It just turns kids into billboards.
They become fashion plates, instead of skaters.
That's why I say, bring on a blank. I'd rather see a kid on a blank, than turning them into a damn big-ass advertisement, because they paid this ridiculous amout of money to basically advertise for this company... and, the kids think they're gettin' a deal?! Twenty-five bucks for a company t-shirt, and they put it on, and they're basically advertising?! They're gettin' pimped out! They're walking advertising, and they overpaid for the product?!
If some kid walks into a shop, and puts a blank next to one of my boards, and buys the blank... what does that mean? That means, I didn't do a good enough job on the quality, or a good enough job on the art. It's not their fault, and I'm not mad at that blank board sittin' there. But, some companies get mad about that shit! They're mad about it. I'm like, "Well, make a better skateboard!" That's what the market wants, so give it to'em.
I'd rather see a kid skating on a blank, than not skating at all.
Right. That's it; that's all it comes down to. I want people to look at my stuff, and be inspired enough to buy it. But, if they don't, and they buy a blank? Then, I say: Grab that board, get out there, and get skating!
"Dishwasher", digital illustration, 2001.
Is there anything else you'd like to add...?
Oh, I don't know. Probably, just say "thanks" to people. For me, my skating and my artwork were always nurtured along by somebody else. There's always been someone else there for inspiration, ever since I was young. Skaters that were older, that took me under their wing, and showed me the ropes of punk rock, took me skating, and told me when my bushings were too ragged out, and had to be replaced... and, all these other lessons of life. They know who they are, and I'd like to thank them. I'd also have to thank my wife, Cari, who is the brains behind Funhouse. And, of course, much of the capital...
(laughing)
... she's amazing. I don't know how many wives would let their husbands try and do what we're doin'. And, at the same time, since she got behind me, a lot of good things have happened, like being in Thrasher...
It seems like, as a skater, one of the first things I look for in a girlfriend... is a huge, overabundance of patience...
That's it...! (Laughter...)
So, all you kids out there?! Stop looking for the blonde bombshell, and just look for someone that's really, really patient...
(Laughter)
... because, we kinda require that.
Yeah. And, I'm a gnarly 'ol skateboarder, on top of being a freaked-out artist. So, she's got both ends of the spectrum to deal with. But, she does a terrific job, and she's a pretty saavy lady.
So, how long are you going to keep skating...?
As long as I can. I mean, how old can you really get...?
Alrighty, JJ. I'm gonna turn off the recorder now. Say "bye" to the world, buddy!
"Goodbye, Cruel World....!" (Laughter)...
If you have a few minutes kickin' around, take a sec to check out JJ's websites, www.jjrudisill.com and www.funhouseskateboards.com.
