At The Park With Nick Boserio and Dutch
Images by Josh Sabini
The first time I saw Nick Boserio was at Lincoln Square.
I must’ve been eleven or twelve and I was in awe. I had known who he was but had never seen him skate in person. That day, he filmed a line that ended up being a Firing Line. You can see me in the background after he does the back 180 one foot. That line is ingrained in my mind. I had never seen anything like it, someone going so fast and being so out of control, yet so in control. His skateboarding is eccentric, loud, aggressive, yet precise in a way that makes no sense. He filmed the best two-minute video part of all time; his Alien Workshop Life Splicing part. Nothing will ever beat it, it punches you straight in the face while the song gets stuck in your head. It’s incredible.
Fast forward to now, a whole ten years from seeing him at Lincoln Square, we are here presenting the super cute and fun interview we did together while we hung out in a park throwing his dog, Dutch, a brand new soccer ball that he had completely destroyed by the time we left.
Congrats on the release of the recent Ace video, Disco Tin! The video is a shared part between you and Robert Schmitt. How did the idea come up for it to be with you guys?
Originally, it was planned to be whoever rode for Ace in Australia was going to be in it. Then we ended up being the ones who had a bunch of footage. It was really fun skating with him and Izrayl [Brinsdon], we all get along really well. Raph [Langslow] was also going to have a bunch of footage, but he’s filming multiple different things with Geoff [Campbell] at the moment. We went skating with Jenna [Cutting] a bunch too, but she didn’t end up getting anything, she had hurt her ankle super bad. Once Izrayl was coming back on a second trip to Melbourne and we had already had footage together and had been out skating a bunch, then it was like we really want to do this with me and Rob. Then it was really cute and fun. Then we went to the Pancake Parlour.
Super cute! Had you hung out with Rob much before that?
Nah, not a lot. Just intermittently. It was awesome skating with him, I really like him.
Me too, he’s the best.
Izrayl’s coming back to shoot this OJ wheels thing next week and we will be all cute and skating together again. I can’t wait.
Speaking of Izrayl, how did he get involved with the project?
When I did the short-lived thing of being the team managing of Ace Australia. I was helping Cheets, the distributor here, figure out what to do with a bit of team stuff. He asked me what I would do if I had some money from the distributor, then I suggested two ideas and the one he went with, was pay one guy to make a really good video. I wanted it to be Izrayl because I really liked the edit of Rowan Davis’ Meadow part. I loved all the steel works footage and everything.
What is the story behind the running shots in the video?
That was Izrayl’s idea, he had the vision [laughs]. He was on the tram with a really crazy 16mm camera, shooting through the glass. The thing was Rob was up high looking around and I was running. It came out super cool and it goes so well with the music.
How was running around the city like that?
It was fucking exhausting.
How long were you running for?
Man, no time at all. That was me running as fast as I could. When’s the last time you ran as fast as you could?
Man, I have no idea [laughs].
It’s so exhausting. I ran two city blocks, and I was fucking dead [laughs].
You recently became the Polar team manager. How did that job role come up?
I’m just helping. There’s a real TM who has the card, sends everyone’s packages and books everything. Sirus Gahan is doing the filming, brand stuff and art direction, he’s doing a lot of the work too. Paul Grund who was doing it before me and doing more still helps as well. I’m just filling in a gap that needed to be filled.
How has it been?
It’s been really good. There’s been some stuff that wouldn’t have been done if someone hadn’t put their hand up and they’re all my friends. It’s nice to help.
Was the TM route something that you wanted to go down?
No [Laughs].
Now you’re an industry head [laughs].
I didn’t want to do it at all.
Did you just put your hand up when the offer came up?
Yeah, well it was already a conversation when Paul started doing it. I was like, I don’t want to travel, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do that. I basically don’t want to do three-quarters of what a team managing job is. Once Sirus came on board and Luke was doing a bunch of stuff, I realised with what was left I could do, because I do want to help, I just don’t want to be a team manager [laughs].
That’s so fair enough, what does role entail then?
I plan trips, I speak to everyone and make sure everyone’s interests are represented properly.
Oh, that’s awesome. That’s like the best part of a team managing job.
That’s what I mean, it’s a small part of the job, but it’s good.
Do you think it’s helped that you’ve had to deal with three of the most notoriously harsh people in skateboarding, Pontus Alv, Jamie Thomas or Geoff Campbell?
I don’t know about helping to be a team manager but having Jamie in my life helped me deal with having Pontus in my life and having both of them in my life helped me deal with Geoff. Does that make sense?
Yep, so much sense.
I’m not even really a real team manager.
Who’s the worst out of the three?
Geoff is the worst [laughs].
Fuck, he’s going to love that. A while ago I remember hearing that Pontus said, ‘a good company should only last ten years.’ Did he try shut down Polar when it hit the ten-year mark?
He’s never tried to pull the plug on Polar. When it was a discussion about the ten-year thing, once we hit ten years, he was thinking about starting a different board company. That was basically when he started Last Resort. It was when he started thinking about having more than one company. I don’t think he would ever pull the pin on Polar; it is so wrapped up in his identity. Not even externally, it is him, he’s so involved it.
