Pauly On The Pod
Pauly On The Pod
Rad Dad Rip Check: Drew Hoffman
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A hurricane rolls through, the doctor fights pneumonia, and we’re still determined to get back to what we love: talking skateboarding, surfing, and the people who keep the culture alive. We link up with Florida’s own Drew Hoffman, a transition skater with deep surf roots and a timeline that runs from Orlando to the Gulf Coast to Jacksonville. Drew breaks down how getting a surfboard at six quietly shaped his entire approach to skating, and why the ocean taught him patience long before a skatepark ever did.
We dig into the Florida skate scene the right way: the long waits for Gulf Coast swell, the parks that changed everything, and the mentors who pull you into bigger terrain when you’re ready. Drew shares stories about skating legendary spots, learning vert and transition, chasing that pool-skating feeling, and how being around the right sessions can light a fire for years. Along the way we talk sponsors and community, including how relationships with brands like Catch Surf and Catalyst are built on real-life connections, not just clips.
Then it gets personal in the best way. Drew talks about being engaged, having a new baby, and what it takes to keep skating and surfing when dad mode is in full effect. We also get into Jacksonville living, travel range for waves, and the not-so-small detail of sharks showing up exactly where the waves get good. And to close it out, we run our “Is It A Sport” game, where the criteria is simple: sweat, broken bones, and the dreaded groin pull.
If you’re into skateboarding podcasts, Florida skate history, transition skating, surf culture, and the real-life balance of family and board time, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who rips, and leave a review so we can keep bringing more voices from the scene into the mix.
Storms, Health Scares, And Updates
SPEAKER_05This is Drew Hoffman, and you're listening to Polly on the pod with Polly Walnut and Dr. Jones.
SPEAKER_03Hey everybody, it's your boy Pauline. I got the doctor on the line. What is good, my dude? What is happening, fam? Chilling, chilling, chilling. Super stoked to get you on the line. We've been uh going through it. We just had uh Hurricane Ian come through. Yeah. Wasn't too bad for us, but uh the doctor's been going through it. Uh had pneumonia for a few days and all sorts of stuff. But uh stoked to be back. We'll be putting out some more content hopefully soon. For this one though, who we got, Doc?
SPEAKER_04Oh, we got Drew Hoffman. Drew Hoffman. And you know you know what I really like like during the podcast, I wanted to ask, but I like I I like didn't even like it just slipped my mind. Because like him having the name Hoffman, I was just like, like Matt like Matt Hoffman.
SPEAKER_03Oh shit, yeah. Nope, no, nope, nope, no relation, I'm sure, but uh, but yeah, Matt Hoffman is fucking sick. Lot of Rad Hoffman's out there, and and and Drew is is definitely uh one of them. Um local Florida kid, grew up on the west coast of Florida. Uh gnarly surfer, dude. Fucking killer skateboard. Yeah, I mean, just all around rad dude recently just got uh or is engaged, about to get married. Uh recently had his first child. Uh his wife also skates. Um Lauren Rips. Big shout outs to uh Lauren uh at Smash It Up on the gram and at Drew Hasselhoff on the gram. You can check them out. But uh yeah, we're uh super stoked for this episode. He had to uh cut it a little short because of fatherly duties, and we understand. But uh we hope everybody enjoys everybody enjoyed us and he'll be back on again. Actually, gotta get Lauren on. Gotta get her on.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, uh yeah. I'll I'll hit her up and see what she's got available.
SPEAKER_03There you go, my dude. Filling up the calendar, hopefully. But uh anyway, no, Doc has still got his uh pre-op surgery console on October 11th. So we're looking forward to that to hopefully make sure that nothing goes wrong and he gets surgery shortly after. Um Yep.
SPEAKER_04I'm hoping within like at least a week or two after that. Like I would I would assume it'd take that long. But I mean, hopefully they're just like hey, come in tomorrow.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, come in tomorrow. Let's get that. Let's go. But no, uh hopefully everything goes through okay. And um anybody that has donated and entered the raffle, go ahead and tune to the uh Instagram because we will be drawing the winners tonight, October 1st. So stay tuned for that. Um big love to everybody that has supported the podcast and uh supported our venture. Big love to you, my dude. I hope you're doing all right. And uh yeah, we'll be linking up soon for more episodes. And uh until then, I hope everyone enjoys uh this gnarly rad dad. Drew fucking Hoffman. Drew and fucking Hoffman Fucking legend. Alright, guys, let's fucking get it.
SPEAKER_02Let's go. Fucking T.
SPEAKER_04Get the fuck out of here.
Meeting Drew Hoffman And Early Surf Roots
SPEAKER_03All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in. You know it is your boy, Paul at Walnuts. Get the fuck out of here. And I got the one and only Dr. Jones with me.
SPEAKER_02You call him Dr. Jones.
