“Certified gnarbuckle” says Thrasher. “Smell my finger” says Racket. Silas Baxter Neal folks!!! Read on…
Wesley: Are you psyched that none of these questions are about being a hippy?
Silas: Yes!!!
Wesley: (laughs) I gotta say though, your new Elwood ad probably isn’t helping. I mean, you look good in the ad, but you are sitting in the middle of a forest.
Silas: Yeah, I mean, their whole theme is woods though. They’ve got the tree on the side of the ads.
Wesley: At what point, Silas, would you say that you were the most extreme in your Habitat part?
Silas: Most extreme?
Wesley: Most extreme.
Silas: Um… I rode down a pretty long rail. That was kind of extreme. You know, by the extreme standards.
Wesley: Which rail are we talking about?
Silas: The long 50-50.
Wesley: Oh yeah, I got ya.
Silas: All the wall riding and jumping on walls was kind of extreme.
Wesley: Yeah, that was pretty extreme. That alley-oop frontside flip wall ride thing was quite respectable. But the handrail’s probably the answer, huh?
Silas: Yeah, as far as how most people judge the word “extreme,” probably the handrail.
Wesley: Did you shed a tear when you saw that Thrasher named you Rookie of the Year?
Silas: I was pretty surprised, honestly. I was pretty excited though. It was awesome. Whether they did that or not I would probably be doing the same thing. But it’s pretty cool just to have that reassurance.
Wesley: Is it hard to stay motivated? Just living the life in and out?
Silas: Am I motivated? I think the word for it is more “antsy.” I have a hard time not doing anything – sitting around – so I end up trying to keep myself busy. So I guess that could be motivated at the same time.
Wesley: So, are you kind of glad that P.J.’s off eS? I mean, you didn’t really like that dude anyway, did you?
Silas: (laughs) Actually, I don’t even know the guy. I sat down and had dinner with him once and that’s about it. Honestly, he’s an amazing skateboarder. I didn’t know him that well. I don’t really know what it was like to have him on trips or as part of the company. But I’m a fan of his skating, he’s amazing.
Wesley: Okay, how about Elwood? If it were me I’d be pretty giddy that I was on the same team as John Rattray. How about you?
Silas: The whole team are people that I’m giddy to be around, you know? I’ve been a big fan of all of them – Kenny and Anthony and Dan, Rattray too – since I was a kid. It was extremely flattering, probably one of the most flattering moments of my life, when Kenny called to ask me to be a part of it. It’s kind of an exclusive little thing, it seems. I just got back from that trip with them in Miami. Those dudes are rad.
Wesley: Elwood’s got a pretty tight little team going right now, huh?
Silas: Yeah, it’s pretty good. I’m excited. Kenny has a lot to do with it. He kind of put everything together at Elwood. Not only does he ride for them, but he’s in there, probably, a couple times a week checking in. He’s real involved with it.
Wesley: Alright, well I was perusing the eS site and in your mini-interview it says that you once did a 50-50 to pants crap on a vert ramp.
Silas: 50-50 to pants crap?
Wesley: Uh…that’s what you said. I was gonna ask what other tricks you’ve done to pants crap.
Silas: Um…that’s about it. Vert scares the shit out of me is what I think I was trying to say. (laughs) That stuff is just gnarly.
Wesley: Oh, I know, I can hardly drop in. Tell me though, as far as the pants crap thing goes, have you ever tried doing anything besides skateboard tricks to pants crap? You know, like maybe file an income tax to pants crap or…?
Silas: Yeah, I actually, I’m thinking about buying a house. I’ve done that to pants crap. That makes me shit my pants – the idea of spending that much money on something.
Wesley: Alright now, Silas…
Silas: Yes…
Wesley: Tell us your favorite thing about Racket Magazine.
Silas: About Racket Magazine?
Wesley: Do it!
Silas: (laughs) Um…it’s on the internet.
Wesley: Good call, it is on the internet!
Silas: Um…so you know who I am. That’s pretty exciting to me.
Wesley: I heard that Anthony Schultz just recovered from an injury. Was it from skateboarding or did you bring the pain because he disrespected your spot?
Silas: Anthony Schultz?
Wesley: Yeah.
Silas: I don’t even know the guy.
Wesley: Oh, alright, well I thought maybe after you dropped that kickflip over that water gap and then he did it with a grab maybe you had to…
Silas: Oh no, that was sick. That was amazing. That kickflip was like three, four years ago. There’s this dude from Denver, Nate Fantasia, he frontside flipped it. That thing’s been pretty destroyed. I definitely wasn’t holding the high marker on that one.
Wesley: Aside from yourself, who would you say is your favorite skater with three names?
Silas: Is there another skater with three names?
Wesley: I’ve got a few here if you want some hints.
Silas: Yeah, let me get the list real quick.
Wesley: Alright, I’ve got Willy Manaloto Santos. Mike Mo Capaldi. I guess that counts. Robert Lopez Mont. Pierre Luc Gagnon. I’m not sure if names like Ted De Gros or Oggy De Souza count. Anthony Van Engelen…
Silas: Anthony Van Engelen is probably my favorite out of all those. That guy’s amazing. I’m also a fan of Robert Mont Lopez.
Wesley: Yeah, he’s good, huh?
Silas: He’s out of his mind. He flies down the gnarliest things I’ve ever seen in my life! He’s insane.
Wesley: Well, where do you skate with him? You don’t skate on any of the same teams do you?
Silas: No, we don’t. But I’ve met him before in San Francisco. I never really skated with him. It’s just…the shit that he skates. I’ve been to some of the spots from his photos and footage…it’s just insane. I think that he’s pretty consistent too. He’s got everything, you know what I mean?
Wesley: Yeah.
Silas: I don’t see much of him falling down. He’s just gnarly. Extremely gnarly.
Wesley: So, Silas, would you agree that golden cymbals were flying on ocarina sounds?
Silas: Wait…wait…you gotta repeat that one.
Wesley: Would you agree that golden cymbals were flying on ocarina sounds?
Silas: Is that…a line from a song?
Wesley: You know, back before wild medusa serpents gave birth to hell disguised as heaven?
Silas: Is that from that Cream song?
Wesley: It might be…
Silas: (laughs) I didn’t pick that song and I’d actually never heard it before Joe put it in my part.
Wesley: No, Cream’s good.
Silas: I love Cream. I mean, it’s a little out there. I’m not sure what the hell they were on or talking about for the most part. I like to think of it as a intergalactic spiritual war going on and things were flying and beast were coming in…or something like that.
Wesley: What kind of powers would you say your red hair has given you.
Silas: See that’s the whole thing man, I have a red beard but I don’t think the hair on my head is real red. I think it’s more of a strawberry dirty brown. A lot of my friends think I’m a ginger. Mostly I would say that the red hair just brings a little more anger.
Wesley: The fire, huh?
Silas: Even if I am ginger… You know, everbody else seems to think I am, so I must be. I gotta get out of denial.
Wesley: Any final messages of awesomeness for the Racket readers?
Silas: Uh… Geez, you put me on the spot. Listen to music! There you go.
Wesley: Listen to music? You got any suggestions?
Silas: Um…anything before 1978.
Wesley: I would say anything before 1982, but 1978 is a pretty good year…
Silas: You’re right. There is some stuff from the ‘80s. There was some punk rock and stuff like that. Stay away from pop music is what I’m trying to say.
-By Wesley Miller