Sci-Fi Fantasy Man: Jerry Hsu
Photography courtesy of JerryJerry Hsu is a man that needs no introduction, but we’re gonna give him one anyway.
After a prolific career as a professional skateboarder, Jerry has now stepped into a new phase of his life as the owner, art director, and team manager of the flourishing brand Sci-Fi Fantasy. We chatted with the elusive Mr Hsu about what it’s like to not be sponsored, his thoughts on Gifted Hater, the recent implosion of Enjoi Skateboards, his photography, and more. Bon appetit.
How’s your day going, Jerry?
It's alright. I'm a little hungover, and I just went to the eye doctor. That's pretty much all I've done today.
How are your eyes?
Well, I have this autoimmune condition. It's genetic. Basically, one of my eyes becomes red, irritated, and light-sensitive. My body thinks there's an infection where there isn't one, and it fights it. So today was just like a checkup because I had a flare-up. It’s very annoying, and it lasts a long time.
I’ve found that eating fewer carbs can help with autoimmune flare-ups. But I’m no doctor.
I should definitely eat fewer carbohydrates. I should probably change my diet in general just to deal with all this inflammation because I also have other injuries that I need to address, like ankles and whatever.
“Sci-Fi is sort of my sponsor, but not really, because I just sort of sponsor myself, basically. ”
Dietary stuff is the worst. It makes it hard to go out and get food with friends. Anyway, what’s your sponsorship situation currently? Who are your sponsors?
Um, I don't I don't have any sponsors. When I quit chocolate, I kind of didn't want to be sponsored anymore. Sci-Fi is sort of my sponsor, but not really, because I just sort of sponsor myself, basically. I think I’m also sponsored by Spitfire, but I don’t really know. I don’t consider myself very sponsored.
Why didn’t you want to be sponsored?
I mean, I've been sponsored since I was 16, so it's all I’d ever known. It's always funny when you hear a person complain about being sponsored or professional or whatever, but honestly, I just got bored and unhappy with having to be a certain way. I just wanted to experience what it was like to not be sponsored. I understood that it would be scary and that my identity was so wrapped up in it, but I kind of wanted to just scare myself because I had become so complacent. I'd also watched so many other people become so complacent and desperately try to hang on to being a pro skater. I didn’t want to do that. I kind of wanted to be in control of my own fate a little bit. It's kind of like if you're with someone for too long and the spark is gone. At that point, you have to say, ‘I don't know what it is, but I need to do something different and just see what's right for me.’
Was it a difficult thing for you to do to kind of allow all of these sponsors to go away, or did you not care so much?
I think a little bit of both. With Emerica, they suddenly just let me go. I was hurt by that. I was also at a point in my career where I just didn't want to go out there and try to find a new shoe sponsor. At the same time, I felt like it was a bit of a sign. Everything was just getting so boring, and losing my sponsors did sort of reignite my love for skateboarding because I think when you do something as your job for long enough, even if you're very passionate about it, you can really start to resent it. I don't want to complain about being a very fortunate professional skater for so long, but I really did kind of lose that spark. And when I came back after not being sponsored anymore, it was fun again. I didn’t have to think of skateboarding in such an extreme way anymore. Having no expectations on your skateboard is very lovely. It’s freeing.
Do you skate more now that you aren’t sponsored? Or has Sci-Fi taken up most of your time?
I don't skate very much right now. I mean, I've been hurt. And being a little bit older, I have more responsibility. It's just been more difficult for me to go skating.
How is Sci-Fi Fantasy going? Does that take up the bulk of your time?
Yeah, I mean, I sort of split it. I work on a lot of photography projects and other projects, but Sci-Fi is my day job. It’s very time-consuming.
“When I started, the bones were there, but I had a lot of bad ideas. It took a minute to understand how it should look and feel and where it should be.”
Are you doing everything in the company: designing, team managing, the works?
I’m the owner, and the art director and team manager, I guess? Yeah, I've pretty much handled most of that. Also, this guy Scotty works for us, too. He handles the logistical things. I have a little team of people that handle all the non-creative things that I am no good at.
What has been the hardest aspect of running your own business?
Well, I’m awful with time management. Also, just the insecurity of creating something and wondering if it's gonna bomb or if people are gonna hate it. Mostly though, it's just managing my time and being on a calendar. My whole life has had no discipline in that way. I really have to work on that. At the same time, there's nothing really that hard about it, you just have to be consistent. Some days or weeks, I just don't want to work on it. But that would cause problems because it's a business. All that aside, everything is good. I'm very lucky.
Was there any kind of conscious effort to differentiate the brand from what’s already out there? Or did you just want to make something you liked?
I think both. I started trying to do something that I liked, but then I started to question: ‘Does this kind of stuff have a place in this world? Are these ideas interesting?’ It took a second for me to figure out Sci-Fi’s identity. I'm still kind of curious about it, actually. When I started, the bones were there, but I had a lot of bad ideas. It took a minute to understand how it should look and feel and where it should be. I also began using the name a little too literally. I was creating all these like 90s indie band t-shirts with horror or sci-fi movie references. I quickly realized that all that stuff was too on the nose and specific, you know? I didn't want to create a brand that… Actually, I didn't even want to create a brand in the first place. But when I started doing it, I wanted the name and the identity to sort of complement each other in an ironic way. I realized pretty quickly that the whole straightforward sci-fi thing was not the fucking way to go.
