NOBODYS - Keith Yerex
Film / SkateNobodys interview with Keith Yerex by sandro grison
Keith Yerex, or "Dickie Dee" as he was known around that skate park for his summer job as a bicycle-ice cream salesman, was a staple in the Kelowna skateboard scene. Before that, I remember him in elementary school as "Grandpa Pants". As different or awkward as he was, his sense of coolness is undeniable. He played a fretless bass in a punk-rock band called Macho Insecurities, then later in an other band called Undermind. His skateboarding was as technical as his mind—you can almost see physics and math equations running through his head as he executes maneuvers.
What was going on in your life during the time of this video? Most of the filming was done while I was finishing grade 12, and in the summer afterwards. I was riding for a short-lived shop called Rival. I don't remember doing anything other than skateboarding at the time. After the summer I went off to university in Edmonton. How did it come about that you were going to film with Kyle and make this video part? It didn't really start as a video part; me and Kyle had been filming together for fun for a couple years before that, so it was sort ofjust what we did. I met him through common friends in school. They all skated, but not all that much or seriously. He starting getting into filming and we connected because he wanted someone to film and I was better than most of his other friends, not to mention easily convinced to go skating anytime and all the time. He used call me up and drive me around a lot in the Mazda MPV, which I remember as being well stocked with cliff bars. Did you ever notice Jackie Chan is wearing Vans in that intro to your part? No I have never noticed. I had gone to Edmonton before they edited this, so I take zero responsibility for that opening. At what point did you change up your style of pants? Well, I still wear grandpa pants, just not floods. But I started wearing jeans when I snuck onto the Famous Skateboards team in about 1999 or 2000 in Edmonton (thanks to my good friends Krista and Devin), and Glenn Suggitt gave me five pairs of jeans he'd worn once (and was therefore done with).
Check back next week when we look at Jeff Ferner's part and weeks leading to Ryan Smith's first video part... the finale. Click here to view all Nobodys entries and check back every monday for additional parts.
