Thrasher Magazine

Posted: January 5th, 2010
"I was skating with an IV in my arm, just trying to keep it going."

Interview & photos by Rhino

How old are you and where did you grow up?
I just turned 20 years old, and I grew up in different parts of San Diego, CA. I’m still living in San Diego, 
in Clairemont. It’s a two-bedroom apartment with no 
AC and countless homies are always crashing there.

You have an interesting last name, “Hooker.” What’s your middle name?
My middle name is Drew, but nobody’s ever called me 
by that name.


Backside blunt

Have you ever heard of the TV show TJ Hooker?
I have heard of it, but never watched it. I think it’s some ’80s show about a cop.

I wonder why your parents didn’t give you a middle name that started with a J?
I figured out that my parents were definitely on a good one when picking my name. Even though it’s not TJ Hooker, there are hundreds of ways to fuck with my name. Come on, fool, True-man Hooker or Man Hooker. My parents must have planned this.


Backside 5-0

What are the first names of your parents and siblings?
My parents not only came up with a clever name for me, but they also messed with my sister. Her name is Allison, or more commonly know as Ally. Fucking “Alley” Hooker. I guess people will remember that name, but do you really want people to remember you as Ally Hooker?

 

Gap to front board

You go to one of the most prestigious schools in San Diego. How did a Creature dirtbag get 
in there?
Getting into college and going to college was a little random. I had decent grades in high school, but I suck at those SAT tests. One day I received an 
acceptance letter, and I decided to try it out.


Backside smith grind

Do you fit in with the other students there, 
or do you do your own thing?
College isn’t that bad, but I honestly hate all the dudes there. Almost all of the guys are Chads and Marks who think they’re the shit because they get good grades. 
The other people are God fans who try to preach to me about some religious bullshit.

I’ve been around that campus—the students are wearing Izod bullshit and looking preppy. Have you ever brought any homies like Silent Mike on campus?
Oh yeah. That little frog or alligator company is real big on campus. I think it’s called Lacoste or something. It seems that the bros in my classes spend more time picking their matching outfits than the girls do. The one good thing about University of San Diego is that there are plenty of girls ready to get slayed. I haven’t brought Silent Mike, but when I do he will not be disappointed. I brought one homie there to show him some spots around the campus, and when we stopped to get lunch a girl asked him if his tats were real. We looked at each other in disbelief, but long story short, 
he ended up slaying the girl.

Basically you’re going to school to slay chicks?
Not really, but many of my friends have come to the school only for that reason.

What are you studying?
I’m studying business with an emphasis on marketing. I just finished taking my general education classes, so I’m just beginning to learn about the different ways of business.



Backside air to rail revert

Any skatespots at the school?
There are a few skatespots at USD, but they’re shitty. The campus is built on a huge hill so there are a lot of fun hills to bomb. In the day it’s comedy, because you’ll see flip-flop longboarders and Sector Nine bros getting smoked. Just the other day a longboarder was leaning forward and his backpack flipped and went over his face. He got speed wobbles and scorpioned into a stopped car.

How did you get into skating?
My older brother Jayme got me into skateboarding when I was about 10. I would always get his hand-me-down boards and would tag along with his friends. My friend down the street had a quarterpipe in his alley, and I have been skating ever since. Eventually our whole neighborhood was skating, even my sister at one point.

 

Backside lipslide frontside revert

Growing up skating around 
San Diego, who were some of the first skaters you saw skate in person that were in magazines?
I would usually go to the Clairemont skatepark and I’d see Blender, Pineapple, Navarrette, Hewitt, and Hitz. It was insane watching them skate in person. I remember my friend and I getting hyped when Blender started to talk to my friend’s mom. We were like, “You just talked to Neil Blender.”

I remember meeting you two years ago. Navarrette was trying to get a street maneuver and needed someone to skate with. Hewitt was skating the Carlsbad gap so he was busy. Darren says, 
“I know this kid in PB who keeps calling me 
but I never pick up.” So he called you, you met us, and were ripping. That’s when Darren put you on the team, right?
Yeah. I’m pretty sure I bugged the shit out of Darren 
at first. The first time we skated together was with just you, Darren, and Adrian, and we ended up having a 
good day of skating with Darren taking us all to eat at Bennihanas. It was crazy, because I never thought that anything like this would happen. I was like, “Fuck, is this what it’s like everyday?”