SPEAKER_04I put on deodorant for this one.
SPEAKER_03Right on. Um, it's been a little bit since we put out some content. Um, both been pretty busy. Doc has uh been actually a little worse for wear lately.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, had pneumonia. Yeah, on time. I think I still have it actually, to be honest with you. Well, I hope that shit's not contagious. Uh no, I'll stop being contagious the moment I walked in the house. Don't worry about it. It's fine.
SPEAKER_03But anyway, man, I'm super stoked. The guy that we got sitting down with us today is uh dude I've been trying to link up with for a little bit. Big fan of his uh skating, surfing. He's a legend, dude. He's one hell of a rad dad. Welcome to the show, everybody. Good rad dad alert, rad dad alert Drew Hoffman. Oh, thank you. Thanks for having me, guys. Yeah, man. What's up, buddy? So uh tell everybody a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? And like when did you start getting into skateboarding and surfing and all this rad shit that you rip at?
SPEAKER_05Uh well, I was actually born in Alabama, Birmingham. Right on. Which not a lot of people know, I feel like.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, you definitely seem like a Florida boy through and through.
SPEAKER_05I moved here around uh, I think when I was like one or something. I moved to Orlando, and uh my mom uh at the time, when I was like five or six, she was in uh I really don't remember what she did, but um she somehow she was selling something at um Surf Expo and uh cool ran into the lost guys, Mike Riola, uh actually when they were uh just starting, and it was like Oh, when they were found and not lost? When they were found and not lost, yeah. They were just being found. So yeah, uh, I think that was sometime in the uh late 90s, like 98, 97-ish. And uh so yeah, uh the she thought surfing was super cool and that I should get into it. And so for my sixth birthday, she got me a uh surfboard. Right on. And uh in Orlando, and uh I mean, living in Orlando, you don't get to go to the beach too often.
SPEAKER_03Uh you know, what is it like an hour drive, hour?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, about to like Cocoa. So um yeah, so we I started going to um Coco on the weekends every once in a while, and and I loved it. And then uh it turns out I uh moved to the Gulf Coast uh when I was about fourteen-ish or something, and uh um I lived right next to the beach, and so um the Gulf Coast though, man. That's uh waiting a long time for some waves, right? Yeah, tell you what. Waiting for a storm. Yeah, and I mean the surf scene was epic there. I I loved it. I mean, there was like never any waves, and I didn't even believe there were waves there when I moved there. Yeah. I was like, no way, there's waves here, really? That's like Jack's Beach, man. And they were all like, oh, you wait, and uh and so sure enough there were waves, but it was a long wait. And so that's kind of when I started skateboarding. Gotta wait for El Nino to show up. Yeah, fill the void though, right? A little skateboard. I mean, it's sometimes you would be waiting for I mean, in the summer you pretty much never get waves there. Yeah. Unless there's a hurricane. And uh so yeah, so yeah, it was uh I started skateboarding there and there was a little park called Indian Rocks Beach. Uh it had a little mini ramp and stuff, and and I I just I loved it because you know it was like surfing, but it was always there. And uh yeah, I mean, and that's kind of got me started with it. And uh I I mean, I think kind of I grew more as a skateboarder around that time, like after high school and stuff. And uh I just I mean I'm I'm 31 right now. Right on. So uh I just kept doing the skateboarding because the surfing wasn't really feeding my satisfaction with the waves over there. Right. And uh I mean skate park
No Waves Means Skateboarding Every Day
SPEAKER_05of Tampa over there is like fucking legendary. Pretty legendary. And so I mean big shout out to Schaefer and all of them. Yeah, yeah. So it was pretty much a no-brainer to go over there and uh and and get some sessions on and and I pretty much just caught fire with all the stuff that was going on there. And I I think that was around like 2005 to I mean after like 2015-ish, you know, it was it was probably a good 10-year run of me going over there like pretty much as often as I could, and and I met up with Mike Frasier, um fucking legend. Hell yeah. Yeah. But actually I met Mike Frazier in uh there was a skate park in uh Clearwater at the time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I remember that skate park with the phone pit. That that one as well.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_04That kind of was it like 282 or something like that? The uh Clearwater Park.
SPEAKER_05Uh it was 688.
SPEAKER_04See, yeah, there it is.
SPEAKER_05There it is.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I knew it was some some kind of number.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah! But yeah, go ahead, Drew. So Clearwater Skate Park, 688.
SPEAKER_05Well, uh, it actually wasn't 688. For a while we were skating 688. It was 687 back then. It was uh Central Skate Park first, and then I think they had the Gravity Games there or something.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, shout out the N NBC. That was when they were trying to uh get on the coattails of the whole X Games early success. Oh yeah, yeah, I remember that. And then NBC was like, oh, we've got the the gravity game.
