Jesse Silvey was one of those little kids on Shortys that killed it. He blew up at an early age then pretty much disappeared off of the radar. Nowadays his name tends to pop up on those "where are they now" threads on messageboards where someone will inevitably bring up that nollie tre over the Library Gap - still a banger by today's standards. I found the following interview from early 2008 while erasing my voice recorder yesterday. Check it out...

48 Blocks: How did you originally get into skating?

Jesse: I would have to say the Powell skate park. I showed up there when I was a little kid and learned how to skate from there.

48 Blocks: Are you from Santa Barbara?

Jesse: I'm from Colorado but we moved out to Santa Barbara when I was eight years old.

48 Blocks: What year did you first start going to Powell?

Jesse: Probably like '93 or '94.

48 Blocks: So this was in like the Virtual Reality days?

Jesse: Yeah, right around then.

48 Blocks: Who were some of the locals there at that time?

Jesse: Mike Santarosa, Dylan Gardner, and a lot of people would come through there - a lot of the Plan B dudes. It was right before Girl and Chocolate, so a lot of those dudes. It was pretty cool seeing all of those guys coming up.

48 Blocks: How did you hook up with Shorty's, were they your first official sponsor?

Jesse: Yeah, besides like a shop sponsor; that was the first real board sponsor.

48 Blocks: How did that happen?

Jesse: I was just around during the time when it was being created and the owner offered me and Sam a spot on the team. From there it kinda grew, I was just there from the start.

48 Blocks: When did you first meet Sammy?

Jesse: I first met Sam...shit, I used to hang out with his brothers then I found out that they had a younger brother that was more my age. I've known him seriously since I was eight years old. He had been BMXing and I wanted to learn how to BMX and he wanted to learn how to skate, so we became friends and it grew from there.

48 Blocks: How old were you when you got on Shortys?

Jesse: I'd say like thirteen or fourteen.

48 Blocks: I asked Sammy this same question, what was it like being a little kid growing up around guys like Smolik, Muska, and that whole scene?

Jesse: It was pretty insane. I really didn't know what was happening around me during that time, but from the outside looking in I think it seemed a lot bigger than what I thought. I knew those guys on a peronal level and they were at the top at the time, but I didn't really look at it that way.

48 Blocks: What eventually happened with Shorty's?

Jesse: Life kind of took a turn for the worse, I got into the pary lifestyle. I don't know...

48 Blocks: Who were you hanging out with during that time?

Jesse: I don't know if I should really say, but some people out in LA.

48 Blocks: What brought you to San Francsico?

Jesse: I actually came out for a vacation and ended up staying, that was kinda cool. Plus I just beat a heavy court case.

48 Blocks: For what?

Jesse: A second DUI. They wanted to give me like five years, but then I got my shit together. I've been sober for a year and some change, so the judge gave me another chance.

48 Blocks: You've been skating a lot around town...

Jesse: I've been skating a lot, a lot at the library during the evenings...getting my flatground back and doing my ABC's on a skateboard. I've been having a lot of fun with it, not really having any pressure behind it. Just learning all of the stuff over again, it's a lot of fun.

48 Blocks: Do you feel like you still got it?

Jesse: Yeah for sure, at times...it goes in spurts. I definitely feel like I'm getting older and I can't skate like I was when I was a little kid.

48 Blocks: How old are you now?

Jesse: I'm 27.

48 Blocks: You spent a hot minute just living life.

Jesse: Yeah, for sure.

48 Blocks: What's been the hardest part of getting back on the board for you?

Jesse: I would just say trying to have fun with it and not trying to pursue it as a career. Getting over some of the mental process of it all I guess...

48 Blocks: Just taking it back...

Jesse: Yeah, taking it back. I take it for what it is now, I don't really trip on being sponsored or nothing. It's just for fun, that's why I got into it and that's why I'm sticking with it.

48 Blocks: If you cold redo anything from the past what would it be?

Jesse: I would have to say not take anything for granted.