Ask Karl

[ORGANIKARL]

Karl, you are the very first pro i met back in 2000. I can't lie, I wore the hell out of that expedition video. It was dope meeting your favorite dude. On top of that you were super approachable. Thanks for the good memory. I think I actually still have a photo from that day lying around. i need to post that. thanks for the positivity. It actually had a big influence on the way i looked at skateboarding early on.

what other board companies have you almost ridden for?

Thanks for sharing that, dude. Much appreciated
I would love to see that photo my man. Please post it up.

Also, one company that I almost rode for was Chocolate back in the day.

[DevinSB]

yo karl! you should definitely check out harborside, i have a jar from there  . any how, i lived in oakland 3 months last year, and it was fucking dope! coming from the south east and skating mostly places like florida, and coming to northern california was a dream. i was just wondering what it was like to grow up skating in oakland, and if it was really crazy in the 90s time frame? also have you skated the new park at the youth uprising center?

[Cosme]

   Also, one company that I almost rode for was Chocolate back in the day.

Damn...! It would have been such a good fit.

Please, tell us the story behind that - you know we need to know...

[manu]

Did you start flowing bert wooton after watching the weekendtage videos?

[choke mayne]

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karl do you like the Wu Tang Clan? and if you do do you wanna join my wu tang clan skate group?

[close]

Are you kidding me! I would love to join your wu tang clan skate group! Man, we grew up on Wu tang. This used to be one of my favorites:

[close]

HELL YEA! The only requirement is to put some sort of wu tang paraphanelia on your board at all time, right now i carved a 'W' between my back bolts (the Wu 'W' of course)

[close]

Cool, Im down. But I'll be an occasional Wu representative. Im not a passionate about them as I used to be. But I'll take a photo with a Wu 'W' on my board so I can become an official member
Thanks for letting me join your skate group!

[close]

Karl you are seriously the fucking man, i wish i could articulate in words how stoked i am right now, and hey if you can't have something on your board at all times it is ok, you can be the exception.?  WELCOME TO THE CREW...or should i say WU

[close]

No, you da man! WU crew coming to a town near you!

HEWL YEH! I AM HELLA ANTICIPATING THAT PIC BRUDDAH!

[bndla]

Hey Karl. I just gotta say the u-turn run in the ftc 3 video is the greatest thing ever.. always puts me on a good mood and makes me wanna skate

By the way last september i flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok and in the airplane they showed your part from sf greatest misses.. it was weird but i was stoked

And the stupid question im about to ask: do you know the song in the end credits of zach & walkers concrete jungle? it is such a chilled tune and i need it really bad

[Hexagon]

Hey Karl who do you shred with on the reg? any mainstays/bros? oh... and do you play any instruments/make music, etc?

Also wanted to tell you I'm a fan of your shred sled engineering, been a huge Kayo supporter for years.

[Frank the Rabbit]

When was the last time you bought anything related to skateboarding (boards, shoes, insoles, hardware etc.)?

[toque]

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Did you base your I-path pro model off of the old Jason Lee Airwalks that you used to always seem to be skating?

Also,  what about a top 5 favorite shoes ever? 

[close]

Yeah, I was definitely a big fan of Airwalk  but I didn't base a shoe design off of them. I  did base my first pro shoe off of the Wallabee with the stitch down the center though.

Im not much of a sneaker head but i'll give it a shot, here we go:

1- Adidas, Cortez

2- Airwalk, Enigmas

3- I Path,  Cats

4- Lakai, Picos

5- Stevie's DC shoe, The Reason

Hah I'm hyped you have some "walking shoes" as your number 1. 

I remember thinking those wallabee ones were real weird in 9th grade until I saw this older skater Pat wearing them.  I thought they were pretty gully from that point on. 


I'd also like to know about who you've been skating with a lot recently.  Any video parts you have been rocking before going out skating?   

[ORGANIKARL]

yo karl! you should definitely check out harborside, i have a jar from there  . any how, i lived in oakland 3 months last year, and it was fucking dope! coming from the south east and skating mostly places like florida, and coming to northern california was a dream. i was just wondering what it was like to grow up skating in oakland, and if it was really crazy in the 90s time frame? also have you skated the new park at the youth uprising center?

