Eli Reed - WeActivist!

WeSC is proud to welcome Eli Reed as the newest addition to our skate crew. A downtown New Yorker by way of Boston, Eli has been on the serious come up in the skate world, having gone pro with Zoo York shortly after winning Manny Mania in 2009, and then following that, a banger part in Zoo’s team vid, “State of Mind.”
 
And this is just the beginning.
 
But more than a widely respected skateboarder, there is much to learn about Eli. His artistic background, overall creativity and love for all things diverse, only scratch at the surface as to why we’re hyped to have him on board as our newest WeActivist.


 
When did you start skating and how did you get into it?
- I started skating when I was 10. My brother started first and I kind of just wanted to do what he was doing. I distinctly remember him drawing out this new board he wanted and showing it to my mom. Right away I knew I wanted to get into it.


When did skating really start to take off for you? 
- It happened pretty quickly, but I would say at around 11 or 12 years old I started to get serious with it. At that age I wasn’t sure where it would take me, but I definitely knew it was something I wanted to do and keep at.
 
Can you tell us a bit more about growing up and skating in Boston?
- Growing up in Boston was great because there was a big up and coming local scene at the time, and I was blessed to be able to grow up around that. We had the younger kids all feeding off each other’s energy and the older skaters who were constantly motivating the younger group. It was really influential to watch the local bros skate and really blow us away.
 
Who were some of your biggest inspirations early on?
- I always looked up to Andrew Reynolds. I would buy everything he had; shoes, clothes, everything. I think a lot of younger kids like to do that with skaters they look up to and emulate them. Mark Appleyard was another skater I looked up to -- I was super psyched on him. Donny Barley, Brian Wenning, Jamie Thomas. Locally it was Jamal Williams and Charlie Wilkins, and so many others.
 
Aside from other skaters, what else influences you?
- My mom and my brother influenced me a whole lot growing up. They’re both artists -- my mom paints and draws, and my brother is into illustration, kind of like a Japanese comic book style.
 
Another thing that really influenced me was studying Kung Fu when I was 16. When I was getting injured a lot with skating I studied Kung Fu and used it as an outlet to stay physical during the pause in my skating. My brother studies Kung Fu and it inspired me to start. I learned some amazing things that have stayed with me today – great things mentally and physically.
 
New York is really influential to me on a daily basis. I think being in New York inspires me to just be different with my skating. There is so much diversity in this city with people from so many walks of life. I have so many friends that do entirely different things so it’s not like I’m hanging out with my skate friends 24/7.
 
 
When did you decide to leave Boston? And why New York over anywhere else?
- I was always in love with New York. Even as a kid, I always knew I wanted to end up here. I would take the bus to New York from Boston and my dad would go to New York often, so since then it was always Boston and New York, back and fourth. I’ve been living here for the past five or six years.
 
But you spend a lot of time on the West Coast as well, right? 
- It was back and fourth between LA, New York, and Boston for a while, and at one point I was living in the Valley. I have a good amount of friends out there and know my way around the LA area, so I try to skate there as much as I can.
 
 
One thing that WeSC embraces is the merging of the creative world and the skate scene. You've been quoted saying that you view skateboarding to be an art form rather than a sport – is this right?
 
- I was always inspired by my mom and brother. They're artists so art was always their thing, and I was a hyper active little kid so skateboarding was my thing. Not right away, but eventually I started to think of skateboarding as my art. Living with artists, you think like an artist. Contests and landing tricks are a part of skating, but I like to think of skating as a way to be creative and to think outside of the box. It’s not necessarily about wanting to be "different", but finding a niche, doing your own thing, and just having fun with it. Now that I’m older and more comfortable with the tricks I like, I can spend more time focusing on what I think looks good and putting my own spin on things. With pictures too, skateboarding becomes more like art, especially in New York. When you’re skating in New York, the shots you can get here are amazing– from a bright yellow taxi to construction work in the background, everything is very rich and unlike other cities.
 
All of our WeActivists are dynamic personalities with interests that widely vary across the spectrum. Any tricks up your sleeve -- something people may not know about you? 
- I've always been really interested in film, and my friend and I are working on a side project right now. I don't want to say too much about it yet because it's still in the works, but it's kind of a skate film with serious skating footage, but also transcribes some acting with a story line. 
 
What does being a WeActivist mean to you? 
- WeSC wants to support people who have their own thing going on, not step in and direct them. I like that because it’s kind of a mutual respect – celebrating who you are, that’s how I see it. All of the WeActivists have so many different talents and interests, from athletes, to models, to artists and musicians. I really like how WeSC can bring them all together.
 
If you look into a crystal ball, what does the future look like for you? 
- It’s lookin’ good – it’s lookin’ great! Long-term plans include longevity, of course: hopefully win the next X Games, work on some side projects I have in mind. Just keep going and keep skating.