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00:00Big Wednesday on a Saturday.
00:02Let's go.
00:03We're having a little Tuesday.
00:04It's a Tuesday?
00:05It's a little Tuesday.
00:06It's a Tuesday.
00:07A wee Tuesday.
00:09What's up, Skate Tales?
00:11We're in Mission Beach, sunny San Diego, USA.
00:17Gonna meet Wes Kramer, the gatekeeper to core skateboarding.
00:21No social media, killing the streets, living life on his own.
00:27Turn!
00:52Good evening, Ken.
01:07Hey, my name's Matters.
01:08First up in downtown.
01:10Who are you?
01:12Good to meet you, mate.
01:13Wes?
01:14Many south, Wes.
01:15Wes?
01:16Nice shoes, man.
01:18All right.
01:20Wes Kramer is your favorite skateboarder's actual favorite skateboarder.
01:24An offline enigma who manages to be both one of the world's most highly rated and least
01:29visible pros at the same time.
01:31In 2014, the San Diego native was awarded the holy grail of skateboarding.
01:36Thrasher's Skater of the Year.
01:38The rare few, talented enough to make the list, carry this title with them for eternity.
01:44With this success, you might expect Wes to chase the benefits of the attention economy.
01:49Instead, Wes does not exist on social media at all, preferring to live a life of relative
01:54anonymity.
01:55Committed to the tour van and the everyman aspect of skateboarding life.
01:59The most elusive skate hero of the digital age, it's an honor that he agreed to let me find
02:05out how he juggles sponsorship responsibilities with a skateboarding career, devoted to an
02:11analog way of life.
02:12Yeah!
02:13Ladies and gentlemen, let's go kick it with the unique Wes Kramer.
02:19Mission Beach is a little strip of paradise.
02:23Right on the beach, I'd say yeah.
02:26Right on the coast of San Diego, the little strip.
02:31On one side you got the beach, on the other side you got the bay.
02:35Come over to the stoop.
02:39Yeah, they still got the WSTE.
02:42Worst skate team ever.
02:44Those are like my friends, my old roommates.
02:47Beautiful place.
02:48Pretty much turned it into a skate house, unintentionally.
02:51Always got friends coming in and out.
02:53So yeah, I had two beds in my room.
02:56Straight hotel life.
02:58Wow.
02:59It was accommodating.
03:00It was good.
03:02Yeah.
03:03Wow.
03:11How you doing?
03:12Yeah.
03:13Chillin'.
03:14Did it close by, Larry?
03:15It looks like it.
03:16Yeah, I live in my car.
03:17I never left.
03:18The stoop was here, but I never left.
03:21I never left.
03:24Yeah, it's good to be back on the old block.
03:26It's only been about two months since we left.
03:29Still feels like a little piece of home.
03:34Me and Darren Navarrete got together, who also lives in Mission Beach.
03:39And we started having sessions on the boardwalk.
03:42Big Wednesday.
03:45Well, all through history of this area, back in the 80s, they built all these ramps.
03:50And at this, down by the roller coaster.
03:52And it was Wednesday.
03:53And it just became this big thing.
03:55Every Wednesday, all the skaters from all over the place would come skate these quarter pipes,
03:58launch ramps.
04:00Usually about three to five hundred kids here on Wednesdays.
04:02Wes lived next door and we were just talking about it.
04:05I was like, man, Big Wednesday was this thing.
04:06Big Wednesday, Big Wednesday.
04:07And so we kind of joked around.
04:09It's like, let's build a quarter pipe.
04:11So we built a quarter pipe.
04:13Let's build another one.
04:14And another one.
04:14And another one.
04:15And another one.
04:15And then people started coming down and coming down.
04:18And yeah, it's a real good time.
04:22We kind of had to stop doing it because we would get called out by the cops on the boardwalk.
04:28We got enough complaints.
04:33And they're just like, all right, just clean up the ramps and stuff.
04:37You know?
04:39The original Big Wednesday ramps.
04:44It's going to be a flat tire.
04:48This is how it was every Wednesday.
04:56Like, San Diego has a healthy skateboarding history.
05:00Like, some of the earliest skateboarding in the world went down here.