Whats up DevinSB
 Definitely got to check that place out, I keep hearing cool thing about it. Growing up in Oakland was something else, man. I moved to SF when I was 9 but before that I had hella fun living in Oaktown. Too Short used to date this girl who lived on my block, that was pretty much the topic of discussion until I was 13 and on that same block is where I discovered my very first banana board.

That new plaza at the Youth Uprising Center is so fun. Have you gotten a chance to skate it? You should move back to The Bay just to skate there.

[ORGANIKARL]

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   Also, one company that I almost rode for was Chocolate back in the day.

[close]

Damn...! It would have been such a good fit.

Please, tell us the story behind that - you know we need to know...

Yeah, that would have been a good fit back in the day for sure. 
Well, York and I used to be best friends so when he rode for Stereo I got on as a flow rider.  During that time Mike ended up getting let go from Stereo and Chocolate was being formed. I stayed on flow for Stereo and Mike, Shamil and Ben Sanchez were some of the first ams as Chocolate launched. I found out about 1 year later that I was on the original list but they thought things were going good for me at Stereo so they didn't ask me. To say the least I was hella bummed when I found that out but it was too late to make that move. Its all good now though Organikarl for life.

[dankradschwag]

is there any truth to the story that you got organika as a reward for staying with expedition over a new offer? if so, who wanted to to ride for them, and why'd you turn it down?

[finknoos]

if you could "steal" any rider (doesnt have to be pro) from another deck company who would you choose?

[Hercules Rockefeller]

so karl, when are you finally gonna tell us that you love lenny?



(btw, a organika/DGK collabo with you and lennie rivas doing sth like that would be so awesome. if you do that, i better get a board haha)

[ORGANIKARL]

Did you start flowing bert wooton after watching the weekendtage videos?

I forgot where I met him at but Bert is a true ripper. So hyped on that guy!

[ORGANIKARL]

Hey Karl. I just gotta say the u-turn run in the ftc 3 video is the greatest thing ever.. always puts me on a good mood and makes me wanna skate

By the way last september i flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok and in the airplane they showed your part from sf greatest misses.. it was weird but i was stoked

And the stupid question im about to ask: do you know the song in the end credits of zach & walkers concrete jungle? it is such a chilled tune and i need it really bad

Thanks man
Thats crazy they played that part on an airplane. Never thought I would hear that
Also, I forgot the name of the song but I'll ask my friend and tell you later.
Peace

[ORGANIKARL]

Hey Karl who do you shred with on the reg? any mainstays/bros? oh... and do you play any instruments/make music, etc?

Also wanted to tell you I'm a fan of your shred sled engineering, been a huge Kayo supporter for years.

First off, you're always one of my favorite poster on here. I love your cartoon thingy its too funny.

I usually skate with local rippers mostly in the East Bay. But I always have fun skating with my teammates, as they are all my homies Richard Jefferson is someone I skate with a lot too.

I do paint mandala type pieces but unfortunately no musical skills. I've tried but not too good at it. Tommy and Rays music is amazing though. I love those dudes.  Do you get down on the musical tip?

[ORGANIKARL]

is there any truth to the story that you got organika as a reward for staying with expedition over a new offer? if so, who wanted to to ride for them, and why'd you turn it down?

Very true, but I didn't just 'get it', its a constant work in progress indeed. Luckily my partner appreciated my loyalty at the time.

The company was World, and they offered me 2 times what I was making and a car payment on a BMW or something like that. It was right before World disappeared into oblivion for like 8 years... Stoked I made the right decision i'll tell you that

[ORGANIKARL]

if you could "steal" any rider (doesnt have to be pro) from another deck company who would you choose?

Austyn Gellette!!!  Good question!

[ORGANIKARL]

so karl, when are you finally gonna tell us that you love lenny?



