Television has become a window to our own culture. It shows us things that our ears will never be privy to. Case in point, the 1960 Presidential Debate. JFK vs. Richard Nixon. This was the first of its kind to be broadcast visually to millions of Americans, who, up until then, received their debates of the sonic variety only. Some say this debate cemented Kennedy’s victory.  A lot has been made about what happened when the red camera light turned on... but what about when it was off?

[TRANSCRIPT BEGIN]

NIXON: ...And that is why America can never have a President who is weak on Communism. I will open the door to China.
DIRECTOR: Ok, we’re at commercial. We’re back in five.
NIXON: How are you, John?
JFK: You actually think they’ll let you go to China?
NIXON: Well, that’s my plan. You’ve known that.
JFK: Yeah, if you say so Richie.
NIXON: Look, I don’t call you Johnny; I’d appreciate the same respect, Senator.
JFK: I’ll call you a bitch if I want to. No one tells JFK what to do, Richard.
NIXON: This is quite an attitude you’ve developed.
JFK: Developed? I’ve had it going on 40 years now. Look, you want to be let in on a little secret, Richard?
NIXON: Sure. Though any secrets that are damaging might be...
JFK: Shut up. Here’s a question... what’s my middle name? Quick hint: it starts with the letter F.
NIXON: Ah, I know that one. Fitzgerald.
JFK: Wrong.
NIXON: No. I’m correct on that.
JFK: Common misconception.
NIXON: Well, what is it?
JFK: Fuckin.’
NIXON: Excuse me?
JFK: Fuckin.’ I’m John Fuckin’ Kennedy. What do you think about that?
NIXON: I don’t believe you.
JFK: Doesn’t matter what you believe. Check this out...
[JFK pulls out his birth certificate.]
JFK: Read it...
NIXON: Uhh... it says uh... State of Massachusetts... birth record. Name, John, no this can’t be...
JFK: Say it.
NIXON: John... uh, fucking...
JFK: No G.
NIXON: Oh. John fuckin’ Kennedy. Doesn’t matter.
JFK: Doesn’t matter, huh? You like movies?
NIXON: Sure. Who doesn’t?
JFK: The movie about me is gonna’ be way better than the one about you.
NIXON: You don’t know that.
JFK: Yeah I do. Two reasons. First, the main character in mine is far superior to the one in yours, way more charismatic, better looking and went to a better law school. Second, my middle name is Fuckin.’
NIXON: A movie about me would be pretty good, in my opinion.
JFK: Are you kidding?! I bet they won’t even find an American to play you. Besides, mine’s gonna be about how great I am, and yours will be about what an asshole you are. Mark my words.
NIXON: This is beside the point.
JFK: You know what else I like?
NIXON: I have no idea.
JFK: I like movie stars.
NIXON: I’m a fan of John Wayne.
JFK: Westerns, huh? I guess I prefer movie stars that have, I don’t know, what are they called... oh yeah, they’re called vaginas.
NIXON: This is highly inappropriate, John.
JFK: You want to know inappropriate? Next time you’re talking about taxes, you think of me and my brother tag-teaming Marylyn.
DIRECTOR: Ok guys, we’re back in five... four... three... two and...
JFK: I believe my distinguished opponent was finishing his point...
NIXON: Thank you John. I was saying...
JFK: Wasn’t it about taxes?
NIXON: Why uh, yeah. I uh want to...

[TRANSCRIPT END]

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“It’s like a boxing match: jab, pop, give a big hit, lots of energy, good times and good vibes, that’s what I’m about,” Eric Cubeechee proclaims. DJing at some of the hottest clubs in town and having hosted a hit radio night show on The Beat, Eric Cubeechee’s success is a far cry from his humble upbringing in a gang-infested neighborhood where negative influences lurked around every corner. He took the long, hard road to the top of the DJ game and the trials and tribulations he had to endure make him critical of wannabe DJs who don’t pay their dues. “You have hack DJs who want to be DJs just because it’s cool to be one,” Cubeechee elaborates further. “Anyone can download their hard drive and play anything that the next DJ plays but it’s a matter of putting the whole thing together like a puzzle and rocking it and having passion.” Cubeechee explains how advances in DJ technology such as the computer program Scratch Live from Serato and the prominence and glory that top DJs have garnered make a lot of people want to jump on the bandwagon and start spinning. “I know promoters that started DJing who get it because they have a passion for music but there are promoters who are like, ‘I want to DJ now’ or ‘I want to get in the middle of your set and throw some records on.’” Cubeechee is quick to steer the glory-hounds back to the dance floor, “I’m like, ‘get out of here, go dance and have fun and leave me alone.’”

