éS Footwear does a good job of constantly reinventing its team by adding guys that might not fit people's idea of éS but really add depth to the squad. Last week they made an announcement that was surprising to some; they added Think's Josh Matthews to the team. Most people thought flow riders Kevin Romar or Kelly Hart were shoe-ins for the open spot but I knew otherwise. My insight didn't come as a result of some crystal ball or some keen sense of deduction that Josh was the obvious choice. No, I realized Josh was on the team when éS came to do a demo in September and I had this awkward, Larry David-esque exchange with Josh:

"Hey, I'm Josh."
"What's up? You their flow-trash?"
"Uh ... no. I'm on the team."
"Oh ... nice to meet you."

How long have you known you were going to be the new guy on éS?
I think I found out in August when I was out in Texas. Scuba (éS team manager, Steve Chalme) called me and said I was going to get an ad right away.

When I saw you out here in Jersey and asked if you were flow trash you quickly corrected me and said, "No, I'm on the team."
Oh yeah, I remember that. That was awkward. That was probably the first time I was able to say that. Up until then I was flow trash.

Does it feel good to be official?
Yeah, man. It's much more relaxing on trips and it's great feeling like I'm a part of something.

It's gotta come with a little paycheck; what did you buy with the first little paycheck?
I've just been traveling a little bit more with it; I haven't really bought anything too crazy.

A lot of kids were sad it was you that got the bump up and not Kevin Romar or Kelly Hart. How does that make you feel inside?
They definitely have more of a following and have been in the limelight a little bit more but I'm psyched on those dudes, too. I can see where the kids are coming from. I think I just got lucky; right place, right time.

What was the deciding factor to have them go with you and not one of those two dudes?
If I had to guess, maybe on trips the amount of work ethic I put in to try and get into the articles. Not to say those dudes are lazy or anything but maybe the spot choices in some places weren't up their alley or something. I don't know honestly.

You've been traveling with the éS guys quite a bit lately, what's been your favorite spot you've been to?
Probably when we went out to Cyprus, the island in the Mediterranean. It was pretty epic. It's a Greek Island and half of it's actually Turkish so we got to see both sides and the spots there were insane. There was tons of marble. We skated this one plaza for four of the 10 days we were there and that was the best skate spot ever. Scuba even said it was the best plaza he'd ever been to and he's been all over.

Looking at Scuba, does that keep you vegetarian?
It definitely motivates me. He has some unhealthy eating habits. He likes to go back to the same restaurants; I don't think he likes change too much. So I see him eat a lot of Del Taco.

Who is your favorite dude on the éS team?
I think Mike Anderson is someone I've become a huge fan of. Before I knew him and I was just seeing stuff of him he was obviously amazing but actually skating with him and seeing him skate even when the camera isn't out or no one is around he's just shredding all the time.

You are the youngest of seven children. Were you the oops baby?
Yeah, I am the "product of passion," that's what my parents called it. I was born four years after all the other kids had been born. It's kind of obvious.

You're from Eugene, Oregon, which is known as hippy country. Were a lot of your early special lady friends when you were younger extra hairy?
No, I never really got into that side of it, to be honest. I was pretty picky. It has a good mix there. It has the hippies to keep it mellow and the normal ones that just live the lifestyle.

Now you're in SF. What's your favorite thing about that city?
The food. I'm a huge food fan and that's what I spend all my money on. I've been there over three years now so I've eaten my fair share of burritos. I go through phases. I'd say Indian or Thai food is the top of the list right now.

What's your plan for the rest of 2011?
The only trip I have planned right now is going to Portugal next month on a homie filming trip trying to get footage for the Think video. Other than that, Scuba just said, "Wait for the call for the next trip." Not sure where we're going next.