The Michigan Fingerboarding Scene, Sponsorships & Community | Frisky Fingaz | S4E169

On this week's episode of the podcast, we welcome a very special guest, Janson from @friskyfingaz! We dive into the Michigan fingerboarding scene and discuss why it has become one of the most active communities in the country. We talk about local events, sponsorships, collecting setups, supporting event organizers, and what it means to represent your sponsors both on and off the table.

Janson shares his journey into fingerboarding and reflects on the importance of loyalty, positivity, and community support within the hobby. The conversation takes a fun turn into music, growing older, nostalgia, and finding new passions while staying true to yourself.

If you enjoy the show, please like, follow, and share!

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Transcript

speaker-0 (00:04)
Welcome to USAFBL Finger War Podcast. I'm your host of Wine Cunningham and today I've got Jansen. Jansen of Frisky Fingers on Instagram. Jansen, welcome to Pod. How you been?

speaker-1 (00:15)
What's going on, man? You already know, bro. We're chilling and you know, living a dream over here, dude. So how are you?

speaker-0 (00:22)
Man, absolutely fantastic. Coming off of a great week. Actually, me and you just got done being vendors at ⁓ chicken fingers last weekend. Yeah.

speaker-1 (00:32)
Yeah.

It was pretty thick, man. We had a good time.

speaker-0 (00:35)
So those

of that don't know, James has been around in the scene for a few years. He's been supporting all of his local organizers and event hosts and whatnot. He's a sponsored writer, and I'm stoked to have you on the pod.

speaker-1 (00:48)
appreciate you, brother. I'm stoked to be here. You know what I'm saying? It's been a it's it it it feels like a sh very short time, but a very yet long time coming. Like, you know, it's it's it's got that like good in between right now.

speaker-0 (00:59)
Definitely you've been doing some cool stuff. I'm I'm all I'm here all about it, man. I'm here for it. All right. So before we get started, I got some quick plugs for you guys that have been keeping up. King of the plies is still underway next week. Actually, all of our teams are gonna be submitting their videos for that video submission contest, giving away eighteen hundred dollars cash plus prizes, and some of the sickest video edits on the planet are going down next week.

We're gonna talk about it on the pod for sure, and it'll be on our USAFBL YouTube channel. So go check that out. Applies, issue number 19 is out now. You can go see the free digital online applies mag, or you can pick up a physical copy or do both. I'm all about it. Either or it is there. Check it out. Huge shout out to CJ Morse for making the cover issue number 19. Also, gas is high, but I've got some I got some coupon plugs for you guys. So I'm back.

I B A C K. Use that at checkout for fingerskate.com, USFBL.com, or PliSMag.com. Save you a little bit of money. Also, another little plug for you guys. Plies10, T Tuning.com, save 10%. So you got a little bit of everything there. We also got USFBL Parks and Obstacles. They are in stock and been restocked. So definitely go check those out. Save a little money. Use that coupon code, the three stair and that half.

Pyramid is absolutely bombing. It is hard to keep those in stock. So definitely go check one out. Get one while they're still hot. Fast Fingers 22, two weeks. We've got three national champions: Chris Daniels, Tainer Hench, Mitch Rush, number one guys in the US FBL competitive circuits. We have sponsored them and they are going to Germany in two weeks. On behalf of USFBL, they're gonna compete for a

The country of USA, which is pretty wild. So we got three nationalists. They're going to do their best. They're going to have some fun. We're going to be video logging. We're going to be podcasting. We're going to be producing so much content for you guys and the journey that goes along with it. So stay tuned. If you're not following Chris Daniels, Mitch Rush, or Tanner Hench, I highly suggest doing so. I'm going to drop all their handles and their plugs down in the description for you guys. So definitely keep up with that. Jansen.

speaker-1 (03:21)
That was a lot.

speaker-0 (03:22)
It was a lot. It was a lot. There's a lot going on, man. There's a lot going on.

speaker-1 (03:26)
Man, you didn't even skip you didn't skip a beat, bro. I don't even know if I can get there. That was like a whole rap, man. I was like, all right, let's go. Man, that was

speaker-0 (03:34)
Blowing

through it. All right. We got all the all the all the boring stuff out of the way. I'm excited to get into some real fingerboarding talk for sure.

speaker-1 (03:40)
No, that was awesome, man.

speaker-0 (03:42)
I saw you at the chicken fingers event. It's not the first time I've seen you, so I'm assuming that you are a Michigan local, Detroit local.

speaker-1 (03:50)
No, I I'm actually from Chicago originally. ⁓ lived lived in Cali, also lived in Austin, Texas. My made my way up here for work. And while I was up here, you know, I got into the fingerboarding scene on accident and met a dude that I was trying to buy an obstacle from, you know, shout out Spencer. ⁓ yeah, just it just happened just like that, man. And next thing I know, I'm like, wait, there's people that show up and like fingerboard together and they're like, Yeah, dude. And I'm like, Okay.

All right, I'm down. Like so literally getting off of work. I'm I'm I'm suited and booted, man. I show up to a mall and we got about three tables, you know what I'm saying, put together and ⁓ it was really cool, man. I got to meet some of the local dudes and here we are today still shredding, so

speaker-0 (04:35)
Thing that I love, and I've said this many, many, many times in the pod, like Michigan has the most amount of fingerboarding events that goes down in a single season. Like 30, 40, 50. There's like I literally want to say like there's something going down every weekend. Like it is not hard to find something, it's just keeping up with everything.

speaker-1 (04:57)
Yeah, that's that's really it. And then also being able to make the time to juggle it all and then traveling, you know, 'cause a lot of it might be like this Michigan's so big, right? So it's spread out. It's like three hours here, two hours there, hour this way, you know what I mean? So ⁓ I really don't get to make it out to as many as I would love to, you know, just due to the fact that I usually work on Saturdays. But when I got like, you know, when I got the heads up on some, you know what I mean? I'm I'm definitely able to make way. So

speaker-0 (05:27)
I know grind fingerboards is one that you've been to. Who else's are you pretty keen on? Like, I mean, kinda plug us into like who's kind of doing what out there.

speaker-1 (05:36)
Okay, so I mean there's there's a lot of people, you know, hosting events. I mean, the first one that I ever went to was Finger Fiesta, you know, that was hosted by Rain Fingerboards. ⁓ shout out to my homie Jake. And so, you know, like I had showed up to that event not even knowing what a fingerboard event was, right? ⁓ and that's where I really got a taste of like what this what this is, what what goes down, and it I just got super stoked on it, man. And I mean it just hooks you in. I mean, you got raffles, you got

People doing their thing out there, you know, and then next thing you know, I'm ⁓ you know, going to chicken fingers, then I'm going to grind time, then I'm going to VXD used to host events. ⁓ you know, shout out to VXD, man. I know he's not really plugging in the scene anymore, but you know, he he he came in, you know, he definitely made a way for fingerboarding, you know, to still be ⁓ you know, live and well and

you know, for people to show up. ⁓ I've seen a lot of people come and go already, you know what I mean, in just such a s in such a short time. But ⁓ but yeah, these are the people that were really popping these events off. ⁓ Cherry Jam, you know, you got ⁓ the homie Phony Hawk. You know what I'm saying? He's he's he's locking in right now. Guido, shout out one of my sponsors, man. ⁓ Guido's locking in right now, dude. He's got his ⁓ event coming up. I think it was I think it's today, actually. ⁓ today's

Wait, what no, I think it's a third. I think it's the third. I think it's the third. So ⁓ but yeah, so either way, I like I said, there's so many events that are taking place at this time. you know, and I wish that I could make it to all of them, but I can't. But it is what it is, man. You know, shout out to all the homies, man. They're still just keeping this keeping this whole thing live and well. Like that's that's what it's about. And you know, and and putting that putting forth the effort.

speaker-0 (07:05)
Yesterday? Thirty first.

speaker-1 (07:32)
you know, to make it possible. And shout out to all the sponsors, man, that go above and beyond and and keep sending out merch and you know what I mean? And stay in contact with everybody here in Michigan, you know, and all the homies and and you know, and keep this keep this so like tight knit. You know what I mean? Like there's so many year after year these guys are coming through and you know what I mean and gifting prizes and stuff. Like that's that in my heart is what I feel is like so awesome. You know what I mean? It's like these guys are are like they're

And I I don't think that even people realize, you know what I'm saying, outside the fingerboard community, like like these guys are putting blood, sweat, and tears into their craft, even with little to no funds to do it, or they do have the funding to do it. And that's that's the biggest thing, man. Like it's amazing.

speaker-0 (08:20)
No, definitely. Some as an event host, I mean, it is absolutely amazing how many

brands and companies that are able to share that love, the support, those sponsor packs, helping out with the raffles and giveaways and pr promotion. The biggest thing too is like the shared promotions and stuff. So like when you're tagging those sponsors and those sponsors are resharing those flyers and all that stuff. I mean that stuff is huge, getting the word out and things like that. That's kind of the small things even that, you know, a lot of people don't realize like you know if you've got 15 sponsors and all of them are resharing your flyers and marketing and advertising your events and stuff like that is huge.