Cubeechee explains how the invention of Serato’s Scratch Live has really changed the scene.  “Four years ago, before Serato, you only had records and you had to find whatever records you wanted to play,” he elaborates. “If you didn’t have a record it wasn’t in your arsenal. Now with Serato you can go on the internet and have any song you want.” Cubeechee remembers the dedication that he and other DJs had to exhibit in pre-Serato days. “We played with vinyl and we carried Cerwin-Vega speakers on our backs to do house parties for 70 bucks,” he states. “My mom lived upstairs in an apartment building, so I carried speakers out of my room, loaded them in a car, unloaded them at a party, came back home and put them back in my house at three in the morning because if I left them in the car I knew they’d get ripped off.”  Cubeechee’s drive shows through when he spins and the DJ contrasts the level of dedication he and others like him have exhibited to the wannabes. “There’s nothing worse than going to a nightclub and there’s a DJ who just plays music and doesn’t want to rock.” Cubeechee gives his views on the importance of putting work into the DJ game. “I think that if you’ve never spun off vinyl and you’ve only used Serato as a starting DJ then you shouldn’t even have the letters DJ in front of your name. If you’ve never dug for vinyl and had to play off vinyl then you don’t deserve it.” He explains how having the credentials is essential, citing the countless wannabe DJs who try to take the easy road. “Every actress is a DJ now and I’m like, ‘are you kidding me?’ Everybody’s a DJ and it’s ridiculous.”

Cubeechee’s view of the necessity of hard work is reflective of the hard road he took to get to the top.  “I grew up in gang-infested neighborhood,” Cubeechee explains.  “I loved music, so even though I lived in a bad neighborhood I never got involved in that.”  Instead of falling prey to negative influences, Cubeechee kept positive and actively began pursuing his passion for music.  “I went to a house party and saw a guy from the neighborhood DJing and it was cool to me, seeing someone blending the records.” Even though Cubeechee had a passion for DJing, it was initially difficult for him to acquire the expensive equipment necessary for the job until money came from an unlikely source.  “I got into a car accident and got a two grand settlement and I convinced my mom to buy me a DJ system.”  While suddenly Cubeechee had the tools for his craft, there were constraints. “My mom was like, ‘I’ll buy you a DJ set but you can’t take it out of the house,’” he relates. “At that time there were a lot of house parties and people were getting shot and I didn’t live in the best neighborhood in the world so I just sat in my room and practiced and practiced and practiced.”  With a DJ set, Cubeechee was well on his way to becoming a legendary DJ, but he still needed records. “I didn’t have money to buy records, but my buddy’s brother was a DJ and he had a couple of crates sitting around and I asked to borrow them.”  The records, though, were far from the hits of the time. “They were all really old records like Ed Lover and that kind of stuff.  That’s all the guy had in the crates.”  Undeterred, Cubeechee relentlessly practiced his craft.  “I didn’t have anything new so I used all the old stuff and that’s what I got good at.” His dedication showed in his first live gig.  “My buddy had a party when his parents were gone and he convinced me to DJ because I had the equipment and once I played in front of a crowd it was over.” 

Cubeechee got hooked and used every opportunity to DJ, a philosophy he lives by and imparts on aspiring turntablists.  “Do a lot of gigs,” he advises. “DJ more and more and take every opportunity you can, and if it’s the best thing in the world or if there’s five people there, rock it. Having a passion for music and what you’re doing shows.” And Cubeechee delivers, that’s why he is the resident DJ on Tuesdays at Hollywood celeb hotspot Coco de Ville and will DJ the Affliction: Banned afterparty on July 19th at the Grove in Anaheim.  Cubeechee admirably balances his rigorous work schedule with the responsibilities of being a new father, having recently had a son, Dezi, with fiancée, actress Jamie Pressly, early last year.  “It changes all your priorities,” he explains, but the doting father couldn’t be happier and continues to rock the house and get crowds moving with his exceptional DJ work as he lives out his dream.