05:07And arguably the first skateboard was made here.
05:10But I mean, you know, people have been making all sorts of forms of skating or skateboards.
05:19Sidewalk surfing is definitely present here because, I mean, there's a huge surf culture.
05:24And when the waves were bad, heads wanted to, whatever, catch a car or two.
05:29So skateboards came about.
05:32Dogtown PD 82.
05:34I wouldn't doubt if Jay Adams did that shit.
05:37He used to come down here a lot, dude.
05:39That's a healthy one.
05:39That's a healthy one.
05:40Straight up.
05:41My friend Wayne, local San Diego champion.
05:46This dude, you'll see him, like, I've seen him since I was 14.
05:49Always pushing around San Diego.
05:51Just skating.
05:52Hyping it up.
05:53Soul skating.
05:54You know?
05:56He skates his own way.
05:59One of Wes' favorite skaters, Wayne, showed him the spot.
06:02Back in 93, he ollied it.
06:05And not many people have skated it since then.
06:09Paying respect to the OGs.
06:12From the old school to the new school.
06:28Oh, my God.
06:31Yeah, wait.
06:31Granadas.
06:34Granadas, wow.
06:35I started skating with the Mafia homies when I was about 13.
06:38From going skating with Dan and Smolik and Tyler.
06:46He just became part of the crew, you know?
06:48He was just like a little kid rocking the shirt.
06:51I think I gave him a shirt one time.
06:53He was like, oh, you're Skate Mafia.
06:58We started as a business in 2004, but as a crew, like, 98.
07:05And just a bunch of heads cruising around, skating,
07:08having a good time.
07:09The definition of Skate Mafia is the unification of skateboarders
07:15through skateboarding.
07:16We all got that common bond, the skateboard.
07:20And we're all Skate Mafia.
07:30This is what the guys do on the daily.
07:33Skate spots in the streets, trying to get clips.
07:36Having fun.
07:40We're a dog and you're staying on hot��.
07:44It's steady playing.
07:44The river is awesome.
07:45See you next time.
07:45Ole Gun.
07:45Michael Nass, welcome.
07:51A cool rule.
10:07I would say Skate Mafia stays pretty core.
10:11I think we keep it skateboarding.
10:14We haven't changed.
10:20We make skate videos.
10:21We skate together.
10:22We have a good time.
10:24It's pretty much core to me.
10:47This was my parents' car.
10:49I've been riding it since I was like two.
10:52And then pretty much when I got my license, it was mine.
10:57I was rolling in it up until like two years ago.
11:01The transmission died and I finally had to put it to rest.
11:08Yeah, it opens all right.
11:11I'm not worried about buying a new car just because as long as you got something that's reliable,
11:15good to go.
11:16Bought my mom's car off her.
11:19Easy does it.
11:20Keep it in the fans.
11:20Have a good sesh.
11:25Surfing the Volvo.
11:322014, Trasher Magazine, Skater of the Year.
11:38You can only dream about something like that.
11:45Wes fucking Kramer!
11:48Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes.
11:55This is my room.
11:57Been living in this room since I was four.
12:02Finished all these posters when I was about 16.
12:04And the archives are continuing to pile.
12:10This is my first photo in Thrasher right there.
12:13I was 14.
12:1414 stairs, 14 years young.
12:17Can't wait to skate a 32 now.
12:19At 32.
12:22I've been shooting photos like here and there.
12:25I was just getting disposables for years.
12:29As you can see, I got stacks.
12:32I got prints.
12:35I mean, I was hyped on shooting photos.
12:37I was getting real into it.
12:38And then Instagram came out.
12:40And you go pull out your camera to shoot a photo on a trip.
12:43And then, boom, you got like six or seven iPhones right next to you shooting the same photo.
12:47It's like, ah, diarrhea.
12:51So I just, whatever.
12:52I kind of got over shooting photos.
12:54Just shoot them here and there.
12:55Just whatever.
12:56It's more about the memories.
12:58It's capturing the moment.
13:01I'm just checking to see if I have some rolls to pick up or just one.
13:05A black and white?
13:06I think so.
13:07Did we put it on a USB?
13:08No.
13:09CD?
13:10No.
