Skateboarding and education, the two do not necessarily go hand in hand. Once a gifted skater comes to the realization that riding a skateboard could be a career within reach, the idea of pursuing higher education typically gets put on the back burner or thrown out all together. This wasn't the case with Josh Murphy. Xgames.com sat down with the recent college graduate and discussed his recent move out to California to pursue skateboarding on a more serious level.

XGames.com: You recently made the move from Denver, Colo. to Long Beach, Calif. -- how do you like it?
Murphy: I'm really enjoying California so far. Don't get me wrong, Denver is great, but I'm having so much fun out here. I meet new people, see new stuff and skate new spots everyday. It's the perfect place for me to be right now. There's always a crew going out, so I get to skate the streets or at least a park everyday. Couldn't ask for anything else.

How is skating different between the two cities?
Skating in Denver is definitely a bit harder. It's only harder because all the people I skate with in Denver have one or two jobs, girlfriends or wives, school and work obligations, so it's much harder for people to get free time to skate. When they do have free time though, it's on. Out in Long Beach, there are so many skaters, and a lot of them don't go to school or work a traditional job, so people are always going out. I love both of them, and Denver will always be home for sure, but Long Beach is where I need to be right now.

What's it like staying with Leo Romero?
Staying with Leo is the best. He skates all the time, enjoys having his friends around, doesn't take too much too serious, and is always having a laugh. I'm so lucky to be staying here -- he has been so gracious to me. I was couch surfing around for a lot of summer and was running out of options, and he luckily let me stay at his place. Pretty soon here though David [Reyes] and I are going to get our own spot though, looking forward to that.

You graduated college back in May, what was your degree in?
I got my degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado.

Most talented skateboarders tend to put pursing a higher education on the back burner. What motivated you to stick with it and finish up school?
I wanted to finish school for myself and for my family. I had some scholarship money, which helped too, and I didn't really have anything else going on when I started going to school. Opportunities with skating started to pick up my junior and senior year, and at that point it would have been dumb to not finish school. The process of getting a degree exposed me to a lot of things I probably wouldn't have seen or experienced otherwise, so I'm glad I went through with it.

Are you working on any upcoming video parts?
I don't really have any upcoming video projects that I know of, but I'm always out trying to film. It's good just to stack as much footage as possible and then when a project does come along you'll have stuff to give to it. I've been skating with Chris [Thiessen], the Transworld filmer, a bunch.

What Am do you think should be pro?
David Reyes. He should've been pro a long time ago. He's the best dude, super motivated, always helping his friends out, stacks footage and photos, almost always psyched. He deserves it for sure. That "Color Theory" part was insane.

Who are your sponsors these days? I ride for Mystery, Converse, Comune, Thunder, Spitfire, Ashbury, Bro Style, and The Denver Shop. I'd like to thank all those people for helping me out so much.

What can we expect to see from Josh Murphy in the future?
Hopefully just more footage and photos, and having fun while doing it. At least most of the time.