skin the word out.

speaker-1 (08:58)
And like I said, you know, ⁓ you know, with Guido, it's mitten fingers coming up. And then ⁓ the other the other homie, Sav. Sav ⁓ was throwing thrift jam, you know what I'm saying? So there's another one, you know what I mean, that's out here too. ⁓ and like I said, for ⁓ and ⁓ shout out Pips, you know what I'm saying? He was ⁓ he always hosts ⁓ Finger Frenzy, you know what I mean, every year. So and that's over in Battle Creek too. So, you know, like I said, man.

speaker-0 (09:22)
Serial City and all them, yeah.

speaker-1 (09:24)
Yeah, man. I I've been to so many different events at this point. ⁓ I just I I forget the names, man. You know what I mean? Like so

speaker-0 (09:31)
Well I saw Anxiety Offline FB about an hour ago talking about boards and brews coming back, so

speaker-1 (09:36)
Yeah,

yeah, boards and brews, man. There you go. Another one. And he used to he used to host events every Sunday or every other Sunday or you know, whatever. You know what I mean? Just at the park, man, everybody would get together. That and that that right there is that's the part of that's the atmosphere, man, that I'm trying to be a part of. And like, you know, I got ⁓ I I I've acquired quite a few parks, you know what I mean, at this point. And I can't wait to bring them out this summer for the guys, man, and the different people, you know what I mean? Even even if it's not just

And even if it's not just an event but just like a local give together, man, that's that's really cool too. So

speaker-0 (10:11)
Dude, having a park plug is like key. Like just being able to find a couple of guys that have a park or two is big. Like if you're in Michigan and you got some stuff going on, hit Jansen up. He's got a couple parks.

speaker-1 (10:23)
Yeah, shout out mini skate spot, man. I just got a huge park from them, bro. I'm I'm really excited.

speaker-0 (10:29)
Did

it come in? 'Cause I know you were talking about it last weekend.

speaker-1 (10:32)
It's not here yet. The plaza is gonna be here Monday. ⁓ but then the park, I still probably got a couple weeks right now. You know, the homies on vacation and I know that they're like trying to get everything situated. I know it's like gonna be the first week of June where it actually gets shipped out. And he told me that it would only be a couple of days, you know what I mean, from that point. ⁓ he he personally shipped out the plaza on his own and gifted that to me. So, you know, huge shout out to Minnie and

You know, shout out to all the Denver boys, man, for real. You know, shout out my sponsors, Muck, you know what I'm saying? Shout out Entity Wheels, you know what I mean? ⁓ Preston Porter, those are my dogs, you know what I'm saying, and like really good people, you know what I mean? They're very genuine and you know, heartfelt, you know, with everything that we do and everything, you know what I'm saying, we come up with. So, you know, having people like that in my circle means the most to me because the yeah, I know it's a long ride. It's not just a short wind, you know.

speaker-0 (11:27)
Well, before we move on to your sponsors, because I'm kind of interested to get into that, I saw something that kind of got me in the field. I saw a comment where someone was like, I wish there was a place where like I can find all of the fingerboarding events in one spot. And I was just like, Plies Mag is on issue number nineteen. Go to plies mag.com, the events tab, and every single fingerboarding event on the planet.

is there we i literally update it daily definitely weekly but there's like 60 70 events on there right now i believe not just the us also you know all the countries all around the world like we've got all the fingerboarding events so about 90 of every fingerboarding event is there so if there is a fingerboarding event it is more than likely going to be on pliesmag.com so definitely use it as a tool check in weekly see what's going on updates are happening literally all the time so definitely be on the lookout for that

And you got the I'm back plug. So, you know, get a little little discount on any ⁓ current or back issue mags or decks, whatnot. But definitely check it out 'cause supporting your local scene, supporting your local event host, all that stuff, it keeps fingerboarding alive for sure.

speaker-1 (12:38)
Absolutely. And you ain't lying, man. Like I'm I'm really glad that I got my first issue. Like my first issue was actually sent to me. You know what I'm saying? It was gifted to me. And ⁓ I was really shocked to see everything that was in that magazine. You know, and and nowadays, man, like, you know, it's i i I used to love the phrase like who buys magazines, right? Like, ⁓ but this is one a really awesome nostalgia way to keep up with things and it's really cool to see

the people that you know in these magazines, bro, and representing what it is that they're doing. And, you know, like right here, you know what I'm saying? I got Muscroff. I got my boy Da Vinci Caso. You know what I'm saying? This is my dog, bro. And and you know, it's one of the people that I really not only look up to in the scene, ⁓ but you know, has has always supported me. You know what I'm saying? Like genuinely, you know, and and like I said, the scene, you know, it's got its drama. You know what I mean? Like all scenes do. But there are some

very heartfelt people that I've met and that I've been able to bond with and connect with men and that, you know, I'm gonna have, you know, a lifelong, you know, friendship with just from fingerboarding alone. So I'm so happy to have that. And you know, and it's awesome to see my homie on this, you know, put him on my wall, bro, because, you know, just three years ago, you know what I mean? We're sitting here, you know, just fingerboarding at tables and chilling and talking about all this stuff. And he really deserves it, bro. He's paved the way. He's really paved away out here, bro. My dog's a beast. So

Yeah.

speaker-0 (14:04)
No, definitely. Shout out to Kevin Woods, Da Vinci Casso for sure. Doing the Lord's work.

speaker-1 (14:09)
Yeah, it was bad.

speaker-0 (14:12)
Man. All right. Talk to me about your sponsors. Who who you writing for?

speaker-1 (14:17)
Yeah, so man, ⁓ you know, first and foremost, man, I want to shout out Goods Damage because, you know, he was one of the first people that ever picked me up in the fingerboarding scene. ⁓ you know, I I think he's a great board maker. ⁓ you know, I think my bro deals with a lot of things, you know, like we all do. And you know, there's there's no shade. Like I'll I'll forever love his work and his craft and everything that he's done for me personally. It just I feel like as a writer, it comes time where you understand that business.

needs to be had versus, you know, ⁓ a friendship, you know what I mean? And like where I wanna I want to push and I want to progress and I can't carry, you know what I'm saying? Somebody's ideas, you know, that don't match my own. So that's where I had made that transition. And I know that there's a lot of people that didn't even understand that transition. I didn't make it, you know, known, you know. And I think that a lot of people were like, wait, what happened? So that it there is no shade. There's no bad blood, you know, I love my bro to death.

And ⁓ at the end of the day, you know he's gonna he's gonna do him and I'm gonna do me, and I'm gonna be over here with Muck because I feel like they're better suited for my ideas and my longevity of what I want to do with fingerboarding. And I feel like that's where I'm at right now. So and ⁓ you know, so I'm with Muck, I'm with Enity. ⁓ I'm also with my homie no name, you what I'm saying? Shout out to Dojo. ⁓ you know, I really linked up with ⁓ no name just off of the strength, bro.

That we just when we get together, you know what I'm saying? We always share some really crazy ideas and we always, you know, have some like far out ventures. And I I in, you know, me and the homie, we just always click on certain topics and certain things and just have so many, you know, I don't know how to explain it, bro. Like, you know, we're just we're just very ⁓ we're very worldly people, you know, so

When I was when it came up in conversation, I told him, like, hey man, you know what I'm saying? Whatever you got going on, you know, definitely jump on. I'll be a part of it a hundred percent. And he was like, Yeah, let's rock. Yeah, bro, there was that. And then Guido, Guido came out of Guido came out of nowhere, really, just was like, Hey, frisky, you want to ride for me? And I think that he was really highly motivated at that time to really start getting obstacles in and start, you know, really making some headway. And I was like, sure, you know, I mean, like, I'm never gonna turn somebody down.

that wants to build. I'm never going to turn somebody down that wants to succeed, do or, you know, use me as a lightway or a gateway to do it. You know, as long as it's not, as long as, you know, it's still progressive. Like they're going to keep doing it. I don't want to be in stagnant water or swampy water with any one company, right? Or any person that's just not going to put in the effort because I put a lot of effort in what I do. And, you know, and that's that's what makes me, I feel like, ⁓ a a a little bit different than some.

