Over the last couple of years we haven’t seen much footage of the elusive Pops, aside from his tricks in Cherry and the occasional Instagram post. He’s not the easiest to track down and he’s not the type of guy you bump into skating LES skatepark. Luckily for us, our friend and filmer Richard Quintero is one of the few people that has been filming occasionally with Pops over the last couple of months. Accumulating some skate mission footage and clips, we thought it was too good to get dusty and lost in some hard drive. With that in mind, we edited the footage and sat down with Pops for a short conversation about his skateboarding and the future of his career.
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October 6, 2014 2:01 pm
whatever the capacity, this dude will always be the greatest. No question.
October 6, 2014 3:32 pm
way too much rah rah/whining…shut up and skate!!!
October 6, 2014 6:34 pm
You don’t get it do you? Everybody says, “Where’s Pops? Did he fall off?” No, he’s out skating. But then he puts something out and people say, “He should stop whining and just skate.” He just isn’t enough of a Yes Man for you folks, is he?
October 6, 2014 8:46 pm
Nope, he’s just a guy who’s washed up and now seems to spend his time doing interviews on the internet, being shitty about his ex sponsors and team mates to justify that fact that he’s doing fuck all now.
October 7, 2014 1:17 am
Well we can’t all be Dakota Servold.
October 6, 2014 8:42 pm
His skating is excellent and total respect for uncensored interviews. Most won’t risk losing sponsor money if sharing unpopular words or criticizing “the industry” Not sure if bitter or depressed or ? Maybe just does not like the spotlight. And got into skating when not so blown up and energy drink fueled. Hard to know without specific examples of how he went from a to B to C, the kind of dropped out. Emotional effects of drugs? If so, tell the story like Reynolds and it can help others through the process. If he truly “does not care” none of that matters. Maybe the attention comes from the reclusive behavior. His epicly Later’d parts made sense, but if he feels like this, why even do an interview.
Life is full of bs for many. Poverty, starvation, warfare, rape, kidnapping. Just click on world news. Or even local Chicago South side stuff. Skateboarding represents fun and escape from this, IMO. Odd to see AP so down and out, or maybe completely content. Maybe the complexity and mixed up views he does share add to the interest. I know I look forward to him figuring something out and being happy about something. But again, he may be completely content. And any interest in a pro skater’s life is fairly TMzIsh. So that is weird on my part already.
It is refreshing to see somebody so accomplished not buy in to industry pressures. But it would be great to see him do things in skateboarding, in his own way, that gives him so much enjoyment the past is not even mentioned. Not through ignorance, just being active in the moment doing cool things and inspiring others. But it is not his job to do if not interested. Not all are born to be cheerleaders or football players. I don’t like that bs anyway. But skateboarding will never be that to all people.
Maybe interest in him is like watching car wrecks or fail videos. Or “where are they now” human nature stories.
My interest is to see him being stoked and inspired and fulfilled. Somehow he may have got a raw deal. Like the converse thing. How much is on his end vs the corporate waterwheel is unknown to me. But I give him the benefit of doubt as big corporations generally chew and spit out as needed to protect profits.
Hey Anthony, make a video you want to see. If any desire. Many will appreciate it. Or do other nice things. Go adopt a dog in need and teach it trust and respect. Like the one in the other video. Many fun things to do in life that are rewarding. Whether featuring skateboards or not. You have a hall pass forever with your earlier accomplishments. No shame in that. Nothing to apologize for.
Nobody seems to like the self absorbed Puleo-esque approach to life. Life is a gyp, then you die. So limiting. I mean, he bagged on Suciu who is super nice and upbeat. Spot stealer, lol. The guy who built love park said open to all.
October 6, 2014 8:43 pm
Poor Pops, you’ve had a hard time and everyone’s treated you unfairly.