[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photo courtesy of_Stance
Special thanks_Stance Japan

VHSMAG (V)：　How did you start skating?

Nasty Neckface (N)：　My older brothers skated so a skateboard was always lying around, I've been riding a board since I could remember. Skateboarding is good because you don't need anybody to do it.

V：　Skater you got influenced by?

N：　Mark Gonzales forever because he's the best and looks the best doing it. John Cardiel for full power and full speed. Those two will forever be the greatest ever!!!

V：　How did you get into art?

N：　Being bored in my hometown. Shitty weather means no skating, so I would just stay in and draw all day and night. Also I'm from a really bad city. Drawing kept me off heavy drugs and gang bangin'.

V：　How did you get the name Nasty Neckface?

N：　A witch gave it to me in my dreams, that's the real story.

V：　Artist you're influenced by?

N：　I love very bad art. Homeless people that sell art on shitty cardboard is my favorite.

V：　What and when did you think that you could make a living off of art? Was there a decisive moment?

N：　Yeah, when I got my first big check.

V：　What was your first gig as artist?

N：　First big gig was for Supreme doing a few shirt designs. My name was all over New York City and they asked me to do some shirts for them, they wanted just simple line work like my stuff on the street.

V：　I heard you've refused gigs even if the pay was good. What are some things you keep in mind when working with people or brands?

N：　If you're a real artist it ain't always about the money. Ask yourself what you would think of an artist you look up to did the gig, would you be happy? If the answer is yes then do it, if not then don't.

V：　I heard your very first board graphic was for the Gonz. Tell us how that happened.

N：　Gonz rolled up on me in New York City on a bike with no seat. He asked if I was Neckface then told me to make a board for him.

V：　The collab work you're most proud of?

N：　Proud of all my work.

V：　Tell us about Thrasher cover you did.

N：　Jake Phelps asked me to do the cover of the mag. He knew I was a real skateboarder and that's why I got the cover. That's why we were friends.

V：　How did you meet the guys at Bakerboys?

N：　Through Spanky. I met when I was 18.

V：　How was filming for Baker 4? How long did that boardslide on the picnic table take?

N：　Took me three months because I got broke off and had to heal. I lost 25 pounds, then went and got it.

V：　You were tagging Jake Phelps' name on Sunset Car Wash bank. What was he like to you?

N：　He was my friend. I will never stop writing his name around the world.

V：　What's the best piece of advice or quote from Jake that you remember?

N：　Shit gets bad, nah. Shit gets worse.
 

V：　Tell us about the projects you have done with Stance.

N：　Everything I've done with Stance has been legendary! The project we do always come out really sick!

V：　Best thing about working with Stance?

N：　Free socks! As a skateboarder the number one thing you gotta take care of is your feet! Fresh socks are the best feeling in the world when you're on the road doing miles.

V：　What's the most memorable project with Stance? Tell us about the event you did with them as well.

N：　Definitely my Halloween show in 2018 called “No Turning Back” had a bunch of sick art and art installations up, a haunted house that my family had been doing for 45 years. It was the last time Jake Phelps played in the band “Bad Shit.” It was the most perfect night ever! Thanks to Stance for letting me have full creative control. That shit was sick!

 

Online limited item, Neck Face RIP L/S Tee

 

V：　What's lined up for you in the near future?

N：　Keep making shit. If everyone expects something from me I'll find new ways to flip it and keep it interesting and new. Nothing worse than seeing someone do the same shit for years, especially an artist not growing.

 

Nasty Neckface

Born in 1984, in Stockton, California. Neckface is known for his fearless demons graffiti that you see in the street worldwide. He just appeared in Baker 4, as an artist and a skater.
@nastyneckface