You know, it's because I I know that there's people that that post whatever they want and I try to post in regards to my sponsors and show and and share what it is that they're doing and what they got going on too. Because at the end of the day, it's not just about me, right? Like being sponsored, I feel like it's like you're you're representing a brand, you're representing a company, and you're also showing them why it is that you're worthy. You know what I'm saying? And you gotta keep that up.

speaker-0 (17:29)
No, definitely. Just having those expectations. But the more important thing is just matching that energy. And so it's like if your sponsor's got, you know, a certain type of energy and you're able to match that energy as well, you guys are on the same wavelength, like magic happens. Tell me, tell me the setups. I know you gotta have some crazy setups right now.

speaker-1 (17:49)
Bro, I do have some crazy setups, man. And like not all of them are for my sponsors, man. I I support a lot of ⁓ different board companies, man. You know, I wanna first and foremost, shout out the homie Jelly Bear, man. Jelly Bear, dude. I love Jelly Bear, dog. Like that's the homie, like he's just a really great guy. You know what I'm saying? And ⁓ every time I see him, man, I just feel good. I just feel like good. You know you ever see people and you just feel good, man. You're just like, ⁓ that's that dude. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

He always gives me that vibe. ⁓ he actually set up this deck right here for my girl because my girl likes to dibble and dabble in fingerboarding every so often. So she's huge Simpson fan, man. He made this deck for her. You know, got some flat face wheels on her for you know, for her. And ⁓ you know, I forget what trucks these are, just some China trucks, man. You know what I mean? Just you know, rocking and rolling. ⁓ but yeah, so shout out to Jelly dude. ⁓ also

As far as some super crazy setups, I I really like I really like this setup, man. It's by Huff. So you know I'm saying this is and N fingerboards. This is a really crazy setup here. I got, you know, just some China waves on here as far as the trucks go. These are like those Chinamics. And then I got I got my Enity recycled wheels. These are the Spitfire boys right here. And then I got ⁓

This really cool sticker, you know what I'm saying? It came with that. It was pretty fire. Okay. pretty cool. You know, nothing nothing crazy, bro. I got a I got a couple decks. Like I said, all the all the boards that I have, you know what I'm saying, that I collect. I don't generally set up. But I got some Doom Lagoon, you know what I'm saying? I got some I got some other stuff, man. I got some freaks and henny, you know, I got some six skate stuff. I got you know, I just got a bunch of different stuff. I got a whole box filled with fingerboards that I that I've never rode.

never use and that I I plan on doing something with over the long term, you know, it's with my big collection that I have. I want to make like a whole art wall. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Of all these different boards. Cause when it comes to shredding decks, man, like I said, it's it's all about my sponsors. You know what I mean? But it doesn't mean that I don't love the artwork and the creativity, man, of these board makers. They're so fired. At the end of the day, man, these are the people that believe in me and I believe in them. So I'm gonna I'm gonna stay true to that. You know, I

And I see I see there's a lot of sponsors out there. There's a lot of people that get sponsored and they say, hey man, you know, my sponsors don't care if I ride for other boards and stuff. And and that's cool. You do you, you know. But I feel like to truly be sponsored, right? Whether it be skateboarding, right? You know what I'm saying, or fingerboarding, you're not gonna find an actual skateboarder out there ripping another deck. You know what I'm saying? When they got a sponsor, dude. You know what I'm saying? Like, so I so that's that skater mentality in me where it's like.

Nah, bro, here we are with it. You know what I'm saying? Like that's that's where we are every day with it.

speaker-0 (20:39)
No, I respect that. I feel like there's gotta be 'cause we're we're old school. We're we're millennials, we're old school.

speaker-1 (20:45)
We

are bro, we're old school as hell.

speaker-0 (20:48)
It's

that loyalty. So like if you got a deck maker that's sponsoring you and he's like, Yeah, I don't care if you write other boards, it's like, you know, but if he's if that deck maker is like literally taking care of you, like to me, like you kinda have to have that loyalty to that brand. Like you can write stuff off camera. Like I feel like that's not an issue at all. But like if you're on camera or you're at an event or someplace like that, like I feel like you gotta be Ps and Q's, definitely representing your your peoples.

speaker-1 (21:14)
Exactly, man. And that's why, you know, with everything, I I don't feel like it would be true for me to go out and represent, you know, like and then be like, yeah, check this out. I'm actually ripping this. But you know, I wanna say this, man. Like there's there's a ton of companies. I love Saudu. You know what I'm saying? I love Tommy, bro. Tommy made me this. You know what I'm saying? Shout out to Tommy, bro. Okay. You know? So and and like, dude, I think he makes phenomenal wheels. And I rip I rip, you know, I got a dynamic deck, man. You know what I'm saying? Dynamic trucks, you know, I got

I got the wheels right here. I love these wheels. But you know, this is not gonna be seen in a video. Do I do I shred this shit all the time? Absolutely. You know, in my spare time I'm always ripping this thing. I love this board. But it like I said, it just comes down to that loyalty, man.

speaker-0 (22:00)
Coming off that that thickness, it was raining all last weekend.

speaker-1 (22:04)
⁓ shit.

speaker-0 (22:06)
And I didn't even bring a jacket or anything. ⁓

speaker-1 (22:08)
no, ⁓ yeah, bro. I kinda got sick too, like the the next day. Like I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling some type of way for sure.

speaker-0 (22:14)
I'm just still getting over that. So all right, this is actually kind of a crazy story. So I travel all the time, but like there's like I don't know what is going on with like the global warming or whatnot that's going on in this country, but like you're four hours north of me. I leave my house, it was like five o'clock in the morning, something crazy. And it was like I don't know, like 71 degrees or 68 degrees, like fairly warm. I didn't even need a jacket when I left my house. And then I get up to the event, it is like cold, windy.

rainy, it was like 40 something degrees outside. And I was like, man, no jackets. I didn't think I needed one. So I left my house and was fine. So, you know, we're midwestern. You just stick your head out. You're like, it seems cool. So you just roll with it and stuff. And man. Yeah, I definitely got some kind of cold or sickness or virus or whatever. Just now kind of getting over it. But and chicken fingers, for whatever reason, I do not know why. It always rains. Usually it's like for like an hour and then it just disappears and it's just, you know, sunny and hot.

But like this was the first chicken fingers where like it just pretty much kind of missed it or rain like all day.

speaker-1 (23:19)
Dude, but we we we handled that though. You know what I'm saying? We handled it though, bro. And you know what? It was it was an experience. And I'll say this, man, like having that tent was clutch, right? Like having you there with your tent right next to mine. You know what I'm saying? That was cool, bro. Like we vibe, man. Like I like I don't think the rain I I really just didn't let it affect me, bro. Like and I and I and I felt like the whole day before, like I was like, man, it's gonna rain. Like, damn, I was really beat up about it. But you know.

speaker-0 (23:30)
The tat.

speaker-1 (23:49)
Shout out my dog Alan, you know what I'm saying? He calls me, you know, he's like, look, man, there's nothing we could do. You know what I'm saying? It's gonna rain. And if it's gonna rain, it's gonna rain. And we're still gonna have an awesome time. And if people don't show up, it is what it is. It's more shit that we went off the raffle. Like, you know, let's have fun, let's have at it. And I was just like, you know what, dude? Yeah, you're right. I got you. You know what I'm saying? Cause I'm all about that positivity. And you know, shout out Alan, bro. You know, like Alan's not only like my best friend, but he's one of the people that I genuinely look up to as a person.

And you know, with everything with fingerboarding dude, he was one of the people like him. It was so I was at Finger Fiesta. It was him up against ⁓ Dunks, you know, and shout out Dunks, man. I love Duncan. You know, they were they were going bit, they were head to head, man. You know what I'm saying? And that was that face-off. And dude, that shit hyped me up so hard. That was the day that I met Alan. And you know, from there, dude, you know, we just, you know, anytime he had like an event at his house or something going on, we would link up.

And then, you know, just that friendship kept building over time. And, you know, he's one of the most genuine people I've ever met. And he helps me become a better person, you know, truth truly, man. Like I I deal with a lot, you know, truth like mental shit. You know what I'm saying? Like I've I've been diagnosed bipolar and, you know, ⁓ you know, I pop off at times, you know, and he's been a really great friend, man, to be like, Hey, look, you know, I I'll hear you out, but like also we gotta do this and come back from things. So

I've I've made a lot of progress with who I am just off of having a friend like him. And you know, I do believe that same man. You are who your friends are and who you surround yourself with. So I'm glad to have those people like that. You know, shout out Lion, you know what I'm saying? Ninja Lion Dog, like that's another really good friend of mine, you know. Justin's Justin, you know, and and and the friends that I have, you know what I'm saying? The people that are I consider my boys, my friends, like they're good people and they keep me level headed.

speaker-0 (25:30)
Justin's a good one.

speaker-1 (25:41)
And even when I wanna dart off, man, because I'm not gonna lie, this fingerboard and shit can it can it can get to you sometimes, man. There's some people, man, that got some rowdy shit to say and they like to sit behind that keyboard, you know, and these are the dudes, man, that keep me like, hey, look, you you're representing something bigger than this. You got goals with this, you know. Don't don't take it there with these people because these people want to ruin your image. They they would they would rather see you fail. And to any fingerboarders out there, man, this is my message too, to any fingerboarders out there, man, where you're really trying to

you know, shine. There's gonna be people that want to shit on your parade. There's gonna be people, man, that don't want to see you succeed. They don't want to see you win, bro. They don't like you just because they don't like you. And there's nothing you can do about that. And all you got to do, man, is you got to rise above that. Because my favorite line from Allen is hate never comes from a high place. It always comes from below. You know what I'm saying? So so just remember that man to rock your wave. And you know, any

And just remember this too, any relationships, man, that get fucked up in the way, you can always come back from it, man. Egos don't have to exist. You know what I'm saying? You can be the bigger person, man, step up to the plate and say, hey, look, man, I was wrong about you. A lot of times we don't really know each other. And I think that that's the problem, man, is people just assume that they know somebody, but they don't know shit about that person. And that's why we got to do better, man, in the community, man, to reach out, extend that hand and let somebody know, like, no, I got you.

