An interview (and a damn long one) with one of NJ's oldest competing skimboarders,
Colin Mahon, on February 9, 2004.

Interviewed by: Brett Mahon
Name: Colin Kevin Mahon
Age: 43?
DOB: 1/30/1962
Sign: Aquarius
Hometown: Voorhees, NJ
Nickname: C.K.
Sickness: S.A.D. (I get sad when I can't skim in the winter)

Brett: You've been around a while... Tell us what it was like growing up around the Jersey Shore in the early days.

Colin: Pinball, Mopeds. Concrete Skateparks, Miss Cape May... My friend Gary Bolen would pull us behind his boat on a surfboard. He'd drive towards the beach with us behind him, whip a sharp turn, and jet us off huge waves. Just a very BIG SCARY Air. We called it 'Snurfin.' Most days we'd be hangin' out under the boards... at high tide we'd all jump off Convention Hall. Surfin' Broadway Beach and Backyard(Howard St.) in Cape May.

Brett: Uh huh...... So did you live in Cape May all year round?

CK: No

Brett: What else were you into?

CK: Motocross, Skateboarding hahah my first skateboard was a Gordon Smith Flex-Dek with rear lift tail, flat front, and red Road Rider (4) Polyurethane wheels. I bought it from that store in Haddonfield, N.J. that is now the all famous Threds and Sleds.

Brett: What about your bikes?

CK: Me and my brothers LOVED to ride. I rode a YZ 125, CR 125, Kawasaki KT 250 Eduro, the Maico 250 and had a Kawasaki Trials Bike for the woods, We had a KILLER pit right up the street.

Brett: Sandwich... Anything else?

CK: My dad bought a couple of little Fiat cars and we would tie a rope to the front bumper, stand on the roof and try to stay on as long as possible while the driver tried to chuck us off.

Brett: Sounds like you guys were f**ked up in the head!

CK: It's ok, we only did it on dirt roads....

Brett: uh huhh...... I see, so let's get back to skimmin, How'd it all start?

CK: We always skimmed, Me, Al Carlson, John Sheehan, Monkey, The Romeos(Vic and Steve), Matt and Cody. We rode this insanly horrific Round Plastic Disks and plastic "SandPipers" with handles on the sides. The best thing though were the Vic Woodies. We'd glide like 100 yards down the flatass Wildwood Beaches. Mostly just Spins, Distance and Speed Runs(1976). 76 thru 87 were my lost years, I may have been in school or something like that... i don't really remember! haha You're mom and I got married in 86, I belonged to a Trade Union at the time, you were born, we got a house, then i got sober... That was November 1987... the date of my Last 40.

Brett: Interesting in a Joe Dirt kind of way... So what do you do now?

CK: I'm a Capentry Contractor but I wish I had pursued my dream as a SnowSled Designer. I'm blown away every season to see so many different designs and models, mostly the ones that look badass on paper and never field tested.

Brett: Ohhhhkay...

CK: Spent the next 10 years starting my business and being a father. My parents still had the Cape May house and we went to the beach as MUCH as possible in the summer. In 1998 I bought a NEW vic woody and it came with a VIC news flyer on the back. That was my first connection with REAL skimboarding. I attended the 1998 Zap East Coast Skimboarding Championships in Dewey Beach, Deleware and I've been hooked ever since... My First Vic Carbon Poly Vac arrived UPS from California after I talked to Josh on the phone.

Brett: And it wasn't long before you dragged my ass into it too.

CK: You were my Skim Crew.

Brett: Do you still ride Vic?

CK: Yea, I think it's only right. Had Vic not attached that news leeter to their boards I would never have known the sport.

Brett: You call that loyalty?

CK: I call that gratitude, however for $250.00, I can try out a Channel Bottom Pintail MAUI skimmer! Type MS3

Brett: They are kinda thick....

CK: Still, Icommend them for their pricing. Although I think they should be called ZULU skimboards, or is it just me that thinks they represent War Shields?

