Interview & Photography by Robin Pailler | Additional photography by Evan Schell
A lot has changed in recent years for Alex Olson.
From moving back to California and becoming obsessed with surfing, becoming a father (with another kid on the way), to becoming a sound composer (for surf edits) and pretty much calling it a day as a professional skateboarder—we felt it was the perfect time to sit down and catch up.
Call it the Alex Olson surf interview.
How’s fatherhood?
Fatherhood’s a lot. I mean, it’s amazing, but it also kinda robs you of your identity, of what you used to do. Everything’s changed. It’s great, but it’s a lot.
Has it changed your outlook on the world? Are you less cynical?
I think it makes you more cynical if anything. It makes you more cynical because you look at people and think, what are you doing with your fucking time? I literally have zero time and have to be more deliberate with my time than you can ever imagine. It’s a very big adjustment to what you’re used to, or at least to what I was used to. And then there’s also trying to figure out money. Economics is whole other strategy to figure out as well, on top of having a family. I don’t get paid for what I used to do, so now I gotta figure that out. I guess I’ve basically been reborn myself. It’s a lot.
How do you find a balance between raising a kid and being artistic, and making money?
I don’t know. It doesn’t really exist. At least in America I don’t think it does. Everything’s so expensive that you can’t just squeeze by or kinda get by and live a modest life. You have to make over $150k. $150,000 is squeezing by now. But look, no one wants to hear this. This is too much of an adult conversation.
I feel like just existing in America is at least $100 a day.
Yeah life’s expensive. It’s weird because it happened so fast. After Covid it just went boom and you’re like, “What the fuck?” It’s normally like a ten year adjustment, whereas this happened in like, three years. And you’re just left thinking, “Um, is everything alright?”
You seem pretty healthy and like you’re in a sound place mentally?
Do I?
Well, I think so. You seem to lead a generally healthy lifestyle compared to perhaps back in the day. Are you grateful you had a child at a time when you have deeper mental clarity?
Yes and no. I mean I’m glad that you think that. I hate that it comes to money but I don’t have money coming in right now so I gotta figure this out on top of raising a kid and that just creates a whole pressure. And then the whole relationship with your partner. It gets to be a lot. Everything changes. You don’t get to see your friends. And like, the waves are good but you can’t go. And I know it changes once daycare starts, you kind of get your identity back. But dude, I’m so out of shape now.
Oh really?
It’s dependent on if he sleeps in his room or with Mom. Like if he sleeps with Mom I don’t have to shush him back to sleep, I can just do whatever. Try and have some form of a routine. And I need a routine because I’m so ADD, it helps ground me.
I was going to ask how it’s affected the brands. Bianca (Chandon), 917, how are those going?
They’re still going. I mean we’re in a weird time where people don’t have much money to spend on stuff. I mean, at least not on my brands. I have two days at work and the rest of the time is spent at home trying to work on stuff. I mean it’s only one other person helping me. You can only do so much. There’s a lot weighing on me right now.
How did you segue into producing music? I see you’ve produced audio for Stab edits recently?
How did that happen? My friend Alberto (Bof) knew those guys and worked on some stuff for Stephanie Gilmore and the Acid Test stuff. I think he told them I make music and whatever, and they used some of my music. I was making music anyway. But then during Covid there was no responsibilities and I was just locked in with my Grandpa and my Dad. So I had time and a little fucking studio in the living room. So I figured out how to make it a little more…polished, maybe? I was just getting better and better and then I had a kid and fucked it. All of that went out the window. But yeah, Dylan (Roberts) from Stab hit me up and it was kind of all through friends.
Is producing and writing music something you want to do more of?
I mean yeah, it’s fun. It’s cool. It’s a job. Gives you a reason to work in music. I’m not at all a ‘musician’, but I can sit there and hammer out stuff fairly easily. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I’m not proficient at guitars or playing pianos but I’ve studied since I was 24 or something. I think I was 25 when I started taking piano lessons. This was back when I had money. Fuck, I hate that it keeps coming back to that. But I would take piano lessons and then it was like, fuck, this is getting expensive. Just to practice. But I would go three days a week for like a month thinking, yeah I’ll get good this way, and I slowly learnt that you actually need to sit and practice every day.
Is that part of your ADHD? I feel like with your hobbies, it’s all or nothing.
That’s how it goes; that’s how my brain works. People think I have an addictive personality but it’s not that. Maybe making the drugs would be interesting but it’s not the taking part. It’s more figuring out the minutiae of something. Like with cars it would be, ‘Ok I need to understand the engine.’ Like at first I would be looking at a family car and then being like, ‘Oh, I don’t really understand cars, let me figure out how cars work. Oh maybe I’ll figure out how to work on an engine. This seems pretty simple’. And they are, once you understand it. But standing further away, it all seems so complex.
