Devon Connell has been holding down the Philly and NJ scenes quietly for some time now. His part in Chris Mulhern's video Few and Far Between turned many heads on to his innovative street technique, and he's currently reppin' Creation Skateboards to boot. His down to earth personality comes through in his skating, as his creativity and adaptability makes his footage and photos stand out. Keep an eye on this guy, because he shows no signs of slowing and the rippage is on the rise. - Dustin Umberger.

Dustin: You've lived in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey ever since I met you at Woodward Camp almost ten years ago. What's up with Jersey's skate scene? Are you an official dirt?

Devon: I've never moved out of Egg Harbor Township. I just dont think I'd be able to afford moving out and still be able to skate as much or travel. Plus I think it's in a pretty good location, Philly and NYC aren't too far away. The Jersey skate scene is tight, there's always people out skating and new spots popping up all the time.

Dustin: Back in the early 2000's you and your homies made a video called The Militia. Was there a follow-up to that vid? Do you still skate with that crew? Who do you skate with on a regular basis?

Devon: We made that video back in like '99 I think. It was our little crew we had back then. We would skate so much, non stop, and always be filming each other all the time. Some of my favorite skate memories are definitely from that time period. I still skate with the ones from our crew who still skate, and the others I'm still good friends with. We never made a follow-up to that video, but it has crossed my mind though. Maybe one day it'll happen. I usually skate with Steve and Andrew on a regular basis, Domestics crew, Metal crew, and a bunch of good friends from Philly too.

Dustin: For a while your style was pretty much in line with the east coast tech rawness that characterized the Philly and New York scenes. Nowadays it seems you've diversified your terrain a bit and have put a more creative spin on your skating. What got you into skating new obstacles?

Devon: I've always been into skating new and different things. For awhile though me and my friends got real into ledge skating. Around that time there were a lot more ledge type spots around. I had always wanted to skate different things, but most of my friends weren't really into it, so I would just end up skating the spots that we would all be down to skate. After a lot of the actual skate spots became huge bust, I started to just search around a lot more for new and different spots. I just found it a alot more fun to go out and find new spots rather than skating the same ones all the time. It makes skating a lot more creative, rather then seeing the same spot over and over again.

Dustin: How did you hook up with Creation Skateboards, and what are they all about?

Devon: I was getting hooked up with Satori at the time, and then Creation had started. Craig hit me up saying that Creation was going to do a tour, and the first stop was in Philly, and so he asked me to meet up with them and skate around the city for the weekend. I was only supposed to hang out with them for the weekend. Things went well, and Lucian said that I should come on the rest of the tour, everyone was super cool, so I was definitely hyped to go. A few days into the tour we were in Albany eating food somewhere. Lucian picked up my board, asked what kind it was, and then stomped it right in front of me, and said something like "Your on a Creation tour, you have to ride a Creation deck." Luckily Steve Olson had given me a Creation deck a few days before, so I hooked that up, and been skatin Creation decks ever since.

Dustin: You and Steve Durante have been skate homies for a long time. I see both of you now getting some props for all of the dedication you've put into skating. How does it feel to be at this new level as far as being sponsored and getting some coverage?

Devon: Yeah, me and Steve grew up skating together since we were about 13 years old. He would stay at my house for days at a time, basically lived here, and we would just skate non stop, all day. We both put some serious time into it. I'm real proud of where he's at now. Seeing his part for the first time in the new Habitat video was insane, I can't even describe how hyped I was. When we were younger that was like always our favorite company, so seeing him get on was just unreal.

Dustin: Since I moved to SF, I've pretty much turned my back on the East Coast winters and haven't look back since! What's it like enduring the seasons and ripping the gnarled spots in Jersey? Do you ever get the urge to move west?

Devon: The seasons get pretty rough, by the time you get used to the weather, it's already changing. I guess im pretty used to it now, but I think it's always going to be hard no matter what skating when the temperature is in the teens, or in the 90's. I never get the urge to move out west. That's just something I don't think I would ever do. I just have too many close friends, and like the skate spots over here a lot more. If I had to pick a place to move to out west though, it'd be SF for sure.

Dustin: Chris Mulhern's video Few and Far Between definitely turned heads and put some underground rippers on the map. What was it like filming for that video? Was it difficult to put out, being an independent operation?

Devon: It was really fun filming for it. I never expected that many people would see it though. I thought it was gonna be more of a local/homie video. I wish I would have known that it was going to be as big as it was. I would have liked to put more into it, I had footage that I held onto because I didn't think that many people would have seen it if it was in there. I dont know how difficult it was to put out, but Mulhern did a pretty damn good job getting it out there, I was really surprised to see how many mags reviewed it, and all the coverage it got. He's working on a new one now, not sure when, but you can check chroniclesofhern.com for updates on it.

Dustin: What are your long-term goals for skating? Do you see yourself turning pro and making it your life or do you have other career prospects in mind?

Devon: My only long-tern goal is to just keep skating, I'm pretty sure it's already my life. As far as pro or making money goes, I dont think about that. I just want to skate and that's it.

Dustin: Do you remember that time you and Steve and Petrie came to DC to skate with me and I ended up bailing on you when the cops busted us at Pulaski? I never really got the full story on how you all got back to your hotel! I heard Alex Hansen ended up giving some of you money for the Metro. What really happened?

Devon: That's a story I'll never forget. I think I was 15 years old at that time. That cop pulled up to Pulaski on a motorcycle and everyone dipped. I was running up the one side walk and as I'm running I looked behind me and saw the cop right behind me on the sidewalk. There was no way I could have out run him on his motor cycle, so I was caught. He got off and body slammed me on the ground, and I had my camera on me too, and the LCD screen got smashed from that. He took me to the station, while Steve and Petrie were wandering around with no money and no clue how to get the metro back to the hotel. They ran into Alex Hansen and someone else, They recognized Alex from like an EST video. They told me he called the station and found out that I had been brought in. Alex gave them some money for the metro and told them how to get back to the hotel. So in the meantime I couldn't get ahold of my parents to get picked up. This was before really anyone had cell phones. So eventually the cop took me all the way back to the hotel, and walked me up to my room. I was worried that Steve and Petrie were going to be in the room, since the cop had asked me earlier who the other two kids were he'd seen run off from Pulaski. Luckily they weren't, but then I had no clue where or how they were going to get back, and how I was going to explain where they were when my parents got back. Luckily they got back within 20 minutes though. I didnt get a ticket or anything from getting caught either, and I wonder if Alex Hansen even remembers any of this.

Dustin: How has the Philly scene changed since the demise of Love Park and City Hall? Do you think that urban street skating's days are numbered? How can we adapt to the rising bust factor?

Devon: It's changed quite a bit, a lot dont skate as much, or at all, and others just learned to adapt. That's why I get so hyped when I see guys like Jaesun and Zeb still out skating around center city, since a lot of the others I used to see at Love back when I was real young don't skate much anymore. I don't think that urban street skating's days are numbered, but I do see it getting a lot harder in the future. Sessions still go down at Love and City Hall all the time, so I dont see them completely stopping us anytime soon.