’89 domande a Corey Duffel – Skateboarder

Name? William Corey Duffel (@coreyduffel).

How old are you? 37.

What’s your job? Record store dude.

What did you study? Skateboarding movies and punk rock records.

Goofy or regular? Goofy.

If you were a character of a movie which one would you be? The bad guy in an 80s action thriller.  Big muscles, gold chain, tank top, tight blue jeans and probably gets their arm broken by Steven Seagal. 

How long did it take you to learn how to do your first kickflip? About a year.

Do you think Hegel was right to put music as art at an higher level, or do you think the figurative arts, especially at an emotional level, are on the same level? Music is subjective to everyone. To me it is the greatest of art and i agree with it.

Can you give us a definition of art? Something that makes you feel loved, hated, complete, incomplete. It should move you. good or bad. Make you think. Inspire you to create. Beauty, sorrow, relatability and a general sense of feeling something from inside. 

Your favorite style icons? Vampires, soldiers, and rock’n’roll. I take influence from all over the place.

If you could speak in world vision for 15 minutes what would you say? Rescue a dog and stop animal cruelty. Let’s save nature and stop destroying the earth. I don’t want to see animals go extinct.

Do you think exist an objective aesthetic value or you think aesthetic value is just subjective? Never thought of it and I am not bothered either way. 

If you could have a super power what would you choose? Self healing power like Wolverine on days like these when it hurts to walk.

When, in your opinion, can you define a person as an artist? When the person passionality creates whether others care or not. They just keep on doing what they want to do.

Do you think that the relationship between art and drugs is just a cliché? Fuck drugs.

Do you have any political orientation? I hate war and violence. 

The name of your brand, Adored, reminds a Stone Roses song, I Wanna Be Adored, can you tell us your top 5 of their songs? The brand is not named entirely after the Roses, but absolutely, I do adore their music and the Manchester music scene. My favorites songs are: Made of Stone; Where Angels Play; So Young; Tell Me; She Bangs The Drums. These songs kick ass but there are many more that also rule.

Who is in your opinion the best skateboarder in history? I wanna say two. Gonz and Natas

And right now? Kevin Rodrigues.

The most overrated? So many people that make me feel nothing.

The most underestimated? Chris Brunner.

What is the night you spent the most money to have fun? Wedding night. Halloween 2014.

What’s your favorite artist? Emilio Villalba.

What’s your favorite show business character? Larry David.

If you could choose which historical era to live in, which would you choose? I’m a pussy and don’t think i’d survive in any other era. I was born in 1984 but being born about ten years sooner would have been fun. But then i’d say i wish i was a teenager during the punk years, but being a few years older in the early nineties would have been rad.

If you could spend a day with an historical figure who would you choose? I’d like to be the terminator and go back to alter the future. Maybe hang with Hitler and push him off a bridge in 1930. Options are unlimited it seems. To see the Sex Pistols in ’77. Fuck, these type of questions just piss me off. 

Who are the people that inspired you the most? Musicians. Ramones, Bauhaus, The Cure. There are many, many people who inspire me with their words and style. But then there is Rachel, my wife who is the coolest person I know. Im inspired by my friends because they are all so talented and work hard. They are awesome and keep me in check. 

If you could choose a famous person for a night, who would it be? I dont think about this kind of stuff. Wesley Snipes in Blade. That dude was kicking ass and it looked like fun. 

And for a relationship? David Bowie. Be cool to get it on with an alien.

What do you think is the hardest trick to do with skateboard in your opinion? Handplants or anything on vert ramps.

What makes one skateboarder better than another? Style.

Can you tell us a trick someone else has done that you wish you could do too? Backside 360 and ollie impossibles. I cant scoop my tricks.

Who is your best friend in the skateboarding world? JT Aultz and Kevin Rodrigues. Chris and Pierce Brunner.

Is there anyone you don’t get along with? 99% of skateboarders.

What is the thing you like most about Italy? The passion of the people. The craftsmanship. I love when people have pride in their country and way of life. Jacopo Carozzi skating is incredible.  A national treasure.

And one you don’t like? I’ve not been so i don’t know, but american italian food is mediocre at best.

If you could choose what would you like to change about the USA? The entitlement and laziness of many of the people and get rid of the second amendment. 

Where have you been on vacation when you were young? Lake Tahoe.

