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MD:
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That crayon style?
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LM:
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With that style and art made it recognizable. But I couldn’t be bothered. I didn’t want to do that. That’s no way to brand something.
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MD:
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See, I would almost argue against that because it looked to me like you did that. A lot of your boards had that crayon style. You could pick one up
and say "Yeah. That’s a Lance Mountain graphic".
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LM:
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I’d go on and off all the time. That’s what it should have been. I don’t really like that stuff on skateboards. To me that’s not what a skateboard should look like.
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MD:
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What should a skateboard look like?
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LM:
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For me? You mean like who’s stuff? I don’t know. I like really early 80’s stuff or 70’s stuff where it wasn’t even graphics, it was just logos.
Some of that stuff is great. Powell stuff is awesome. I don’t know. Just graphics! <laughs> You can’t do that when you’re pumping out 40 boards every
3 months. It becomes McDonalds where it has to be recognizable, a theme, and seen and noticed. The only thing that would be recognizable for me would be that.
I don’t know. I was doing the whole team. I just wasn’t into it.
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MD:
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If you could draw like anybody, who's style and ability would you like to emulate and why?
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LM:
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I’ve tried all types of stuff and learned different styles just to try it, that is why some off it is no good… but it's fun to try different stuff. I
learned how to do graphics on the computer when I was too scared to get one, my friend made me buy one and learn on my own.
I don't really want to draw like anyone else but it would be great to be able to just sit down and draw or paint from sight any human figure; that’s the
hardest I think. I always emulated the art from Wes [Humpston], Neil [Blender] and John [Lucero]. It's not all that great to draw like someone but not as well.
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MD:
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Did you ever hire guys to do stuff for you?
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LM:
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Sometimes guys would do it when I’d burn out or if I didn’t have stuff I’d have different dudes do stuff here and there.
I never used the same guy ever cuz it was always like pulling teeth to get what I wanted out of somebody or something you know.
I used a guy towards the end who was great but he had no time to do it.
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MD:
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Actually some of the last Firm graphics like "Nefertiri" and "King Tut"...
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LM:
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Yeah, that guy ripped. He drew it all on the computer. That guy was awesome. He just drew over other pictures that I gave him. He didn’t actually draw.
I’d take a photo or a picture of something and then he basically did computer work over the top of it. It took him forever but it was great. I liked his stuff.
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MD:
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What do you think of your current graphics right now?
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LM:
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Oh you mean that one that Aaron drew?
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MD:
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There’s that one and there’s also another one with a helmet...
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LM:
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When they asked me what I wanted I just spent some time with that guy to do what I wanted. I just wanted them to do that crest graphic the way I wished
I could have done it before.
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MD:
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So is that graphic now the one that you’ve always wanted?
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LM:
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It was my first idea. It’s basically the same thing. I took the original drawing and said like "this is what I wanted". The guy did it good. It’s rad.
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MD:
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It’s incredible actually.
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LM:
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Yeah it’s awesome.
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MD:
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That board is probably the only mass marketed board with wheel wells in it. Where did the decision to go with that come from?
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LM:
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To make a board that cost more than you could sell it for...we wanted it to cost more to make than we could sell it for. <laughs> Just the whole thing trying
to get back to where the board and the pros and stuff mattered. Try to make stuff stand out and be different and have some sort of meaning. Not that it would change
it but just be part of it.
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