We gotta be here to pull each other up, man. It this is not this is not something where we just gotta sit here and kick each other down, man, and and gossip. You know what I'm saying? Like we could we can do better, a hundred percent.

speaker-0 (27:17)
No, I feel that in my heart for sure. I know there's haters and people that just just like to in general just talk shit all the time in all different industries, but

I feel like the fingerboarding community has like the greatest collection of it for some reason. And it's not even just like a a me or USRBL thing. Like even you're speaking on it and you're just a you're just a writer. You're not even a brand. And like you're experiencing it and you're seeing it and all this other stuff. Like I know new people coming in. They're like, I they're excited to post clips and they're like, I learned how to kick flip and people are stoked. And then like people just come into the comments and all bash it and be like, that's not clean. I don't know why you're posting.

it and like I don't understand why there's so much like just hate and animosity in our community for no reason. It's almost like if you're not at a hundred percent, it's almost like you're not allowed to be on the internet.

speaker-1 (28:14)
Yeah, and the the other thing that I really don't like too is that a lot of people accuse each other of stealing ideas. Like there's no one original idea. Okay. Just in life. Like don't d don't even bring it to fingerboarding. Okay. Like I love when people wake up and act like they're so fucking original. Like, no, dude, the clothes that you're wearing aren't original. The shoes you're wearing aren't original. And your thought process and everything that you're doing wasn't original. You were designed. You were designed with shit that was already designed.

So when you see something and you make it a little bit better, you progress on it, that's great. But don't knock the next person, dude, for progressing or creating something else. Because guess what? We're all curating ideas, man, to make them more feasible to the next person. And we need to keep uplifting that. We need to keep pushing that. That's the wave, you know? Like, I'm tired of the negativity, bro. Like, I'm I'm so sick of it. Like, dude, I I'm I'm regardless of what people say, regardless of what people do, man, I'm staying so focused.

On just keeping myself from that and building new relationships. Even people that I didn't think that I liked or people that had negative connotation towards another person, I'm going out my way now to say fuck that. Like I'm gonna give you a chance because I want a chance. I'm gonna give you the benefit of doubt because I want the benefit of the doubt. And I'm not gonna listen to all these other people anymore. Fuck that. Fuck them. I don't care about what they say. I'm gonna treat you based on how you treat me. You treat me good.

Man, we got a good thing going here, dude. You know what I'm saying? And that's what it should be about. And that's that's how I'm rocking.

speaker-0 (29:42)
No, I feel that. I love that. It's 'cause me and you, like, we came before the internet. So like it's weird for me to see two different worlds. It's like we plug into like, you know

local events, we session with local homies, we hang out, we do stuff in real life, and it's like a whole different vibe. And then you plug into the internet and it's like literally plugging into the matrix. It's like I it's none of it's real. It's like it's it's like a whole different ordeal. And it's just like you guys are so invested into this matrix. It's weird. It's almost like go out, touch grass, hang out, do stuff. Like it's so weird to me.

speaker-1 (30:19)
Yeah, and the gatekeeping, man, is is is wild. You know, like I mean, there should never be that, you know. Like I feel like it should definitely be like, hey man, you know, let's get some people together, you know, and work out your differences. You know what I'm saying? Like, whatever differences you have, they can be worked out. And that's that's my journey now. It's like I'm gonna try to find the good in people, even when I see that bad, and try to take that. Like, there's there's a specific person, which I'm not here to name names because that's not what I'm about and that's not what I'm doing. But this one person

didn't like me for some reason. And regardless if that person didn't like me, I went out my way to find things that we have in common. I went to I went out my way to extend my hand to that person to show him like, you know what? It it isn't even me showing trying to show you a face. It's me showing you that regardless of what you think, regardless of what you know, okay, I'm gonna be a friend to you when there is nobody. I'm gonna be a friend to you when you felt like

How could he be my friend? I'm that's what I'm on now. I'm on I'm on that journey, man. I'm on that journey. I'm taking, I'm taking, I'm taking that with me, bro. I'm holding it. You know what I'm saying? Like I'm I'm going, I'm going out my way, man, to do something different now. Like, because, you know, and and my spiritual, you know, my spiritual backing, man, I don't know what people believe in, but I believe in God. I believe in Jesus, man. And and like I believe that there's a realm and a place after here, right? And so if if there is.

You know what I mean? I wanna love people, you know what I'm saying, as much as I can because if that was the only gift, you know what I mean, that God gave to us, bro, was to love. Like I'm I'm I'm gonna really try. And it's hard, don't get me wrong. I can still get angry, bro. I I yeah, there's times, man, I I wanna go in on people, you know, but then I'm like, Jansen, what would Jesus do, bro? You know what I'm saying? Like, like what would Jesus do, bro? And I'm like, All right, man.

You know, and and it's not hard. It's it's it's not hard to be mean. You know what I'm saying? It's not hard to be mean, but it's hard to be nice and it's hard to be understanding. And that's that's the challenge that I'm taking on. Because man, to to to listen to gossip and then turn around and flip it, man, it's so easy, right? You know what I mean? Like somebody's like, you know what? I heard that too. And we love that. We love that, you know, and in good fun, it's fine.

You know what I'm saying? Because you know, with little things, it should be. You know what I mean? It's okay. But when it comes to like ruining a person's character, to demolishing somebody, it's you know, it's that shit. You know what I mean? And I know you feel that, brother. I know you feel that. I know you feel that like on so many other levels, you know? It is

speaker-0 (33:00)
Just people are misunderstood. And it's one of those things peop people are misunderstood. Mistakes happen. Things happen for the good, for the bad, for the worse, for for whatever. I mean, it's just it's it's just interesting for sure. But I feel like as long as you're a good person, you continue to go out and do good, you mean well, and you're just pushing things forward in a positive way. I mean, it'll all eventually work itself out.

speaker-1 (33:25)
But yeah, no man, I just I I get in my feels about that kind of stuff, man, 'cause I see people attack people on the internet. I see people, you know, I've had my fair dealings. I've seen people quit fingerboarding altogether because of certain things, you know? And

speaker-0 (33:39)
⁓

It actually that kind of literally breaks my heart. I I think I screenshotted a couple I don't I may post a few, but it's really, really depressing. Like some people it was because they it's a lot of the newer people, it's like

They come in, they're excited, they're buying all these products, and like people be like, Why are you buying this? Like, you know, or they buy like a entry level product, like they'll buy like a teak tuning complete or a slushcoat grom or something, and then like people will bash their setups and be like, Well, if you're not dropping a hundred, hundred and fifty bucks, like I don't know why you're even fingerboarding kind of mentality. And like it kind of gets the new people kind of away, and then you get excited 'cause like I said, the kick flip scenario where like he learned to kick flip, he filmed it, he put it on the internet, and then everybody's bashing his style and this and

that and like if you're new and you don't really have ⁓ that support group to kind of like back you up and be like, yeah, dude, it's just internet trolls, don't worry about them. Like, you know, mental and depression and stuff, like it's it'll get to you if it happens enough where you're posting or you're not getting the positive responses that you're looking for. Like people will literally just either stop posting and eventually just completely fall out of the hobby as a whole. And I see it a lot. I see it way more than it should be happening.

speaker-1 (34:53)
Yeah. And and and you know what you touched on something. Like, dude, we're all, you know, like what in our twenties, thirties, forties, you know what I'm saying? Pretty much the people that are really into fingerboarding. And it's like, dude, we're all here for for validation. Like, don't lie. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's the whole thing is like you love posting because you love the validation, you love the support. So give it back. You know what I'm saying? Like, even me, man, I'm a busy ass dude, bro. I'm working, I'm doing shit. When I get on my phone.

I go through all those people do that like my posts that comment, you know, and I go through bone and like and comment and comment and like and whatever I do because I show them like you're seen. You're seen and you are validated. And don't it and nothing is going unseen. And even if I do miss it, don't worry, I'll come back for you. I will come back for you. And I got you because I know that you got me the same way. And that shit.

That's what that's what raises that's what raises that hair on my neck, dog. That's what gives me that tingly sensation over my body is because that's that awesome shit in the community that I love. That's the stuff that that means more to me than anything. And I feel like nowadays, man, people have a really hard time being real, you know. And it's like, be real, man. Be really real. None of us are that cool, bro. We're fucking ripping around a fingerboard in Target. Okay. You know what I'm saying? None of us are that cool.

So because we're outcasts and because we're that fuck those people, let's all get together, man, and make it that much cooler. Grab your homie, lift him up, man, and say, I got you. You know? Grab that dude, man, that's sitting here, do quietest shit in the corner and let him know, dude. No, you're you're you're a face too, brother. I got you. You know, because I know I'm an eccentric person. And I know that that's always been me because I'm confident who I am. And at the end of the day, I can't be nobody else, right? And when I go down into the dirt.

