"I had a fucking panic attack because I was so excited," JD recalls of his first trip to a real skate shop as a child growing up in rural Pennsylvania. This moment marks the beginning of a lifelong love affair with skateboarding that would eventually bring him to Brooklyn, where he now tends bar at Greenpoint Palace.

Far from the stereotype of skaters learning from communities in urban environments, JD's story begins in isolation—no sidewalks, no mentors, just VHS tapes he'd repeatedly pause and play to study techniques. There's something beautifully pure about his dedication, teaching himself with makeshift equipment his dad built from "fucked up trash shit." This self-reliance shaped not just his skating style but his entire philosophy around the activity.

When hosts Rita and Marisa probe whether skateboarding should be considered a sport, art, or something else entirely, JD offers a more nuanced take: "It's more like a relationship with this wooden toy. Sometimes you're like 'this thing is—I'm so glad it's in my life,' and sometimes you're like 'God damn it, I hate my skateboard today.'" The conversation expands beyond skateboarding to explore how our passions evolve as our bodies age, the challenge of monetizing what we love without corrupting it, and the surprising observations JD made while teaching skateboarding to children.

Throughout the episode, JD's authenticity shines—whether discussing his ambivalence about profit from skateboarding, his growing interest in surfing as a gentler alternative to concrete impacts, or his sincere approach to apologizing when he's wrong. His story reminds us that our most meaningful pursuits aren't just hobbies but complex relationships that shape who we become.

Listen to discover how a kid with a VHS player and a dream built a life around his wooden toy, and what lessons his journey might hold for your own relationship with the things you love most.

Follow us on Instagram! People at the Core Podcast
Email us! peopleatthecorepodcast@gmail.com