Chris Pastras
Photography by Bryce Kanights
Title Art by Keith Shore, the rest by Chris
Intro by Mike Vallely
Interview by Ruvan and Sonny

I first met Chris Pastras in the winter of ‘86 through our mutual skate mentor Rodney Smith. Chris was a small kid and seemed a lot younger than what he really was. I remember him slyly entering a Brooklyn Bridge contest in the age category down from his true age but he was so tiny that no one suspected him. He had this Neil Blender board that he could barely lift off the ground and during his contest run he tried a hazard plant on the bank but his board was too heavy for him and sent him toppling down the banks.
Chris lived in the next town over from me in New Jersey and everyday after school, he would take the train from Metuchen to Edison where we skated the Noside Banks together. Those were some of the best days ever. It was apparent to me then how much Chris loved skating and I knew that without question he was going to be someone with something to offer the skate community for many years to come.
I see Chris now as one of the most creative individuals in the sport. To me he represents, and always has, what skateboarders and skateboarding are suppose to be about. There’s very few people like Chris left in skateboarding’s spotlight, but he and they can’t be ignored, for with him and them lies the essence of what we do and why we do it. -Mike Vallely

In skateboarding, I’ve always been able to recognize Chris Pastras by his natural ability and smooth style. He’s got the kind of comfort in skating only known by those who have been skating hardcore for over half their life. If you grew up skating in New York, you may recognize Chris from when he was 12, coming into New York City from his home outside of Edison, New Jersey. He’d be with his God-brother, Rodney, who then ran one of NYC’s original skate companies, Shut Skates, and who now runs Zoo York. Chris would have been the really little one in the group tagging along.

Did you ever enter the Brooklyn contests?
Yeah, I entered one when I was fourteen and lied and said I was 12 because I was so small. I think I got second or third place.

What was your line?
Probably barely-ollies and a boneless where I’d jump around and jump on the wall and jump back on my board. I think those were the two tricks I had.

Rodney made fun of him when they were growing up together. One of the many nicknames Chris adopted morphed itself into “Dune,” a name in skateboarding that some may recognize. The name “Dune” has been on many planks of wood, wheels, shirts, and pages of magazines. Others may recognize Chris Pastras from the 13 years he’s been a sponsored skateboarder.

When did you first get sponsored and who was your first sponsor?
Shut skates, which is now Zoo, when I was 15. I got better about a year after that first contest. Back when I rode for Shut, we’d go up and down the coast, going everywhere- like a skateboard gang.
You’ve been sponsored for half of your life.
Yeah- I don’t know much else, man. It’s kind of weird.

After you got on Shut, what happened?
I got on World Industries after that, through Mike V.

That reminds me of the video, Rubbish Heap. Mike V’s manual!
That was fun! That whole video…that whole Mike V / New York part was filmed in, something like, two days. Me and Billy (Waldman) were just his friends- we weren’t even on World yet. We were just cruising around the city and ended up in the video. It wasn’t planned at all.

Sponsorship by way of video?
Yeah, pretty much. I went with him to California and shot for Rubbish Heap and skated with him and they put me on the team after that.

Then Blue Skateboards?
Yeah. Me, Jason (Lee) and Kareem (Campbell) for a little while, and some ams. At the time, it was a struggle to get our ideas across [to some of the other people involved with Blue]. With Stereo we had more room to run, as far as the artistic vision of it.

What would you call Stereo’s vision, with the first video and the jazz stuff?
Visual. We wanted to do something with more character and artistic intelligence. At the time, videos were cut-trick-cut-trick and dry with no personality or style. Graphics were either cartoons or bloody skulls in flames. We started shooting with some Super 8 cameras Jason had found, and realized all our ideas fit together like a puzzle with the ads, the music, and the images. A Visual Sound was a takeoff of the old beatnik films and beat movement. We wanted to bring those elements and that energy to skateboarding. And the team was so good and had personality, Carl Shipman, Ethan Fowler, Matt Rodriguez, Mike Fraizer, Greg Hunt, Mike Daher.

As of winter 2000, the plug was pulled on the skateboard company known as Stereo. Leaving a legacy and directly influencing skateboarding’s direction, Chris and the company he headed up parted ways.

What happened with Stereo?
Everyone involved decided to walk away. There was no room to grow at Deluxe because their focus was Real and Spitfire. Stereo hadn’t had a full product line or a real chance in years. We all felt it was stagnating, yet Deluxe didn’t want to invest any more time or production in it. So, it was a very mutual parting. I’m still friends with everyone there and no bad vibes exist. I would file it under creative differences.
The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was when we were told there would be no video; I knew we weren’t even being allowed a comeback after that. That’s when I mentally gave up on the situation and shifted my focus from “company owner” to my skating and my education. But Stereo will have a new day under a new name. Because it represents a crew, a style, a visual aesthetic, and a street art form; it’s bigger than a company. It’s like a school of kung fu, you can’t hold back jujitsu, and you can’t fade Stereo.

Where’s the team going?
I can’t predict the future, but I think we’ll go our own ways for now. I want to create an opportunity for us to move on as a group, but right this minute it’s not looking like the time; I’ve already got my hands full. And I don’t want those guys sitting around while I get my plans together. Hopefully in the future. Those guys are like brothers, so we’ll still be tight. Part of the reason me and Jim Theibaud talked about ending Stereo was that neither of us liked feeling like we held people back, and that’s how I’d begun to feel in our situation. Over the past year or so just about every rider was approached by someone, so I’m sure everyone will be fine. If we get to work together again, even better.

What else is in your future plans?
Right now I’m focused on skating, staying in shape, staying healthy, and getting my college education. I’m studying design and I want to get into multimedia so the buck ain’t stopping here. I still ride for Pig wheels and I-Path shoes. I have some video footage I hope to get out, and if the right situation comes along, I would ride for a board sponsor. But I’m a picky bastard so who knows. That’s why I had to make my own stuff, I didn’t like anyone else’s.
I have an art show coming up in SF in February at a gallery called 2550 on Fillmore and Haight. It’s a new gallery started by Persimmon Records. It actually will show a lot of the Stereo artwork I did and will show the videos and some behind the scenes stuff. It’s gonna be called Stereo: A History Lesson. I’m still going to skate, but I’m going to try to have my influence in skateboarding through more than being on my board.

What is skateboarding?
An ever-changing physical art form.

What changes skateboarding; what makes it progress?
The younger kids are moving it. Athletics get tougher with each generation. There’s also a progression in one’s own way, not keeping up with the new tricks. Not everybody has to come out with the new tricks. For some people, progressing is doing an older trick better than anyone else is. For some people, it is doing three new tricks. Everyone has a different sense of progression.

From your perspective, what is the state of the skateboarding industry today?
If you want a lie, I’ll smile and tell you everything is great. But if you want the truth, much of it is sketchy and shady as hell. While I hope its soul doesn’t get lost amidst the Mars Bars banners and neon Rollerblades, I also hope the soul doesn’t get stolen and milked from the many skaters with heart, by the few inside the industry who are rich, powerful, and have no heart.

With that said, do you want to close this out?
I want to say thanks to all the skaters who’ve dug Stereo’s style and supported it. True energy doesn’t go away. And Stereo will be back either as itself, under a new name, or just morph it’s energy into new vessels and new endeavors. And my friends and family, I have a big family, which includes the Smith’s, HI DEE and GENE, I love you and thank you for raising me with so much love. This one’s dedicated to you.