You know what I'm saying? Who's gonna remember me for a hundred years from today? Not a fucking soul. So my thing to everybody is, man, do better. Do better and really support each other, man. And we can all be friends. We can all be homies. We can all set aside that shit. All that crap, dude, that you think you know, you don't know shit. You got another 40 some odd years to live, dude. And by then you're gonna be looking back on this situation saying, damn, he was right. I didn't know my ass from my face. So

You know, like this this is where we are, bro. And you and me, we're we're we're forty years old and we still know we don't know shit. We don't know shit.

speaker-0 (37:22)
We're still out here learning, still out here figuring it out, still out here navigating things.

speaker-1 (37:26)
We're still kids, man. We're 18. I love this cup, man. I saw this mug. You're gonna love this, bro. I saw this mug in Salvation Army the other day. I was thrifting, and it said, I'm 18 with 72 years of experience. And I was like, dude, man, ain't that the fucking truth, man? We're you you're 18 forever, dude. And all you're doing every year after, man, is just experiencing life, dude. Just doing something different. You become a little bit wiser, a little bit sharper, man.

You take those knives and you you rub them together. That's it.

speaker-0 (37:58)
Man, we're getting to a point right now, and I had a conversation with someone the other day about it, but like we're getting to the point now where we're getting so old that like we're seeing everything circulate back. And it took me a minute to figure out why this was happening. Cause I was just I'm like really observant, but I'm also one of those people that like tries to break everything down to like the most simplest form. And so this is this is like some highly philosophical stuff I'm about to spit right now. Like

speaker-1 (38:27)
You'll run that shit.

speaker-0 (38:29)
I'm running it. All right. So when we were kids, everything that our parents did was lame. It was uncool. If our parents listened to seventies, eighties music, we're definitely not listening to seventies, eighties music. And so we would literally listen to hip hop, heavy metal, MM, like the most like furthest thing away from what our parents were basically listening to or even doing. and so like

Our kids, they're doing the exact same thing. So whatever we thought worse cool when we were kids, our kids are now doing the exact opposite. So if we wore baggy clothes, our kids are like, all right, we're wearing skinny jeans, we're we're doing that, we're doing the exact opposite. Baggy clothes is not in, skinny jeans is in. Their kids now are starting to come back and they're getting back into the baggier clothes. And so because everything flip-flops per generation, it's like what's cool.

Becomes not cool, then actually has to become cool again because you can't do what your parents do. That's the most uncool thing that you can do. And so eventually, if you live long enough, you'll see it come all the way back full circle. You'll see it like ⁓ for us in streaming. So, like when we grew up, we had Blockbuster, we had all the video stores, nostalgic. Our kids were like, no, streaming's where it's at. Now

We're all starting to go back to collecting physical media because we're like, well, we want to watch this movie, but you either have to rent it or you can't find it. And then so physical media is now coming back. And so it's like whatever was cool becomes uncool, then becomes cool once again. So like comes back full circle. And I'm like, all right, that is interesting to see.

speaker-1 (40:15)
You ain't lying, bro, because you what? On my way to work, man, I ain't listening to rap no more. I'm sitting here listening to the shit that my dad used to play in the car, bro. I'm over here listening, bro. I have been really on some like and I love rap. Don't get me wrong, I was a rapper. See, there's people I don't they they don't even know that I was a rapper once upon a time, you know? And I could rap my ass off, bro. and I took it very seriously. Music was my first love. Like there was no fingerboarding. I mean, skate well, actually, skateboarding was my first love, if if if if I'm being honest.

From like 13, but then I transitioned into music, man, shortly after. And I ran with music, man. I traveled all over the country doing music and shit. I created as many gateways as I possibly could, bro, to to perform and knock down those doors. And I loved rap. And now I don't even listen to rap like that. Like I really don't even enjoy it. Like, and that's the craziest thing is like I'm sitting here like, damn, I don't even listen to rap no more like that.

speaker-0 (41:14)
been listening to hip hop and rap for like literally thirty something years, like even my parents and it's like I don't know if it's the new rap isn't good or I'm just like falling out of touch with rap as ⁓ general. Like I don't know if it's just like the new rappers are just like not very good or if it's just my just whole style and demeanor is just completely just shifted out of that whole era.

speaker-1 (41:39)
Yeah, man. I think that w as we grow, right, we evolve. You know what I'm saying? And and the thing is we're alternative dudes, man. You know what I'm saying? You and me, we're alternative kids, brother. Like we love rap, we love rock. You know what I'm saying? But it's like I'm not even listening to like alternative rock. I'm sitting here listening to Zeppelin. I'm sitting here listening to fucking bro. I it it I'm going back. I'm listening to Prince. I'm listening to Queen. I'm listening to stuff that I didn't even listen to. And I'm like, I'm like.

speaker-0 (42:09)
It just hits different now. I don't know why.

speaker-1 (42:11)
I'm like, man, bro. Like I'm sitting here like, dude, this is the best music that was ever orchestrated. How did I miss out on this?

speaker-0 (42:19)
went back to corn and kid rock and ⁓ that whole era, like Nirvana. I'm going back to like that right now. Like I'm I'm getting I'm getting like I don't know, it's it's a whole other thing.

speaker-1 (42:32)
Yeah. Yeah. And then don't get me wrong, I love them too, man. And like Limb Biscuit and you know, yeah, I mean the the list goes on. Lincoln Park. I mean, shit, we can't we can even push further, man. We can go, you know, brand new. You remember brand new? Yeah. You remember brand new? You know, like we can we can go into all of these different alternative settings of rock, but like I'm saying, man, like I have really been on a completely different wave to go into like straight up classic rock, and I'm really sitting and I'm just enjoying it. Like I'm in and in waves where I'm just sitting here like

Wow. Like, man, they really broke that down. Like, and then I'm like dissecting the lyrics to create my own, you know, hypothesis of what they had going. You know what I'm saying? Like, some of the lyrics, man, are way deeper than you even thought. Like, I was listening to the cranberries the other day, right? Like, listen to this. I'm listening to the cranberries and I'm listening to that song Zombie. And I'm sitting here listening to the lyrics, and I'm on my way to the lake. And I'm like, what is she talking about? Is she talking about war?

I was like, no way. She's gotta be talking about like how these men come back from war and they're all messed up and now they're zombies. But I was still wrong, you know, based on what it was that said. But that was that was what I took from it. So I'm thinking this whole song, zombie, you know, was just like her just rambling. But I'm like, wait, she was actually talking about war happening in Ireland and like all of this, and and that backstory just like drove me. I was like, This is really interesting. I was like,

speaker-0 (44:01)
Across some that too. A lot of the lyrics from a lot of the older songs actually have completely different meanings of what I actually thought the song was about. For real. Like. And I was kind of blown away from it. And that's I don't know if just I was getting old, but I'm like, I miss like the VH1 like behind the music. Like what happened to that? Like, I think that's where like a lot of like music kind of like kind of

got misunderstood because we used to be able to like have those conversations of behind the scenes and stuff with the artists and they're talking about their songs, the meaning, like the inspiration behind the albums. Like you don't get really any of that stuff anymore.

speaker-1 (44:40)
Definitely not. And and you know, man, it's it's like you said, rap nowadays, man, I'm not gonna sit here and say that there aren't some creative rappers that are coming up, okay? Like, you know, nineteen hundred Rugrat is one creative dude, okay?

speaker-0 (44:55)
I

he fell off so hard though already.

speaker-1 (44:57)
He did he actually didn't fall out. He's he's making like he's he's still in that he's still in like he had a he had a a quick boom phase, he dropped down and now he's steady. He's steady and now he's back to climbing. but he's holding his fan base, you know what I mean, and like he's doing his thing. But that's the whole thing is like I keep up with a lot of different artists, man. Another rapper dude that I used to love was Casky. I don't know if you know who Casky is. Shout out my homie, you know what I'm saying? Like you know, shout out Billy the Kid from Chicago, bro. Like

You know what I'm saying? My my homie actually got shot and murdered. So, you know, these were dudes that I actually knew, like that I actually talked to, that I like while I was in the industry, that I was actually like reaching out to and being like, Hey, yo, what do you got going on with this? Da da da, trying to get my features in, you know, working my foot in that door. It's crazy, bro. Like the music industry is just it it's hard. It's so hard. And you know what? The thing is, is that it's so self-defeating and depleting like how much time that I put into something.

And I felt like I never got anything back from it, you know? And and at least with fingerboarding, right? There's there's a community behind it. With rapping, bro, it's egos galore, bro. You're going to studios, man, you're sitting next to this dude, bro. He's got a glock on his side, man. You don't know what the fuck dude's thinking about. You know what I'm saying? Like truthfully, you know, you you you barely want to have a conversation because you don't even know, you know, and then he's going in rapping about this, that, and the third.

