You know how certain skaters have that spark you can sense that let’s you know they’re gifted? That’s Austin Kanfoush. Anybody that’s seen him skate in person knows what’s up. Now that he’s moved from Pittsburgh to San Diego for school I personally guarantee you that you’ll be hearing about him, so let the games begin! Without further ado, here’s a quick check out with Austin. - Keir Johnson

Keir: Yo, what's going on Austin, where are you right now, what are you doing?

Austin: Nothing too much man, just been super busy these last couple days trying get settled.  I'm in San Diego at the lobby of some BS hotel just waiting to move into my new spot in a couple of days!  So its about to get epic, the 24/7 shred mode switch is about to get switched back on!

Keir: What made you decide to move from Pittsburgh to San Diego?

Austin: Well my homie Condor (Sean Conover) lives out here, and the two times I came out to visit, which at the time was winter in the Burgh, I loved it!  I was kind of at the point where I was deciding if I was going to work after high school or try to go to school.  So I said F it, and I applied to one school for film out here and if I didn’t get in it was just going to work in the Burgh.  Somehow I got in so here I am haha!  Me and the pops drove my car out here, so needless to say it was the gnarliest drive of my life!  The drive from Phoenix to San Diego really humbles you, it lets you know how insignificant we are to the world out there. I mean it’s in our own country, if you haven't done it, save dough and try. 

Keir: I've never done it.  So we recently had your home slice Drew Windon on the site and it was only right to follow up with you. What was it like having the trio part with Drew, Zach Funk and yourself in the FOCUS video earlier this year?

Austin: Drew Pac is a G homie for life!  Haha hard shit to follow up without a doubt!  But Drew, Greg (from One Up Skate Shop), Studler, and myself made a trip out to Philly. Drew and I stayed with Plain (Mark Brandstetter) while Greg and Studler did there own shit.  We didn’t see them till 3pm in the afternoon everyday!  Mark was hyped on our footy so he let us Burghers split a part.  It was awesome especially because FOCUS Mag is a big part of the right coast!  It made it even better that I got to split it with the homies, so thanks to Mark and all those you made it happen. 

Keir: I asked Drew this, but how would you describe the Pittsburgh skate scene?

Austin: Fuckin banging right now! I feel like right when I left it was the illest!  Everyone would just meet up at ONEup Skateshop, every day all summer and just skate all day then meet back up at the shop and go out at night grimy as hell! Some fun times! Everyone in the Burgh is down to shred everyday.  Whether its 100 degrees or the snow is starting to get patchy enough to push around! Pittsburgh is the illest, not even braggin the Burgh’s got mad steeeeeeez.

Keir: What other major cities have you skated in? 

Austin: Washington D.C. is bangin, we go out and stay with our homie Andrew Klien, thanks fool.  Of course everyone knows Philly and NYC are the illest! Greg drove the squad out to Chicago and shits huge! First spot we found skating around town were some of the most butter marble ledges I've ever touched in my life! Couple little cities in Ohio too, I somehow just got really lucky and had all these opportunities to skate these cities, thanks everyone!

Keir: Growing up who were you favorite skaters?

Austin: I was pretty lame growing up and didn’t own many skate videos or read magazines, so I would just go over to my friend Rob Starr's crib and catch up on my daily dose of the shred.  Gino was always an all time favorite, dude was always the illest!  I was super hyped on Kevin Taylor and Mike Maldonado because they kill the east!

Keir: As a real skate rat, I'm curious, what do you think about the skate industry right now? 

Austin: I honestly don’t know much of anything about the skate industry, but what I hear from my elders and the way that I perceive it leads me to believe that its kind of F'd! Man if all these mags go online what am I gonna have to read when I take a shit?!?! Can't with a laptop on my lap it just gets to sweaty, I don’t even want to think about it.  I will always buy videos of companies who are out there to support skateboarding and just keep it skateboarding.  The latest Traffic video is so ILL if you haven’t seen it, go buy it and keep it on heavy loop just to keep yourself in check! Bottom line, we need to start a cult of skateboarders out there just to skateboard and take over all this bullshit! 

Keir: What do you think it’s going to be like as an East Coast skater, spending the majority of the next 4 years skating in San Diego?

Austin: Skate every day, and no winter!  I don’t really know though, man I just hope everyone is down to go out and rip every day all day! If not I'll still be out there, its only supposed to rain like 20 days out of the year or something, completely mind blowing! I'm like shit, it rains 20 days out of the month back home. Haha, but I hope to approach skateboarding out here with an East Coast mentality, and hopefully it will just make it that much better! Skate some shit people don’t really skate or look at it the same way to skate.

Keir: Can't wait to see what you come up with, so what companies are you into lately? 

Austin: I'm really psyched to see companies like Vox and Traffic out there supporting the skateboarders who are out there doing their shit simply because they love what they do, especially because there hooking up the The Boss (Henry Panza) in the Burgh.  Even though a company like Traffic isn’t on some Flip or Baker shit and these crazy contract deals they have the right mentality towards skateboarding and who they support.  It’s this kind of shit which gives skateboarding a glimmer of light and just lets people know that everyone isn’t on some wack shit and skateboarding is still skateboarding at the end of the day.

Keir: Word! So what are you working on in skating, what would you like to accomplish in the next year?

Austin: I'm working on some fuckin hardflips so when I get back to the Burgh this winter that isn't my handicap in games of skate with Drew, haha just wait fool I'm serious!  Well in this next year we got a homie video coming out called Bolts n Buttah which should be ill.  Then I hope I don’t get any shit for this like letting the cat out of the bag or anything, but a Pittsburgh film Henry is working on getting in the works The Great Divide in affiliation with ONEup Skateshop and Direction East Clothing.  Some heavy hitting east coast rippers, 100% skateboarding and it should be sick so people can see what the Burghs all about!  Just being able to get out on a board every day is enough accomplishment for me in itself and should be for everyone! Shit could be so much worse, its scary to think about! 

Keir: Ok Austin, congrats on getting into school in SD, so that 9 months of Cali skating and 3 months of Pittsburgh skating per year for the next 4 years, I'm predicting things are going to heat up for you soon... Do you have some folks you'd like to thank? 

Austin: Damn this is going to be tough, I'm going to start with an apology if I miss anyone first off.  ONEup Skateshop to the grave Greg, Jerry, JG, The Panzas, Jerms, JV squad, Drew, Lunchbox, Funks, Benny, Dave, Robbbbo, Chris, Billy, Norm, Brad, Ollie cuz hes ill, Condor, the whole imperial squad, homies from mpls, everyone and anyone who was ever affiliated with Oneup. All yinz assholes in the Burgh who are out there holding down. The cranberry homies. Boston and Barber Kill it.  Everyone who is keeping skateboarding fun, thanks to you and 48 Blocks, and lastly the East Coast.