Where are you going on vacation now? Hopefully Paris with Rachel to see Kevin and Jeanne.

Do you think it would be correct to create a place where man can live in the state of nature, making him free from a choice of social belonging that is instead taken for granted? That would be amazing.

What’s the topic you are most expert in? Useless knowledge with Skateboarding, and record collecting in some genres.

Have you ever been in love? Yes.

Have you ever had a homosexual experience? Yes.

Where do you live? California.

Which neighbourhood? Walnut Creek.

Where are you from? California.

Other cities where you’ve been living and how long? I’ve lived in Walnut Creek my entire life. I tried San Diego when I was 17 and i didn’t last long. Maybe two months and missed my family.

Which languages do you speak? English.

Which are your favorite places in your city? Taquerias, Donut King, Up the Creek Records, and the hills i go hiking at every day with my dog. Sunset or early morning out in nature is my favorite. 

Favorite movies? Rambo, Mad Max, and most horror movies.

Favorite directors? Miyazaki, Kubrick, Tim Burton.

Favorite songs?  Scott Walker – Farmer in the City and Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm.

Favorite bands? Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Jam, Style Council, Paul Weller, The Cure, The Blue Nile, Rachel Travers, The Who, Nitzer Ebb, The Smiths, Field Mice, WH Lung, Associates, Big Star, Suede. Always and forever with these bands.

A famous band you don’t like? Grateful Dead.

Favorite book? Portrait Of Dorian Gray.

Favorite artworks? Saturn devouring his son by Goya and Jeremy Klein Hook Ups graphics.

If you can choose 5 celebrities to have party with who they would be?  Arnold, Kurt Russell, JCVD, Fox Mulder and Willem Dafoe. A bunch of bad ass men. 

If you could choose any testimonial for your brand who would you choose? To make you smile and feel a sense of belonging.

Do you feel envy for anyone? If so, for whom? Yes. I’m very envious of people that are talented and can write and play music. Those who have very nice hairlines. I’m a jealous fucker.

The material good you most desire and envy? 1967 Lambretta.

The quality you would like to have and don’t have? Not being envious.

There are more and more models who do not respond to the “classic” aesthetic canons, do you think that brands really try to change the social dynamics or do you think they are choices dictated by marketing reasons to exploit the politically correct? I think it’s all a sham. Most of these companies only care about money.

Have you ever been offered something in exchange for sex?Access denied, but yes.

If you had the possibility to remove social networks from the world, would you delete them? Oh yes! 

And what about globalisation? Trading with the world is great.

The craziest experience you’ve ever had? I was swimming in the ocean and the tour boat left without me. I was thirteen and didn’t know everyone left. They came back for me.

What do you think about influencers? I think we are a bunch of idiots that shouldn’t be listened to. Let scientists, and people that actually know data and facts represent issues. If you want my opinion on skating, sure. But why listen to me when it comes to topic that I have no background in just because i think have a worthy opinion on shit i don’t know? 

What’s your favorite historical character? Jarvis Cocker is a cool dude.

Can you define yourself with an adjective? Raw.

Favorite TV series? Futurama.

If you were an animal which one would you like to be? Tiger.

Have you ever had sex with more than one person? My sexual life is private.

Approximately how many partners have you had in your life? I have loved a few humans.

What time do you usually go to sleep? 11pm.

What time do you usually wake up? 7 am.

What’s your favorite city in the world? Tokyo.

Do you believe in some religions? Yes for good and bad.

What’s the first thing you would do if you win the lottery? I’d like to take my family to Europe.

The richest person you know? I think my boss at the record store.

Your favorite dish? Full english breakfast are tasty. I love food and love it all. I just like to eat. Bring it on and let’s enjoy. Food with friends is the best.

Do you have some phobias? So many. I get scared to go outside some days. Talking to people. Having to introduce myself. 

Favorite fashion brand? Levi’s.

How important is it for you to be rich from 1 to 10? 4. It would be nice to not be stressed out about finances every day.

And fame? Don’t fucking care. 

How important are fame and money to impress a partner? I’d feel awful for any partner that cares about either. If my wife likes me for being a skateboarder thats just embarrassing. If she loves my passion for it, sure. Fame and money are only skin deep, and the people that are allured by it arent partners for me

And what about beauty? Babes kick ass.

And intelligence? Oh yes. 

The smartest person you know? Too many different types of intelligences. Not fair to say only one. 

