So Sean, how is your life going at the moment?
Life’s great! I am just travelling a lot, skating lots. Hanging out and having fun.

I am just asking because it seems like the past two years were pretty intense for you. From a top amateur to pro ranks at Girl skateboards, interviews for all the major skate mags and so on...
Yeah, I went pro last year for Girl and I was travelling so much. Basically I was on the road for eight months so I was travelling more than ever before in my entire life. That was fun and Girl has always been  really supportive. They helped me a lot. It was a very intense year...

By the way, how did you end up riding for Girl anyway?
I sent them a tape, and then I got a call  from Sam, Girl’s team manager. I was really excited, I was stoked.

How were you feeling back then when you sent the tape to Girl? I mean were you a bit nervous or scared? Or like fuck it, I don’t care what they think about it at all?
Actually, a friend of mine sent the tape over, because I was thinking I wasn`t good enough at all and you know Girl was always on top of the line, they have always been the people that I looked up to. So when they called me I was so stoked and couldn`t really believe it at first. I mean if you know that they got your tape and you are waiting and hope that they say something good, it’s just crazy...

When did you see or meet some of the team riders from  Girl for the first time?
The first time I saw those guys was at the 7th street spot. It is a bank to bench spot and pretty famous. So I went there and saw Rick Howard, Mike Carroll, and Gino flying by so I just sat there and felt like I was sitting at a demo. I was really intimidated and was basically just skating in the corner which might have weirded them out a little bit but I was super scared to skate in front of them. But the more time I spent with them, the easier it got and they helped me out a lot and now of course it is more like they are all my friends and we travel together and all that. And the trips are the best thing ever... it is so much fun to travel around with the family.

What are your next plans, what is on your to do list at the moment?
At the moment, I mean it is pretty far out, but there is a new Chocolate video in the works which I am filming for and Etnies is talking about doing a video as well. So basically I am just out there, filming a lot and trying to have good parts in both videos.

By the way, how old are you?
19

I am only asking because I wanted to find out if you had finished school or if you just skipped it for skateboarding. You know, you were mentioning earlier that you were on the road for almost eight months, so I could imagine that there is no time for anything else really!
I started travelling when I was like 15 and the school definitely had a problem with it so I stopped going there... (Laughs), which kinda sucked and I don’t recommend that to anybody. I mean I definitely plan on going back to school and will try to get my diploma and hopefully maybe even take something college-wise online and just see what`s up. But right now it is just skating....

What do your parents say about that?
They`re pissed...

How could you work that out then? I mean when I was 15, if I’d have told my parents I was leaving school for skateboarding, dude, that would have been no fun at all!  So how did you manage that? Right now they are probably very proud of you, because you earn money with skateboarding…
It was definitely tough. I mean both my parents were pretty mad at me for a while. But then they really supported me. I mean they were throwing hands at me and not talking about school and all that. But you know I have three older brothers and I think by the time I was 15 I was already a bit ahead of other 15 year old kids. I was always looking up to my older brothers and saw how they lived their lives. It helped me a lot and my parents gave me a lot of freedom and let me do my own thing. Now that it is working out pretty well for me and I got a steady paycheck coming in, they`re really excited and love what I do...

Do you now live by yourself? Moved out and got your own place?
Yeah, I bought my own house in Kansas City. It is a 3-bedroom house.

In Kansas? Is that where you’re from?
Yeah, I am from Kansas City. My mum during this time was always going back and forth between New York and Kansas City and she wanted to just move back permanently. So she moved into my house, my brother and his girlfriend also moved in, and now we have like a little tight family vibe in my house, which is awesome. My dad lives ten minutes down the street, my grandma just a couple blocks away. Like where I live is really awesome, I have a lot of fun. My mother and brother take care of the house...

How often are you there anyway?
I went back just randomly last year. I was home for three days and then left for a month. Came back for three days and left again...  it got pretty hectic last year but by the end of the year, when Thanksgiving and Christmas were coming up, I definitely was like, yeah, I wanna get back home for two months and just wanted to hang out and be home.

Is there good stuff to skate around in Kansas?
Yeah there is so much good stuff to skate. You know here in LA they have so many good spots but they are all so spread out and you spend so much time in a car, it is crazy.
Back home in Kansas six of my friends have houses in downtown, I just go stay with them, and we just skate around. There is no traffic like in LA. So back home we can skate six spots a day, while over here the most is two. Whenever I tell people that I am from Kansas they think I live on a farm, lots of grass and no real city.  But there is a good city and a really, really good skate scene. And I don`t know, in Kansas we all know each other and if someone does something rad we all know about it. I feel that the people are different, but I mean every place has its own characters, like assholes, stupid idiots and nice people. I feel that people are pretty nice and listen to you over in Kansas. I love the Midwest. I mean I love California too, but Kansas City is my home, you know. And that`s were I wanna be.

Besides skateboarding what are you into?
When I am not skating I love bowling… it is so much fun.

What’s your highest score?
It is around 210.

As a last question because time is running out here, if you could choose one song while skating around the streets what would it be and why?
I mean it changes a lot, but right now after watching the Alien Workshop video I am pretty hyped on Jake Johnson’s song. In his part.... I think it is Animal Collective but it is just the combination of Jake`s skating and the music that really makes me happy and motivates me.

words. foley
Photos. gabe morford: seq / ben colen: action shots & seq. / Alex Flach: Portraits