Love-seat bluntslide

Go on a Nike trip sometime and that’s how it is. Favorite Creature dude?
Everyone on the team has their own style and everyone rips, but Silent Mike is my favorite. Even though he thought I was gay the first time he met me, he’s always down and never complains. Oh yeah, and he’ll skate anything you put in front of him.

Gnarliest Creature road trip story?
The gnarliest Creature road trip that I went on, or any road trip that I have been on, 
was when the whole am team went across the country. We got one month of per diem but the trip lasted for three months. The gnarliest part of the trip for me was when I got Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Superbug (MRSA) in my face. We were in Salt Lake City and I didn’t want anybody to know, so I tried to go to the hospital at night. I had to go to the hospital two times a day for four days. I was skating with an IV in my arm, just trying to keep it going. It sucked, but I didn’t want to go home. Even though that happened, it was the best trip of my life.


Wallride yank-off

What happened at the Barrio park in 
San Diego? Didn’t you see a shooting?
Me and my homie Barrio Mike were skating the back bowl, so we saw the whole thing. 
A car just screeched to a stop, so that drew our attention at first. We looked over and saw this dude point his gun at the back of a homie’s head. Then we heard the shot and the dude just fell to the ground. When the cops came they immediately threw a blanket over his body. He was dead. Seeing that was horrible, but it puts your life into perspective real quick.

I hear you used to live in a garage around the corner from Nav’s at the beach. 
You ever see Darren or Cranston lurking hard on the weekends?
I would see them every now and then coming back from the bar. One time they stealthily followed me back and threw some firecrackers at my door. As I put the key in the door I got lit up. Going to school in the morning, I would sometimes see the aftermath of the night before.

 

Frontside Smith bigspin out

Have you been skating the vert ramp with Darren and Sam lately?
Skating vert with them is always a good 
time. You can do whatever you want up there and it’s fun to skate something different. Darren, Sam, Hewitt, and Div handle the 
big guns.

Ever going to skate the Mega-Ramp?
I’m not sure if I could fly that far, we’ll see.

What’s your go-to trick over the gap?
There would be no go-to trick over the gap. 
I would just be hyped if I landed on my board.

You always have a new spot. Where do these spots come from?
There are a lot of spots in San Diego—or anywhere, you just have to take the time to find them and maybe fix them. I enjoy making a new spots and making an old spots skateable, because it gives us a new place to go. I get burnt out going to the same spots over and over again.


Frontside nosegrind

The new Creature video is about to drop. I hear you have lots of footage.
I don’t know how much footage I have. I’ve just been trying to skate everyday.

I heard you guys are premiering it on Halloween in San Diego.
Yep, it’s going to be awesome. Halloween is the best day of the year.

How do you think the video is going to turn out?
The video is going to turn out insane, because the masterminds of Lee and Darren are behind it. It isn’t going to be like any other videos, it’s going to be pure hell.

Who’s going to have the best part?
I’m really excited to see Al’s part. He skates like nobody else and can skate everything.


Up and over into bank

And he’s a grown-ass man that skates harder than most young dudes.
Yes, that’s something you don’t see often.

Bingaman’s been on a terror lately.
Taylor can also skate anything, from a backyard pool to a 20-stair, and then end it at the vert ramp. He goes fast and doesn’t stop.

 

5-0 frontside 180 out

Five favorite skaters in San Diego?
Navarrette, Hewitt, Blender, Wes Kremer, and Smolik.

Top five favorite skaters ever?
Hewitt, Cardiel, Navs, Smolik, and Danny Way.


Boardslide through kink

Who’s your pick for SOTY 2009?
Shuriken Shannon. He’s always killing it.

If there was anywhere in the world you’d want to skate, where would it be?
Australia. The spots and parks look the best, and the place is amazing.

 

Backside 180

Let’s get a Creature trip going there in 2010. What do you think?
That would be the best way to start off the year. It would be a dream come true.

What happens if it’s during college time for two weeks? Are you going to flunk out for the Oz trip?
I would find a way to go on the trip without 
a doubt. I wouldn’t miss a chance like that 
for anything.

Let’s have the mandatory list of sponsors who hook you up.
Creature skateboards, Vox shoes, Bones, and Pacific Drive.

Damn, no energy drink sponsor?
Come on, it’s 2009. It’s not going to happen.