Sam Wientzen is a Washington DC OG. He is a veteran of Freedom Plaza that came up when the greats like Pepe Martinez and Andy Stone were still holding court there. He’s put out several noteworthy parts, Pit Crew’s Where I’m From is probably the most well-known. Sam is currently holding it down at the Alien Workshop store on Melrose in Los Angeles and skating on his own terms.

Interview By Dustin Umberger

Dustin: You were known as "Lil Sammy" for a time and were one of the youngest legit rippers in the DC scene. Could you speak about the skating that was happening in the mid-90s and some of your fond memories from that era?

Sam: The Mid 90’s were sick! I was like eleven or twelve and Andy Stone and Pepe had just left Element to help start Capital Skateboards. It’s also the time when Intensity was doing Nicotine Wheels, which had the ultimate East Coast team. The mid 90’s is the reason why I’m stoked on skateboarding. You had dudes like Mark Bullen, Hojin Change, Pooch, Gordy, Jamel Robinson, Dave Lim, Sean Obrien, Tuc, Andy, and Pep holding down Freedon daily. 96’ was when Freedom was still technically legal, like no signs and shit yet. Park Police took over juristiction in ’96 – ‘97, that’s when everyone had to start skating the MLK library. Best memory of that era was watching Mark Bullen nose manny the entire Pulaski main ledge soooo perfect, and Stone doing lines that wouldn’t end around Freedom, also watching Tucci push mach 10 through the entire plaza filming lines - powersliding the top of picnic tables and shit. So sick!

Dustin: I remember you being hooked up by Platinum and thinking you might end up going am for them. How did that relationship come about and how did it conclude?

Sam: That was sick too, Platinum ran an ad in Transworld when I was in the 10th grade looking to hook up three shop guys on their am team, Anyone could send a tape as long as you had your shop sponser send it in. So me and my buddies got crackin and put together a tape and had Jonny from Arlington’s only real skateshop ever - Metro Board Shop send it in. Check this shit! I get home from school one day and my buddy Alex Hansen calls me, this is before cell phones and shit, and he’s like "Dude Ander (Metro employee) just left me a message. The TM from Platinum just called the shop looking for you, but they don’t have your number so they called me. Here’s this dude’s number in San Diego, call him up!" I was tripping. Your life is kinda shithouse when you’re in the tenth grade you know? I get home from some shitty day at school and I’m like "WHAAAAAT? FUCK YEA!" So I called the dude up, his name was Sean I think, and for real he was like "Yo, we already hooked up the three main guys to the team, but Danny Way himself saw your video and told us to start sending you boards, what’s your address?" Like I said, I was fucking tripping. I remember Alex Gall was one of the shop kids they hooked up. I forget the other two, but I was soooo hyped. I got three or four stacked boxes from them, that’s when they were still running XYZ clothing so they were sending me boards and clothes. As a kid that was insane, the boards were good and I remember being especially stoked on the last box I got, but then both companies went under. XYZ stayed afloat for another year or so, but Platinum went out. Check Danny Way’s left arm, he’s got a tattoo of the platinum symbol, soooo rad - I think it’s got flames around it too! So craze.

Dustin: The first video part of yours I saw was Assassins Of Youth, which I believe was the first John Edwards video I saw. Could you talk about filming with that tight little crew and how it progressed over the years?

Sam: Those we really good times, we all had no money at all but were still taking trips to Philly to skate Love and hit spots all over DC. That was right after Capital went out of business and DC skating chilled out hard. I remember that time and us being some of the only dudes around the whole city. Pepe was living in SF and Andy had gotten married around that time and was in school. You’d see them every so often, but not everyday. We’d be out skating Freedom by ourselves, which is sketchy because it’s a lot easier to get caught there if you’re the only crew skating. So we were hitting a lot of spots around the city that no one was hitting at the time. A lot of good skating went down then. We put some time into a few spots that weren’t skateable and made them work. Like that black ledge off the steps up Virginia Ave from White Steps, that shits got angle iron on it now or some bullshit; but we waxed that thing until it worked properly. I remember that took awhile but we got a ton of clips on it. Fun road trips with those guys for sure!

Dustin: I remember the DC scene being pretty intimidating if you weren't one of the skaters who was always downtown, but you were always very approachable and nice. Did you ever get vibed or messed with before you became a more established local?