SPEAKER_04That was pretty short-lived. Nobody's doing 180s there.
SPEAKER_05But yeah, it was kind of always legendary. But uh, but uh uh that around high school time, that was like 2012, 2010-ish, um they built uh the team pain skate park, Dunedin skate park. Nice. Which was, I mean, the one of the I at the time it was one of the best skate parks in Florida for sure. It had like a backyard pool that was like pretty real. I had stairs, a death box, was gnarly steep, and uh and then a flow bowl. And I just I ran into Mike Frazier there, I think like the second week it opened, and I just kept going there. And then he would take me to go skate vert. Wow.
SPEAKER_03So that explains it, dude. When you skate with guys like that, holy shit.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, bound to catch fire.
SPEAKER_03Right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean he really took me under his wing, kinda. It was kind of crazy, honestly.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome.
SPEAKER_05So um, because I I think I d I was around 15, 16, 17, and I kind of wasn't really comfortable enough to drive to the vert sessions, but I mean, you see him to this day. Yeah, he's still going every time. Oh, he's over at Phil's, he's I mean, all over the place. Yeah, all over the place. Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, that's been going on forever, and you know, a couple of times I got to, you know, go ride to vans with him. Sweet Orlando.
SPEAKER_04Oh, they had them all. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, dude, that park trot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that that that vert ramp is now in uh Rodney Mead's backyard. Dude, I've got it. Shout out Rodney Mead. Yeah, it is. I helped him renovate that one.
SPEAKER_04I skated too. I skated in the plan B demo there at the Orlando skate park. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All the plan B dudes like PJ Ladd, Ryan Sheckler, fucking Danny Way, Colin McKay, like Matt Feen got me in on the like on the session. He's like, yo, dude, they want me to go announce it. I'm gonna bring you with me. You can skate like the demo. I was like, I don't think I'm supposed to be skating the demo, dude. And then like, uh dude, that shit was wild. Dude, Ryan Sheckler, I swear to god, no bullshit is one of the greatest skateboarders in real life to see like watch skateboard in person. Really? It's fucking crazy. Uh Chris loves him some Sheckler. Yeah, dude. Shout out to Shecks and his eyes, dude. I don't know what's up with his eyes.
SPEAKER_03Memorizing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was just I love you. He's like, What?
SPEAKER_03No, hey, um, I gotta say, we uh we went out to uh Monty to the old monument at Austin uh regional park and skated uh earlier, me, Joey, and Drew. And Drew was ripping. Bro, um your front side ollies, I've I've loved them. I've so for so long, I've really like every time I see you do them, I'm like, God, they just look so fucking effortless. And I finally realized today when you did one over the hip who it reminded me of, and his Grayson Fletcher. The way that you float up and you pop, and the way that you kind of point down when you extend right before you catch it. Like it's very, very, very similar. And for a long time, I was like, yeah, it's like I I I feel like I've seen this before. You know what I mean? Finally, it clicked today.
SPEAKER_04But uh oh shit, that's my fantasy football. My bad, y'all. That's all good. Somebody's trying to trade and they're not getting it.
SPEAKER_03Not today, buddy. But yeah, so um doing no trades. Super fun sesh earlier, and uh yeah, that was fun. Yeah, definitely gotta do that again. But let me ask you, what was uh your first first skateboard? Do you remember? Man, I really don't, yeah.
SPEAKER_05I I mean, actually, you know what? Now now thinking about it, I kind of do. I think I uh the first memorable one I had at least was like the World Industries. They had like the cartoon with the fi the flames and the water. Oh, they're shooting against each other? Yeah, and it was like a slick uh I don't I mean, was it fiberglass on the bottom or something?
SPEAKER_04It might have been.
SPEAKER_05That was my older brother's first skateboard too, actually. Yeah, Ket Surf has actually they they the Eric Coston deck that they just came out with has a similar, it's like a hard bottom. Wow, you know it's not wood, but you board slide like that super slick kind of.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's like a fiberglass type uh ordeal.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean like it is fiberglass.
SPEAKER_04Like you can slide on like curves and shit without even having to wax them and stuff. That's why they make it like that. Wild.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that was the first one I remember.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, hell yeah. Um, you just mentioned catch surf. That's uh one of your sponsors, correct? Yes, sir. Right on. Is that a surf company, skate company, both shop? Well, I'm actually not too familiar with catch surf. I see you wearing some apparel and always repping them. So uh tell us about catch surf.
SPEAKER_04And are they willing to sponsor a podcast?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, they're they're uh they're out of California, they're super cool. They're a bunch of surf guys in uh San Clemente, but they skateboard as well.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I'll wear a wetsuit every episode of the podcast if I need be.
SPEAKER_05It's gonna get hot in here.
SPEAKER_04It's all right. It's all right. Doing it for the money, man. I can't go get a real job anymore now, dude. My hip is fucked.
