JENKEM Ian Michna Interview

It is ancient Greek for shovel or a shovel-like object. The ancients pronounced it "JeHnnKim" and usually said it in a screaming manner. 

I started skating in 8th grade. My favorite trick was to just go downtown and skate fast through people / things / places and get lost. Skating was exploring new places with friends and the freedom it brought. I can't backside 360, I'd like to be able to do those like Shredmaster Keith and get a good one-foot off a curb, like how Ed Templeton has it. 

I started it in 2011. I was a big skate fan and I wanted more meaty skate coverage. Something with the humor of Big Brother, that wasn't afraid of touching taboo subjects and topics, but also cross cultural lens with the depth and dynamism that an author like Chuck Klosterman would have. Additionally there were topics and interviews that I felt like were being missed by the mainstream skate media. If they weren't going to do it, I decided I'd barge it, as a skate fan. I cold emailed and cold DM'd pros on Twitter to get in touch, and once I got an interview I was proud of, I put it online on a blogspot. It did really well. Turns out there were other outsiders like me who saw the world in the same way and wanted more than the industry was giving them. 

There are too many and various highlights for each one. I went to Bronycon (A My Little Pony event) with Louie Barletta and Ben Raemers (RIP). I went to Hawaii with Steve Rocco. Went through Asia with Converse. Across the USA with Adidas. Went with my best friends to Tampa Pro. Everything can go south in my life but these experiences, friendships and memories can never be taken away from me.  

First catalog was one I saw my brother get in the mail. I was really young and very curious, this was way before I started skating, probably 5 or 6 years old. I liked looking at the deck art in the catalog and would try to draw / mimic the art. There was a lot of "cute" art too (especially from the World industries / Hookups camp) I liked but also always had the gut feeling there was something naughtier underneath. Turns out, as an adult, looking back at those catalogs, many of the graphics were. Haha.