Nik Stain discusses “Hockey IV” in an interview

become a sponsored skater back then? I think everyone dreams about it, right? I tried to do some AM contests when I was younger, but I never really had a goal of going pro. Skating was always just a thing I did for fun. I never wanted to get so competitive with it that it would stop being fun. I definitely always wanted to be sponsored by someone; that was the dream growing up. I didn’t care who it was, I just wanted to ride for somebody. It felt like a huge deal to me when I got my first package from a shop.

Outside of skating, what were you into in high school? Pretty much just skating. I like rapping—I think a lot of skaters do. I started recording with some friends, just having fun. No mixtapes out though. I really wanted to learn nollie varial heels after seeing PJ do them in Wonderful Horrible Life, but I could never get them. I wished I could sing because I love Kid Cudi. Also, Chuck Taylor’s. I wanted all of them. I always wore black ones.

Once high school ended, what made you want to move to New York? Growing up, all my friends and I romanticized the city. Kyle, who I started skating with, moved here and we've continued skating together ever since. I visited him a bunch and the place just seemed so huge and exciting. There are so many spots, and it's just a skating city. That energy makes you want to go out and try stuff. I finally came up for good four years ago.

What was it like adapting to skating in a city like New York after skating in Pennsylvania? It was overwhelming at first. I was so used to just getting in my car and driving somewhere with a spot, wherever the GPS said. New York was a fucking maze; nothing really makes sense. But eventually, you learn your way around, and figure out how to get everywhere. Now, I can just get off the train and know where I’m going. It’s just figuring everything out that first year. The city gets easier once you have a crew to go out with and a routine every day.

So after moving to New York, how did you end up connecting with Hockey? Kyle was friends with Ben, who Skates for Ben’s brand. Ben and I started talking and I sent him some footage. He just sent me boards; I was hyped on them, super grateful. Kyle also told me about Ben's photo guy Jared Sherbert, who shot an Indy ad Kyle had. I hit up Jared on Instagram and started shooting stuff with him. I saw Jared a lot more once Ben put me on Hockey and now we talk constantly. I was super hyped the day Ben asked me to skate for Hockey – that was insane.

Now that you’re with Hockey, it’s clear you’re out in the streets all the time. What’s your process like when you’re looking for spots and skating? If I have a spot in mind, sometimes I’ll just go to skate it for the day. Other times, I’ll spend a full workday starting at 5:30 a.m.—go spot hunting all day, drive around, sweat it out in Hot summer heat. Out of the city is where a lot of spots are at. You just drive around, pull over in random towns and skate weird stuff. I've definitely put big hours into searching for something new or different, even if it doesn't work out that day, at least you know it’s there for the future.

What do you love most about skating, and what keeps you passionate about it after all these years? for me, it's that Roller Coaster feeling when you land something after trying for so long. You could go through months of stress, get almost no sleep, only for the few minutes one hanger finally works out. That can really make your week. I also love that it's low-pressure. If you want to just go cruise around for an hour, you can – if you want to get super gnarly on some thing all day that’s possible too. That closeness to shaping your own destiny is unique to skating.

as you look into the future, what are your hopes and dreams within skateboarding and life in general? If I could ever go full-time into skating, that would be it. I’d love to just skate every single day and not worry about money. That'd be a dream come true. Life-wise, I'd like to eventually get a house, maybe back in PA, a little bit quieter. a good garage space to skate. If