enties Australia officially welcomes Chris Vaughan to the team. We caught up with Chris to talk about skateboarding and life.

Tell us about your daily grind.

I'm just like everyone else, I guess. I work 4 days a week as a chef, starting at 6 a.m. and finishing at 4 p.m. Then I hit Bondi Skatepark with the boys for beers. The 3 days I have off I'm out filming, not for anything in particular but mainly to have fun, and most of the time it's a hand rail cause I love that shit.

What motivates you to skateboard and why do you skate the crazy shit you do?

I don't need motivation to skate. Every skateboarder knows that it takes over you, and if you don't skate it kills you inside until you do. Crazy shit, well it's easy for me to jump on a big hand rail and most of the time it works out, where as if I skate a flat bar or small shit I somehow hurt myself. But really, my mum didn't raise me to fuck fairies so bring on the big shit.

How has skateboarding made an impact on your life?

I can't think about not skating. If I'm going somewhere new or in the car, train, or bus, I'm on the lookout for new spots. But the main thing is the people you meet along the way and how easy it is to make friends. And the fact that its not a team sport, that you can be yourself and stand out from others and not be judged.

Who influences your skateboarding and why?

Biggest influence in skateboarding would have to be Chris Troy. I love his style and he skates for the best company out, Black Label. I pretty much used to watch their videos over and over as a kid. And the boys from Griffith Aids and Bones as it's where I grew up. They're the older group and used to take me skating when I was a grom. 

Any shoutouts?

I would like to thank Dickies Oz from keeping me fresh, Aek from Etnies Oz for putting shoes on my feet, Johnny from The Haus Collektiv for shooting amazing photos and all the behind the scenes work, Webby for filming this part in two days, and Jeremy from Boardworld for this opportunity.

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Film/Edit: Keith Webster

Photo: Jon Jones