Yeah, I like that the designs aren’t so explicitly linked to the name. So how'd you pick your team?
I didn't know I was gonna have a team. I didn't even know I was gonna make skateboards in the beginning. I started sending some stuff to Arin. I didn't know her or anything. I just DM’ed her and started sending her stuff. She really liked it and kept telling me that people would ask her if she rode for Sci-Fi. Eventually, I just told her, ‘Yeah, tell people that you do.’ And then I started to make skateboards and Arin was the first rider. Then Ryan Lay approached me. We've been friends for a long time. He was curious about what I wanted to do and I wanted to help him out. I admire his skateboarding. So that's kind of how the team started. After that, it was just sort of a mixture of people asking me and every once in a while, I'll just hit someone up. I’m not extremely proactive about it, though.
And how did Joa, Gifted Hater, get on the team?
Well, he actually has a private account, and I started following it on the Sci-Fi Instagram. I had no idea who he was. He was just buying stuff, and he would post it once in a while. I noticed that he was pretty good at skating, so I started sending him stuff. I had no idea about the Gifted Hater stuff until Ted Barrow mentioned him, and then I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is Joa.’ Then I realized that there's this whole other identity there. Joa was also friends with Ryan Lay. So we all skated together. And that's just kind of how it started. I liked him, I liked his skating, and that's how Joa came to be on Sci-Fi. It was really natural, I'd say.
“Hopefully, I’ll have a part in it. That’s the dream. ”
That’s funny, I just assumed you found him through his videos. What do you think about his videos? Do you pay attention to them?
Yeah, I definitely care about his videos. I understand they can be very controversial, but I’m a fan of his. I understand that some people can be hurt by his brand, but Joa only uses information that everybody already has to arrive at his conclusions. He's also good about correcting himself if he's wrong. I admire what he does. I think it's something that a lot of people attempt, but Joa might do it the best. I think his videos are very intelligent, and he's very thoughtful. I think he's probably much more thoughtful than he might come across sometimes. Maybe sometimes it's hard for people to clock the nuances of what he does, but it's also very entertaining.
Yeah, I think he’s a real talent at what he does.
It is pretty impressive. For someone that has been somewhat outside of the industry, I'm pretty surprised at how correct he is.
And I hear that Sci-Fi is working on a video, is that correct? Will you have a part?
The plan is just to film all year and then make a video. Nothing crazy. I’m just trying to get everybody together and make something. Hopefully, I’ll have a part in it. That's the dream. Though it’s hard balancing everything.
How do you feel about the recent exodus or implosion of Enjoi?
I am not surprised. I want to be careful here because I do care about the brand, but then I also don't care. What I will say is that Enjoi had a very long life. I think that it was definitely time for it to end. Enjoi lives in a place under these umbrella companies and it always has. When I was there, it always seemed like we were fighting the people who owned us. We were always trying to satirize their perspective about business and stuff like that. For Enjoi to finally succumb to the profit motive, it's sort of poetic, sort of tragic, but ultimately inevitable.
I care about my friends who rode for Enjoi, and I care about the company’s legacy, but I also know that trying to be creative under those circumstances is very, very difficult. It's probably a relief for Louie to not be there anymore. I remember when I’d try to voice my opinion or make a difference in some way when I was there, and I’d just be ignored. Being ignored by a company that you kind of helped build was very frustrating. That's kind of why I left. I think Enjoi will continue to live. The brand has a valuable aesthetic that's totally sellable, and whoever owns it now will keep it alive. It’s sad for me, it’ll be like seeing my baby in a Walmart or whatever. But that’s just skating. Like, who fucking cares?
And outside of Sci-Fi, what are you working on?
Mostly my photography work. I just finished editing a new book that's coming out this year. It's made entirely with iPhone photos. That's the project that I'm pretty stoked on. It's finally done.
What inspired you to make an iPhone-only photo book?
I have always used cell phone cameras a lot. I made another book with Blackberry photos because that was the phone that I used predominantly. In that book, I talked about how I originally started using my phone camera as sort of a note-taking device. It wasn't really for taking photographs. I’d just send people things that reminded me of them. In 2006-7, the ability to send photos to each other wasn't as proliferate as it is now. So I started amassing all these photos, and then I made that book. With the iPhone book, it’s sort of like a continuation. It's like a part two of my first book. My habits have changed since the first book too. I use my phone more photographically rather than just for note-taking now. I also shoot a lot of vertical stuff since Instagram stories came out, which I really like for the book format. I don't really don't know how else to talk about it. I just wanted all of my photos to live in one place.
“I’m so critical and have such a crippling amount of self-doubt. But you know, every once in a while, I get over it, and I make something. ”
Do you feel vulnerable when you release something like this?
Yeah. I kind of can't feel more vulnerable. I probably don't put out as much stuff as I should just because I'm so critical and have such a crippling amount of self-doubt. But you know, every once in a while, I get over it, and I make something.
Well, that's a wrap for me, Jerry. Was there anything else? Did you want to throw any shade at people? Start some drama? The floor is yours.
No, I think I'm okay. I’ve probably thrown enough shade over the last few years. I'm probably good.
You've filled your shade-throwing quota.
Yeah, maybe next time we speak, I'll have more shade throw.
That'd be nice. Cool. Well, thanks for chatting, Jerry. I hope your eye feels better soon.
Thanks. Me too.