Dan MacFarlane interview

sam:
Ok first off I would like to get the basics out of the way,
Who do you ride for, and a little about the company if you don’t mind?


Dan:
I currently ride for Mentality Skateboards, and Ollie Pop gum. I used to have several sponsors before I started Mentality back in 2003, but I basically sponsor myself since then. Also, my new type of sponsors are companies who sponsor and promote my products. It's a different setup when you're a pro who later makes their own brand and products. I like it this way better because I am in control now.



Sam:
What are your setup stats?


Dan:
I ride a 7.75 Mentality deck, Mob griptape, HKD bolts, Independent lows (moderately loose), Independent abec 7 bearings,and 52mm Mentality wheels.



sam:
When did you start skating, and what made you want to do it?



Dan:
I started skating in 1986, and Back to the Future introduced me to it, plus my brother, who is 2 years older and his friends started doing it. It looked like fun! I've been skating at least 6 days a week since then.



Sam:
I have a few friends who regularly give lessons at a local privately owned skatepark, and recently I went with them and helped give lessons a couple of times, I now have a whole new perspective and respect for this.
There is a fine line with what, and how you can talk to a kid these days, and that’s easy compared to actually getting them to understand what your trying to teach, or really figuring out how to express what your trying to get across, like I said, a whole new respect.
You seem to have this figured out, and excel at it, was this a natural born ability or something you learned or actively worked on?



Dan:
That's a long story, but here goes:
I love skateboarding and my goal was always to be the best I can be on my board so I could have the most fun possible. This goal created a challenge because skateboarding can definitely be difficult when you don't have any guidance... I had to figure most of it out by myself, so I learned things in a lot of different ways... I skated both ramp and street so I had to figure out how to "explain" the tricks to myself in ways that worked for me on these different types of terrain. I also studied skate magazines and videos like crazy, and the pressure of skating contests helped me a lot too.
This went on for about 9 years before I began teaching at the Magdalena Ecke YMCA in Encinitas, CA in 1995 at their summer camp. I actually instructed Shaun White there, and taught him to pump out of his kickturns and to frontside grind on a ramp. He was 8. At this camp I discovered that my background assisted me in helping my students learn and improve really quickly. I taught at this camp for about 6 weeks. After this camp I didn't teach again for years, but I kept skating hard and filmed, and competed a lot.

My mom is a psychiatric nurse, and around 1997 she introduced me to a sports psychology audio course, and some other personal development tapes during this time... It made me so much better at skating, so I kept studying these types of programs.

Then in 2000 a Vans Skatepark opened up in Houston and the employees referred a lesson to me.... In that lesson the kid learned 10 tricks in one hour... He was super happy and so was I.
I realized at this point that I needed to keep teaching. I ended up having countless clients at Vans and I honed my skills during this time. Parents were paying me good money and they wanted to see results, I did too, so I used this pressure to challenge myself to have the most effective lessons possible. It got to the point where I could guarantee my students learn 2 to 7 tricks per hour! Another driving force was that the better I got at explaining the tricks to others, the better I got at my skating! Also it felt awesome to know I was helping people of all ages and genders reach their goals, overcome fear, and do things they never thought possible for themselves.

After all this experience, when I came to Woodward's Lake Owen facility, they complimented me on my instruction and I could really see that I had developed a unique talent. Of course after teaching all those people there, my skill grew even more! And after I made Skateboarding Explained: The Instructional DVD, my ability to teach was even more effective! Nowadays I guarantee my students learn 2 to 10 tricks per hour in private lessons! I love it.


Sam:
I know you spent some time teaching at woodward lake owen, what I don’t know is how much time you spent there, and what you thought of the over all experience for both teacher and student?



Dan:
I ended up teaching there for a several weeks per summer from 2001 - 2006. It was a super fun experience. The campers have a lot of fun there, but giving instruction there is much more laid back than the private instructions I honed most of my skill doing. The campers have more of an open skate environment where they ask if they want help. It is really up to the instructors to keep an eye out for who needs help, so the results vary depending on who's teaching.


