[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photo_Rob Taro
Special thanks_Kento Takahashi

VHSMAG (V)：　So what brought you to Tokyo?

Tom Karangelov (T)：　I thought of a concept to come to Japan and reached out to a certain person and he gave me a spot in Japan, and I had help with Kento Takahashi and Rob Taro to find it. I literally pitched to Jamie Owens at Closer Magazine a whole trip to come look at the spot 5,000 miles away to see if this would work and make a little story out of it. So I pretty much had this bad photo and stared at it for three months, and then we went today and it was really hard to skate, but it worked. I've never done anything with Jamie officially, so it's cool to do this.

V：　You guys are going to Osaka after this and try to meet up with Gou Miyagi, right?

T：　Yeah, I'm trying to do that. Actually he gave me the spot. I kind of grew up watching him skate, and I feel like I've been influenced by him for I guess 15, 20 years. And I learned about Rob from having an online interview and stuff, so I just reached out to him. I reached out to FOS, and then I have known Kento for a little bit. So with all those people connected, it kind of made this little idea happen. So yeah, I'm going to try, but I don't think it'll happen. He doesn't really owe me anything. I'm just a fan of his.

V：　Okay, let's talk about your history. Was Zero's Cold War your first video?

T：　So before that there was a magazine called Slap, and they had a contest and I entered my footage. I met people like Mark Whitely and Jamie Thomas, and then they told me if I wanted to be serious about skating, just keep filming. So yeah, technically the Zero video. I had filmed for that video for four years, so it feels like a long time ago.

V：　What about 3D? You were on 3D for a moment.

T：　Yeah, I quit Zero to skate for 3D, and actually I was in China on a trip and I got a text from Brian Anderson saying that he was going to end 3D. I literally was on a trip and woke up with no board sponsor. That was crazy. And then because 3D and Skate Mental were together under the same thing, so I naturally rode for Skate Mental.

V：　How did you get hooked up with WKND?

T：　While filming for the New Balance video, String Theory in 2019, I was with Jordan Taylor a lot. He skates for WKND and I was around Grant Yansura and Jordan and our friend Alex Schmidt. It happened really naturally, and it's crazy. One of the most natural things that's happened to me in skateboarding.

V：　Speaking of WKND, I love all the skits. I remember you had one where you played Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.

T：　I had to study that movie to act and talk like Patrick Bateman. But yeah, that was crazy. I'm not really an actor, but Grant is really good at bringing that out in you and he gives you a lot of direction. Nervous for sure, but now I feel way more comfortable.

V：　What's your favorite skit from WKND?

T：　They had this one where they copied the movie GoodFellas. Everyone's in the mafia for some reason that gets really funny. Jordan's such a good actor, it's crazy. He always makes me laugh, but in that one, he makes me laugh a lot.

V：　Speaking of Jordan, you guys had Cutting Corners on Thrasher. Are you still working on that series?

T：　I'm about to start doing it again, but Jordan hasn't been able to skate. He's been really hurt so I'm going to do it with Spanky. We're going to start filming pretty soon. We have a couple pretty cool guests that we want to use. That's a cool opportunity to get to do that. They're really fun and we do 'em quick. Filming a video part is a lot of pressure and it takes forever, but those little videos keep skating fun.

V：　From watching that series, it seems like you find your own spots. You don't really go for iconic spots.

T：　No. I feel like I have nothing to bring to the table at an iconic spot. My skating doesn't really work there. Like at a famous handrail or a hubba, and I don't think I ever really liked it when people skated just that. I liked when people found weird things. It kind of feels like hunting for treasure or something. It's almost like the feeling of when you get a trick, you're really happy. I get that feeling when I find something, so I get the feeling twice, like, whoa, I found this, and then, whoa, I filmed it.

V：　I assume since there are so many skaters in California, it's hard to find new spots.

T：　Yeah, it's really hard, but I'm lucky I don't have to work a job right now. I spend a lot of my time doing that. If I lived here in Tokyo, I would drive every street, every alley I would go.

V：　I really enjoy watching that kind of skateboarding. Is there anything going on with New Balance Numeric?

T：　I have a colorway coming out with Museum.

V：　Nice. Can you talk about Museum?

T：　So Museum is like my friend Matt Bublitz and I. We've been best friends since we were little kids, and we've continued to skate and make videos together. During Covid we were like, wouldn't it be cool if we could try and start something? Not fully a clothing company, but I guess it's going in that direction. And we started making shirts and hats and random stuff, and then hoodies. And then I skate for Thunder and they asked me to do a collab. We had a lot of fun doing that with a payphone.

　And then New Balance asked me for a colorway and I was working on my own. And then they were like, would you want to give up your colorway to do a Museum shoe? And I was like, hell yeah. It involves my friends, not just me. So now we've been working really hard on that. I think we're having two videos, one's already filmed.

V：　Looking forward to that. Last question. It has nothing to do with skateboarding, but what's your favorite movie?

T：　It changes, but Blade Runner. The OG Blade Runner, not the new one. There's something about the way Ridley Scott filmed it and the environment. I just like how dark it is. It's more than just the movie. I get a feeling watching it and the soundtrack is crazy. I would say Tokyo has Blade Runner vibes. I remember feeling that when I first came here, it was rainy and dark. We were around Shibuya and there's little restaurants in the alleys and smoke coming out, and it's really tight. So yeah, I would say Blade Runner.

※Editor's note: He was able to meet Gou Miyagi for a brief moment. Check out Tom K's Japan story in the summer issue of Closer.

Tom Karangelov
@tomkarangelov

Born 1988 in Long Beach, California. He's known for his imaginative use of spots and unique trick selection. The next issue of Closer, to be released in the summer, will feature a story on his stay in Japan.