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Flip Tour Poster

MD:	So you�re on Flip now. How is skating for somebody else other than your own company for the first time in over 15 years?
LM:	It�s the best...It�s great!
MD:	It�s the best?
LM:	Yeah. It�s awesome.
MD:	Cuz, I was going to ask, when was the last time you were on tour and you weren�t responsible for everybody and what they did and how that reflected upon you cuz you were the company owner?
LM:	Probably about 2 and a half years ago. I pretty much stopped taking responsibility 2 and a half years ago <laughs> and pretty much just gave up.
MD:	So what happened with the Firm? What was the main thing that made you decide to shut her down?
LM:	So many things. Umm� one of �em was I was skating more. The industry changed. I didn�t want to build another team. I�d done what I wanted to do. I didn�t want to be involved in the industry anymore really. All that stuff. We had an opportunity to ride for somebody else...3 or 4 of us. That opportunity was better than doing what we were doing and since I wasn�t really in my opinion, doing what I wanted to do,...or should do with the guys, that this was a better opportunity for all of us...so we took it.
MD:	So why Flip?
LM:	I�ve always wanted to be on the best teams you can be on. That�s what being sponsored is all about...Being on and associated with the best skateboarders you can be. I think there�s probably 3 or 4 teams out there that are actually any good. So Flip was one of �em and the other ones didn�t ask us. I think this is one of the most talented group of dudes and adding us to it is even better. There really weren�t any other options that�s why I did the Firm back in the 90�s when it was all changing. There was no other option really to ride for anything that was good in my opinion.
MD:	You�ve talked fairly openly in the past about your thoughts about the industry especially when you started up the Firm and how it really took a negative slant. Where do you see things now?
LM:	The industry?
MD:	Yeah.
LM:	It�s just completely out of skateboarders hands in my opinion. It�s real mainstream. It�s just like some other sports item you can buy anywhere. Like a Reggie Jackson mitt you can buy at Target or something. So many skaters out there, and the real core, THAT I believe doesn�t really exist in a business anymore. I don�t think it�s bad or anything. It just is what it is. I don�t want to be cut out. I want to be involved. So this is my next step. I forget what you asked me! <laughs> About where I see the industry? It did what surfing did. When I was on Powell, I know that Stacy and Staecyk talked about it and I knew it was going to happen� and it did. It turned into a lifestyle thing. That�s where the money is made from. And the boards, became almost like a P.O.P.