3rd Lair is an indoor skatepark that has been serving the Minnesota skate scene since 1997. And if you know anything about a Midwest winter, you know how important an indoor park is.

Enjoy the video, and if you want to know more about Jasper put that thumb to work and scroll on down. There’s talk of Pat. G, cheese curds, indoor skateparks, fingerboarding, and more.

Between the twin cities, do people have beef? Like, “Minneapolis or bust!” or “St.Paul is the best.” energy?
I wouldn’t say city beef, but people definitely have pride for their city, like, “Yo, I’m a St. Pauler.” I’m not really from either. I’m from Mounds View, which is like 20 minutes outside the cities, so I don’t really have a preference. But Minneapolis has better spots, so I fuck with Minneapolis more.

How important is Gov Center to Minneapolis skateboarding?
For us, it’s our Love Park. It’s the only marble ledges in the city. I recently filmed an entire VX part there, and if you pull up on any given day you’ll probably see a squad of five to ten people skating and kicking it. Sometimes it can be a battle with security though, mainly over this one specific ledge which happens to be the best one there. This summer our homie tried contacting the city, and he actually met with one of the higher ups to try and find a solution between the skaters and security, but it’s still hit or miss.

Do you think it’s underrated in terms of the general conversation around famous city plazas?
No, it’s not underrated at all, but it’s all we have. There’s probably only four ledges you can skate, and the best ledges are a bust. But you can get creative there, and it looks really good on camera. There’s also a five stair that’s known for all the tricks people have done skating up it. So there’s a couple features, but it’s definitely not one of the best plazas. It’s no Pulaski or Muni or Love.

I saw you in Asics “Week In Wooville” video, how’d that come about?
I’ve also been flow for Asics for probably two years now through Davis [Torgeson], another legend from Minnesota. That was their second time coming to the cities, and that was my first time really hanging out with everyone. I’m a tech guy, so watching Zander [Mitchell] skate in person was mind blowing. His whole bag of tricks is first try. He never misses. You see it on Instagram and you just don’t get the big picture. It’s fucked.

“We have to get some culture in these new kids,
some Minnesota skate history.”

And how about Pat G. What’s it like having him on the sesh?
Pat’s getting older now, so he doesn’t really try as hard or skate as much, and I know he’s dealt with a lot of recurring injuries, but he’s always posted up in a lawn chair with some LaCroix or something. I love his ClipTown USA part, and it’s always fun seeing old parts when he’s got his full beard. He looks younger now [laughs].

Are there a bunch of Frog-pilled skaters in Minnesota because of Pat?
Caleb [Roepke, filmer of After Hours] is kind of a Frog type skater. He definitely has influence here, but lowkey if you ask a lot of these newer guys about Pat they probably couldn’t tell you who he even is. We have to get some culture in these new kids, some Minnesota skate history.

Speaking of Minnesota skate history, who’s got your favorite part in Fobia’s “Hatebreeders” video?
The GOAT, Steve Nesser. I’ve only seen that video a handful of times, but Steve has to be one of the biggest and best names from Minnesota.

Sorry to throw a Midwest stereotype at you, but why do Midwesterners love cheese curds so much?
In Minnesota it could be because of the State Fair. It’s pretty well known across the country, and the culture is all about fried pickles, cheese curds and corn dogs. 3rd Lair actually used to have a booth and do demos at the fair. There was also this contest called the Summer Series and the finals would be at the State Fair. I remember people would be watching you skate, and you’d get these wristbands that made you feel like a VIP. That’s a childhood memory that I look back on. It was a sick experience.

Was there a specifically difficult battle or standout trick while filming for this part?
My favorite clip, it really surprisingly wasn’t a battle, was at the Gov Center, that plaza in Minneapolis, and it’s the switch back 180 nosegrind on that kicker to bike rack. We call that trick the switch Pupecki just to name drop [laughs], but I’d been thinking of that trick for probably two years. It has to be the fastest a hard trick has ever worked out for me. Usually I’m a battler, and I was prepared for a battle, but I was fortunate to somehow put it down in like 15 minutes.

Do you think growing up an indoor skatepark kid helps you progress faster?
I think it’s a combination of having an indoor park and then a winter where you just have nothing to do. During the winter as a kid you go to the indoor park seven days a week for six hours a day. And everyone feeds off each other’s energy, trying the hardest shit and progressing super quickly.

I remember growing up it sometimes felt like a demo every day. You had Jack Olson, Tanner Vanvark, Henry Gartland, rest in peace, and all these other names. They were all on a pro level at such a young age. It’s a bit different now for sure, with a lot more focus on skate camps and beginners, stuff to keep indoor parks in business, which you can’t really hate on, but it used to be more raw.

“Every Midwest kid is a finger boarder.”

How else do you pass the time during the winter?
I’ve always been a fidgeter, so I’m big on fingerboarding. Every Midwest kid is a fingerboarder. You have to be. There used to be a bunch of crazy fingerboard meet ups here, like Finger Fest and Rendezvous. It totally fell off, but there used to be so many people at those events.

[laughs] Finger Fest has to be the worst name of all time.
Yeah, imagine somebody seeing that flyer, they’d be like, “What the fuck is this?”

Alright, before I let you go I have to ask. Are you an Anthony Edwards fan?
Dude, our squads been playing basketball the last year or two, and everyone else got really into watching the games, but I’m not really that into basketball. I enjoy playing it, but you’re not going to catch me with a $150 Ant jersey. I fuck with his aura though [laughs].

Intro and Interview by: Ben Komins
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