Do you consider yourself smart? Depends on what we are doing.

The most precious material thing you own? Vinyl collection. If Blixa wasn’t flesh and blood, i’d say my dog.

What do you usually drink at the bar? Water with gas.

Any advice you can give to someone that want to do your job? Sale out. Get paid and fuck the rules! Do what you want.

Best party you’ve been to? Snuck into one at Cannes Film Festival and it was pretty wild. I jumped over a wall and dropped about 20 feet into some bushes and ran away from dogs and joined a party that i didn’t belong at.

If you had to recommend a video about you from Youtube which one would you choose? Runaway Kites by Adored.

Do you know someone being a real racist? They are out there.

Do you think that if people couldn’t post on Instagram about it, they would take part as well to social movements? No i don’t. People just want those likes and to feel a part of something. Humans are pigs eating at the trough and follow the farmer to the slaughter. I wish everyone that pretends to care truly cared. Or were just more honest with themselves and didn’t care what others thought. Likes don’t mean anything. 

What do you think about the existence of royal rulers for birthright? I don’t care for those lizard people.

What drugs have you done? No drugs.

And which one you use more often? Instagram.

Are you in favour of the liberalisation of soft drugs? I don’t even think of weed or mushrooms as drugs. If people wanna take em there should be no shame or punishment when they are taken.

And hard drugs? A waste of your life.

What’s your best talent? Excessive eating.

What are the clothes you can’t stand to see on a man and on a woman? Stuff that doesn’t look comfortable or functionable.

What’s the item of clothing you spent the most money on? A jacket for my wedding was like 500 bucks. Never spent more than 100 on anything otherwise.

Can you tell us a number from 1 to 89? 84.

Favorite restaurant and bar in the city where you live? Los Portales. I seem to be eating tacos there a few times a week.

And club? Don’t go to bars or clubs so don’t know the names. 

Your ideal holiday? Record shopping and eating in Tokyo or the UK with Rachel.

What would you have done if you had not done your job? Archeologist would be awesome.

If you could compose the best band in history, who would be in it? That is so subjective. Some of the best bands already exist. Ultravox with John Foxx is brilliant. The New York Dolls and The Stooges. Joy Division. These bands have such amazing members already.

If you could compose the best band of today, who would be in it? WH Lung is making it happen right now!

If you could choose someone to follow you on Instagram who would you choose? Bobby from Primal Scream is or was. That’s cool enough. 

Do you think that if there were no hypothetical partners to impress, human beings would pursue success so spasmodically?I think some of us still like to dance whether people are watching or not.

Do you think that in certain environments, especially those in which we find fame and money, there is a lack of certain values? I don’t know about over there, but yes in America. This place is full of chumps. 

Does the current concept of democracy make sense to you? On paper it sounds great. But so does socialism and communism but the practices don’t seem to work in most cases. But like i said earlier. I don’t know this stuff. Ask me about skateboarding and my answers might have some substance or sway.

What is your position on a hypothetical enlightened dictatorship that could direct the good of people? Didn’t Italy see Mussolini in that light? 

What do you think about the psychological profile of politicians? Generalizing and keeping in mind the existence of due exceptions, do you think that politicians get to do their job for personal interests, such as ego satisfaction or economic profit, or for an ethical and civic help vocation? Politicians are assholes.

Do you think politicians and influencers have similar psychological profiles? Narcissistic assholes. Yes, indeed. Big egos and looking out after number one. It is fucked up. 

If we can consider money and the economy a superstructure created by man, and thus the effects on it of the production of money by the State, another conventional and fictitious entity, what prevents us from giving everyone what they need for subsistence in a globalized society based primarily on the exchange of goods with real value with goods with nominal value such as money? That be nice wouldn’t it?

Do you think that prison, intended as deprivation of freedom of a subject, is a correct solution for an individual who violates the laws of society, or do you think it presupposes an acceptance of participation in the social contract that some individuals may not want? I don’t know. I don’t like most laws, but living post apocalyptic Hollywood movie seems very dreadful as well. I wouldn’t have survived long in the wild west with my mouth. My ass would be shot dead the first night.  