And you're like a and when you rap about certain shit, though, you go into a mode. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not gonna lie to you. So imagine coming out and like you're sitting amongst all these different people because y'all are in the same studio, they're booking studio time, you're booking studio time, and they're going in dropping some shit. You're you know, you're there chilling, and and you just really ain't fucking with no one in there, bro. You're just like, damn, like I can say the wrong thing, bro, and piss this dude off, bro, and you never even know what might happen. You know what I mean? So

And and when I was living in Austin, Texas, bro, let me tell you, Austin, Texas is rowdy. These boys in Austin, bro, they don't give no fuck. Like they like I'm from Chicago, and I'll tell you that people from Chicago don't give a fuck. But these dudes down Texas, I'm letting you know, these jits, these kids with guns now, bro, they're off the fucking lean, they're off the dope, they're off all sorts of shit. You think that they're in their cognitive right thinking and mind state, like to not pull some shit out, dude, and just

send you to the fucking moon if you just get on, you know what I'm saying? So that's why I left it. I said, you know what, this ain't for me. Cause I'm not walking around, bro, carrying a nine on my hip. I'm not walking around, dude, with an MPX bro in a music video. You know what I'm saying? Like that's not the energy that I condone, nor do I want to be around. And these dudes now, it's all about guns. It's all about a flex. It's all about, hey, show up and do this, bro. And I'm

You know, I'm having my homie send you here. You know what I'm saying? And that's not that's not what rap is to me. Rap was about, you know, what happened to Andre 3000, dog? You feel me?

speaker-0 (47:49)
It has gotten a lot more violent. It's been a lot more sheet up the block and stuff, like violent. And rap for us was literally about hustling and getting money and flexing it and getting women and like that was like the whole the whole thing. It was just

Hustle, grind, flex it, get women. That was the whole thing. Like never was it about shooting up clubs and spinning the block and all this other stuff. It was always about just hustling, getting money and flexing on women.

speaker-1 (48:21)
And you could have metaphorical terms to let somebody know you're not to be fucked with. You know what I'm saying? But like to just deliberately tell somebody like, I got this shit, I'm in a shooter, bit of like it's like, what the fuck are you talking about, bro? Like that's crazy work. So, you know, like for me, man, I'll spit you. Can I s can I rap for you? Can I rap for you, Levi? Like is that just just for the one time on the podcast?

speaker-0 (48:45)
You want to throw a beat down, I'll throw like let's do it.

speaker-1 (48:48)
no, we ain't gonna free. We ain't gonna free. I mean, I can freestyle, don't get me wrong, but I wanna give you something that was written, man. You know what I mean? Like I wanted to give you something that was truly written and not and not call it a freestyle like they do this day and age, because every time they call it a freestyle, somebody gets a spit in written and it's like, dude, that's not a freestyle. You know what I'm saying?

speaker-0 (49:05)
Before

we change the subject though, I do gotta I do gotta talk about the one freestyle that's been hitting hard, ⁓ the new Riffraff. Yeah.

speaker-1 (49:12)
I love Ru Rap!

Jill the eye roller, let's go.

speaker-0 (49:17)
Jodi Hyrolla. People don't know all about that, man. Man. And the the more you listen to it, the more you like you like it because you're finding all these different bars that just mean something. And it's just like, man, that's wild.

speaker-1 (49:30)
Dude, he is one of the most creative rappers, bro, to ever hit the scene. Like, dude, it's just a genius. I've seen

speaker-0 (49:39)
What I love about him is that like he was always different. He knew he was different. He wasn't trying to fit in. This is who he was. He was the most authentic person in the game, in my opinion. Like he came in as a white rapper, which is already like a stigma to begin with within hip hop. And then like he just doubled down on him just being him and like never once deviated from it. And I absolutely love that.

speaker-1 (50:06)
You know, I thought he was corny. I'm not gonna lie, I thought he was corny.

speaker-0 (50:09)
He was definitely corny, but the longer the old the more that he did it that's kinda how I feel like with like me and US RPL, like we kinda I kinda came in, I'm a little corny, I'm not gonna lie. And I'm just like I'm just doubling down on just me being me and like I feel like if you do it long enough, like people will eventually be like, you know what? Jody High Roller was all right.

speaker-1 (50:29)
Yeah.

No, man. Listen, Riff Rap, dude, I mean, I and I watched him progress through the years. I watched the transformation. I watched him go with the you know, I love when he he he talks a certain way, you know what I'm saying? For his character role. And then like when he's actually talking is completely different, you know, like he he and and he don't care. He don't care. That's the best part is like he's just like he's like when I'm in riff raff mode, like

You're gonna hear me talk like this. And when I'm talking to my brother, it's some whole other shit. And that's you gotta love that. You gotta love Rip Rap, bro. He's just a character, dog. Straight up character, man.

speaker-0 (51:05)
Always in a good mood, always just out there doing his thing. Neon icon, shout out to him. Yeah. Staying authentic, never deviating. Even 20 years later, still the same guy. I love it.

speaker-1 (51:16)
Yeah, man. And like dude, it's that's what the what's so weird about the rap game, bro, is that had all these different people, man, coming up, you know. I came up at the same time as ⁓ and we're actually the same age as Machine Gun Kelly, bro. I was doing shows in Chicago, bro, while this dude was on tour. So like they ended up linking us up together just obviously because I was a white rapper, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, I had to open for him. And I kind of felt like at that time, like, damn, it's a little unfair because me coming out of Chicago, bro, that's a huge city.

You know what I'm saying? And I was already paving the way. I was part of Smart Mouth Entertainment. You know, shout out to Ace Da Vinci. You know, shout out to shout out to all my homies, man, that really pushed it paved the way. I mean, dude, we were doing shows, bro, and performing with fucking save money, bro. Like we were performing, you know, like shout out chance the rapper. That was my homie, you know. Shout out to Oreo, bro. When I was playing ping pong with him at Soho, like this is real shit. So, you know, and I'm not gonna say you're on a podcast, it's gonna go national and it's fraud, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's crazy. So

You know, what I will say, man, is like I had I had reached a level in music, man, where I was there at that celebrity level, like amongst these people. And you know, I never feel like I got the recognition that I deserved or my team deserved. So I I made a way and I went to California and I started doing shows. I've done shows with Three Six Mafia, NWA's Resurrection Tour, man. I mean, you know, we got Yellow Wolf backing. I mean, I got pictures with yellow wolf well after the show. We went out to eat.

Know met his girl, we were skateboarding together and shit. ⁓ so yeah, dude, and it's it's all that. And like I said, like music was my love. It was my it was my hard-driven passion. But I knew that like there was a time where I wanted to call it quits because I just wasn't gaining the love from it, and I I was I was really losing myself through it. I was losing me, and I was like, I'm done with this. This is it. And people would dude, I mean, man, you know, when I switched my my see, a lot of times people ask,

Bro, how does he have so many followers on his Instagram fingerboarding? Bro, all those followers came from my music career. And I lost probably four to five thousand followers just off of the strength that I flipped from music straight over to fingerboarding. And I didn't give a fuck. Like just like that, bro. Like it was like I'm I'm opening up a new chapter. This is the new me. Yeah. And that was okay. And that was okay. I just didn't want to, you know, whoever was down to see me play with a tech deck, cool. And if you ain't.

Get up off my shit. You know what I'm saying? Like that's how I felt about it. 'Cause this is me regardless. I'm gonna always be me, you know? So

speaker-0 (53:47)
It's weird how people kind of fall off whenever they realize that you're turning a new leaf and heading in a different direction. Like they fell in love with a portion of you instead of like the entire you.

speaker-1 (53:58)
Exactly.

And that's the thing, man, is that I I want people to be, you know, if if they're authentic, man, they're gonna be a part of me. You know, I wanna be a part of all of what you got going on, not just a a segment of what you got going on, man. That's that's that's not friendship. That's corny shit, you know? And we should all be, you know, pushing each other, dude. Like what you've done over here, bro, with USAFBL, bro, is amazing, brother. Like it's amazing, you know? And I don't even think people even understand or can grasp what it is that you've done. You know what I'm saying? Because they've never

Reach that. You understand what I'm saying? So in in their head, it's like, it's a fingerboard league. And like they're going here and they're going there. Man, the time, the sacrifice, like the money, dude, that's being put up, dude. Like this shit's real. It's very real. You know what I'm saying? And it and it comes from a business standpoint where it like a grown ass man could stand next to you and be like, I see you, bro. You know what I'm saying? Like I I see you because man, it's it it's not overlooked. And that's and even you driving, you saw my message to you, bro. It's that it's the little things like

speaker-0 (54:47)
Appreciate that.

speaker-1 (54:56)
Like I want you to know, like, thank you, bro, for driving eight hours. Thank you, brother. Because that is real shit. And and and you came on your own gas. You came on your own accord. You stuffed everything in that damn car, bro. Like it's not overlooked Levine. Thank you, brother. Thank you for everything you do.