SPEAKER_05Product, product, product. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, they're they're super cool. And uh yeah, they just um we connected actually at an event in Jacksonville. Uh was the Red Bull Air Night Riders, uh surf event. Cool. And I actually thought there was somebody else, and I was like waving at them, and then they were like thought that I knew them, and so they came down and then we just hung out, had a couple beers, and then realized that you both like didn't know each other. Like, hey, I mean actually. Actually, we just kicked it off, and then like we just had a great time, and they were like, You're cool, and we're like, You're cool. And because Lauren's just so sociable, my my um fiance. Yes, yes. Hell yeah, congratulations, by the way.
SPEAKER_03Yes, congrats, and congrats on the little lady, little uh Emily, correct? Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, hell yeah, dude. Yeah, I got a 10-year-old and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, therefore.
SPEAKER_04Don't blink. Don't blink, dude. Yeah, wait till they start back talking, dude. That shit's not funny anymore. Like, dude, my oldest daughter, she's uh she's like she's 10. She's already started her period and everything. And so like she's had like she has to wear like training bras. And she was like, uh she was like, Dad, why do I have to wear training bras? Because you're grown up and you're becoming a woman now, and that's just the way it is. She's like she's like, but you have bigger boobs than me. Why don't you have to wear a training bra?
SPEAKER_03Got him. Got him. You're grounded. Kids say the darndest thing.
SPEAKER_04You're grounded, sweetheart. Give me your tablet.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. So uh speaking of uh your better half, when did you guys meet?
SPEAKER_05Uh it's been uh about eight years. Dogs wanting something in the background. So uh I guess if you count backwards, that would be uh so what, uh yeah, eight years. So 2014? 2014. Hell yeah. Yeah. I mean I knew it for a while after that. And uh I mean for some reason I should know that.
SPEAKER_04I believe it's 2015, is when we started dating back um Oh, she's gonna get so pissed if you don't get
Florida Parks, Vert Sessions, And Mentors
SPEAKER_04that right, dude. I know. I know try to look out for you, man.
SPEAKER_03I'll edit that out.
SPEAKER_04Can we delete this? Yeah, no, and she fucking rips too, man.
SPEAKER_03I know you guys are like just an awesome power couple, dude. Yeah, skate surf couple, man.
SPEAKER_05You guys are fucking. I I really couldn't do it without her. I mean, she's I mean, everything to me, and honestly, it's just it's crazy that like I've been able to continue surfing and skating with my kid and stuff, and it's only because of her. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Like, definitely if she wasn't cool with that, like, you know, it wouldn't be going down. Like, no, she is the boss. No, yeah, no, trust me. I know. Yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_03I go with you. Yeah, that's why I want to hitch up last night, too. I like hitch up, I was like, oh, monument in the morning, then maybe do a little podcast. You know, he's like, Yeah, and then I was like thinking I was it's Saturday, family man. You know, bring bring the wife and the baby too. Like, come on out, it can be a whole family thing. We're all we are a family operation over here.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, like dude, we gotta hit the I I'm down actually, but uh Lauren's she says there's a lot of fire ants at Monument, so we gotta hit that with some fire ant uh connection. The amber. Yeah, I got some home defense stuff at the crib. Yeah, actually, you know what I do too. I think I'm gonna just bring it next time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'll make a note of that and do the same. Yeah, yeah, I would love to get her on here as well. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I've got a big ass dog.
SPEAKER_03So it's funny when I was uh still working at Kona, uh Damon uh Francisco, old D Fran was up there skating. Um who was he skating with? I can't remember. Anyway, I was tasked I just cut the grass, so I had to go out and sprinkle all the Amdro to kill the fire ant piles, and I just hear Murderer! Like just screaming from the mini ramp and over, and it was Damon, and it was just like, oh, fuck off. Was he mad? No, he was just busting my balls, but you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_04Like there might be a reptile out there.
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_04You know, he's like, the lizards eat those! My spiders are gonna be mad.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for those that don't know, he is uh has a wealth of knowledge and a passion for uh the the reptiles and amphibians. So if you don't follow him on the gram and you're into that stuff, check him out.
SPEAKER_04I just watch Steve Irwin, it's all the same. D Fran. D Fran. D Fran.
SPEAKER_03But anyway, man, how long have uh you've been in Jacksonville? Uh weren't you living in what, New Smyrna for a while?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, Smyrna for three years, and then I moved up here to go to UNF. Cool. And uh got my economics degree.
SPEAKER_04Smart guy, what are you gonna brag? Smart guy and you don't brag on us? No, I can barely count the three, man.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, it's not it's not easy stuff, but they walk you through it step by step. So yeah, that's rad that name. But yeah, I mean, uh, so yeah, I'm kinda up here now. We just purchased a house recently with the help of Lauren's parents. Congratulations, crap, thank you, dude. And we were super stoked. And I mean, now we're kind of stuck here. So I've been here for this is the fourth year. So rooted now. Yeah. We're rooted. Had a baby, bought a house. Yeah, you're going nowhere, dude.
