ANDERSON Andy

Preferred stance
Goofy (dewtour.com, 11 Jun 2019)

General
HELMET COMPANY
He has started his own helmet company called Mind Control. "I started skating when I was four. When you're four, it's probably a good idea to wear a helmet. When I was seven I got into skate lessons and my skateboard instructor would wear a helmet. But, when he wasn't teaching me, he took the helmet off. When I started teaching skate lessons, I didn't want to pretend like I wore a helmet, and then took it off later. I wanted to be real. If I was going to make someone else wear one, to be a part of my class, then I have to wear it too. It's all about being able to do anything that you feel like you should be able to do. I've been told not to wear them on tour. I was told it was not cool - but I wear a helmet anyway. Well, I've worn my helmet for so long and I've gotten as far as I have with my helmet that for me to take it off now [in 2019] would be stupid. I always wear a helmet when I skate, no matter what I'm skating. It's become somewhat of a trademark. I get rejected photos in magazines all the time because it's just not as cool. I feel like right now there's a lot of pressure to not [wear one] from the industry. And the only person telling you to is your mum. I know I'm the helmet advocate, but I'm not telling you to wear a helmet. I want to make people that want to wear a helmet feel more comfortable doing what they want to do." (theglobeandmail.com, 03 Jun 2021; Braille Skateboarding YouTube channel, 21 Feb 2021; iDabble VM YouTube channel, 21 Mar 2020; KING 5 YouTube channel, 18 Jul 2019; longboarderlabs.com, 29 Jun 2019)

OLYMPIC INCLUSION
While he supports skateboarding's inclusion in the Olympic Games, he is cautious about the framework and governance, and feels park skating is difficult to judge. "I support freestyle skateboarding in the Olympics and I understand vert halfpipe in the Olympics, but I think street skateboarding is too difficult and diverse to judge. I think my friend [US skateboarder] Eli [Reed] said it best when he told me, 'Skaters are known to not belong or really fit in. Skate things where we shouldn't. So wouldn't the Olympics be the best place to go and not belong? Show the world who we are and that we can be world class athletes.' And all without tons of forced training and steroids and tights. I support the growth of skateboarding as a whole but, when there are rules applied, things get a little weird." (juicemagazine.com, 31 Oct 2016)

VERSATILITY
He considers himself an all-around skateboarder, and feels that attitudes surrounding street skating have changed. "I find that people exclude a lot of things in their brain. They say things like, 'I only skate like this, I only skate like that.' I find it all so limiting. I think the different styles of skateboarding come from different mindsets and ways that your brain functions. I think that if you are riding a popsicle-shaped board, you feel pressured to learn ollies and kickflips, and you have a hard time calling yourself a skateboarder until you can do those things. Before that you just ride around for fun. I think that fun is a huge part of skateboarding, and it's been over-neglected recently. I think street skateboarding was invented to be about freedom. Now you don't need to go to a halfpipe - you can skate anywhere. But what it's turned into is, 'Oh, you need to skate perfect street'. It's all about the pursuit of perfection. In the beginning it was the biggest wave of growth because it made things accessible for everybody. But now it's at a point that it's less accessible. I feel skaters miss out on a huge opportunity when they don't connect with the basics." (longboarderlabs.com, 29 Jun 2019)