Thrasher Magazine

Epicly Trailer'd-An Interview with Patrick O'Dell
by Schmitty

FIrst of all, how old is Epicly Later’d, the blog site? How did that begin and where did the name come from?
It’s a year older than Epicly Trife. The name came from Newport, Rhode Island. I hope the bros there arn’t mad I geeked the lingo.

How did you get hooked up with Vice and VBS?
They asked me to be the photo editor of Vice after I stopped shooting skate photos. Then they started VBS and asked me to do a skate show.

How has Spike helped or influenced?
We bro down on the phone from time to time. But he has always been my favorite skate photographer and skate filmer. I grew up looking at his skateboard stuff.

What are some things you have learned or gotten better at since you’ve started?
We added more staff: Chris Grosso, Lauren Cynmon, and Kelly Hudson. They do almost everything. And I guess we figured out our direction.

Did the Cardiel epic response make you nervous that you may have pushed the bar too high to make new ones?
Not really. Cardiel is amazing, but there is so much to tell in the history of skateboarding, and John’s story is just one of them.

Who is someone you haven’t done that you would like to?
Lennie Kirk, Kareem Campbell, Ocean Howell, Antwaun Dixon, Matt Hensley, Natas…there are so many.

When telling someone’s story, do you ever think about a line that you shouldn’t cross or dig too deep in one’s personal?
Yeah, I usually don’t put anything in there that the skater doesn’t want. I can think of a few lines we didn’t cross in some of the episodes that are out.

How much preperation goes into interviewing someone? Or do you just shoot the shit until you feel you’ve gotten enough?
I usually rewatch all their parts on YouTube. Then, yeah, we shoot the shit. Its funny though, I have a huge skate video blind spot for the years after 2002. I guess when you are young everything is so major, and then you get older and it’s hard to care about the new guys.

How much do you pay attention to messageboards and comments to your episodes?
I read them sometimes. I like hearing what people think, but I try not to let it cloud my judgement too much. I mean, in the very beginning, it bummed me out how negative and judgemental people were, but then I think about all the people I admire and respect that get shitted on everyday. So learned you’ve got to have thick skin and stick to your guns.

Which episode this new season will be closest to the magnitude of the Cardiel episodes?
It isn’t filmed all the way, but I am hoping for a huge Lance Mountain episode to cap the whole thing off. Maybe a Doug Brown episode?