SPEAKER_02Pretty much, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Hey, public schools are a swim bitch, I'll tell you that right now.
SPEAKER_05This place is super familiar to the um the Gulf where I grew up in Clearwater area, kind of. I mean, with the waves and and the surfing culture and the skate, it's just it's so it kind of does feel like home already, and the ability to like kind of shoot wherever you want. Like you kind of think you're central in Orlando and stuff a lot of times, like when I was growing up. Right. But then you realize like you're kind of just central wherever you live to whatever you like are of like open to, kind of. Like in Jacksonville, now we're open to South Carolina, or I can go to the Outer Banks, the panhandle's a little more accessible. For sure. And I can still go down south to those other places too. It's a little further, but it's still not that bad. It's just it's kind of different up here, and it's something that I never was grew up, and I like it, you know. It's different.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, it's definitely a little bit of a different Florida vibe up in the kind of North. It feels like I mean, I was born in Alabama, so it feels like the South.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So it's kind of like my compromise. I'm like, all right, well, it kinda Yeah, yeah, there you go. Yeah, I'm always a South fan, but I I surf.
SPEAKER_03Come on, like Yeah, which that's why I was telling uh Drew at the skate park. It's been probably 15 years since I've paddled out, but I've been I've been itching and thinking about getting aboard and fucking getting back into it.
SPEAKER_04I'm a land creature. Um you know, dude, there's there's sharks and chillers.
SPEAKER_05I saw a shark two nights ago, actually. Yeah. It was crazy. How big was it? It was probably five foot, I'd say. It was a spinner shark. It did the like the spin. Yeah, yeah. It was uh like up against the Huguenot jetty. Oh, sitting next to it. And uh yeah, that's not where you want to be after north winds all night. It stacks the fish against the jetty. Right, right. And uh yeah, and they where the prey where the prey is, the predators are gonna follow. Yeah, the waves are really good right there, though. So it's just compromised. I wasn't whatever.
SPEAKER_04I wasn't leaving.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I didn't I didn't move, I didn't lose my ground. So yeah. It's either him or me, and it was gonna be me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I love watching all those videos when they show like the drone footage now and all the people just unaware. Like, I I don't know. Oh, yeah. My mom's a hippie, my dad, like it was born and raised in South Florida and like used to dive and stuff like that. Like, I've always been very and I'm being a science nerd myself, I've always been very aware that when I'm swimming out there, there's definitely some sharks around. And like some people they just think that they like go. Away while we go swimming and then they come back. But watching all the drone footage of seeing all of like the schools all around people and they're just oblivious, and it's like, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04But you know, that's a tiger, that's a tiger. Alright, alright, we gotta go, we gotta go.
SPEAKER_05It definitely gets a little bit harder to go out there sometimes. I mean, especially when you see that and you're like, oh well, okay.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, now if it's a bull shark, I mean those things are uh nasty. Yeah, they're vicious. They actually just a woman just the weekend after I got back from the Bahamas, a woman was killed snorkeling not far from where we were at uh by a bull shark bull shark. Shit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I was uh I was watching Survivor last night with my grandma because I love her and that's what we do sometimes. And it's like uh and there's like a chick on Survivor that's like walking around with like a metal leg on Survivor, alright? Metal leg. And I was kind of impressed because I was like, So we have an amputee on Survivor. Yes, we have an amputee on Surviv on Survivor. It's because she was surfing and got attacked by a shark and it ate her leg.
SPEAKER_03And it ate her leg. So let me ask you this. Uh if we're betting on who wins, does she get a handicap?
SPEAKER_04I would assume she already has it. I assume she already has it. But I mean she's out there on Survivor, but I was like, man, you can't really trust her. How strong can that like swimmer be on with a metal leg? I don't I don't even sink.
SPEAKER_03I'm sure they have like a flipper attachment. Oh yeah, actually, that's valid. I mean, honestly, if it's a metal leg at that point. Yeah, that's what I was about to say. I was like, if it's a metal leg at that point, just put a fucking turbine on that bitch. That would be ideal.
SPEAKER_05Just go with Steve, watch out. That's a modification. That's what that is.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_04That's a that's an extra few grand to add, but I mean, totally worth it.
