Thrasher Magazine

If Cape Cod’s Brian Reid lived in LA he’d be the go-to guy for every lookbook, TV commercial and all the other opportunities calling for a smooth, good-looking dude who can bust a wicked tré. Instead, Brian keeps it True East, holding down real jobs when he’s not stacking clips. And if his recent DGK part is any indication, he’ll be adding “pro skater” to his resume sooner than later.


Handlin' huge rails and bump to bars with no problem, Brian spiced up the Scramble right



Underground kickflip, Reid on the rise

So you were ready to do the Scramble a couple years ago. Were you hyped to jump on it this year?
Oh yeah, I was super pumped. Especially being in my area, I couldn’t be more hyped.

Yeah, we knew if we were coming to Boston we had to include a local. That made it even easier to have you and Tim Savage along. What was it like to have all these maniacs from all over the world come to a place you skate so often?
I think the coolest part were the different perspectives everyone had on stuff I’d already seen a bunch of times. Just kind of an outsider’s eye. I can kind of recall at least two or three spots where somebody started trying something completely different than anybody from our area has tried it, so I think that was probably the sickest part.

Yeah, for sure. Like when little Kieran ollied over that pillar into that skinny bank, that is not a traditional Boston approach.
No. That’s the thing, it’s funny, one person fastplanted it.

Oh, whoa.
Yeah, so when he got up there I was like, Oh, shit. I was like, Alright, alright, another person stepping to it. And the ollie over is just absolutely fucked up.

What about that gap to 50-50 on those round marble ledges with the glass pyramids?
Oh yeah, I don’t think anyone’s done gap to 50 like that, nah. We’ve looked at it but no one’s tried it.

Eggs lines for days… ollie up to NBS transfer

Now next thing you know someone will come there and be like kickflipping into it or something.
Exactly, yeah. They’re gonna be like, Oh, it’s possible? Let me see what I can do on it now.

We had a nice variety of people. Was there anybody who really surprised you to see them skate live?
I mean, just watching Dylan skate flatground was pretty fuckin’ impressive. I was like, Wow. It’s pretty perfect. Other than that, Patrick. It was sick to see him skate some gnarly handrails. I had skated with him once before and he was kinda on the same tip. I don’t get to see skating like that too often. And then obviously Kieran at Dougy Death’s bowl. I was losing my mind!

Yeah, the Australians—I don’t think they sat down at a single spot.
No, dude, those guys are full-throttle. They got that Aussie energy, dude. I gotta figure out what’s going on over there.

It seemed like Nick Matthews was kinda made for Boston in some ways.
I swear we’ve been saying that for at least two years. Like, This dude needs to come to Boston; he’s gonna fuck it up. And lo and behold, he did.


We found this spot around the corner from the Harvard double set and Brian made quick work with a tall 50-50

Yeah, what about Max? It seemed like everywhere we were going he was trying to find a pole jam to hook up the spot.
Dude, that was the most entertaining thing ever. I loved it. I would be looking at the spot, everyone would be checking it out and you’d look away for ten seconds, you look back and Max and Noah are gone. They’d walk around the back of the building every time. They’re just ripping something out of the ground, trying to bend the pole. I loved that, though. Like, if you’re not feeling the spot, just make your own. Fuck it.

Yup. How did our sessions out there compare to your normal skate schedule?
It was similar for the most part, except there were so many different kinds of skaters who were in the van. There wasn’t too much stuff we went to where no one wanted to fuck with it. Most of the time it’s just a couple of us, so a lot of the time it’s just looking at stuff until you find something you like. But I feel like on the Scramble every single thing somebody fucks with it and somebody’s gonna try something.

Yeah, exactly. So you still hold down a job or maybe even multiple jobs as an amateur. What’s your day job like?
For most of the summer I was putting in those invisible fences for dogs, and that’s basically just like light landscaping. And then I also work at an auto-body shop. I’m not a painter quite yet; I mostly just prep, taking care of cars that have just been painted or need to get painted and just general maintenance around the place—taking care of shit that needs to get done when the other guys don’t have the time.

How does working in the real world make you reflect on skating as a job?
Fuck, it doesn’t really.

’Cause like, Dylan’s never had a job. He went straight from Instagram to the Scramble, you know? Does it make you value your skate time more knowing you’ve got a full day of work ahead of you?
I wouldn’t even say that I value it more, no. I mean, I think it’s just like the fact that it’s gonna be brick cold in like a month makes me value it more than that. I don’t mind working. I’ve tried to have jobs where it doesn’t destroy my legs by the end of the day so I can go skate after at a park or something. But it is what it is. I don’t mind. I’m happy I get to skate as much as I do. I’ve had employers that let me fuckin’ go leave for an Am Scramble and not fire my ass, you know what I mean?