AT A GLANCE:
Eclectic Influences:
Cubeechee’s unique DJ style is a result of his diverse taste in music. “I love Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Cypress Hill,” he says. “I also had a lot of Latin influence, too, like old Cuban salsa music. It totally influences how I spin.”

Man of Many Names:
Cubeechee, whose real name is Eric Calvo, explains how he got his trademark handle: “Cubans call each other Cubeechee, and when I was interning for Julio G he kept calling me that,” he explains, also elaborating on how he got the nickname ‘Da Cuban Assassin,’ “My brother called me ‘Da Cuban Assassin’ after a WWE wrestler from back in the day.”

Iron Man:
While Cubeechee loves to overindulge when he drinks, he’s a die-hard fitness man. “For the amount of alcohol I drink and cigarettes I smoke, I still run four to five miles a day,” he relates, “I go to the gym everyday, even if I’m on the road, at the very least five times a week.”

MMA Connoisseur:
The perfect choice for the Affliction: Banned afterparty, Cubeechee is an avid MMA enthusiast. “I watch every UFC,” he explains, “and I watch every mixed martial arts event I can.”

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Flobots
I Can Write an Article With No Subtitle... No Subtitle... 
words by: Alex Mendoza   photos courtesy of: 60 Cycle Media

Considering the stream of musicians that has emerged in the wake of websites such as MySpace and PureVolume, it is disheartening to acknowledge the fact there is a severe lack in creativity. Even seasoned veterans of the music industry are turning out mediocre products and there are too few musicians/artists providing an exciting alternative. In the case of the Denver, Colorado based band, Flobots, their infectious single, Handlebars, has become a staple of sorts; the unexpected American anthem for a generation that is engaged and eager to bring about change. In stark contrast to politically charged bands such as Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down, Flobots are not concerned with bulls on parade – let alone fucking the system. Their message is geared toward something a tad risqué: paving the path for us – as a society – to make the change we wish to see in the world.

Granted the preceding statement comes off as cliché and sappy, there is a genuine sense of pride behind the band’s politically guided motives. “It’s not as if we are out there placing the blame on everyone we can. That’s not what we’re about,” guitarist Andy Guerrero states confidently. “Right now we’re in an exciting time where a majority of our listeners are ready for change. They’re heavily involved and becoming active in every facet possible.” Andy is but one integral piece of the seven man group. Opposed to the generic rap-rock formula that only consists of guitars, drums, and MCs, Flobots are an instrumentally diverse group. While utilizing the typical instruments expected of a rock band, the inclusion of a trumpet and viola add a unique flavor to melodic mix. While their songs do not emulate baroque rock anthems or dream pop antics, these instruments are not there for the sake of being different. Their implementation into the Flobots enticing melodic and harmonic structures feels natural, opposed to being forced into musical puzzle. If anything, it makes perfect sense. “You know when we write our songs, all of us are rather involved with the process. We do not leave the songwriting to just one person. Sometimes one of us will come up with a riff and start playing off each other. In other cases either Jonny 5 or Brer Rabbit will write some lyrics and we’ll get a feel for them and try to make music. Obviously because there are so many of us there are plenty of arguments and disagreements, but once we all arrive at the same destination it’s a great feeling,” Andy laughs as he discusses the Flobots song writing process.

The general assumption for most casual listeners is that Flobots are barely emerging; that they’re some new group hitting their stride. Truth of the matter is the Flobots name has been around since 2000 when James Laurie – a.k.a. Jonny 5 – rounded up the first incarnation of the group. Around 2005 Jonny teamed up with Brer Rabbit and they collected the instrumentalists that would eventually lead to its current form. “It’s always weird to look back – especially when we consider where we’re at now to where we were about two or three years ago. We were just a band in Denver ready to make music, but people connected with what we were saying, along with what we were playing. Next thing we know we’re touring with all these huge bands, going to places we’ve never been to before. It’s been great and we’re happy the fans from our hometown were a big part of this,” Andy recollects while discussing the Flobots’ rise to success.