13:10Drought box.
13:10Prints.
13:11Prints.
13:11Oh, actual prints.
13:12Should be prints.
13:12Is that the same?
13:13Kramer?
13:14K-R-E-M-E-R.
13:20I got some prints.
13:22Let's see what we got here.
13:26Skating's been changing a lot through the decades.
13:29This last decade has been the decade of fucking social media, pretty much.
13:33The decade of the gram, the decade of the just skyrocketing progression.
13:38Nah, it's just too much, man.
13:40I just don't want to spend that much time on my phone.
13:43Just in reality, you see, I don't know, I see other people just getting locked in, you
13:49know, whatever.
13:51Walking in the walls, checking the feed, it's too much.
13:55And then just be somewhere, get that epic selfie and want to post it immediately.
14:02It's like just being the moment.
14:06I think it's about being in the now, you know?
14:10Like talking to people and being able to be in his own space and like, you know, not worry
14:17about that shit.
14:17That shit takes up a lot of time.
14:19He's got a flip phone, he's off the radar.
14:22Just being himself, you know, he doesn't have to like worry about any of that shit.
14:26It's refreshing that Wes sees beyond the cloud chasing, staying true to his roots and
14:31focused on living life in the present.
14:33While many skaters today are motivated by the algorithm, Wes's motivation comes from within.
14:39Amazing.
14:40I got lucky right there.
14:41I got lucky.
14:43You know, he's conscious of the big picture, but all the little things that can weigh on people
14:48on a daily basis, that's not affecting him.
14:51And being around him is really kind of insane because he'll pull you out of it and then you
14:58realize what's going on.
14:59He'll be like, hey, what are you talking about, like, hit the soccer ball, do this, like,
15:03cruise out.
15:04And you're just like, yeah, what is happening, like, you know?
15:07And he'll be that person to kind of like rein you in.
15:10And yeah, in the digital age, it's just, you get too locked in.
15:14At least with a magazine, if you're looking at a magazine, there's an N.
15:19You could be looking at the magazine for two, three hours, might have the same effect as
15:23looking at a screen, but there's an N.
15:26Let's see if we can fit.
15:27We'll put some legit ones in there, you know, ones that are intact.
15:31With the internet, with digital media, there is no N.
15:35Yeah, a little free library.
15:36This is a mini one.
15:37You keep swiping down, something else is going to pop up, you know?
15:41There's no N.
15:43With a magazine, book, it's it's.
15:47We're supplying the neighborhood with some quality skateboard content.
15:51Hopefully someone finds them.
15:52Read some mags.
15:56How do I have GPS?
15:58Just internal?
15:59Ah, GPS, come on.
16:02Nah, just I'll look it up beforehand and see where it's at and just more or less know the roads.
16:09I get lost a lot, but you get to learn the landscape.
16:14Oh, shit.
16:15Is that yours?
16:16It's always 50-50, you know?
16:18It's always hit or miss.
16:19It's like you're either going the right way or the wrong way.
16:22Three lefts make it right.
16:23Then all of a sudden, you're right back on track.
16:25Good to go.
16:29What's up?
16:30What's up?
16:30How y'all caught y'all?
16:33How you doing, B?
16:35That's just his own personal preference.
16:37I mean, he just likes to skate and doesn't want to be mixing with the, you know, doesn't want to
16:43be in the Matrix.
16:46Me neither.
16:47I don't think we, any of us want to be in the Matrix, you know, but hey, business has got
16:53to go on.
16:55Shit, am I still in the Matrix?
16:57Yeah.
16:58Yeah.
16:59Hell yeah, dude.
17:00Yes, sir.
17:01All day.
17:01Yeah, son.
17:03Legend.
17:28I'm so on it, often lost in the car, sipping the car,
17:31if you're not.
17:32Often calling shots, bitches, levels to this ballin'.
17:34Mentally all in, drop my casket, roses fallin'.
17:37AK's calling, shot shootin' to the morning.
17:39Life often boring, no wonder the world adores it.
17:41Pay for it, watch movies and wait for it, bitch, my style is impeccable.
17:45Intellectual gangsta, I'll show you Dolly and Shank with your yoga.