speaker-0 (55:10)
Yeah, no, I appreciate that. I definitely appreciate the the recognition, all that stuff that comes along with it for sure. 'Cause it's ⁓ it's a tough grind. It is a grind. We're six years in and we have not slowed down. I mean, we're all gas, no brakes. And so it is definitely a a grind and a lot of people just see a flyer or they see a podcast episode or whatnot and they don't realize like, you know, we've been out here for years now doing it, putting up crazy cash, crazy time, crazy energy.

speaker-1 (55:38)
Right, DJ Cal just pops up 'cause we all cheer growing.

speaker-0 (55:41)
I

know, I know. They don't wanna see us win. They don't wanna see us win.

speaker-1 (55:45)
They never want to see you win, bro. They only want to be a part of your win. They only want to be a part of your success. And the thing is, man, is like that's that's the craziest thing. Is like I'll put the work in. You know, I'm good, like you said, you know, put the work in, man. And it'll it'll sh it'll show over time. Like I I'll be honest with you. I didn't think I was gonna get to a point in fingerboarding where I'm doing the shit that I'm doing right now. You know what I mean? I had only dreams and visions, bro. I was dreaming about fingerboarding, man. Like, I'm not even fucking with you, dude. I was so heavily into this shit that like

Like, don't get me wrong. I I I I step back from time to time, man, because I let this take over just like the music shit. I once I get into something, man, I get into it, you know? And I was having dreams, dude. I was doing shit that I wasn't even doing in real life. And so that's where I kept pushing myself, you know? And now, like I said, even just the start of this year, I, you know, to switch over everything. Like I was like, I'm going switch. You know, I'm not even gonna, I'm not even gonna fingerboard regular stance or fakey anymore. And I was like, I'm going to dedicate every day to golly and switch.

And that was it. That was the mind. That was the flip of the mind. So ⁓ now I'm there. Now I could do shit. You know, I got videos, but I got I got clips where I'm like hitting three pieces. You know what I'm saying? I'm not just doing a two-piece or a single, you know, or no, man. Like I'm I'm doing shit. And so that that's that's where it's like I'm hard on my I'm hard enough on myself to show other people like you could do anything you set your mind to, bro. You got this, you know what I'm saying? And and I love when people like even we were at the event, that my homie was like.

Bro, it's crazy, bro. Like, you've only been fingerboarding two and a half years. I'm like, yeah. Like for real though. And I'm like, for real? Not for fake. Like, you know, I picked the shit up, dude. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing, bro. I was in literally in my other room. Okay. I had this fingerboard park, shout out Subliminal. Okay. And he made me this sm small park. It was ⁓ he called it the race the race track. And dude, I'm sitting here like fucking not even kidding you, bro.

speaker-0 (57:43)
Just logic.

speaker-1 (57:43)
Yeah, just watch it. And then I'm like, boom. Okay. Okay. Fuck up. Fuck up. And that's what it took. And dude, I would spend eight hours. My girl would be like, dude, you haven't even washed your ass. And I'm like, I know, but I gotta get this trick. Like you don't understand. And that's that's what separates me, man. Is that like when I want something bad enough, dude, I'm gonna go get it, bro, and I don't stop. Like, and I and I wanted that recognition, man. And now that I'm here.

And I'm and I'm getting it. And I've like I said, I've seen many people come into my comments. I've seen a lot of people fall back. I've you know and and the ones that rock with me, dude. You know, shout out Clank man, shout out, you know, shout out everybody. But I don't even want to just drop names, but like you know what? Shout out every single person, shout out satanic goku, because just Goku.

Will support every single person in the industry. Shout out to you, dude. Like, man, like I I don't even give a fuck how good of a fingerboarder you are, dude. If you're a good ass person and you're out here supporting the community, the way that satanic Goku supports the community, dude. You deserve love and praise, man. I don't give a shit what you do with a fingerboard. And and that's what it's about, brother. Like, you know, and so and you know, shout out to Satanic. He puts in the work every day, bro. He's got better. I watched his progression. You know what I'm saying? Where

Like like I said, man, it's like there's people that'll rip you down and they'll do they'll say anything bad about you, but it's it's that work and everybody progresses differently, bro. And you know what? I've watched his progression and I love jumping in and seeing him, you know, land, you know, where once upon a time he wasn't landing and now he's landing those tricks and I'm like, There you go, bro, you're getting it, you're getting it, you know, and that makes me hype. That gets me hype because I'm seeing it.

And I've seen it for so many different finger borders, you know what I mean? Where these dudes come in, dude, and they're killing it now, bro. They're killing it. Like they're like, like these dudes, like shout out my homie JJ, man. JJ got breaks, you know. Like, you know, my homie man, like he's been he's been with me from the gate, sharing my stuff, always pushing me.

comes in and and it's a and that's why I'm saying man there's so many names out here do that I want to drop right now on this podcast and it's okay because I I don't I know that they love me regardless of the name dropping and just know that all of you man I love you regardless. I don't give the don't even look at the name man. Ever every day that you come in and comment, every day that you share my stuff, man, it is not overlooked. I love you guys, man. Thank you for just being here for my journey. That's why and I wanted to say something too man. Like when I dropped these pro fingerboards man, I came out of pocket for all of it.

There's a lot people that don't know this. You know, my sponsor, I told him, I said, look, I said, I want to pay you guys up front. Let's get these boards done up. And I said, I don't want to charge anything crazy. I said, to be honest with you, man, I just want to give people to have an opportunity to share what I do. And he was like, That's awesome. That's awesome. I was Yeah, let's do it. You know, so I talked to press, I talked to Porter, I said, here go, guys, let's get these decks done up. We'll do a limited drop, man. And everybody that has his decks is gonna be awesome. You know, I put them up on site, dude, for fifty-five dollars. Trucks, deck, and wheels.

I never seen anybody do that. You know, because I feel like everybody always wants to, you know, it's it's like it's like either it's A about the money or B, it's like, you know, I got the hottest shit. Well, I'll let you guys know right now. I ain't got the hottest shit. I got the hottest shit because I said it's the hottest shit. You know what I'm saying? And and I made it affordable for you guys that, you know, maybe are struggling with the job, or maybe you're too young, dude, to get your parents to drop a hundred bucks on a fingerboard in some trucks.

You know, I wanted you guys to be able to say, hey, you know what? I was able to afford Frisbee's deck. And I was able to, you know, put this in my collection, you know, or be able to ride with it. Or just even be able to say, hey, you know what? I tried a muck fingerboard for the first time and now I got some entity wheels. And you know what? They're not half bad, especially for ten bucks. You know what I'm saying? So it's it's that, man. That's what we're bringing to the table, man. It's just like the community, man, we gotta make it more for, you know, everybody.

You know what I mean? The exclusivity and all that crap, dude. It's it's a fingerboard. You know what I'm saying? It's a pair of trucks that are made in China. You know what I mean? Regardless of the name that you brand on it and and some wheels do that you put in. ⁓ I get that everybody has a different way that they put into their craft and what they feel like they deserve out of it. And you know what? Shout out to those guys, man, that put that serious work in. Okay. ⁓ and I'm not bashing you for the price that you set your stuff at, but at the end of the day, let's let's let's make it a little bit more affordable.

And I guarantee that a lot more people are gonna be, you know, and it doesn't always have to be a limited drop. It doesn't always have to be like that. You know, we could we can make it for everybody, man. You know? That's what I want to see more of.

speaker-0 (1:02:19)
No, it's wild out there for sure. But yeah, no, I I feel that a hundred percent. That's that's a lot of love right there.

speaker-1 (1:02:25)
That's all it should be about love, man. It it shouldn't be about money. The and and all the money I wanted everybody to know, man, all the all the money that we got back for the boards, you know what I'm saying? It went strictly back to my sponsors. And I told them, I said, I don't want nothing from it. You know what I mean? And they were like, Nah, nah, we ain't doing that. And you know my boys over there at Muk dude, they ain't gonna allow that shit. So they were like, We're gonna make you a bunch of boards and a bunch of wheels, man, and you go do what you want with them. And and you saw what I did with them, bro. Like I it wasn't even about the money, I just

My whole thing was when I went to the last event and I charged twenty dollars. I just wanted people to remember that nothing in this world is free. You know what I'm saying? And if you come out of pocket for something, you're gonna treat it a little bit better. You know what I mean? Because when you gotta put up that initial investment, you're gonna you're gonna remember what it is that you had to pay for it, or maybe how hard you had to work for it. So it wasn't about wasn't about the money for me at all. It was just being able to share what it is that I do and to say, hey man.

You got a board with my name on it, it's pretty cool.

speaker-0 (1:03:24)
All right, Jansen, it has been an absolute pleasure having you on the pod, just spitting that holy hot gospel. I love it.

speaker-1 (1:03:34)
Thanks, brother. I appreciate you, man. And you know I love chopping up with you, dude. Me and you, we could get into some shit for hours, bro. And and I and I wanna talk to you more, man. I want to chop up ideas, dude. I I really honestly, Levine, like meeting you. I feel like I formally got to meet you at this last event. I feel like just Yeah. And in the last couple times that we saw each other was just like, you know, a couple words here and there. But like I I wanted to at this event, I wanted I saw you come up and I was like, I want to make

speaker-0 (1:03:40)
No, I know, I know.

