Earlier this year our team rider Nick Stannerz had the opportunity to interview the legend Jerry Hsu. Born December 17, 1981 and currently living in San Jose, California. Jerry has been involved in skateboarding for many years so it was a pleasure to get the opportunity to ask some questions. If your not familiar with Jerry then get familiar! Have a read below to find out what he replied and about his move to Chocolate and much, much more.....
Nick: Mr Jerry Hsu, steez isn't a good enough compliment for your mad skills on a skateboard and character off the board. You have done some serious sh#t over the years, from Osiris âThe Stormâ To Enjoi âBag Of Suckâ which ended up you winning the Transworld best video partâ¦â¦must be stoked about that right?
Jerry: I'm glad to still have this job, yes.
Nick: Itâs not any new news that you have left Osiris for Emerica which resulted in your epic Stay Gold Part but you have recently moved from Enjoi to Chocolateâ¦. It must have been upsetting leaving your good friends at Enjoi like Ben Raemers and Barletta?
Jerry: Everyone on the team is my friend so yeah it wasn't easy to go my separate way, but there are no hard feelings and I'm always glad to skate with those guys.
Nick: So now youâre part of the Chocolate family which is bloody amazing what can we expect in the future, could you give us any secrets on missions to come featuring the company and yourself?
Jerry: Everyone is helping to plan 20 years of Chocolate so that's the main thing coming out. I donât have any personal projects with Chocolate right now, just skating with my new team mates and going on trips this year. I'm focused on Made 2 at Emerica so Chocolate is nice enough to let me do that.
Nick: How did the idea behind the chocolate Beavis and Butthead for yourself and Marc Johnson come about?
Jerry: I really had nothing to do with it. An artist named Rob Mathieson sent in the Butthead version of me to Girl and they liked it so they asked him to do an MJ version too. I think they came out just right.
Nick: Since the move to Chocolate Skateboards has this changed the crew you cruise with and who does this involve anyway?
Jerry: Yeah I go out with Ben Colen a lot (girl/choco photographer) so I get to meet up with people on the team more like Vincent and Stevie and I go skate with MJ as much as I can. But as far as my regular crew of people, that hasn't changed really.
Nick: You've visited Manchester last year for an Emerica Demo at the Pumpcage, did you manage to see much of the city and if so what did you think? You should also make plans to come back and visit, more than welcome to pop into the store for a brew (tea) or coffee!
Jerry: I enjoyed Manchester and I would love to come back for tea.
Nick: Manchester has also produced some great music in its time like Joy Division, The Smiths, Stone Roses, Broke n English and DJ Dogger but no Elvis, is it true you have been nicknamed âThe Asian Elvisâ ahaâ¦.. How did this come about?
Jerry: I think it comes from when Matt Eversole and Chris Avery made the first tilt mode video and the just put that name in front of my part. I have no idea why and it doesn't make any sense to me.
http://vimeo.com/41333997
Nick: With the photography Instagram has been a huge hit in the past years but how did the name @internetfamous come to mind?
Jerry: Most people take that name literally which I will never understand. I wanted to have a name that was slightly derogatory and glib. I felt like people seeking out and begging for internet fame was so rampant and pathetic I would name it after them. It's basically meaningless.
Now get your viewing eyes on and peep some of our favorote Jerry Hsu sections below-
Emerica 'Stay Gold' B-Side.
http://youtu.be/jMFdQP3v3wY
Chocolate Skateboards Welcome...
http://youtu.be/taeInVnuEbk
Jerry Hsu & Louie Barletta - Osiris 'Subject To Change'
http://youtu.be/U7zC-m1fz70
Nick: Many thanks from the Black Sheep Store for answering these long winded questions ahaâ¦. it is much appreciated! To finish off with we would like your quote of the year so far? Thanks again and we wish you luck for the future and your time at Chocolate Skateboards. Respect man!
Jerry: Iâm still waiting for my quote of the year. Thanks so much.
I hope you have enjoyed getting to know Jerry more and we would like to thank him and Chocolate for making this interview happen. It mustn't have been easy making time to speak to Stannerz of all people so lots of respect and hope all goes well with your future at Chocolate and we're very excited to see more action from Jerry in future!
Lastly massive thanks to Form Distribution for hooking this one up.
I hope you have enjoyed getting to know Jerry more and we would like to thank him and Chocolate for making this interview happen. It mustn't have been easy making time to speak to Stannerz of all people so lots of respect and hope all goes well with your future at Chocolate and we're very excited to see more action from Jerry in future!
Lastly massive thanks to Form Distribution for hooking this one up.
Jerry Hsu - 'Wheels Of Fortune' 411 Video Magazine.
http://youtu.be/GfyBm7pghBk