And now you seem so hyped on surfing. Which I guess started in New York. But it’s always been in your family right?
So my uncle shaped in the 80s and airbrushed for Wave Tools. Him and my Dad both surfed since they were ten or something. And I was just around. I grew up in Malibu, slightly. Whatever. I tried, so many different times, and just didn’t get it. I hated it. And then there was New York. I think I went out with Christian from Token and we just surfed foam tops. Oh you know what it was. I went left for the first time at a wave pool and was like, ‘Ohh, this is what’s like?’ Because everything’s backside. So I guess the introduction to surfing going backside was probably why I didn’t like it. So I went frontside on a wave and it was like, ‘Wow!’ And it just clicked and I was like, ‘I want to get good at this.’ And that’s a sad obsession. That’s like the worst obsession because I watch surfing and I’m like ‘I know I can do that. I know the body mechanics of that.’ But then when you actually surf, you’re like, ‘Why?’ I just need a little more time…
Which you don’t have now.
Exactly! Which kills me. Literally eats me away. I’m like Eeyore without his tail now. It sucks.
Who do you surf with when you do get to surf.
At this point I just go by myself. I don’t give a fuck. It’s actually easier to go by myself. During Covid, a load of us would go out. But then it would get annoying because the crew is kinda timid when it gets bigger, when it’s actually easier, you know what I mean? I’m talking five foot, when it’s just decent. Not like a huge swell or anything. But my whole trajectory changed and then I started making surfboards which is like, this whole other obsession.
Oh, you did? How’s that going?
It’s good. I mean, it’s expensive. But I learnt on the computer during Covid. I had all this free time so I was like, ‘Let’s try and figure this out.’ But there’s this big stigma when it’s computer-shaped and not hand-shaped. And I understand the romanticism of that, using a planer. But I sat there and you can visually see it and understand rail lines and rockers. I have such a better understanding now. And then actually going surfing, you can kinda tailor something to your ability. Because I was all like, ‘I gotta be on fish, I gotta be on this.’ And now I have such a different approach and idea of what people should be on. It’s great. I love it. I wish I could do more of it.
But you don’t have time.
Or money. That one’s a fucked up obsession. And also you’re decaying slowly as a human so it’s like, ‘I’m getting less strong. I need a bigger board, I need a longer board.’ But if you understand your weaknesses you can make a really good board. I mean I’ve made boards for my Dad. But they were so fucking small. But yeah anyways, you better get a tent because we could talk about that forever.
Surf spots. Where do you tend to surf?
Huntington mostly.
Why is that?
It’s just better. More consistent. LA sucks for surfing.
I guess I thought you might go to Malibu.
I mean I get why you would go to Malibu. There’s a whole culture and a whole history. And you’re living this Miki Dora lifestyle that everyone romanticises or whatever. But I fucking hate surfing there. It’s super packed and at least with the Huntington….the more competent everyone is, the easier it is. It gets a little more competitive. But Malibu just sucks because you get dropped in on, no matter fucking what.
And Ventura?
Oh yeah. Rincon. Went there for the first time recently actually. Everyone knows what they’re doing up there. Malibu’s definitely the worst one. LA people suck. Go anywhere but Malibu.
Ok… what’s the difference between surf culture in New York and LA?
Ok so I have a funny story. My first time surfing in Rockaway, I dropped in. Accidentally landed on someone and in the water as I’m coming up, I’m think, ‘Oh man, I fucked up. He’s gonna wanna fight. This is gonna suck.’ I came up and he’s like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh wow, people are nice here.’ No one knows how to surf here. They’re just all excited to be in the water and have a good time. I love this place. I feel like Cornwall may be somewhat similar.
So essentially you prefer the culture in New York but the waves here in LA…
I mean the waves can get good, I’ve had amazing times at Rockaway. During the hurricane season it’s great. It’s just not consistent. I think that’s what led me to leaving New York. I bought a van because I would be trying to get rides there. People would be like, ‘No, I don’t feel like going.’ And I’m like, ‘Arghhh but it’s good!’ And I’m not taking a fucking Uber. So I literally bought a van so I could go surf. And the addiction got more so I thought, I’ll move to California. Oh Covid just happened. Alright well fucking…I’ll stay with my grandfather and my dad during this and we’ll go surf Oceanside. And then I was gonna move to Ventura and try to buy a house. I thought it was like 2008 and the housing market was gonna crash and it just went….NO! (gestures his arm upwards). It went the fucking opposite. I was like, ‘Finally, 2008 again, I have some savings. I’ll be able to get in again.’ Yeah, think again. Fuck.
Do you miss New York?