17:47My back is aching, we dope, and my back is dancin'.
17:49Michael Jackson, ten toes down, yeah, I'm all about the action.
17:53I got a habit, made a plan to get the cash in.
17:55Never actin', then the actors sippin', actin', actin'.
17:58I love my life, what the fuck is rappin'?
18:00Fuck your life, what the fuck is crackin'?
18:02Circumstances made me what I am, and what I am's a fuckin' man.
18:05Way too over your head to ever understand.
18:07Third eye, work mind, bird eyes, two eyes, so I.
18:10Don't got no time, no waste, I struck a gold mind.
18:12Showtime, three on the clock, watch me throw time.
18:15I'm O-Tom, with the hip hop, I'm the dope one.
18:19Yeah, dude, sick, son, yeah.
18:22Checkin' the feed?
18:23I made it up the fucks.
18:26All right, squad, I probably should go paint some walls.
18:29I've been comin' to this place since I was 14, for sure.
18:32They've been comin' here consistently,
18:33because the burrito's been consistent.
18:36Solid rap, they know what they're doin' over here.
18:38What's up, Gubs?
18:40How you doin'?
18:40I didn't recognize the whip, bro.
18:42I know, right, nah, I rode in the van, chillin'.
18:44How you doin'?
18:45How you doin'?
18:45The Volvo's out of commission.
18:48Yeah?
18:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:50It's in front of my parents' house right now.
18:52I got it, dude.
18:53Yeah, downtown.
18:54We got the Cali B right here.
18:57What makes it a California burrito?
19:00I don't know.
19:00Just the fact that I was in Cali.
19:03But burrito is not really a Mexican thing.
19:06California.
19:06Yeah, I guess burritos are from California.
19:09You won't find too many burritos out in Mexico.
19:12You will, but just different styles.
19:14Yeah.
19:15How is it?
19:16Amazing.
19:17There we go.
19:20Carne asada, fries, guacamole, pico de gallo.
19:27The bomb.
19:30Yeah, yeah.
19:31Sure.
19:35Maybe an effect in my career in a negative way without having social media is just bumming
19:41out my sponsors, you know?
19:42Like, they'd probably appreciate it if I, if I drive the feed a little more.
19:49I don't know.
19:49Like, just, that would help them out a lot.
19:51I see that aspect.
19:53But it wouldn't help me.
19:57Man, I'm sticking to the principles.
20:00I don't want to, like, just give them that piece of my life.
20:05Like, I don't want to, I don't want to get caught in the world of, hey, look what I'm
20:09doing and you're not, you know?
20:11What the fuck?
20:12It's a popularity contest.
20:15Like, I'll lose everything, whatever.
20:18And, like, that's the stupid reason to lose everything.
20:19Just because of social media?
20:21What?
20:21Boring.
20:22If that's the case, then I'm just going to go skate the other way.
20:26No worries.
20:27Make it work, you know?
20:29Life will go on.
20:43Like, a lot of people's excuse, they tell me, like, yeah, you know, like, social media's
20:46crazy, but I just do it for work.
20:48You know?
20:49It's like, yeah, work.
20:49Cool.
20:50That's great.
20:50Like, teach his own.
20:52You know?
20:52Like, make a living.
20:54Like, eat.
20:55That's all that matters.
20:56Eat.
20:56But just don't get carried away.
21:00Yeah, he's always been that way.
21:02Kind of like, against all the new stuff, you know?
21:06You know, he grew up in a time in the 90s when, you know, we had, like, a code and
21:10a lifestyle
21:10we lived by, and he, you know, he sticks to that, and that's why he saw it.
21:15But he rolls with the punches.
21:17He does what he has to do, you know?
21:18Film HD.
21:19Yeah, let's do it.
21:21I think he knows what's going on in terms of sticking with the times.
21:29But I think he's a fan of the old school.
21:31Old times are good, you know?
21:36Smooth.
21:36Ooh!
21:40Shakespeare in me is life, passion, freedom, um, movement, just rolling.
21:50Imagination is creation.
21:52The movement of movements, everything is nothing.
21:56Nothing is everything.
21:58Of course.
22:01Of course.
22:02Of course.
22:02You
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