Sam: Oh for sure! Thank Jim Gordy for holding that place down in terms of vibe. I went there one day, I was probably in the seventh grade. Jim didn’t know me and goes "hey kid you wanna buy these wheels" and I’m in the fucking seventh grade - I don’t have any money you know, so I’m like "no sorry, I don’t have any money" and he goes "fuck that you little poser, I should kick your ass." I was just like "DAAAAAMN, stay away from that dude!" but as time went on he’d see me around there more and more, and I remember a few weeks later I kickflipped the three stair and he clapped for me and gave me a little props. I was a kid and was super confused because I always thought he was gonna kick my ass and shit. But it turns out he was just trying to weed out the weak. That’s a position I wish someone owned at Pulaski to this day, but the scene has changed a lot around there. Now skating Pulaski is kind of a free for all. I’m sure Darren still holds it down a little bit, because he remembers when it was like that. You couldn’t mess around in front of the main ledge or some one would tell you to get the fuck out of the way, or to leave if you did it too many times. You knew where to be you know? Like if you couldn’t skate the ledge then you’d have to stay up top on the plaza, now kids get in the way and I tell them to move and they look at me like I’m a dick or something. They are all just too comfortable and they’re lucky I don't live in DC and skate Freedom daily cause they’d be bummed.

Dustin: The John Edwards crew was mainly you, Mike Nalls, and Kyle Jensen for awhile. Do you still keep in touch with those guys? Each of them seemed to be right on the edge of making it in skating.

Sam: Those guys are rad, and yeah I see them every now and then. They are the type of friends that you don’t have to talk to ever but will always be as tight as ever. I live in LA and I don’t see any of these guys anymore, but it doesn’t even matter because they are by far some of my truest friends. Those guys can be anywhere on the entire globe and still be better friends then some of my buddies I see on a daily basis. Alex Hansen’s name should be on that list too, because he was a clutch part of the crew. And yeah, I see them each like maybe once a year, but it doesn’t matter.

Dustin: You have had consistently solid video parts, but they've mainly been regional videos. I've always wondered why you never blew up, because personally I think your style and tricks stand out a lot. What was your plan for skating, and do you feel satisfied with what you've accomplished so far?

Sam: Thanks, and I feel completely satisfied because I still love skating all the time. If skating was a job, I would probably lose interest. My skating doesn’t function properly unless I am doing it when I want to do it. The reason why my vids have been DC videos is because DC is the best place to skate. LA is good but it’s different, I skate a lot but nothing that’s as cool as Freedom’s set up. We’ll skate a ramp all day or something or go on a cruise and ollie shit all afternoon, not super filmable but soooo fun! The only plan I subscribe to is to have a good time as much as possible, sometimes filming and deadlines will get in the way of that. I’ve been over that end of skating since I was 18 or so. Skating can be ultimate freedom, just go skate. If the camera is out and I’m skating then lets get a clip. If not who cares, skate as hard as possible all the time - just skating and keeping it endlessly flowing.

Dustin: A lot of DC guys ended up moving to California in the early 2000's, and you were one of the few that moved to SoCal. What was your goal for moving, and where do you currently reside?

Sam: I Moved to Cali in 2001 to go to school. I got into a sick liberal arts college in the suburbs of LA. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, right now I’m living just under West Hollywood on the boarder of Beverly Hills and working in the heart of LA.

Dustin: Your skate style seems to have loosened up a bit since your Capitol Crimes days when your tricks were more tech for that time. You seem to have developed more ease and flow on your board - could you speak on that progression?

Sam: That was just the natural progression of my attitude towards skating. Back when I was skating during Capitol Crimes I was a pissed off kid, somewhere along the line I stoped throwing my board around and getting frustrated. I just realized what I liked in skating and it was to flow around without stopping. Feeling control and pulling tricks the right way, instead of trying a tech trick for an hour. I would just rather cruise super fast and back tail a whole section of the Freedom ledge you know? I think my girlfriend at the time had something to do with it because when I was falling in love for the first time, I stopped stressing on tricks so much and started letting everything flow for itself.

Dustin: If you could skate any of the old DC spots that got killed one last time, which would it be? My personal vote would be MLK Library.

Sam: Yea MLK would be on that list for sure, but also a spot called Caldor in Seven Corners (VA) comes to my mind. It was an undercover parking lot with perfect banks, ledges, and stairs. Dudes would bring everything else there like jump ramps, flatbars, ect. It was seriously the funnest spot for a kid because it was shaded and you never got kicked out, at least not until the end of it’s days. Hung Jury and GW ledges for SURE! MLK RIP, truley one of DC’s best skate spots. That place had the most insane layout of ledges. When Indiana plaza was in it’s prime that place was sooo good. I’ll still skate there every time I’m in town because it’s such a good layout. It is mind blowing how many good spots there are in downtown DC.

Dustin: How do you skate Pulaski properly and without getting busted?

