Steve Olson, AKA Bulky, AKA SOS is one of the foremost surf style/burly skaters of all times. He has been skateboarding for around thirty-four years and was voted skateboarder of the year in 1979 Skateboarder Magazine Reader's Poll. His son, Alexander, is fifteen years old and has been skating for around four years; he loves skateboarding and is unmistakably new school. Hanging out and skating with them is hilarious… "Dude, knock it off", "I'll kill you bitch" the back and forth banter is more like two brothers than father and son. Recently, after touring some of British Columbia's best skateparks and a trip to Calgary's amazing Millennium Park, I had a chance to sit the two down and ask them a couple of questions. The following mini interview gives some insight to their relationships with skateboarding and with each other.
Olson & Duane Peters doubles | photo: Terrebonne
PD: O.K., Steve when did you start skateboarding?
SOS: You find that funny…. That I can't remember? (Laughs)
PD: Alexander, where are you going?
SOS: (laughing) Alex is a little anti-interviews.
PD: So when did you start skateboarding?
SOS: Uh, I started in 1967 - ish.
PD: How 'bout you Alexander, when did you start skateboarding?
Alexander: 1979
SOS: He's full of shit, he wasn't even born then.
PD: Come on dude.
Alexander: 1979
PD: Dude
SOS: listen, switch it.
PD: What do you figure?
SOS: '97
Alexander: Oh, '97.
PD: (laughing) dyslexic… o.k. hold on dude.
Alexander: just kidding.
PD: k, what do you like about skateboarding?
Alexander: everything.
SOS: Well I really appreciate when the wind blows through my hair and I'm free, it's the closest form of floating and levitating beyond belief.
PD: O.k., who's your favorite skateboarder of all time dude?
Alexander: I don't know.
PD: no favorites? How 'bout you Steve?
SOS: Favorite skater of all time?
PD: umm hmm.
SOS: That's hard to say.
PD: Who do you like? Who do you like Alex?
Alexander: A lot of people.
SOS: Name some.
PD: Name a couple.
Alexander: Keith Hufnagel.
PD: Hufnagel. Anyone else?
Alexander: mumble mumble.
PD: who's that.
SOS: Anthony Van Engelen… speak up.
PD: That's about it? How 'bout you Steve any skateboarders you like to watch skateboard?
SOS: Umm, no … kinda, ya know. There's way too many to name.
PD: O.k., what's the craziest thing you've seen done on a skateboard Alex?
Alexander: Um, misty flips, kick flips.
PD: Misty flips, like on vert ramp. How 'bout you Steven?
SOS: The craziest thing?
PD: Mmm hmm. Something that sticks out in your mind as just being bugged out.
SOS: The best thing?
PD: Sure.
SOS: Let's just rewrite the question really quick.
PD: (laughing) no problem. Edit.
SOS: The craziest thing or the best thing, the best thing I ever saw was we were little amateurs at Paramount skatepark with that big big giant bowl.
PD: How big was that bowl?
SOS: It was like 20 feet or something…
PD: (laughing) oh my god just way too big.
SOS: …with like 10 feet of vert, but the Sims team was there doing a photo shoot and we were just a bunch of little amateur kids hanging out you know basically terrorizing and ripping on them anyway. But uh they were doing a photo shoot and there was George Orton right, he's not sponsored, but he's like floating airs out of the top of this fucking 20 foot bowl so they're like, "sign him up". They put a backpack, a Robinak back pack, on him with stuff, with shit and the skateboard and uh a Sims jersey and a new Sims board and there goes Orton and he like pulls his air with the backpack on and he just floats it, but he's pulled a little bit too hard to kinda like you know it's a weight thing
PD: the backpack
SOS: ya, he' s pulled a little bit too hard now he's floating up in the middle of the bowl with no transition or any landing and just knocks himself out.
PD: (Laughing) That's beautiful, thank you Steve. O.k. what else do you like besides skateboarding?
Alexander: Me?
PD: Ya.
SOS: Sex.
Alexander: no.
SOS: (laughing)
Alexander: I didn't say that. Shut up. Uhh, games I guess.
PD: Games?
Alexander: Video games
SOS: Oh my god dude get a little more elaborate
Alexander: (laughing) God, I just said.
SOS: Video games.
PD: Anything else?
SOS: Do you like music?
Alexander: Ya.
SOS: Do you like art?
Alexander: Ya.
SOS: Do you like Movies?
Alexander: Ya.
PD: How about you Steven? What do you like besides skateboarding?
SOS: Jesus Christ! I like to question my kid with more questions so he can give me more one-word answers. What do I like, I like all of the other things that go along with skateboarding. Like getting dirty, picking your scabs, smelling really bad, getting girls to lick my tank after a fucking 3 hour sweat session….
Alexander: (Laughing) shut up
PD: (laughing) right on
SOS: they're like, "is that Calvin Klein"? No it's ode' de musty.
PD: Thanks fellas.