As with most up and coming bands, word of mouth is a priceless and fail-safe strategy. This is something the Flobots fans brought in spades, feverishly requesting their music as if their lives depended on it. No one in the band ever anticipated their song, “Handlebars,”would accumulate such a wide spread following. “The song started off as something that Jonny experienced. He was riding his bike one day and one of his friends had asked him if he could ride a bike without handlebars. He thought about it for a while and decided he was going to ride a bike with no handlebars. Once he did it and succeeded, he was ecstatic because he surprised himself. Next thing we know he shows up one day with this song and these lyrics and we were all floored,” Andy mentions as he discusses the origins of “Handlebars.” “We’re lucky people identified with the song because it happens to be catchy,
but at the same time there’s a lot more beneath the context of the lyrics. The song is about how humans have so much potential to do all these wonderful things with science, technology, and our inherent intelligence. It’s also scary, though, because we have the potential to cause so much harm and damage. That’s what the song is about – human potential for both the good and the bad.”

The band’s success with the single has taken them across the United States performing alongside a diverse roster of A-list talent including Metallica, Bad Religion and The Raconteurs.  All the while the band remains true to their initial vision – to help cultivate a sense of change and positive progress. “If you look at the title of our album, Fight With Tools, that’s what it’s about – taking what we have at our disposal and using these items, ideals, or words to fight for a better future. You don’t need to be on the steps of the White House to propagate change. Just being a better person helps and everyone knows what their community needs in terms of making a difference. It’s so great to know our music is helping people see that – especially when they’re singing along to our songs and discussing what the meaning is behind every word. We’re grateful to be a part of this movement where people are actively involved now to make progress towards a better future.”

AT A GLANCE:
+  All the members of Flobots are identified by numbers. MCs Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit are 05 and 0, violinist Mackenzie Roberts is 33, Andy Guerrero is 17, bassist Jessie Walker is 101, trumpet player Joe Ferrone is 79 and drummer Kenny Ortiz is 69.

+  Andy and Kenny were both in the funk band Bop Skizzum.

+  The band has a webcomic series called Rise of the Flobots: Architects of Change which launched on their website on June 9th at flobots.net.

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Tony Hawk is a man who needs no introduction. So, he’s not getting one. Oh, alright. Here you go. One of Skateboarding’s greatest protagonists, catalysts and champions, Tony Hawk is perhaps the biggest name the sport ever has, or ever will know; and with good reason. Of course you are likely to find some pre-pubescent skate punks (who probably were introduced to the sport on cable television or playing one of Hawk’s best-selling games) to label him a sellout or the antichrist of action sports, but the fact is that even after being retired from competition for eight years, he remains a driving force in the industry, still gets on a board every day, isn’t afraid to indict the X Games and is one of the most successful people to never have a real job. Now a father and family man, and still lacking any of the tattoos and piercings adorning many of his peers, he’s come a long way from the six-year-old stepping on the blue banana board bestowed upon him by his older brother Steve for the first time, but maybe, just maybe, there is still a little skate punk somewhere inside this iconoclast.

“The very first days of punk rock, I was at Marina Del Rey Skatepark the day the Circle Jerks showed up for a concert and they shot the cover to their album (Group Sex, 1980) and I was like 11 years old. The whole punk movement – The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, all that – my friends were frightened of it, my neighborhood friends. I went to the skatepark and that’s what was blaring out of the loudspeakers,” Hawk recalls. “When I first started skating it was at a time when it was considered sort of at the height of its fad. It was something that my friends were doing so it wasn’t like I had chosen to do something that was completely oddball. But as I dove into it I liked the individuality and I liked the culture surrounding it… I felt like every time I went out I was getting better at it so I stuck with it even though my friends all gave it up. So I found my community at the skatepark and that was just a full outcast crew in terms of backgrounds and hairdos and music styles and fashion.”

But it wasn’t necessarily a rebellious nature that drew him in initially: more a determined one. Hawk didn’t come from a broken home or even hate his dad for that matter. In fact, his father was one of greatest inspirations and sources of encouragement, driving home all the local kids from the skatepark and eventually founding CASL and the NSA. Hawk just seemed to have some of the dials in his brain cranked to the red, but a body that never seemed to keep up, until his feet found griptape. “I had aspirations to what I was capable of, especially playing traditional sports like baseball, basketball,” says Hawk. “If I didn’t live up to those expectations
I was really disappointed. If somehow I felt like I let the entire team down that would be really crushing. When I found skating I found something that I could do at my own pace, in my own style. That’s why I really took to it… I actually took existing moves and figured out how to do them in my own way that people actually considered at the time cheating. They didn’t realize that it was actually a much more efficient way of doing it..”  With the invention of over 80 tricks to his credit and feats like landing skateboarding’s first 900, it’s one that’s paid off – in more ways than one. But even with what is for all intents and purposes, an empire amassed under his feet, he remains humble and true to his roots. Perhaps one his best reasons for remaining grounded is the fact that he’s seen the sport at its best and worst and weathered more than one storm.