No. Also all my friends aged out. It just got more and more gentrified and so no one could afford it. And so all my friends left. Some went to Miami. Some went to France. So I had no one to hang out with. All the places I would frequent are gone. I was just like, ‘This sucks. I don’t wanna be here.’ Or at least, it wasn’t what I knew anymore. It had re-invented itself for the next crop. Which is great. It does that every ten years. New circle of life.
How did the friendship/917 collab with Token work out?
Well, that’s how I got into surfing. This surf shop opened up next to Labour. I’d always go to Labour because my office was down the street and I think I was like, ‘A surf shop in fucking New York? Are you crazy? That ain’t lasting.’ And then I started going in there and made friends with Christian and then we started surfing. He moved to France and then I said, ‘Let’s do a collaboration.’ I mean, it was friendship to collaboration. I think that ultimately made me not want to skate anymore after that collaboration. I hadn’t really skated. My whole team quit. I was a bit rusty and was like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna try and film some stuff.’ And then came out with it. Thought it was cool. You never really see a skate/surf video. It hasn’t happened since I dunno, Wave Warriors. So it was like, ‘This is cool. We’re merging, we’re merging. We’re doing stuff different. And then everyone’s like, ‘This is mid. Blah blah blah.’ Funny thing is, all the surfers loved it. All the skaters hated it. I’m like, ‘I fucking hate skaters. Fuck these people. They’re close-minded assholes’. Hahaha. I was just over it.
In Europe it feels like every skater wants to surf and vice versa but not so much in the U.S.
I mean the gap is closing. I think I told Reynolds a long time ago when he was like, ‘What do you wanna do next in skating?’ and I was like, ‘Dude they’re gonna merge.’ When everyone quit (917) I was trying to feel it out with Curren and see if he would be down to skate for 917 because there was always loose talk of it before the whole team quit. I was thinking of maybe getting him and Evan Mock and conquering the world. But it just didn’t naturally happen so…it didn’t happen.
Who gets you hyped to surf? Do you watch surf videos?
I don’t know. Mine are all weird, old guys. I can’t stand new surfing. Yeah, I don’t know why. It sounds so dumb. Cheyne Horan I like watching. But I trip on his boards. The star fin. The theory behind it. Then I’m really into McCoy’s boards. Neal Purchase’s boards. Greg Loehr’s boards. I almost like watching those guys talk about their boards. And then there’s that guy…Adam Robertson, he rides all of Webber’s boards. There’s an amazing video where he’s talking about ideas for boards and then Webber makes them for him. It’s literally so inspiring. Because it’s untraditional boards that this guy’s surfing. There’s one called the Bent Door that’s like fucking 17 inches wide and just square. This is the essence of the fucking fun part of surfing. The tripping out. Figuring out which theories work and don’t work. I fucking hate the contest side of it all. It’s just not exciting. It’s like a whole mafia.
What about someone like Mikey Feb?
I mean, he’s great. But he doesn’t do it for me.
Really? I could watch him for hours.
Well, that’s Machado for me. And I know that’s such a no-shit answer but he just does it for me. That’s how I wanna surf. And I know that’s how a lot of people wanna surf. It’s such a newbie answer. I know. I watch Tom Curren too. I just watched Occy and was like, ‘Fuck!’
I’ve just really been obsessing with boards from that time. Because they didn’t work but then they weren’t doing airs. It was all about turns right? And I hate how people turn now. It’s the same with skating. There’s a few people that do it really aggressively but then everyone else doesn’t know how to do it. Like Dane over-rotates his turns but does it with this…tenacity. I don’t know. You see people doing airs because it’s the thing to do. Like Nate Fletcher can do airs. But he can also do turns. People can do turns but then they break their fins and it just doesn’t look as good. You look at Occy. That was absolutely the pinnacle of figuring out how to do turns at such a precise level. But then you look at the boards. They’re straighter, they don’t have much of a hip and they’re much shorter. Obviously the nose and everything extenuates the turn. But there’s something to be re-explored there and I’m sure there’s people already doing that. Because everything’s been done right?
In terms of skateboarding, is that done for you now?
No, I still think about it. My knee hurts. Also it just takes an incredible amount of time to go to a spot. See if you’re feeling it. Not feeling it. You gotta practice. I just don’t have the fight or fire in me anymore. Every time I do it, I’m like, ‘Oh fuck, why am I here? Why did I pick this as my profession?’ But then today, and it happens rarely now, I thought of a good line to film, if I could find the spot to do it at. Also, my friend group aged out. Everyone’s older now. It’s just not the same. And everyone’s so fucking good now, there’s no mystery. There’s no wait. Everything’s immediate. I’m sure it happens with surfing too. There’s nothing you yearn or pine for anymore. I’m also jaded and bitter at this point. I don’t want to see a shittier version of myself trying slappy curbs or something. It’s just the worst. Not that I have that much footage to lean back on. I’m never gonna be as good as I once was, so why try to chase this idea of who I was at one point?