(btw, a organika/DGK collabo with you and lennie rivas doing sth like that would be so awesome. if you do that, i better get a board haha)

That is too funny, man! Good idea...Im actually going to run this by our graphic department.
Thanks my man.

[ORGANIKARL]

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Did you base your I-path pro model off of the old Jason Lee Airwalks that you used to always seem to be skating?

Also,  what about a top 5 favorite shoes ever?  

[close]

Yeah, I was definitely a big fan of Airwalk  but I didn't base a shoe design off of them. I  did base my first pro shoe off of the Wallabee with the stitch down the center though.

Im not much of a sneaker head but i'll give it a shot, here we go:

1- Adidas, Cortez

2- Airwalk, Enigmas

3- I Path,  Cats

4- Lakai, Picos

5- Stevie's DC shoe, The Reason

[close]

Hah I'm hyped you have some "walking shoes" as your number 1.  

I remember thinking those wallabee ones were real weird in 9th grade until I saw this older skater Pat wearing them.  I thought they were pretty gully from that point on.  


I'd also like to know about who you've been skating with a lot recently.  Any video parts you have been rocking before going out skating?  

I've been skating with local rippers recently. Skated with Bubble Gum Tate, that was fun. Also, Kyle Camarillo, he makes amazing videos and skates good.

My number 1 skater to watch right now is Austyns Gillette, check these amazing parts right here:


Best skater in the world! In my eyes.

[ORGANIKARL]

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Hey Karl. I just gotta say the u-turn run in the ftc 3 video is the greatest thing ever.. always puts me on a good mood and makes me wanna skate

By the way last september i flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok and in the airplane they showed your part from sf greatest misses.. it was weird but i was stoked

And the stupid question im about to ask: do you know the song in the end credits of zach & walkers concrete jungle? it is such a chilled tune and i need it really bad

[close]

Thanks man
Thats crazy they played that part on an airplane. Never thought I would hear that
Also, I forgot the name of the song but I'll ask my friend and tell you later.
Peace

I found out its a Sigur Ros song. Not too sure what the name of the song is though.

[Fongstarr.]

Yo Karl. I sent you a PM dude. Was wondering if you can check that out when you can. Thanks!

[VictoriousOG]

Who is the best skater in the industry? And who is the nicest?

[TheFreshSC]

do you like fish sticks?

[Bubblegum Tate]

do you like fish sticks?

[Bruh Man]

Yeah, that would have been a good fit back in the day for sure. 
Well, York and I used to be best friends so when he rode for Stereo I got on as a flow rider.  During that time Mike ended up getting let go from Stereo and Chocolate was being formed. I stayed on flow for Stereo and Mike, Shamil and Ben Sanchez were some of the first ams as Chocolate launched. I found out about 1 year later that I was on the original list but they thought things were going good for me at Stereo so they didn't ask me. To say the least I was hella bummed when I found that out but it was too late to make that move. Its all good now though Organikarl for life.

Thanks for sharing man, I love shit like that-untold stories/history from my youth you know. It's crazy how life works its magic and things fall into place!

[ORGANIKARL]

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do you like fish sticks?

[close]

"Not in my mouth" LOL

[ORGANIKARL]

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Yeah, that would have been a good fit back in the day for sure. 
Well, York and I used to be best friends so when he rode for Stereo I got on as a flow rider.  During that time Mike ended up getting let go from Stereo and Chocolate was being formed. I stayed on flow for Stereo and Mike, Shamil and Ben Sanchez were some of the first ams as Chocolate launched. I found out about 1 year later that I was on the original list but they thought things were going good for me at Stereo so they didn't ask me. To say the least I was hella bummed when I found that out but it was too late to make that move. Its all good now though Organikarl for life.

[close]

Thanks for sharing man, I love shit like that-untold stories/history from my youth you know. It's crazy how life works its magic and things fall into place!

Sure is crazy how life works like that... Thanks for inquiring

[ORGANIKARL]

Who is the best skater in the industry? And who is the nicest?

Nicest- Theotis Beasley
Best- All these new up and coming super rippers. They skate it all. Gotta love that.