“All the kids I was going to school with were trying to figure out what college they were going to go to, what major they were going to follow and here I am already making a living. I bought a house when I was still a senior in high school and I realized that this door was wide open to follow and I wanted to go, I wanted to see what opportunities were available then. So right out of high school I hit the road, went on tours, did a couple of movie parts and it was really exciting. It was amazing to see that people were embracing skating on some level. I had been doing it most of my life and to almost no fanfare, no appreciation. It was a weird time,” admits Hawk. “I would travel across the country on a weekend while I was in school, and  there would be thousands of people, and win some big event and come back to school and be a ghost. I definitely already had something to ground me in that in terms of not everyone loved skating or knew what it was about. At the same time, when you’re 18 – 19 and you own a house and money’s coming in you seem invincible and you’re not even considering the future at all.” Then it happened. Skateboarding began to die. Hawk’s career was on life support. He was living off a daily Taco Bell allowance of $5 and doing all day demos outside Six Flags for $100. (Six Flags has now opened Tony Hawk coasters at several parks.)

“My saving grace was that my dad was very concerned about that and made sure that I put money away at the time. Even thought it wasn’t a whole lot, that fact that I invested in a couple houses probably saved me in the end. I think around the early ‘90s we could sense that skating was going back down in terms of acceptance and popularity and it sort of had ridden its wave of another cycle of success. We had sort of seen that happen before so at some point my friend who was a pro skater and I decided we should start a company and if skating comes back around we’ll have established ourselves as one of the top brands,” recalls Hawk of the birth of the Birdhouse brand. “To get a foot in the door in skateboarding won’t take a whole lot, but at the same time I was pulling a second mortgage out of my house, I had just started a family and things were not looking so rosy.”

Largely in part to ESPN’s X Games (back then they were the Extreme Games), skating did return and like a Pheonix from the ashes, Hawk rode the resurgence to new heights; some might even say he helped save it. “I think that skating was on its way to a sort of mainstream acceptance level without my help, but I’m proud that whatever hand I had in it I represented it well and the things that we brought to a mass level were legitimate and authentic,” he says. “Suddenly people took notice and said, ‘Wow, these guys are really amazing! They have amazing skills and they’re athletic and they’re passionate about what they’re doing and they’re risking their lives.’ At that point, they were used to seeing jaded, megastar athletes in the ball sports. When they saw us on TV they were like, ‘Look at these guys! They’re doing this for NO money, they love it – and you can approach them and talk to them!’” The X Games were here to stay and Hawk’s infamous self-titled video game franchise flew from the shelves in record numbers. The rest, as they say, is history. His game would go on to produce more best-selling sequels than Star Trek and Police Academy combined (Hawk actually had a small skating role in Police Academy 4), he would land the infamous 900, his holy grail, before retiring from competition and has even begun a few more successful ventures, not to mention the interminable slew of sponsorships, endorsements and commercials.  But even with his continued success, another child on the way and his ever growing Boom Book Huck Jam tour and brand, he still has a very grounded, and passionate, view of his sport.

“There are always going to be the hardcore skaters that are out trying to skate the forbidden schoolyards or handrails and so that element will always exist. It just depends on where you want to look,” says Hawk of the skateboarding purists who may call him a sellout. “If you want to be a hardcore skater that’s appreciated by the more discerning skate crowd, you’ve got to push those limits and those stakes are high right now. Stuff is really dangerous if you’re trying to get noticed. It depends how serious you want to take those styles of skating or those voices. But at the heart of it you’re doing it because you love it and if you choose to be a competition skater and that’s going to be your livelihood those are going to be the sort of attitudes you’re going to have to live with in terms of wanting to get recognition, getting on TV, that’s going to be your key to success.” While this is true, Hawk is acutely aware of the flip side of the coin, one he has been on most of his life. “There’s definitely mainstream elements that maybe seem too corporate and they probably are in terms of how they want to direct the sport. You can even take an example like ESPN saying vert’s dead. They’re jumping the gun on that one,” says Hawk, clearly defensive of the discipline he’s helped nurture throughout the years being nixed from the games. “It really has been one of the staples of the X Games. What has happened is that they’ve started running it live every year hoping for these amazing live moments. They’ve been waiting for this huge moment to happen. That, combined with their complaint that they don’t get any new blood in is their own fault. Their qualification process is by voting and they only have a handful of guys that are voting and they’re only looking at the results from the previous years. They don’t have any feeding qualification system into the X Games to allow new blood to get in. There are plenty of new guys, you’re just not looking.”