Spent some real good time, yeah.

speaker-1 (1:04:03)
I want this to be the realest interaction I get to have with bro. And like I wanna I wanna like see what bro's about and like I I I wanna develop that relationship. So thank you for letting me do that, bro. Thank you for opening up. Appreciate you, man.

speaker-0 (1:04:15)
Yeah, definitely, man. I'm out here just ⁓ just trying to make as many connections and relationships and stuff like that as I as I can. It's all about having the camaraderie and having your wolf pack with you and just taking people with you up the top of the mountain.

speaker-1 (1:04:32)
yeah, but I'm gonna spit this wrap for you 'cause the y you you you you didn't let me get to do that.

speaker-0 (1:04:37)
I'm not saying you can't. You wanna you wanna bust out ⁓ you wanna bust out a freestyle? You wanna bust out

speaker-1 (1:04:42)
no, I yeah, I'll I'll rap I'll spit something for you just for the one time. You ready? Alright, this is for you, big dog. I said, look, with all that I knew, I took a bite out of life, I like it chew. I swallow my pride and made it out the zoo, but I'm lying to bear all this pain I've been through. That's higher in up that bitch in the room. I cleaned up my ex so I kept me a room. It changed on my neck at your eyelike the moon, but raised me whip at your flesh in tomb, Lorena My Croft.

speaker-0 (1:04:47)
⁓

speaker-1 (1:05:04)
Baby got aim with no cross. Switching rougher to touch coming off and fuck all that talk. Outline his body down to his lacos. I always have balls like I still play lacrosse. I switch up my formats or meet to the boss. Receiving my back and call Rennie Moss. Fuck up that trip like it came with that boss. I'm whipping these BBs, come check out my sauce. New 23 is never found in a Ross. Also extension is never on pause. But we stay hooking bait like we're looking for jaws. Body of beating go rapping and gauze. See the whole vision, he just a seesaw. Eagle got double O7 at all, but it cover you ho. Don't let it see me at all.

Granny told me, go get that. Run it up, boy. I don't chit-chat. White girls wanna get a bump like tic-tac, up on and he's bound to get a shist for like eight. I came from a hole in the wall, 380 in a ball. Packs in a bag, I exchanged in a mall, but I never got caught cause I've never been fraud. And fuck twelve, I ain't got time for the law. Checkers ain't chess too, time ticket all. So many elves have my back to the wall. You change clothes in the bathroom stall, but they think they no pain. Hmm. I doubted it all. Cause I came from the land. Pimpin' my walk with a mic in my hand. By 21 boy, I was pushing the bends.

Jackson Benjamin only two friends, but never will I ever repeat that again. And if you're my brother, don't say that again. Why gotta repeat shit to a man? I ran off on the plug, Jigibram man said who?

speaker-0 (1:06:09)
Dam, all acapello, hell yeah!

speaker-1 (1:06:13)
Appreciate you, bro. Like and and that's the thing, it's like my music always stayed here. I ain't gonna fumble that. You know, like it's it's like all my songs, bro. I locked in my mind. Like like a fucking crazy MP3 player, because we didn't have the internet like they did back in the like they do now, bro. You get these rappers, bro, and you put them on the spot and you tell them, hey man, go ahead and spit these bars or spit that whole song, man. You'd be so you'd be super quick to see how they fumble that shit. And me, I ain't even spit that fucking rap dude in fuck, I don't even know how many years.

But that's the whole point, man, is that like that lives deep in me. It's rooted in me. And and you know, I love music and I love the creative outlet and I love sharing it with people. This this is where I like sharing my music more than I've ever liked sharing it on stages. Is when I get that one-on-one with the person, man, and you get to you get to see how they just like, what, bro? Like, where the fuck did you come up with that shit? You know what I'm saying? Like, what the and that's the thing, man, is we come from a time where metaphors

Similes, parables, entendres. These are the things, man, that match that clap that you're like, man, bro, that's some next level shit. And we love Lil Wayne, right? You know what I'm saying? Like, you know what I'm saying, bro? Like, Wayne's one of the best to ever do it. Because, man, it's that it's that mindset, bro. It's the mind. And thank you so much for having me on this podcast, bro. Like, thank you just for just, you know what I mean? Just believing in me and you know, and wanting it, wanting me to be a part of what you got going on. That's that's awesome, brother. Thank you.

speaker-0 (1:07:40)
Now I'm excited man, we're gonna do some cool stuff in the future.

speaker-1 (1:07:43)
I appreciate it, man. I can't wait. Like honestly, bro. You know, I'm a phone call away. You got my line. Hit me. You know what I'm saying? And you know, if I could be a part of something, I will. You know, if I gotta drive out four hours or five hours, you know, to Indianapolis, man. I mean, you made the drive you made the drive over here. So, you know, I told bro, I said, you know what, we could do that. We can make some shit shake. You know what I mean? It ain't gonna be fun. But, you know, don't worry. I got a massage. I got one of those massage therapeutic ⁓ Brookstone things I got in my car now. It vibrates my ass while I'm on the drive. So you know I'll be

I'll be like this as I'm coming down, you know.

speaker-0 (1:08:15)
Yeah. yeah.

My wife was like, you gotta get the new, you gotta get a truck, like a King Ranch or whatever, that's got the massage chairs. Like that's the that's the new buy. And I'm like, ⁓ yeah, we definitely gotta get one of those.

speaker-1 (1:08:28)
⁓ yeah, bruh. Well did you did you have any more questions, man? Or do you got anything else, man, you wanted to talk?

speaker-0 (1:08:33)
No man, we went over a lot, dude. You you shout out to all the sponsors, shout out to the whole Michigan scene, shout out to all the event hosts out there, shout out to all the supporters. You can't shout out the haters though. The haters, man, you guys gotta you guys gotta tone it down a little bit. You guys gotta figure out why you're so mad. But definitely

speaker-1 (1:08:52)
Maybe after this podcast, man, maybe we could turn on a leaf, bro. You know, maybe after this podcast, dude, maybe after people see this, dude, maybe we could really spread that love. Maybe we could we could do something different, bro. It's a whole new year. You know what I'm saying? Summertime's here now. Guys, it doesn't have to be the way that it used to be. You know what I mean? Let's give each other a chance. Let's let's let's put the egos away, man. Let's build. You know, the more heads you have in a circle, man, there's more ideas do that get done up. There's more shit that gets done and and happens, you know? Let's not circuit.

you know, you know, one or two or three people, man, and keep everybody over here like guys, let's all come together. You know, football teams have got two or three people. You know what I'm saying? The best football teams, man, got a big ass team. We could all come together, man, make sure it happened

speaker-0 (1:09:36)
And the crazy thing is we can just flip a switch and literally like change everything in a matter of like that. Just like that. It's just a matter of it's actually easy to do nothing. Like literally if you're just a hater, just don't do anything. Don't say anything and like it literally just disappears. It's it's amazing. Like just if you don't like it, don't say nothing. You don't got nothing nice to say, don't don't say it.

speaker-1 (1:09:57)
I'm the quickest one to apologize, dude, for some shit that I done fucked up on, man. Like seriously. Like I would I'd rather go up to anybody and tell them, Hey man, you know what? I was I was really shitty for saying this and you know, or perceiving you in some type of way or whatever, you know, I'll I'll be the first one to come and say, like, hey man, I was wrong, you know? And I've been wrong about a lot of people, you know, and that's the thing is like I want people to view me in a certain way. I want I want the same respect, but I want to give the same respect. And I I really want to change that tide, man. I'm ready. I'm ready.

speaker-0 (1:10:28)
Can people find you on the internet?

speaker-1 (1:10:30)
You already know Frisky Fingers Man at Instagram. don't follow me on Facebook. That's for my family. You know what I'm saying? Like Huh yeah, dude I'm

speaker-0 (1:10:37)
Playboy too?

Exact same way. I thought I was the only one it's gotta be a millennial thing. Yeah, if you're trying to follow me on Facebook, ⁓ I'm s and I don't accept your request, it's not that I don't like you, it's literally just close friends and family. I only have like 300 people I think that are even on my deal, so

speaker-1 (1:10:55)
Yeah, dude. It's like I mean if I kick it with you in real life or something like, you know, and and and I see you, then sure, you know, like I'll I'll add you. But you know, Instagram, man, any anybody can hit me up, dude. ⁓ you know, if I see the message, I'll definitely reply. You know, I'm not I'm not somebody to leave people on scene unless you get weird. You know what I mean? Like, you know, if you if you're on some weirdo shit, I mean then you know, y you should expect such things. But ⁓ but yeah.

speaker-0 (1:11:20)
Fair enough. Two P's in the pod. All right, that's where you can find frisky fingers. You can find me at USFBL on all platforms. Till next time.

speaker-1 (1:11:30)
All right, peace out, man. Thank you so much.