SPEAKER_03So uh let me ask you this, Drew. Growing up uh skating with the likes of legends like Mike Frazier and such, I mean, who was it that you idolized? Who were your favorite
Sponsors, Community, And Family Support
SPEAKER_03skaters growing up? Um did you do a lot of street skating? No, no, not at no mainly mainly park? All park. That's honestly like I I I do skate street. Chris was always more heavily street, and I was more heavily park. I do skate everything, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I mean I I skated everything, but yeah, go ahead. Sorry. No, yeah. I mean what you I mean all terrain's good, like Yeah, yeah, I I like because uh like I grew up like Monument Skate Park when that opened. I had no idea how to skate tranny because I'd always skate street. And so like from yeah, Monument.
SPEAKER_03Well Chris, hey, guess what? When we all first start, none of us know how to skate train tranny either.
SPEAKER_04Oh no, but I I had already been skating for like fucking eight years.
SPEAKER_03No, I know I'm just fucking with you.
SPEAKER_04But you know what I mean? Like just I I just never skate tranny, never learned how to actual stall. I could drop in, but like that was about it. And then like once monument came, then like all that shit started coming together.
SPEAKER_05Those skate parks, man, they just they blossom talented skaters. I mean, and that's I mean, that's ultimately um, you know, why I I skated the parks because they were just like the one that was built right then, it was just the right time, and I was like, that's what I'm doing. Like yeah, that's the same.
SPEAKER_03Like when I moved to Jacksonville, it was like 98, um, got invited to go to Kona, and that's was really like my introduction. I'd I'd had a little skateboard and everything, but I grew up in Pittsburgh. We had cobblestone streets. There wasn't, I mean, snow during the winter time. Like, there wasn't really there were no skate parks at the at the time up there. I'd seen a couple guys skate in a parking lot once, but I'd never really been exposed to it other than movies or like the teenage mutant ninja turtles, you know, or back to the future, you know, shit like that. Then I moved I moved down here and then got invited to go to Kona like within a couple of days of the whole thing. Yeah, and that was my exposure.
SPEAKER_05So growing up, as I was like, oh, there's street skating too, I always kind of skated everything, but I don't know, I definitely I would uh actually like in the past too, like before that park was built, but between that Indian Rocks park and when the Dunedin park was built, I was like super fired up about skateboarding in general, and then that Lord's a dog town thing movie came out. And in Clearwater at the time, they were demolishing all these hotels, and I just we just found all these pools that were just empty and ready to go and be skated. Fuck yeah. And I actually found out recently it was this guy from Team Pain Spidey that was going around draining them all, and I would just be going behind him and I didn't know it. Wow.
SPEAKER_03And uh and so like that was kind of why I I did most of the training, because the pool thing just I mean, it's like a fire that you can't put out, like yeah, and and when you like you already got the the the fire lit for surfing, it's definitely much more transferable, I feel like riding tranny pools and stuff.
SPEAKER_05Growing up in Clearwater around that, I mean I'm sure before then, but around that time with Frazier kind of around and all of the people that he grew up with, they were kind of running the surf shops and the skate shops around there. And then also one of my biggest surf influences is Corey Lopez and the Lopez brothers. Hell yeah. And they're from Indian Rocks, which is where I was skating at. And so they were kind of influencing the skate shops as well. And and just like that, I don't know, it was just crazy because all the dudes that had grown up with Frazier skating and stuff, I was hanging out with and I didn't even realize it at the surf shops. They were like giving me shit. They didn't just some punk kid they uh you know, and uh yeah, and then after a while, all of them started respecting me and stuff, and then Yeah, because you had to earn your keep. Yeah, for example.
SPEAKER_03Wow, hell yeah, big shout outs to Jimmy.
SPEAKER_05So yeah, I mean he's been a huge influence to anybody anybody that skates in Florida transition wise. Yep.
SPEAKER_03And uh I just Jimmy Marcus, man. He's the many Marcus, yep. He's the man. Fuck yeah. No, I always uh used to get hella stoked when I had to work the Florida Bull Riders Cups at the skate park because uh the Greek was coming through and watching him skate that that pool was fucking awesome.
SPEAKER_05I think also like he saw that the time around Dunedin time um in like 2012 around that time, uh, that I just wanted to skate and he took me on a couple of like con I mean we didn't we like split the bill like with the car rental and stuff, and we went to Chili Bowl, which was one of the last Chili Bowls they had in uh San Francisco and uh we just we did a couple of trips with like some friends and stuff, and it just like it was just a bunch of hype skateboard groms uh from the Clearwater area, Nick Wallace and Brendan Campbell and stuff, and it was just I mean, dude, all those people are such big influences to me. I I really haven't um grown up around this area, so you know it's like Peterson and stuff, we would hear about him and like you
Jacksonville Life And Sharks In The Lineup
SPEAKER_05know, other and Buck as well. But I mean, you know, it it was it was weird because you'd growing up in that era before social media is just an incredible Yeah.