Helping to feed the so-called new blood seems to be the motivation behind the widespread distribution of his Huck Jam branded line of boards and bikes; something most may be quick to write off as another commercialization of the sport for profit. “We’ve figured out a way to bring quality skateboards and bikes to the masses,” says Hawk, in a rather noble tone. “That was a big void I thought within our industry. You had these specialty skateboards and then you had the junk they were selling at Wal-Mart and Toys“R”Us… A lot of kids are buying their first bike or skateboard there and it’s junk and they lose interest because they just can’t go anywhere on it. So we did that using our Huck Jam license, we were able to accomplish that and I’m really proud of it.” He goes on to elaborate what’s filled the eight years since he retired and even glance toward the future.

“We’re doing our Huck Jam tour and we’re in our sixth year. We’re working on new video games. In fact, we’ve got a new thing going, which I think is going to shock a lot of people. I can’t talk about it yet, but we’re changing up our game completely. And it’s not to mimic the EA game at all. Um… let’s just say you’re going to feel like you’re actually in the experience much more than ever. Let’s just say that we’ve built the engine from the ground up so we’re almost starting from scratch.”

Now 40, Hawk has seen the rise and fall of the sport as well as his own life, from his early days in empty pools to early retirement. “I think that skating is establishing itself as another acceptable form of activity or legitimate sport,” says Hawk. “There’re more kids skating now then playing little league. Those numbers are undeniable and I think that we’re going to see it, as it has, become more embedded in the mainstream vernacular and the culture and I’m proud that I got to see it through a lot of ups an downs and the fact that I’m still here doing it at my age. And doing it at this level is something I never dreamed of and the fact that that is my job description is amazing.” Looking back, one can’t help but wonder what gems of wisdom he has to share. “There’s not some philosophical message that I’m dying to get out to people. I think that a lot of people see skating now and perhaps the motivations for kids to get into it are fame and fortune because you’re seeing all these skaters with their own TV shows and fame and fortune and traveling the world and girls and glamour and I don’t think that should ever be a motivation to do this kind of thing because if you get any kind of taste of it you’re going to lose that drive to keep doing it. The goal shouldn’t be any sort of material, the goal should be to really do it because you enjoy it and to progress and… to challenge yourself and reach goals that you set out for as far as actual, physical skating as opposed to financial aspirations.” And as for Hawk himself, how much longer will he stay on a board? “I’m always trying new tricks. That really is what drives me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to quit skating. I just think if I start to suck, I won’t do it in public. How’s that?”

AT A GLANCE:

+  “The only thing I think I’ve ever wanted to do that I never really pursued was ski jumping. But I think I got a taste of it flying
50 ft. over the megaramp.”

+ “My name never seemed like a blessing when kids were calling me Bony Cock in school.”

+ “Whenever I go to skate I have the exact same warm-up run and I can tell how the day’s going to go just by how that run goes. It’s nine tricks and from those nine tricks I can determine if it’s going to be a good day or going to be a struggle.”

+ “I do love fast cars but I never could justify spending more on a car than I would on a house, so whenever I get the chance to go on a NASCAR track or borrow Shaun White’s Lamborghini, I hit it up.”

+ “My wife actually put on my 40th birthday in Vegas, it was Big Lebowski themed and we rented a bowling alley and people dressed up. I was a sort of toned down version of The Dude ‘cause I couldn’t put a robe on. My brother in law, he’s a perfect Walter, he even brought a can of Folgers.”

+ “Go to ShredorDie.com. I’ve interviewed a lot of celebrities. I interviewed this blind kid that skates on there that’s amazing. I have thought of Lance Armstrong as a big inspiration… but I think my favorite interview that’s on the site was Christian Slater ‘cause I had lunch with him and we just talked about old times.”