Continuing saga of Brandon Miller

I've been excited for this interview for quite some time. Brandon Miller is rad. I just thought I'd get that out first. He's a good friend, a cool guy, and he'll cover you when you're down a couple bucks at lunch. He's been a devout Thunder Bolt since day one, so we're honored to have him on the blog. He's going to be making his debut as a full and official team rider in "Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild", wooing the audience with his moves and what not, in mid August this year. So in this interview, you're going to read some funny stories, learn what the Bolts of Thunder band is planning on putting out, and find the source from which Dan Shaw's powers stem. If you're new to the blog and don't know of which powers I speak, I've put up two pictures of Dan pulling some mean tweaked airs in a vert ramp to illustrate my point. The other two pictures are of Switzerland and have nothing in any way to do with this interview, but I think they are amazing pictures and should be put up. Lauren Cooper (Dave's wife) took them when we were in Switzerland. Yeah, it's that pretty... Enjoy the interview!

(MrThunderBolt) How long have you been a Thunder Bolt?

(Brandon) Well, I have aspired to be a thunderbolt ever since the Days of Yore, but my official inauguration into this, the sacred brotherhood, happened on Friday June 17, 2011.  I remember it well, you posted some bloody pictures of me on the blog and my life was never the same again.

What got you into Bolts of Thunder?

Well I guess that depends on what the definition of “into” is.  And for that matter, what your definition of “is” is.  Actually, I would really like to know how you define most words.  I await your post.

How do you remain bloody after all these years?  What keeps you skating?

I would say that it comes down to a general lack of ability and disregard for my body.

But to be perfectly honest, skating with my buddies and seeing what you guys are up to really motivates me.  I can watch Leo Romero gap out to nose blunt, or Andrew Reynolds kickflip the biggest gap I have ever seen and not feel any more motivated than usual to push myself because the things that they are doing are so far removed from what I will ever be capable of.  But seeing the footage and photos that you guys put out makes me want to be better, to push myself just that little bit farther to get the next trick.

What are you up to these days? What does your daily routine consist of?

I live in LA with my wife Marie, where I’m attending USC for law school, only one year left.  Right now I’m spending my days sitting 8+ hours at a desk reading case law and writing memos for divisive legal organization in downtown LA.  After work, however, any day that I am not immobilized from slams that happened the day before, I skate until the sun goes down and I can’t see anymore.  Lately Dan has been making the trek up from the OC (don’t call it that) to do some follow-the-leader and watch the sun set at the Venice park.  It’s a really awesome spot because it’s actually on the sand in Venice, it’s probably one of the best parks I’ve skated, and usually a few degrees cooler than the rest of LA = perfect weather for skating.

If Bolts of Thunder was a band/group/orchestra, whatever, what would it be? What kind of music would we make? Who do you see playing what instruments and all that? And how would things go down with the band; would we threaten to kill each other, break up, then have a reunion tour 30 years later? How do you see this going down?

I feel so unqualified to answer this question because I only know a few of you, but I’ll tell you this much, it would be fun. I’m pretty sure it would consist of a rotating group of eclectic instruments (you know, a lute, didgeridoo, hurdy gurdy, and lots of timpani, etc.) that would all mesh together inexplicably to make the most fantastic music you had ever heard/experienced (because man it would be an experience).

If you could be amazing at any instrument, what would it be and why?

Jazz flute.

If you could do any trick, what would it be?

I’ve been working on frontside and backside 360 ollies and bigspins.  If I could consistently ride away with any of those tricks I would be super psyched.

What trick do you love to do over and over?

It’s probably a toss up between two very different tricks, 360 flip and (I don’t really know what to call it besides) a backside powerslide.

I love the feeling of popping a 360 flip and just knowing that you are going to catch it perfectly without really doing anything else.  Once you pop it right, it’s the easiest trick in the world. 

The other trick isn’t much of a trick, just a fun little distraction as you’re cruising down the street, but I do it often and it adds a little spark to riding down the street.

Ok, the standard island question: Who would you be on the island with and why? What would happen between you and the cannibals?

The real question should be do we have skateboards, because if we do, I’ve heard that you wield a mean deck as a defensive weapon.  So between your island experience and defensive skateboard kung fu, I think you and I could keep them at bay.  Then we could spend the remainder of our days foraging the wilderness for coconuts, which we would then fashion into mini ramps.  The locals would be so impressed with our creativity that a respectful peace would be reached, and they would decide to stick to their normal diet of blond virgins who sometimes happen to get shipwrecked there.

From what I gather, you have a pretty wide range of high action sports you like to do: surfing, snowboarding, wake boarding, skateboarding, all that. If you could do one of these every day, but only one, which would it be and why?

Snowboarding is a close second, but I will always love skateboarding.  Come to think of it, if I could have one wish, it would involve some way to be magically healed every night so that injury never kept me from riding the next day.  My second wish would be the same for all of you.  My third wish would be for infinite wishes, I’m no fool. 

I've always wondered how the family views Dan Shaw. To the rest of us, he's a demi-god superhero that could survive Armageddon, the Apocalypse, the sinking of the Titanic, the last Ice Age, and the bubonic plague all in the same day and still have time to film a couple tricks. Do you see him this way, or does the superheroness run in the family? Are you a superhero too, Brandon?

I’ll let you in on the secret, we all have a shrine to Dan that we keep in our bedrooms, and regularly make offerings of linseed oil, sandalwood, and broken skateboard decks to empower us with his godgiven natural ability.  I think that everyone who meets Dan understands immediately through some psychic power that Dan is awesome, there is no limit to his influence, may he be healthy and virile, and may his days be long.

I’m not so sure that superheroness runs in the family, or maybe it just skips a generation.  I think that I’m more like an anti-hero (not unlike Travis Bickle, in Taxi Driver though without all the guns, killing, neuroses, hatred and only an occasional mohawk (actually come to think of it, totally unlike Travis)) prone to blown-out knees and large bruises covering the right side of my body.

You live in LA which is a land wrought with crazy people. Do you have any good stories to share with us of your times in LA?

I’ll give you a short story from my first days in LA, so you can be exposed to it in the same way that I was.  Literally days after we moved into our apartment, I went to a downtown art walk with Greg Shaw (brother and confidant of Dan Shaw, my cousin, and newly converted follower of The Blog).  As we were walking through downtown on the way to the neighborhood where the exhibits were, we passed a 7-11 and encountered a man with a scruffy beard and generally inebriated demeanor that decided to squat immediately outside the doors of the convenience store and drop a load.  It was among the most surreal things I have seen; the streets were really crowded, there were literally hundreds of people around, and not only was this guy taking a dump on a public sidewalk, he was looking people in the eye as they passed with this vacant look on his face like nothing was happening. Interesting sights abound in LA.

Any last words for your fellow Thunder Bolts?

Come to LA!  There are root bumps and gritty street spots aplenty!