A little over two years ago, we documented a feat of man. Chad Caruso, Long Island skater and friend of the mag, skateboarded across the country, from Venice Beach to Virginia Beach.

What do you actually receive for getting a Guinness world record?
It’s probably less than graduating high school. You don’t get a plaque, you have to buy a frame yourself, and on top of that, they charge you for the piece of paper. You spend $20, $30 or whatever and get your copy of the award. I get it, it’s a business, but it’s funny.

“There are definitely some easier records I could have picked.”

When you think of the other records out there, like longest fingernails and biggest rubber ball, are there any other records you want to break?
Honestly, I didn’t put much weight into the Guinness record, I just figured if I was going to do it I might as well measure it. Like do it the right way. But at the end of the day it’s just a beer company, I don’t really care about a piece of paper from someone else. It’s more about the trip and the experience. I will say, there are definitely some easier records I could have picked [laughs].

Has anyone beaten your record yet?
No, a couple people have tried though. Since I did it, a bunch of people have been skating across other countries and states. I get messages all the time asking me for advice, or people saying my trip inspired them. I didn’t expect that. In my head I thought people would see this and think, “That’s insane,” or, “I’d never want to do that.”

Are you charging people consultation fees for advice?
Nah, nah. I hop on and help. I’m just excited other people are into it.

How has your life changed after skateboarding across America?
Nothing’s really changed. I didn’t get any sponsors, I still skate, make videos and work my job. I run a food truck on Long Island, and I enjoy doing that and making videos. After I finished and nothing big came from it, I realized you can’t live your life expecting that to happen, so I try to focus on the things I can control.

Is there a route anywhere else in the world that’s longer than your cross America route?
I’m sure there is. I’m constantly getting DM’s from people telling me, “You should do this.” The hardest part is the ground, because you never know if you’re going to hit a dirt road or something that isn’t skateable. Bikes and runners can go over whatever, but skaters need ground.

“I pushed every single inch. If I fell off my board I would go back five or ten feet past where I fell just to make sure.”

So you never picked your board up and walked at all during the trip?
Never. If I hit a dirt road I would find another route. Sometimes I’d have to go back 10 or 15 miles. If I was skating up a massive, super steep hill, I would get off my board and stand for a second, and then restart. I pushed every single inch. If I fell off my board I would go back five or ten feet past where I fell just to make sure [laughs].

I saw Chapman Skateboards gave you a Forrest Gump pro model board. Do people often compare your trek to that movie?
Yeah, which is funny, because I never saw the movie until after my trip. That’s the first thing people say when they hear about someone going across the country. Around day seven an older couple brought me lunch on the side of the road, and it was a very heartwarming moment. People saw that, and then more people would come out and bring me stuff. By the end there were a bunch of people who would skate with me, and it lent itself to the Forrest Gump thing.

T-Hawk has the board you skated across America hanging in his office. How’d that happen?
He collects boards and all sorts of skate memorabilia, so I thought hey, what better place could that board end up? The Smithsonian was an option at one point, but I learned that if they take something it never comes out of their hands. They could put the board in the basement and never put it on display and that’s it. So it was either that or Tony Hawk. I felt Tony would do good with it.

Yeah, we trust the Hawk man.
He texted me a couple weeks after having the board and asked if he could skate it. My first thought was, “Are you sure?” I feel like that thing is dangerous, but he did a frontside ollie and a stalefish on the vert ramp. With the chunky cruiser wheels and everything.

“I have nothing against longboards, they have a purpose. It’s just not my purpose.”

You were very adamant in the video that your board was “not a longboard.”
Yeah, I get that comment all the time on my videos, like, “You’re an idiot, you should use a longboard.” But my answer is always like, would you tell a tennis player to use a volleyball? It doesn’t make sense. Like I get it, it’s faster, but that’s not what I do. I’ve been skating for 25 years, you know? I have nothing against longboards, they have a purpose. It’s just not my purpose.

Before you started your trek, you said you felt “constantly bored” and that this cross country challenge idea was one of the only things that excited you. Do you still feel this way? And do you have any advice for someone who feels the same way?
I still feel that way from time to time, but now I understand that tendency a little better. I know that I need something exciting or interesting to focus on. I have a really all in or nothing nature, so I learned to set guidelines that keeps me busy and away from things like drinking and partying. And that’s the advice too. Find something meaningful to go after, something that gives you a reason to wake up early.

When speaking about your past alcohol addiction, you said you used to be “addicted to fucking up.” Can you expand on that?
It’s hard to quantify that feeling. It’s something that’s been in the background for me my whole life. But there’s something about being frustrated with life, and I went down this rabbit hole of leaning into it being cool to fuck up. You almost wear it like a badge of honor. An “I don’t give a shit.” badge. It gives you an escape route instead of going after actually scary goals. And it sounds cool, but ten years later you look back and have nothing to show for it.

How much money were you able to raise for addiction awareness?
I raised $15,000. When I got sober and started posting skating on YouTube I was $10,000 in debt, had two DWI’s, and was a felon. I used my YouTube channel as something positive to focus on, so to be able to donate 15k to the cause that helped me get better, coming from where I came from, there is no better feeling.

What’s the best gas station beef jerky?
It depends on what you mean by “best.” Best for skating across America, I have to go with Slim Jim. It’s the worst beef jerky, but if you eat actual good beef jerky while skating in the desert, you’re going to dry your throat out. Slim Jim is almost moist, it’s like the shittiness helps you.

“Starting the day with baby powder in the asscrack makes a huge difference.”

Any other gas station gems you found while on the road?
I was pretty straight forward with the stuff I got. It was Clif bars, trail mix, and sometimes I’d ask for extra garbage bags to use as a tarp. I’d also look for baby powder. After so many miles, starting the day with baby powder in the asscrack makes a huge difference [laughs].

You said in the doc, “It’s pretty hard to die.” Do you still believe this?
That makes light of it, like there are real tragedies out there and things that happen, but it is kind of hard. Being out there in traffic all the time, you have to try or really not be paying attention. And it can be super dangerous, so I don’t mean to make light of it, but I was just poking at it, and how a lot of the things we fear are more in the mind.

Do you have any ideas or are there any future challenges you’re going to take on?
I try to do what interests me. Like there’s plenty of things I could do to try and get a bunch of views and make a living, but I try to stick to things that I find useful or interesting. I haven’t had any new ideas in a year or two, until about two weeks ago. I can’t say it now since everyone rips things off nowadays, but I have some cool ideas for next year.

Something Mr.Beast style?
[laughs] Nah.

Interview by: Ben Komins
Photos by: Josh Katz
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