Jeremy Holmes

Jeremy Holmes got his first Skateboard when he was only 5 years old. He got discovered and sponsored at the age of 14 when he won the Sixteen Skateboards video contest. He has gone on to represent some of the biggest companies in skateboarding including World Industries Skateboards and eS Shoes. He has traveled and lived all over the world from San Francisco, London, Barcelona, Hawaii, and Moscow. He is married with a beautiful daughter who turns 6 at the end of April.

Interview by Jason Koen
Photography by Branton Ellerbee and others

JK: So…you have been skateboarding since you were very young. What was the attraction at the beginning that still keeps your fascination 20 years later?

JH: In the beginning it was the movie Gleaming The Cube which was filmed in 1989 and featured Christian Slater that first got me interested in skateboarding. Then once I got going it was just the pure fun of it plus the challenge of getting better. These days what keeps me going is the mandatory need for an outlet...of expression, from stress, an avenue to let creativity out.

JK: I feel that skateboarding is one of the hardest things in which a person can achieve a high skill level. Certainly honing this skill and representing some of the biggest brands in the industry you have gathered some jewels along the way that translate into other areas of life. What are you’re favorite gems?

JH: I'm not even sure I know what you mean but the process of thinking about something then taking that which was purely mental and working out the kinks and making it happen is one of the most valuable things I’ve taken from skateboarding. As I've grown up I'm amazed at how applicable the process that I’ve learned from skateboarding has been in so many other aspects of my life.

JK: You are known for having a velvety smooth aesthetic combined with raw street skating and for being humble so I know it's hard to talk about yourself. Let's talk about other people now. What other skateboarders inspire you most and why?

JH: I'm really inspired by the golden era of street skating in general, you know, like '95 to 2000. The videos Mouse, Trilogy, Photo, Eastern Exposure everything about street skating during the time of these videos…my favorite videos is what has been most inspirational to me. These days I guess it's more nostalgic than inspirational, Gino's part in Trilogy, or his two or three tricks in Mouse get me going or Ricky O's part in Eastern Exposure, that whole video for that matter. And that’s another cool thing about the videos in that era, nowadays I'll like this part and that part of a video and that’s all I'll really watch, but back then you'd love a whole video, just about every part.

JK: Now you’re the guy in the videos. Tell me about some of the places that skateboarding and filming for videos has taken you. Do you have any crazy travel stories you don’t want your wife and daughter to hear? Tell one of those!

JH: Ha! Nothing too crazy you know me I'm pretty mellow. Although I did get left behind in Austria on an Ezekiel Europe tour. We were staying in this bed and breakfast and I'm just taking my time brushing my teeth and hear the van pulling off. At first I thought nah their probably just moving it or something…nope! The worst part was how long it took before they noticed I wasn't in the van. I'm talking they got all the way through the countryside onto the autobahn and pulled over to gas up, then wonder "where's Holmes?!?"

JK: How do you imagine your life would be different if you had never been involved in skateboarding?

JH: My friends wouldn't be as interesting and cool. My perspective on life and happiness would be way narrower. I'd probably make a lot more money, scratch that. I would definitely make a lot more money! Sometimes it's kind of scary but skateboarding has defined who I am in so many ways. It’s really hard to imagine what I'd be like if I never got that skateboard on my 5th birthday.

JK: What are your main priorities in life right now?

JH: Spending time with my lovely daughter and wife. Filming my part for the HYPE! video which is my board sponsor, it should be dropping sometime this fall 2010. Also I’m working on a promo video for Broadcast Wheels. I’m riding my bike a lot at the moment and working on being less introverted!