You have some of the craziest 50-50 lock ins of all time. What’s the secret to grinding a 50-50 no matter where on the truck you land?
Desperation [laughs].
Don’t lie, it’s the Ace Trucks.
[Laughs] Yeah, it’s my Ace Trucks, my OJ Wheels and Modus Bearings.
Do you have a favourite one or is there one that you’ve done where you’re like how on earth did, I do that?
The ollie over grind is definitely one. My favourite thing is that my No Cash Value part has all possible locks in it. I have a double heel, a double toe, a cross lock and a cross lock the wrong way.
I like that part a lot. I also like that you didn’t land the first line in the video.
Oh man, I was so angry that day. I ripped my shirt off afterwards. Halfway through that session, I found out that Miles Silvas had switch flip back tailed it, after stressing out over a front tail. I went over the edge after that [laughs].
I think right after that Jamie had words with me about me being furious a couple of times, to the point where it made people feel uncomfortable. He was like ‘what’s up with that dude, you’re usually a fun guy, but this has been a couple times now’.
“Everything you see is what you get. Pavey likes it, he’ll text me being like ‘you want to go viral today?’”
What did you say to that?
I was like I guess so. Part of me was like fuck you, but part of me was like it is kind of weird if someone talks to you, quite earnestly about something. He was pretty earnest. He wasn’t pissed. It was a caring, what’s going on with this, is there something going on? I don’t remember anything weird going on in my life at that time. Maybe I was just pissed about Miles Silvas’ switch flip back tail.
More on 50-50s, is it weird being the insert trick here guy? I’ve always wondered what it would feel like. So, with you being the fast guy and 50-50 guy.
Nah, because no one talks to me about it. It’s just my friends making fun of me. It’s not weird, it’s been a long time that I’ve been insert trick here guy.
Who makes fun of you about it the most?
Geoff. His favourite thing is that I used to actually be a ‘good’ skater and now I suck [laughs].
That’s the most Geoff thing ever. You and Pavey break the internet every time you drop an Instagram clip. What is the behind the scenes of those clips?
Everything you see is what you get. Pavey likes it, he’ll text me being like ‘you want to go viral today?’ [laughs]. He loves the internet clout from a drip clip [laughs].
While wearing the most insane t-shirt you’ve ever seen [laughs].
Man, that fucking tuxedo shirt [laughs].
He’s so funny.
I always tell this story about when I was trying to skate this spot and taking ages. Then he saw a ticket inspector about to give a ticket to this fancy car and he was just bored so he pretended it was his dad’s car and talked the ticket inspector out of giving him a ticket. He spent ten minutes talking to him and got them to not put a ticket on this random car.
Man fuck, that’s so good.
It was so good. I don’t know what he actually said, I was trying to skate. He had this whole story about how his dad was a doctor or something.
You commentated the Olympics on TV how on earth did that come up?
Mitch Tomlinson, who was doing it, already did the BMX. He needed a b-man, he’d spoken to Shane Azar and [Cameron] Sparkes about it. He ended up bumping into Middsy [Chris Middlebrook] one day and asked if he knew anyone who would be keen, Middsy brought up my name. Then he hit me up, I ended up flying to Sydney to go audition with him and the producer was like ‘that was great, I can tell you guys have worked together before’. Mitch and I were just like ‘nope, we’ve never done that before’. We ended up getting the role and I signed the contract with Channel 7 while we were having our second child in the hospital.
Damn, that’s sick. Was it fun?
So fun dude! You’re in this little booth, inside the studio. The live thing was so fun too, because all those people are crazy professionals. You know how there is always two commentators, like the straight one and the wacky one, I felt like the wacky one. Mitch was like to me you should’ve been here when it was non-covid people would stay and have drinks afterwards, it’s a fun thing. I fully want to do it again.
And you got to meet Andrew Gaze.
Man, Gazey is a fucking legend. You want him to be your best friend. Within seconds, I was like how is this guy so cool? Everyone was like he is the coolest dude. Then he did the Gazey shoe thing that ended up on Brown Cardigan. He was talking about his shoes that had just relaunched at Big W. They were like price point basketball shoes. He was just talking about them, ‘the Gazeys’, then I filmed him talk about them. Mitch told me that there was a spike in ironic Brown Cardigan followers going to Kmart and buying Gazeys.
Man, you’re responsible for that!
You’re welcome, Andrew Gaze. Now look at him, he’s soaring like an eagle.
As if he wasn’t soaring for the last twenty years.
Man, he’s soaring more like an eagle now. He has his own TV show on Fox. He has this sports panel show.
Before we wrap up, I was at the 7Ball premiere in London and Guy Jones from Vague Skate Mag asked Raph Langslow and Jack O’Grady what your favourite sandwich is. Neither knew the answer. So, to answer Guy’s question right here. What is your favourite sandwich?
The classic Bahn Mi with the lunch meats but I like all the other ones too, I like a classic grilled chicken or pork belly.
Wait, no way. I would’ve never expected the lunch meat one.
Yeah, the lunch meat one is fucking good, it was the first one I ever had. We lived off Victoria Parade for ages and I worked in a call centre around there, so I ate a bunch of Bahn Mi’s.