What might be an alternative solution to prison for you? Death Race is pretty epic. No. All seriousness. I truly dont know. Rehabilitation in the forest? Locking up people and treating everyone the same is cruel. Some people do heinous acts of violence and continue to act . Some shouldn’t be in a cell for life. I do believe people can change and some need help figuring that out prison doesn’t seem to be the best for most criminals. But once again, my opinions are not backed by facts off the top of my head and I have nothing to really say. Imagine me telling the person who lost their family member to a locked up convict, that this person should be free. I don’t know where to begin. I do think prisons are fucked up, over crowded, a way to make money, slave labor, and tons more. But i’m not one to say “this” or “that” when i’ve been arrested, it is not pleasant and I wouldn’t want to serve hard time. If you don’t have money or power, you may never get out. Where am i going with all this, i don’t remember. I don’t even remember the question. How do we rehabilitate convicts? we do need better systems for it. People are still locked up for petty crimes 50 years ago. It’s all fucked up!

There are those who argue that the death penalty is a non-penalty, in the sense that at the moment in which the penalty is executed, the subject who should undergo it does not exist anymore because of the penalty itself, consequently involving however an interference in the life of the subjects close to the condemned, who would become at that point the real passive subjects of the case, what do you think about it? So people feel criminals need to wait their entire life out behind bars, because the death sentence is the easy way out? Once again, i don’t like to speak on subjects i don’t know or put out opinions that will be picked apart as i spent 2 minutes on a question i’ve never thought about. This is whats wrong with our society at times. Someone will quote me on this interview with people i don’t know and the rest of my life someone will hate me for having a different opinion all because i’m some dude that skateboards. people forget that. Don’t pay attention to false idols. Im a dude that hasn’t taken a class in 20 years and rather be skating. I don’t know politics, i never have cared. I imagine if someone killed someone in my family, id want revenge too. What good does it do though. So do we let the killer out to kill again? I don’t engage in stuff like this because it is all hypothetical and pointless for me. I wanna do k grinds, smile and have fun. So i’ll do my best to avoid cops and not break too many laws and keep this bit of freedom we are granted by some philosophers hundreds of years ago.

If we consider the death as the end of everything, hypothetically the homicide of a subject that for absurdity doesn’t have, and has never had, social relationships of any kind with anybody, neither economic, neither personal, neither juridical, and if he would be killed without inflicting any suffering and without that he could realize it, such homicide should be punished? Leaving aside the motivations of the agent, as well as the need to protect other subjects of a hypothetical society, in case he would be punished, the murderer would suffer the punishment for an action of which no one suffers any consequence, is it correct for you then to assert that death is something that concerns only the living? Without life what is death?

Do you think that as animals, races also exist for human beings?Is there such a thing as race?

Do you think that the respectability that we observe today is an effective social evolution or does it sometimes devalue the merit of the message by virtue of its form and its exponents? I didn’t go to college for a reason. I was more interested in getting bloody outside and trying to land tricks. Skateboarding was on my mind. I want to give these questions to my brother who is a philosophy major or to my wife. They could have a conversation. Im gonna say i’m a boring dude that loves skateboarding and music. 

Do you think that a cultural growth is always good for an individual or do you think that in certain situations it is identified with a loss of intellectual purity? It be nice if we all did see through the bullshit, and to making the world better for everyone. Then again can i just say next question. I haven’t felt this way doing an interview in twenty one years. I truly think this shit is gonna come back and bite me in the ass because i’m not saying what people wanna hear, or because i am too ignorant on these subjects. Don’t crucify the person who doesn’t know. I need someone to educate me on this or i need to educate myself on these topics because this is all stuff i’ve never thought or or even heard. 

Do you think that culture in the hands of a stupid person can sometimes represent a problem? There is a huge problem if we keep electing stupidity and thats all that is running for office. Imagine me being in charge of a political party. It be pointless. It is a huge problem that stupid people make gravely important decisions.

What do you think of the Inside Job theory regarding 9/11?

It’s terrible to think about. It is fucking sickening that America allowed it. Once again, i hate violence and war. Fuck your oil and politics! 

What do you think about the cancel culture? Does it solve or fix anything?

What would you answer to the dilemma of the Mandarin of Chateaubriand then taken up by Balzac and countless other philosophers? In this case, if in order to fulfill any of your desires, you had to end the life of a person who is extremely distant from you and about whom you know nothing, without them suffering and without anyone ever knowing, would you do it? So I get whatever I was for pushing this death button? These scenarios always go ugly in the movies, so not interested.

If you could choose whose interview would you like to read? Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods has good stories to share.