Sam:
Im also curious about how you got involved with woodward in the first place?


Dan:
I attended Lake Owen as a camper in 1993 and Eddie Elguera was the visiting Pro, and I had a great time skating with him, so I always wanted to go back. Then in 2001 my friend Jesse Reed got a job as one of the directors. He offered me a couple weeks and I was in. In 2004 they filmed a segment of me walking around teaching... (Look up Dan MacFarlane Skateboard Instruction on Youtube) The next day I woke up and thought of filming my long brewing idea "Skateboarding Explained" there.



Sam:
If you could what is the future of mentality skateboards, anything in the works you could tell us about?



Dan:
Mentality has a new line of product and a new team in the works, and we are also working on some other big things I cant talk about yet. Mentality means a lot to me so there is something always in the works. "Skateboarding is my mentality."


Sam:
Im always curious about a skaters influences both in and out of skateboarding, could you tell us about a couple?



Dan:
My skating influences are Tony Hawk, and Rodney Mullen, because those are the innovators I grew up watching, and they keep going, so I am still inspired by that. I also like Hawk and Mullen because they are great entrepreneurs at the same time. Any skateboarder who is innovative and creative influences me, really. Other people who influence me are the great teachers of self potential I study: Brian Tracy, Marshall Sylver, and Tony Robbins are some that you may have heard of. If you want to be the best you can be in any area of life, these guys can help you tap into your full potential.



Sam:
So you had something pretty big happen this week with the news of NHS completes being sold at Target stores to come with a copy of your “quick start” skateboarding explained DVD, that is really cool man, please give us a breakdown of whats going on and how it came to happen ?



Dan:
Thanks! I am really happy about it finally coming to fruition, because it took a long time. In late 2008 Bob Denike, the president of NHS contacted me with the idea to add the SE DVD with these boards, to show people how to start out. It was a huge compliment to me because I grew up riding Bullet wheels and sporting Skateboarding is not a crime stickers. At the same time, it was really ironic because I had already been working on something similar with Mentality and the Full Length SE DVD, with another company... That other deal didn't work out, so I went with NHS in the end. I am glad it worked out this way because I am in a more flexible situation with Mentality and the Full Length DVD.



Sam:
One thing that has really seemed to have grown to be a part of skateboarding itself if the do it yourself, and do it all mentality, this doesn’t only apply to spots, but every aspect of the promotion of skateboarding, just about everyone is a decent photographer, filmier, and editor, but to do all that stuff and add board company owner, teacher, instructional video producer, and all of the promotion etc you have going on, well that’s allot of hats for one man how do you keep it all on track, and as a former small business owner I know stress can be an almost constant, what do you do to combat stress?



Dan:
To handle the stress, I delegate as much of the workload as I can. I also have learned to stay disciplined, and even how to meditate. Meditation has helped a lot! It helps me keep my energy balanced in a healthier way. Also, when you are passionate about what you do, it makes the stress more tolerable. I have found that everyone ultimately experiences a similar amount of stress in what they're doing, so you might as well do what you're passionate about... Thinking about it this way helps me a lot. One other thing I learned is that through these ups and downs of life it helps to stay "mentally nourished" by regularly listening to and reading personal development books, and learning as much as you can to help you with what you're working on. Taking it day by day, while keeping your focus on the bigger goal helps a lot too. Of course, the ultimate outlet for me is to go skate.


Sam:
Anything else you would like to tell us about while you have our attention?



Dan:
Thanks for your support! Anyone who reads this please tell anyone you know who could use it, about the Skateboarding Explained video! Help me in my mission it to help as many people as I can to learn and improve through it. It is even coming out as an I phone app in March! You heard that here, first! So, look out for that one! Also, I have some other crazy things happening... I need any "experienced" skateboarding instructor, from anywhere in the world who reads this to contact me at info@skateboardingexplained.com because I may have an opportunity for you soon! Make sure to write "Attention Dan".
Other than that, I leave you with this great quote "Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe."

links:
http://www.mentalityskateboards.com/

http://www.skateboardingexplained.com/



some video of dan