For sure. You just got done with a DGK part. What was the process for that one? How long were you working on that thing?
I think the first filming trip we took was December or January of last year, so about a year of filming for that. And that was kinda crazy ’cause I’ve never been on that many trips before for a video.

Where all did you get to go?
Oh shit, we did Miami, DC twice, New York, Boston—I don’t know if that counts, but Brad was out here in Boston for a bit—SF, I went to LA and I believe that was it. I know Will went to Chicago, but I wasn’t with him for that.

Yeah, Will Mazzari, he’s your good friend, right? You skate with him all the time, yeah?
Yeah, yeah.

Super cool. Was that Tim filming all that stuff with you?
No, that was Brad Rosado.

Oh, okay. Cool.
Yeah, he’s one of the guys who filmed some of the older DGK videos, so he’s back on board for future projects, I guess.

Nice. What’s DGK owner Stevie Williams like one on one?
Oh, he’s chill as fuck. He kinda seems like when you’re young, he’s like the cool older cousin—like you wanna pick their brains and just ask a bunch of questions. But he’s super friendly, pretty fuckin’ outgoing, obviously. He’s just a chill dude, a smart guy. He’s really knowledegable with a lot of things so it’s cool to pick his brain a little bit. He’s down to chat about really whatever.

That’s cool. The Scramble and big video parts, those are kind of the ingredients a lot of people have had in the last few years to turn pro. Is turning pro a goal of yours?
Oh yeah, definitely. Hopefully sooner than later, man. I’m getting old in the skate game out here. I gotta make it happen.

How old are you now, 26?
Yeah.

Well, I think those rules are out the window these days.
It kinda seems like that. Well, dude, I was surprised when I was asking the other dudes their ages on the Scramble. It was kind of like a straight split between 25, 26 year olds and like 18, 19 year olds.

Gap to 5-0, 30 yards from the last spot

Yep. What are some of the tricks that you’re gonna remember from this Scramble? What stands out in your mind?
Definitely the ollie over the wall into the bank. Damn, there’s actually so many. Obviously ’cause I’ve looked at all these spots and then these dudes come and do like the gnarliest option there. Like I’ve been to Dougy Death’s a bunch of times, but that fuckin’ backside boneless off the tree, I never thought that would happen. And that switch tré at the Harvard double by Dylan, that blew my mind. That was way too easy for him. Oh, and Nick’s fuckin’ back Smith at the Roxbury banks and the ollie over to back lip. Dude, everybody had so much crazy shit, man. Me and Tim were talking about it not that long ago and we were like, Oh yeah, this trick was sick. Oh yeah, and then this one, and then this one. And it’s just like, Fuck, dude, it’s hard to even remember everything; so much stuff went down.

If you were to bet, who do you think is getting a board first?
I could seen Kieran getting a board like tomorrow, especially because he’s been on the whole contest tear lately doing really well. I would say Rob but he kinda just got on Santa Cruz so it might just be a tiny bit longer. Patrick could be any day. Dylan at Primitive—they might make him wait a little while.

They got a stacked squad over there.
Yeah, they got tenure over there. You gotta put in some time. Fuck, and then I guess me. I’m up next.

Everybody got along really good, which was cool, but did you make a connection? Was there anybody where you’re like, Oh, man, I can’t wait to skate with this guy again? Is there anyone you really vibed with?
I guess in regards to someone I had just met on the Scramble, probably Max. I’d never met him before and we talked and hung out a bunch on the trip.

Lightin’ up a noseblunt slide? Scramble must be in town

Yeah, he’s a cool kid.
I know; he’s mellow as fuck. Just a chill Canadian kid. Mad funny, mellow guy.

Well, I was amazed at how well it all worked out. We were on a pretty rugged schedule. Was that the most drill-sergeant, basic-training-style schedule you’d ever been on skate trip-wise?
Fuck yeah. I mean, it wasn’t even that bad really. The only part that was tiring was just staying up late.

Do you light it up in Boston very often?
Fuck, dude, no. Never. We don’t even skate at night anymore. It’s kind of funny. We used to stay out all night. Not ’til four in the morning, but we were doing a couple of times ’til three in the morning. But you know, we’d stay out ’til like one and try and get some downtown shit when there’s less security. But I swear, no one really skates too late these days.

Well, different times.
Yeah, seriously. Maybe we should start lighting it up. Fuck, it’s pretty fun.

What’s your five-year plan? You got a plan?
Fuck, dude, five years? Hopefully I’ll have some money coming in from skating in some regards so that I can work a little bit less, if possible. And then I’d like to continue to do some schooling and hopefully get up to Boston and find a nice little apartment somewhere around the city. I mean, fuck, five years, though? This is all stuff I wanna do in the next six months. Five years? Fuck. Hopefully have a down payment on a house. I think that’s a good goal.

We’ll check back in five years and see how you’re doing.

Bump to box—for a DGK, Brian Reid is extra clean