SPEAKER_03We like really grew up in in that time where we understand what the world was like before all this madness, and now we know what the world is like after. You know what I mean? Like your kids will never know, you know. My kids will never know what it was like. You little hear about it, and same with like even our parents, they might still be alive and kicking, but they really don't understand what you know to to um at least mine don't in a lot of you know their peers. I just I feel like today it's too many options today. It is a lot of options and a lot of instant and uh shit. Don't get Pauly started.
SPEAKER_05Let me tell you what's wrong with the kids today. Hey, I'll join that conversation soon, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, yeah. It's been uh interesting also working the Kona shows. Big shout out to uh Big Jeff Head for everything he did getting those shows going. He's uh stepped away and and Martin is full on taking the reins and keeping that going. So it's a cool scene up there, but it's been real interesting seeing these young teenagers coming up there for these shows. Um it's different than when I was younger. You know what I mean? Like a lot of face makeup.
SPEAKER_05But you didn't, I mean, you weren't that old going to Kona though, either.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes, but I just guess I'm I guess from the scene of like going to punk shows. Like I remember going, we had our little venue in downtown Jacksonville, the Imperial. There was also Fuel Coffee Shop and Five Points. But they did uh all ages shows and and such, and so we would go down there, hit up hardcore shows, punk shows, even some hip hop shows. And then it was like the scene kit, I mean, I don't know, it's just different. Yeah, it's just different, it's weird.
SPEAKER_05It is not the same, dude. I mean, it it's like weird now because you can just get acceptance for any which is fine, it's totally good, you know.
SPEAKER_03That I I don't think social media is like, oh, I want to be like that person, then you can be and before you just kind of like had to go with what was around you, and that is you're seeing a lot of blended styles in in like the youth, in my opinion, because like of social media and all this, it's like, oh, I like the fucking cholo, you know, flannel shit, and I like this. And I mean, it's like I remember that's skateboarding. I mean, for sure, for sure.
SPEAKER_05Take your best stuff, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Take all your favorite skater stuff, steal that, and make your own good.
SPEAKER_03I remember being a teen though, like, I got in you could definitely look at my yearbook pictures and be like, oh, that was Paulie's punk phase, then he's a little more in hardcore. This is his hip hop phase, you know what I mean? Like, I was always really into it, and it was like you could kind of tell, and now it's just almost like with the social media and the internet, and you can have so many influences that aren't necessarily in your direct community, you know what I mean? It's like see a lot of blended styles, if you will. And a lot of the girls are putting on borderline uh uh stage makeup with their eyes. My daughter, my oldest.
SPEAKER_04A lot of the boys are too, dude.
SPEAKER_03My oldest, she comes out and she's like, Do you like my eye makeup? I'm like, that is how long did that take you? It is it is very beautiful and detailed. Are you featuring in the Broadway performance cats?
SPEAKER_05She's working on it.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, it's uh it's just going for an Academy Award, dude. Yeah, it's wild. Oh yeah, I remember those days. I definitely remember those days.
SPEAKER_04Dude, my youngest daughter, just born, just had all this pink shit on her face, like a pink marker. And I was like, yo, what is that? And she's like, huh? Nothing, nothing. There's nothing there. I'm like, yeah, there's some right there on your face. What is that? And she's like, nothing that runs inside. She's like, Dad, I watched it on my face, you have nothing to worry about. Why was it there to begin with? What was that about? There's really not that much more going on with that story. I just that happened this morning. That was my day.
SPEAKER_03Well, uh, yo, so uh let's take a quick break. All right. We'll check on Joey. Joey's out there uh welding the third leg on the flat bar.
SPEAKER_04Oh, actually, you know what? We're gonna do this anyways because we uh I like to do this a bunch. I want you to take a guesstimate on how old do you think Joey is out there? Uh Mr. Drew. Can I call you Mr. Drew? Sir? I'm gonna call you Mr. Drew. Uh or Mr. Hasselhoff.
SPEAKER_03I'm just gonna go like 32. Okay. Well, I guess we'll uh take a break and you can find out if you're right or not, then uh we'll be right back.
Pool Skating, Influences, And Pre-Internet Style
SPEAKER_03Alright, guys, we're back. It's your boy Paulie. Got the doctor and the one and only Drew Hoffman. Hey there. Alright, man. So uh no, you gotta get going here in a little bit. You gotta go get back to the to the wife and to the child, but uh dad mode. Yep, dad mode in full effect. We will uh not keep you too much longer, but just kind of wanted to ask you a few uh few other skating questions and uh frontside or backside, which do you prefer? Which comes easier? Like if if if you're looking at something, when do you tend to like? Oh, frontside air, backside air, like frontside grind, backside, what do you think frontside's always nice? Alright, that's me too. All right. Um switch or faky. I would say fakey. Right on. All right.
SPEAKER_04Interesting, interesting.
SPEAKER_03Oh, and you're uh goofy footed?
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What what size board are you on? 85. 85? What kind of wheelbase?