Brett: Well remind me to buy one just in case I ever piss somebody off and have to shelter myself from flying spears. Does skimboarding cause friction at home?

CK: Oh god yea. My wifre Priscilla says if I go skimmin' one more time she's leaving me. God I'm gonna miss her...

Brett: A true skim Junkie is consumed with Skim thoughts 24/7... Is this true with you?

CK: I dream about skimming if that's what you mean.

Brett: Do tell.

CK: We're at an awesome bakyard luau in Hawaii, it's night-time and the backyard is all lit up with candles on sticks and sh*t. It's sloped down towards the ocean like a beach except it's grass. A few of us are greeting large applause from the party goers because we we were wrappin' these huge monsterous fatty's and riding them all the way back up to the house. Sweeeeeet (Dano was there...)

Brett: Ok, that counts. What was your worst skim injury?

CK: I'd have to say it was a Cracked Knee Cap.

Brett: What does skimboarding mean to you?

CK: 'Pure Stoke' Why else would Idrive 120 miles round trip at LEAST 4 times a week spring thru fall?

Brett: Can you recall a particularly special session?

CK: Just before the 2002 Dewey contest. You, Me, and Tony B. were skimming Southside IRI when the whole cali crew showed up. That was special. Blair popped a tendon that day... that set him back a few.

Brett: You love them reef sandals don't you?

CK: The only question I have to Reef is... "Why are they called Slaps and not Sliaps?"

Brett: What's wrong with that company... know they nothing? What has opened your eyes to the possibilities ahead?

CK: One day i stood oceanside and was wishing that the beautiful peelers would just break 10 feet closer to the beach when all of a sudden WHOOSH, the young guns proved me wrong. I.E. Bill Wright, Chris Marciniak. Need I say more? I was beside myself, it proved to me that anything can be done is the right skills are applied correctly.

Brett: How do NJ Skimmers get along?

CK: We habitate quite nicely I must say. With the skim site up and running noone should ever have to skim alone unless they want to.

Brett: Wanna give a shout out to anyone? Fo Shizzle(sandwich)

CK: Yea, hats off to the riders who can harness their sleds at top speeds without even looking down as they step onto their board. Lifeguards that tolerate us during the summer days. The American Indian, Skim Mag, The Surf Shack, Contest Organizers, REDBULL!, Eric Wojciechowski, Bokie Boards, and the dedicated Dan McFadden.

Brett: Any last requests?

CK: Yes, mainly one... We need to make a committee to keep the beach cams clean, and petition for a few more.(Crystals and States)

Brett: Any Political affiliation?

CK: Dubuya's a RETARD!

Brett: Dually noted... He does give me hope though... because if he can become president then anybody can. Closing Quote?

CK: Skimboarding is "Proof of Devotion." as seen on pages 16 and 47 of Skim Mag Issue #4. (Cliff Cartwright and Aaron Peluso)
My Quote: "There is no substitution for skill, and there never will be."

Brett: AND DEN!

CK: HOLLARRRRRR to my East Coast Grand Masters - Pete Rash, Paul Roth, Tom Erikson, Mike Geldart, and Greg Krolczyk. Special thanks to all my buddies in the Secret Alcoholic Society who toom me from a scrap heap to a level of life better then the best i have ever imagined.

Brett: So you really were a junker. Highlights of your life?

Colin:
1. Your Birthday in 1986
2. 2003 East Coast Senior Grand Master Skimboarding CHAMPION!
3. The night i drove my 4x4 powerwagon to the summit of the snowcovered Arrowhead Lakes Ski Resort in Pennsylvania. Once i got to the top I decided I'd take a short cut down, meaning I'd drive down the trail below the lift line. I made it.... Unfortunately I had noone to share it with, till now.
4. 5,910 days without a drink.

Brett: Muchas Dias

Colin Mahon: Si!

Brett: Thanks dad, for all your wordly insights, Now get the hell out of my room!

Colin Kevin Mahon: "Skimboarding is the key to immortality."

Thanks Colin.
-Brett, and the rest of the NJskim.com crew.