Dan Fisher Eustance
Title photo: Henry Bailey
Yes Dan! How’s it going?
All good thank you man!
Thanks for letting me in to your home during these strange times! I’m healthy don’t worry
Haha thanks for finally making it up to see me! All healthy here too!
I suppose we should start with your Free Skate Mag part, hyped for you man! How did this come about?
Well, I met Quentin (Guthrie) around a year ago through some Australian/Kiwi friends of mine. We ended up filming a clip together for DUSTIN [find it on Quentins youtube channel 'Pertharms']. I have always been hyped on the way he films and puts edits together so I hit him up after that vid dropped to see if he would be down to get some more clips, which then led to us beginning this project together.
How has filming with Quentin been?
Filming with Quentin is always sick, his clips always come out amazing and he somehow makes everything I do look ten times better than it actually is haha, so thanks Quentin!
How did you find filming for a full part?
It’s really fun at the beginning when you are doing all the tricks that you can already do haha, then as soon as you have cleared that list and move onto the harder stuff that maybe you have only tried a handful of times it starts to get real hard and can go through a sort of stagnant phase, but yeah, it is a really fun process and definitely rewarding. I always enjoy filming and skating with my friends!
It’s an amazing part you all killed it!
Thanks Hen!
How has lockdown been for you in London?
Well I spent the first one back in Brighton with my family which was nice, I wouldn’t usually get the opportunity to spend such a long period of time with them otherwise so that was a good experience. The second lockdown was spent in London so have just been working on this part a lot and relaxing at home.
How have you been spending all the extra free time?
Been mainly spending my time going out and filming for this project, since I have been on furlough from work it’s been really nice not having many other responsibilities other than skating and getting to spend some extra time with my girlfriend Tara. I also did some painting, it was nice to have the time to get into that.
The streets have been empty back in Brighton, it seems that this has had a silver lining for us skateboarders huh?
Yeah 100%, during the first lockdown back in Brighton everything was closed, so I spent a large amount of that filming with Al (Hodgson) everywhere that we could as a lot of spots opened up that would usually be a bust. Some part of me also wishes that I was in London for that first lockdown as you won’t be able to skate some of those central spots ever again, or at least for a very long time.
Dan Fisher switch 180 to road.
Photo: Rafski
So you grew up in Brighton right, are you a born and bred Brightonion?
I was actually born in London but only lived there for the first year of my life, so I was super young. Then we moved to Brighton and lived there for the next 18 years before making the move back to London when I was 19.
When did you get into skateboarding?
So it all started in secondary school, I was around eleven or twelve at the time. I went back to friend Fraser’s house after school and he had a skateboard there, we took it into his living room and I was trying ollies on the carpet. At the time he told me that I had done one, but looking back on it I think he was just being nice haha. After that all I wanted was a skateboard, it was a month until my birthday so I had to wait, my parents bought me a Fracture complete (hyped) and been hooked on it ever since.
Any early inspirations that got you hooked?
Ha yeah, that same day my friend also showed me a Brighton skate video called Lads3 filmed by Sirus F Gahan, which was a big inspiration to me when I first started out. It’s funny now being able to film with people like Sirus and Al who featured heavily in some of those original Brighton vids.
You didn’t seem to be skating for that long before getting noticeably good on a board, Jp (Arnold), local legend, actually told me to ask this; how did you progress so quick?
I suppose it was just all I did with my time from the moment I discovered it. Especially in the summer holidays with no responsibilities to do anything other than skate every day and have fun with my friends, that’s it really.
Who did you grow up skating with?
Well obviously I got introduced to it by Fraser at school and had a few friends we would skate with, but inevitably people drop off and find other interests. Most of my school friends quit so the first real crew that I would skate with every day would have been JP (Arnold), Harrison (Woolgar) and Moose (Michael Tarry). These are just some names I can think of, there is too many later down the line to list!
I know your gonna love this one, where did the nick-name fish cake come from? has it stuck with you up to London?
Originally I think it was a homie called Dan Hasson, someone I met early on in Brighton, that first started calling me fishcake haha. I guess because of my second name being fisher and yeah I still get called it every now and then! I don’t mind though.
What was the motivation behind the move to London?
Mainly I just wanted to move on from Brighton, it can feel quite small at times and you can get stuck skating the Level a lot. There were quite a few fun projects happening towards the end, but I wanted to explore a new place, get a job, and move on from the parents house. Plus London has way more ledges to go skate which I guess was a factor in my decision ha.
Photo: Henry Bailey
You move from your parents’ house straight into the real world?
Yeah straight from the parents’ house in Brighton into my house in London! The only person who I knew well in the house at the time was the person whose room I was taking over so that was an experience, but everyone skated and I made some great friends so it ended up being a good time.
You're living with Dougie George and Ellis Gardiner right? A lot of talent in one house right there! Those guys kill it.
I think Dougie is my favourite skater so it’s pretty good living with Nugs! I've also known and loved Ellis for a long time, so it’s pretty amazing living with the people that you go out skating with every day. It’s nice being able to have people such as yourself come up and visit us in our own space as well.
(Dougie) It’s a pretty fun time yo!
How does it compare to crusty Brighton? Way more spots to go skate?
Brighton was really fun, but in a different way than London. Brighton had a lot of spots that aren’t really spots, they are still really fun to skate but it takes a lot of work and they can be extremely crusty. Being someone that really enjoys skating blocks and ledges, London just has everything that I need. You can jump on your bike and skate a different bit of the city every day which is super fun. You can’t really do that to the same extent in Brighton.
Anything you miss about Brighton?
The sea, my family, and the homies of course.
To me, Southbank seems to be London’s version of the Level, you skate that place a lot?
