10.19.06 I said it once, and I'll say it again; Mike Carroll is you favorite skater's favorite skater... still. if I need to explain why, then you probably push mongo. since the days of H-Street, Mike C's trademark style and constant progression have given him a fruitful career filled with groundbreaking video parts and he's even started a few companies along the way. I caught Mike at the Girl compound recently and he agreed to sit down with the SGV and give us his perspective on music, fashion, and whether or not he's STILL RELEVANT.

SGV: BLACKSHEEP? some ol' Similac Child?
CARROLL: that's exactly the one! not the remix though, just the original version.

SGV: dude, you're a skateboard mogul. you got the board company, the shoe company... you even design the shoes, right?
CARROLL: No, not really. I have ideas but I don't really design. Aaron Hoover and a couple other guys do all that. me and Rick (Howard) put in our input on what we like or what we don't like. but Aaron is pretty much on the same page as us so we don't really have to do much. we just gotta worry about finishing up our video parts.

SGV: so whats the latest trend in skateshoes? puffy tongues bad, vulcanized soles good?
CARROLL: yeah, I guess vulcanized is the new cool thing... that I guess we are a part of. I can't really say... I'm not mad about it. it's something I always wanted to do. it just so happens that we're doing at the same time as everyone else. it sucks but it's cool. it's a hell of a lot better than a big puffy shitty shoe. it's a good trend, not a bad one.

SGV: have you been in stores like Active lately? they look and feel like Urban Outfitters. what I'm saying is that more than ever, people that have nothing to do with skateboarding are buying skate gear. what's your opinion on that?
CARROLL: you can't stop it. people have always been into skateboarding... (I guess) fashion. I think the stores kinda progressed and became a lot more presentable and more attractive to the normal person. people don't feel all weird walking in... it doesn't feel like a different world to them. it's cool, makes sense. It all depends on the intentions of those actual stores. are they just using skateboarding for the time being or are they gonna stick with skateboarding if it ever takes a dump again? so it can go either way. I don't know... all I know is that we're trying to finish filming for the new Lakai video. hehehe.

SGV: when we were talking earlier you said that you're 31 years old now, which sounded old to me when I was 23.
CARROLL: didn't you hear? 31 is the new 21.

SGV: what I wanted to ask was, at what point do you stop progressing at skateboarding?
CARROLL: ummm... a couple years ago.

SGV: hahaha... stupid! like when you were in your early 20's did you think you would still be killing it at age 31?
CARROLL: I mean when I was 16 I definitely couldn't imagine it. I remember thinking it was weird to see dudes thats were 28 that still skated. but I also remember a time when I though 18 was old. it's weird because I've always kinda felt older... there was always that thought in the back of my head saying, "should I quit? am I too old?" and then next thing you know it's 5 years later and you're still skating.

SGV: but you're still very relevant in skateboarding.
CARROLL: you think I'm relevant? I think it depends on who you ask. I'm sure there are people out there that don't think I am. I'm not jumping down 16 stairs or shit like that where you have to stair count. I'm not sure what people consider to be relevant. I don't know... I'm just trying to "do me". but at the same time I'm not gonna try to prove a point and push some style of skateboarding that I think should be relevant or appreciated more.

SGV: so I heard mini ramps are back. I just saw that sick ass footage of you and Koston skating the Brooklyn Projects mini.
CARROLL: yeah, the footage made everything look a lot cooler than it should. we were just out there testing out Ty's new fisheye lens. it kinda sucked because I didn't know Ty was gonna put the footage out there...

SGV: otherwise you would have really killed it?
CARROLL: I'm not saying I would have went off or anything, but I wouldn't have been doing shit like axel stalls just to see how they look on the camera. but it's cool, I think that little video came out good. the way he filmed the ramp and all the grafitti looked sick. (pause) oh look, Mr. Aaron Meza just walked up... you got any questions Aaron?
Aaron: What makes Carroll tick? silicone or saline? hey, we're gonna go skate San Pedro (as he walks toward the warehouse)

SGV: you can skate all that gnarlyness at the San Pedro park?
CARROLL: no way. see, that's another thing, whenever I go there I get bumbed. When I go I'm always hoping it's gonna be empty because the locals there just kill it. makes you wanna skate it as good as them. you wanna have the fun you see them having. and then you feel so... limited. know what I mean?

SGV: you've got companies to run and you've got parts to film. what are you day to day duties like at Girl / Chocs / everything else?
CARROLL: not that much. I can definitely be here a lot more. Rick does a lot of stuff. everyone here kinda has everything covered. I kinda just come in and give my input on stuff.

SGV: that's cool. gives you time to concentrate on skating.
CARROLL: Rick does the same thing but he works a lot more. I wish I could help out with what he does... take some of the load of his shoulders and give him more slack.

SGV: so I take it you're not a control freak.
CARROLL: actually I think I am a control freak to a certain extent. I think that's part of the reason we started this whole thing. there were all kinds of reasons for us starting up Girl, but basically our ideas and the way we thought things should be is what motivated it. so I guess I'm a little bit of a control freak.

SGV: you guys have a huge Pro roster now. I remember for a few years that team growth was kinda stagnant then all of a sudden lots of people were getting put on and becoming pro. what happened?
CARROLL: I think there wasn't too much movement because everybody was at a pretty equal point. there was no point on adding anybody on and nobody was leaving. we were pretty much set. but I think that as you evolve or grow as a company... some guys get older, some guys aren't that into skating anymore, or some guys have opportunities to skate for other companies. that opens up room to put other guys on. it's just the way things evolve. but I do remember feeling weird the first couple times we put someone new on the company. I remember when we first put on McCrank... that was definitely a new experience. a lot of the guys didn't know him, but Eric (Koston) new him. but everything worked out cool.

learn about the legend and visit some of Mike C's sponsors
www.crailtap.com
www.girlskateboards.com
www.lakai.com