SPEAKER_05Hmm. Whatever. Uh I think it's 55 bases. Oh, I'm sorry, wheelbase. Uh I really don't know. I've been riding uh the cat the deck from uh Catalyst for 10 years now. That's another one of your sponsors, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Catalyst is at a surf shop or skate shop?
SPEAKER_05It's uh it's both. Uh they they have a great selection of skate and surf. Uh they're owned by Lost, uh, which is kind of crazy because my mom met Mike Creola way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh yeah, I've been riding for them for a while. And uh where are they located? In Orlando and uh Melbourne as well, and they also have a store in Cocoa Beach in San Clemente, California, also where Cat Surf is based. Fuck yeah. Very cool. And I think they have a couple more, they've they've had a couple stores come and go over the years uh and stuff. Uh they used to have one in a mall in Orlando and I think in Stewart as well. So yeah, they they've kind of come and gone. They I mean, they're owned by Lost, so they've been around since the 90s.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, so we uh we do uh like to play a little game here. Oh we play a game on the podcast. We do. Let me uh get back to my intro here. Um so with the debate that kind of goes on in skateboarding, whether or not it's a sport or not, and it now being in the Olympics, we have this game where Doc is gonna ask you uh a question um and you're gonna tell us whether or not you think it's a sport. Now there's a criteria. Okay?
SPEAKER_04That's the main point. You gotta think about the criteria.
SPEAKER_03Okay, it's gotta hit all three. Is it uh it can you break a sweat? Like do you get your cardio going? Can you break a bone? And can you pull a groin muscle? That's what qualifies it? That's what qualifies it. Okay. So we're gonna play our fun little intro.
SPEAKER_01Is it a tort? Or is it a groin?
SPEAKER_03That's right, your boy jacked ESPN's theme song. Come and sue me, ESPN. Send me a cease and desist. I don't care. Anyway, Doctor, take it over.
SPEAKER_04All right, is everybody's favorite game? We call it Is It a Sport. Now we are here with Mr. Drew Hoffman. And now, Drew, I have a few different selections I will give you. And I want you to give me your personal opinion, whether it is a sport or not a sport. First one we're gonna go with American Ninja Warrior.
SPEAKER_03Oh. American Ninja Warrior. We saw a couple of kids out at the skate park today that I had to chase off, thinking they were playing American Ninja Warrior. Drew, is it a sport? That is not a sport.
SPEAKER_04That is not a sport.
SPEAKER_03Drew said parents keep your kids out of skate park unless they got a skateboard or something like that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, American Ninja Warrior parkour, not a sport. Quick going, Dags. All right, here we go. So we're gonna go with the second one. Duck hunting.
SPEAKER_05Duck hunting. That that is a sport, I believe. Yeah. We're going with the sport with the duck hunting. That is.
SPEAKER_04All right, that's money in the bank. All right. Um, how about this one? Because this one's actually one of my favorite ones, being a father myself. Going shopping with your wife, your girlfriend, your children, your mother, or your grandmother.
SPEAKER_03Is it a sport? So basically any woman in your life. Exactly. That is an extreme sport. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Praise Jesus. All right. That is definitely an extreme sport.
Is It A Sport Game And Farewell
SPEAKER_03You're lucky to survive.
SPEAKER_04I've been holding on to that one for so long to ask somebody, dude. So we're getting involved with that.
SPEAKER_05So I'll let you know how it goes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, man. Well, uh, I definitely don't want to keep you any longer. We're cutting a little short, but I know you got things to do. So uh thank you very much to your better half for allowing you to come skate with us this morning. And shoot the shit. We definitely got to do it again and would love to have you back on. And definitely got to get the wife on here, man. I wanna I want to get her perspective on female skating and how far it's come. So I'm sure she's got a lot to say. Yeah. Let her know. Let her know. I'll be in contact soon and we'll uh we'll get her on here too.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, y'all are invited, man. Y'all are part of the family.
SPEAKER_03Thank you guys for having me, man. That was super cool. So thank you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, no worries, dude. Thanks for coming, man. You're y'all are part of the family now, dude.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, if you want to go ahead and let everybody know where they can find you on social media and uh give any shout-outs to any sponsors or anything you'd like, go ahead and take it away.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, uh uh Drew Hasselhoff on uh Instagram, and uh I just want to thank Cat Surf, Chris at CatSurf, and uh Connor Askew and Mike Riola at um USS Catalyst. Hell yeah. And yeah, you should go check them out because they're pretty much the best, and they just all about doing it for the love of it.
SPEAKER_03So yeah. For the culture. For the culture.
SPEAKER_05Have fun and just skate it.
SPEAKER_03So fuck you, dude. Well, it's been a pleasure. Let's skate again soon. Thanks everybody for listening. Peace, love, and skateboarding.