Haha it’s definitely the new Level for me in the same way that it's a vortex you can get stuck in. A lot of the same energy exists there as well, if you know what I mean [Dougie in the background: a lot of fuckery at both locations]. But at the same time, they are both incredibly fun to skate and you can always find someone to skate with.
Dan Fisher front tail.
Photo: Rafski
The move seems to have done wonders for you, you're now on Adidas getting photos in magazines and you have featured in a number of recent London vids. Any highlights for you?
Um, I went on a trips to Croatia and Gran Canaria with Adidas which was super fun, I also went on a recent trip to Milan with Dougie and Quentin, met so many cool people around the world so that’s definitely a highlight for me. And generally, skating all over London has been lovely.
You also did some stuff with Gucci right? How did you get involved in that?
Yeah haha, so a close friend of mine Earl (Cave) has done some stuff with them in the past and they asked him if he knew any skaters that might be interested in doing something with them. So yeah, he ended up sending my name in along with a few others and they hit me up. They actually messaged me on Instagram through the official Gucci account which was crazy! Was a pretty surreal experience going to a Gucci party with your face on a billboard ha!
How was that party?
Probably one of the best parties I have ever been to! Free champagne, margaritas, food, whatever you want they just keep them coming! [Dougie in the background: that would be such a dangerous situation for me haha] I remember being pretty damn drunk on the ride home! Met a lot of crazy faces that night including the cast of Top Boy haha. Tristan (Rudman), another skater I managed to get onto the Gucci shoot, was there too. He snuck Frobe and Juice in so it was a really fun night. I would like to go to another haha, so hit me up Gucci!
You're taking me next time for suuure!
What you doing for work at the minute?
At the moment I work for Selfridges, there is an indoor bowl there and I teach people how to skate. Obviously because of all this Corona stuff we can’t teach lessons so my work days just consist of watching people skate with a broken toe haha.
Working in the skate shop I have found that everyone and their mum wants a skateboard these days! Have you seen a boom in popularity working at the Selfridges bowl?
Definitely, over lockdown it seems that a lot of people have either picked up skateboarding or have gone back to skateboarding with all their extra free time.
How did the Adidas thing happen for you?
Well it all started before I moved to London, I met some Australian/Kiwi friends that I mentioned earlier on a visit to London. I kept skating with them on future trips to London and filmed a few clips. A mate that was living with Benny at the time ended up showing some of my clips to him, guess he liked it and he hit me up after that. It was pretty surreal getting that text from Benny. I have a photo that I took with him at Southbank from around 2015 that I showed him the other day [below]. He's always been a favourite of mine so the whole thing is pretty cool.
Photo: Dan Fisher
How is having a legend like Benny Fairfax as a team manager? It must be a trip sometimes right?
Yeah its amazing, legend is definitely the way to describe him. He is Papa on the trips to all of us, always taking care of us and hooking us up with everything we need. At the beginning being from Brighton and have no connection to any 'pros' it was pretty surreal, but now he has become a good friend its real nice to have him as a TM. Thanks Benny!
Seems to be a good crew of you right now, how is it skating with those guys?
Yeah man really enjoy skating with all those guys and to see them all skate in their own different ways.
Any standout team member for you?
Impossible to pick one over another, everyone kills it!
Are you the shortest guy on the team?
Haha I believe so!
You've just been on trips to Croatia and Grand Canaria to film for the ‘Buffer' video that recently dropped, how was that?
Super fun, it started off as a London project filming around the city and then Benny told us about Croatia, so I was obviously hyped on that! Then it was back to London where we continued to get clips. After that we were told about Gran Canaria. Originally it was meant to be Sicily, but because Italy was the first place in Europe hit by Corona we changed it to Gran Canaria, this was such a good trip. I got to go surfing for the first time! Turns out I’m not very good haha, I managed to stand up on it once. Both were super fun, just skating in the sun with friends. Twigy on a surfboard was definitely a moment to remember haha! Towards the end of Gran Canaria, however, I did get pretty stressed out about the pandemic and flights back. The island went into lockdown the day we left, I wasn’t prepared for that haha.
First time there?
Yeah man, I think when I was very young I went to one of the neighbouring islands, but was too young to remember much of that. But yeah, first time in Gran Canaria so that was a really cool opportunity.
And stand out stories from the trip for us?
A few that I won’t mention haha! But going surfing with the whole crew was one of the funniest things that happened, just seeing Benny cruising on a wave whilst I’m getting hit by one is something I won’t forget.
Any other destinations on the horizon for you, where would you like to visit?
I would love to go back to Paris, I haven’t been there for a while and its one of my favourite cities to skate. One day, when I have the money, I would love to spend some time skating in New York, but for now just any European city in the sun will do for me!
You got any other hobbies/interests outside of skateboarding?
Over lockdown I started painting quite a bit which I like, being creative in any way I can is something I really enjoy.
What’s next for you, any goals for 2021?
Skate as much as I can, try not to hurt myself on silly things, have as much fun as possible! My real goal is to stop pussyfooting around before trying scary tricks haha.
This has been a long interview thanks so much for sitting through it man haha
All good!
Let’s end it with some classic shoutouts, go!
Okay first of all shout out to Mum, Dad, Rifka. Shoutout to Tara and then Birmingham, Zara (RIP) and Lucy (Dans cats and dogs). Shoutout to all my friends in London and Brighton, you know who you are. Shoutout to Benny, and also to Quentin. Henry at Journal for coming and spending the time. This is hard man there are too many people! I love you all!
Wanna end this thing and go chill?
Yeah that sounds real good!
Fuck yeah Dan, thank you and keep killing it my g!
Over and out from Henry, new tees out now.
Videos mentioned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93wTDDFd-MI