Sam: I haven’t gotten a ticket at Pulaski in years, it’s pretty simple if you skate there enough. Pay attention to the traffic signals and the way the streets are set up around the plaza and there is no way you should be getting busted. The way the streets are set up keep YOU in control of the bust situation. All you have to do is know where the Park Police is, if you can see him first and you know what street he is on and what the traffic allows him to do (like what direction he’s gotta go) because E street is a one way street, and Park Police are always pulling up on E - you just have to make sure you go the opposite direction that he’s headed. Since E is a one way it’s not that hard.They would have to reverse or go the wrong way on the one way to get you (which I have seen before). Now, when they pull down 13th or sometimes even Penn, then it’s a different story and you have to run across E street either into the Marriott Hotel or up 13th towards the Metro. Either way there are plenty of places to go. If you run into the Marriott you gotta make sure you slow your roll as you come through the door because they have security in the entrance. Slow your roll right when you get to the door and then walk in casual and ask the dude if you can use the bathroom, if he sees you run in he’ll know what’s up though and he won’t let you in. Keep your eyes out and if you see them (Park) first then you’ll be fine.

Dustin: Any crazy Pulaski bust stories?

Sam: A few times I’ve seen some seriously cool shit go down. One time they (Park) chased a group of us up 13th street. I ran across the street and into the stairway with those big gold rails that lead up to the McDonalds. Erin Tinsley ran up the opposite side of the street where there is another set of stairs that goes up and leads to a few restaurants. The cop saw him go up there and was right behind him. If you’re at the top of the stairs it’s pretty much a dead end except for a small opening that has a solid 15 foot drop that puts you back down on 13th street into the driveway of a parking garage. I’ve never seen any one else charge it, but Tinsley jumped over the railing through the four foot by four foot opening and down 15 feet and then ran down into the garage. The cop didn’t barge it, and when he ran back down the stairs onto 13th street Erin had disappeared down into the parking garage and he had no clue. RIP Erin Tinsley DC legend.

The other best is Little Wes Bell seriously put on a show just dominating this bike Park Police. I forget how it started but all I know is Wes wasn’t giving up, the guy had him by the shirt and was trying to hold him there but he was on a bike. Lil’ Wes just took off running and the guy gets on his bike and goes after him. Wes gets to the corner across the street from Freedom and does a fake out, pretends to go left up 13th, but loops around the guy and starts charging down the other way. The guy drops his bike and the two of them had full on fake me out match like they were playing basket ball or something. Wes ducks the guy and starts running full speed toward Penn Ave, the Park chases him about half way down the block and realizes that he’s left his bike on the corner and goes back for it, the last thing we all saw was Wes turn the corner on to Penn Ave, drop his board and start burning down towards the Capitol full speed. One of the sickest getaways I’ve ever seen. The guy gets back on his bike and starts peddling so hard and getting on his radio, but Wes had such a lead on him at that point, he knew it was over. Wes had totally served this grown man and he wasn’t even 18 yet!

Dustin: What’s the best thing about DC skateboarding?

Sam: The best thing is how the scene is staying so connected and tight knit, everyone still knows each other, and eveyrone has each other’s backs. Oh and we’ve got the best spot ever, Pulaski. Endless ledges that are layed out perfectly for lines, marble steps, and gaps. It’s the best spot in the whole city, and this might piss some people off, but it’s the best spot on the whole East Coast! Endless perfect polished marble.

Dustin: Who is General Pulaski?

Sam: General Pulaski was American history’s biggest bad ass ever. He was the leader of the Polish Revolution trying to hold off Russian oppression in the late 1700s, he was eventually overthrown by Russia and exiled from Poland. Then recruited by Washington’s army to help in the revolutionary war. He was a general in Washington’s Continental army fighting battles in the south that single handedly helped the north win. That’s why he’s got a statue at Freedom plaza, he was a serious freedom fighter. And if you read about him at all you realize that Pulaski skaters embody what this guy stood for, keeping freedom free! Don’t tell me I can’t skate up there! I’ll be up there, come catch me!

"I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it"  - General Kazimierz Pulaski

He died in the battle of Savannah from wounds received during battle.

Dustin: What's in your immediate future?

Sam: Right now I’m helping manage the first and only Alien Workshop / Habitat retail store on Melrose Ave in West Hollywood. If you’re in town come check us out. Or stop by our shop blog to see what’s goin on with us. We try to update it daily. As far as my immediate future?? I’m still working on it. There’s a lot of avenues to go down. For now I’m here in LA skating, surfing, and working as much as possible. My immediate priorities are to travel internationally as much as possible and to shred daily!