1. Name / Instagram Account?
Drew Domkus / @drewdomkus @olddudeskateco @skatosispodcast
2. Age?
51 - 10/19/1971
3. Where are you from?
Originally Burbank, California. SE Wisconsin since 1995.
4. What’s your history with skateboarding? What role does it serve in your life today?
I've been in love with skateboarding ever since my older brother's friend brought one over to the house and I didn't want to let it go. I was only 3. I had many different boards growing up, and as the Bones Brigade show introduced me to transition and street skating, I progressed with friends as we built ramps, found ditches and empty pools. I took a hiatus at 18 after getting mono from basically skating too much and not taking care of my body. Life got in the way and at 38 I was living in Costa Rica and found a mini ramp in the jungle. When I realized I could still do a few tricks, I was hooked again and haven't stopped since. I'm now in my 50's and way more obsessed and progress way more than I ever did as a kid. The role it plays in my life today is almost all consuming. It's entertainment, therapy, creativity, exercise, community and everything in between. Thankfully my wife is very supportive, as long as I wear my pads and helmet.
When I turned 40, I built a small mini ramp in my barn thinking it would be a good way for me to stay in shape and also because the nearest skatepark still isn't any good. Over the years, people hear about it, friends bring friends, and all of a sudden you have a crew coming through and so we call ourselves the Barn Burner Crew. The ramp has grown over time and what started as an 8' wide ramp has turned into a 26' wide ramp with many elevation changes. I've also recently added a bank to kinked curb next to the ramp.
My background is in graphic design and publishing, so it was a no brainer for me to create a brand and use it as a practice pad for my day job. I created Old Dude Skate Co. and sold boards, shirts, hoodies, etc., started a podcast about skateboarding, and produce a ton of content based around my progression as an Old Dude. I have more plans for products, but it's mostly been video content lately. Funny thing is that I believe the ODSC that this interview is for and my ODSC brand started right about the same time not knowing about each other for a while. I've met up with some of the Illinois and Denver crews. All good people.
5. What’s your set-up, including shoes?
I have many, but my go-to would be a Santa Cruz Winkowski 10" shaped deck, modified wheelbase to give me a bigger nose, 9" Slappy trucks, 52mm Powell Dragons with Bronson G3 bearings and Lil Jawn's rails. My shoes are either Vans Sk8-Hi or New Balance 440 highs.
6. What terrain do you like to skate?
I love all terrains, but my favorite these past few years have been curbs and parking blocks.
7. What stokes you out in skating?
Everything about it stokes me out. Watching it, filming it, editing it, doing it, thinking about it, talking about it, playing video games about it. Everything.
8. What could be better in skateboarding?
Everything could be better, but I love what it is, and what it means to so many of us.
9. What inspires you, in skateboarding, and life?
In skateboarding, I'm continually inspired by all of the amazing tricks that I see going down on a curb. In life, I'm inspired by people that do what they love and live for today.
10. What bands/music do you like?
Reggae is a favorite, but I'm into Bad Brains, 311, Chronixx, Protoje, Stick Figure, David Bowie, Bauhaus, Bob Marley, Rudimentary Peni, Minor Threat, Reverend Horton Heat, Dua Lipa, the list goes on but my first choice is reggae.
11. What makes you laugh?
My wife is hilarious and makes me laugh all the time. Porous Walker's art always makes me laugh (theporouswalker.com). Dave Chapelle always makes me think while laughing.
12. Favorite books/movies/tabloids?
I've recently gotten the audio book bug and since January of 2022 I've read 138 books! So many good ones, but some favorites are, Ready Player One (way better than the movie), most Stephen King or Dan Brown books, Beastie Boys Book was really good, the Harry Potter series, too many to list. Favorite movie is The Fifth Element and the only paper magazine subscription I have is Thrasher.
13. Major injuries?
Nothing major thankfully, but I seem to always jack up my fingers, and have definitely cracked a rib or two. As a teen I got into halfpipes and pools and started wearing pads and learned how to knee slide out of most things. As an adult I prefer to wear my pads and helmet for confidence and for safety as they help me stay able to skate tomorrow. If I don't wear them, I'll bail as if I have them on and get extra hurt. My wife is a fan of seeing me padded up, so... happy wife, happy skate life.
14. Outside of skating, any other passions/interests?
I've been a long-time lover of split window VW Buses. I've owned 8 over the years and have a large VW Bus toy collection. I'm a long-time podcaster, inducted into the Podcasting Hall of Fame in 2017 with my wife, Dawn Miceli, for The Dawn and Drew Show, and have been producing a skateboarding podcast called Skatosis for the past 6 years with my skate partner Aaron Monte (skatosis.com). I also enjoy building things to skate.
15. Skating as a kid vs. skating as an adult over 40…talk about the differences and similarities.
Growing up in the 70's and skateboarding as a kid seems like a whole different reality for me, especially since I stopped for so long in between. As a little kid with a plastic GT, our biggest goal was to see how far you could ride on top of a curb. The more we started to see what kind of tricks were possible, we'd slowly try new things and we'd all get a little better. Skating now as an adult, with technology in our pockets, it's a whole new game. Most tricks have been done and you can watch how they were done in high resolution slow motion, so it's much easier to progress. Documenting everything I do has become half of the fun. I really enjoy watching my own progression over the years and that just wasn't possible skating as a kid. Owning a home with my own skate spots is a much different experience as well.
16. Favorite skate videos?
All the early Bones Brigade videos are favorites. When I got back into skating, Pretty Sweet had just come out and it sticks with me as a favorite. It's impossible to hear Night Moves and not think of Cory Kennedy now. Tim Olson's VIDEO curb series are inspiration all day, Shrimp Blunt stands out for sure and I really wish they'd bring back King of the Road!
17. Favorite skaters?
Current:
Erick Winkowski
Jake Wooten
Ace Pelka
Nathan "Bevup" Ko
Jimmy Wilkins
Daewon Song
Abe Bethel
Classics:
Mark Gonzalez
Natas Kaupas
Lance Mountain
Tony Hawk
Steve Caballero
Bucky Lasek
The list really could go on and on...
18. Favorite skate graphics? Worst skate graphics?
Tallboy Santa Cruz graphics are my favorite.
Disorder has pretty weak graphics.
19. Who should we interview for the next episode of the Zero Club?
If you haven't interviewed Adam Eichorn yet, I'd love to read his answers.
20. Last words?
Just a huge thanks for including me! Now get out and skate!
