Hilliard, what kind of name is that?
English, got it from my great Grandpa. My parents were all stoked on it cause he hired some black dudes or something before people were doing that, ya know, like back in the day. So they crowned me Hill deuce.

How long have you been on earth?
7,540 days, give or take.

Where are you from?
Started my life in Ottawa, but as far as my memory goes back, I was living in Windsor, so that’s home.


Backtail

Were you psyched on Windsor, skate wise?
Skate wise for sure, lots of good spots, rough ground, typical east coast shit you hear about. Filming is easier there I think because its normal for me but all of my friends moved to Toronto and I wasn’t feelin that as much, so that’s how I came out West...with the help from a couple people.

You must’ve gone to the US a lot with Windsor right on the border. Where’d you guys skate in the US?
Well ya, Windsor is right across the border from Detroit. It’s a pain in the sac crossin the border but we would usually hit that up weekly. Detroit’s almost a ghost town, so it’s rare to get kicked out of spots. Chicago is close too and all those little suburbs in Michigan have tons of shit that doesn’t get skated much. I’m feelin skating in the States but that’s all I wanna have to do with that country.

I heard you got kidnapped and taken to Philadelphia, what’s up with that story?
Man, that’s when I was like 16 or 17 or something. These dudes I started skating with, James and Josh, took me one night to Kitchener. We were planning on going to Toronto the next day just for a little trip but plans changed. We picked up my friend Kyle in Toronto and really didn’t even know what we were doing. It’s only supposed to be a 10-hour drive but we drove for like 20 hours and skated f.d.r. all day then drove the same way back. Haha, my school was calling, my mom like “uhh your son didn’t show up the last couple days.” I filled her in when I got back.


Crook
So now you’re a transplant in Vancouver, why’d you leave Windsor?
My friends were all movin to Toronto, fool I already said that. You emailed me and said you were looking for someone to move in. Two weeks later I was livin in a living room in the gayest area I could picture existing. I was just going to stay here for the summer but you know how it goes.

So you fit right in…What do you like about skating Vancouver?
Shit, skating downtown, the plaza, tons of parks…everything, pretty much. People here kill it, so I think it like makes you skate harder and try to get shit done more but it’s all good. Living in a skate house with some fools that are always down to skate is good too.

Too bad you live with a couple of bums from back east, who are those dudes?
Yeah, right now I’m crashing on their couch, my homies Lee Saunders and the stuntman Mike.


360 Flip

You ever go back to Windsor to skate?
Yea yea. Im going back there soon, I’m filming a part for Jordan Mayfield’s new video and I think it’s gonna be the easiest to get footage back home. Stay on some more couches, skate Detroit and Toronto. Just for a short time though, I’ll be back here shortly after.

What’s up with Mayfield’s Video?
It’s gonna be sick. Scooter, John Hanlon, Corey Wilson, Kyle Desaulniers and me. I guess he wants to make it unique for each skater with different intros and shit. Should be sick, can’t wait. That’s all I can say bout it for now.

Have you got any traveling done in the past couple years?
Yea I went on a trip with C1RCA this summer to Vancouver Island…got heat stroke, then I went to Barcelona and fucked up my leg, and I just got back from Phoenix for a contest.


Polejam
How do you feel about contest skating?
It was my first contest, so like rollin up to this thing I had no idea what to expect. Contests in general usually just seem like too much pressure and hecticness. Contests are definitely for some people and not for others. I’m down for whatever, I guess it’s just what you make of it. My leg was still hurting so pretty much just chug beers!

Who’s skating are you feeling?
Mostly the people I go skate with like Lee Saunders, Kyle Desaulniers, Dallas Yves and Jamie Jeffrey. All those dudes are on their own level. And Sheckler and Bam.

Lots of dudes are concerned with what’s been done these days, are you paying attention to ABDs and skate nerdery?
Not really, like fuck it if you wanna do a trick, it’s gonna be your own way. But like when new mags come out or a new video or something, it’s good to see what’s been going down, keep up on new spots too.


360 Flip Fakie

Slayer or Wu-Tang?
Both all day…but definitely some hype shit like that when I’m skating. Or maybe reign in blood mixed with 36 chambers of death kid.

Nollie or ollie?
Switch fakie.

Mustache or beard?
Beards…they come with mustaches. And free rides fool.


Crook

East or West?
East for life, West for trees.

Bud or Canadian?
Coors Banquet cans, only available in the States, fuck that light shit.

California or anywhere but California?
Detroit.

Hold’em or Cee-lo?
Cee-lo.

All right, sponsors? Thank yous?
C1RCA, krew, Westbeach the shop and Change skateboards keep me rolling. James Denomme, James Kolbjornson, Zoltan Katchanoski, Jon Stevenson, Lee and Stuntman Mike.


Smith