Matt Miller’s Deck Collection

July 28th, 2007 by atlCreativeAdmin | Posted in Project Spotlight |

Name:
Matt Miller

Job Title:
Skateboard Collector, Musician.

Does your Deck Collection have a name?
It has no name…but I like the idea of naming it….maybe ill come up with something clever soon.

Where can people see your collection?
It will be featured in a book my friend Raymond Jones is putting out called OUT OF STEP: faces of straight edge. Its coming out in October on southern empire press. Other than that you would have to come to my house and check it out…also I’m gonna put a section on my photography website with some photos of the collection when I get a chance to set them all up for a photo, its hard to get that-em all out in the open at once.
Where do you get your decks?
A lot I get from ebay, as well as other collectors on online forums such as skullandbonesskateboards.com. also a lot of people know that I collect so ive had some just handed to me form people that have them just sitting in their attics. I keep dreaming of walking into a flea market or garage sale and finding tons of old stuff….but it hasn’t happened just yet!

Why Skate Decks:
Oh man. Skateboarding changed my life. Every-time I get a new(old) deck just the memory of the first time I saw it, the feeling I got, it was my first true love for sure. I remember the first deck I ever got, a mike vallely barnyard deck. When I finally tracked one down and it arrived in the mail, right when I took it out of the box it brought me back to when I was a kid, even just the smell of the screen-printing on it, totally brought me back to the first time I walked into a skate shop and picked out the first complete setup. I was so nervous but sooo stoked. I got home and called all my homies and went skating. Totally ruled! And I honestly believe if I never found skateboarding, id be totally lost in life. And im so glad that I grew up with skateboarding at the time that I did, it was still underground and the graphics were so much better, great artists like jim Phillips, Vernon courtland Johnson(vcj), mark mcgee. Those guys are legend’s and changed the shape of things for sure. Nothing holds a candle to that stuff these days unfortunately.

Did you use to skate? If so, who was your crew?
Oh yeah, I still skate here and there. Its too bad I got so fat and out of shape, I still get amped on skate videos and punk rock, but I can only shred for about half and hour and im wasted. And falling hurts so much more now. My crew when I first stated skating was pretty much me and my brother. No-one in the neighborhood skated, there were a couple-dudes in school but they lived far away. But when I got a car in the mid 90s I was shredding with the technology crew, the forsyth hethen possee, id ride with the LVC, but as I got older I would usually skate with my friend tony the most, and we had a crew that was always down to skate, and all of us were straight edge so while everyone parties and whatnot, we would go to shows and skate, and break stuff…..thus forming the infamous TARP crew. We are all still really good friends.

What was your very first deck you skated?
I already mentioned this, but it was a world industries Mike Vallely barnyard deck, graphics by mark McGee. Bullet wheels, and ill never forget, I didn’t know what trucks to get, I had the choice of inys or action 2 trucks that were red and had plastic covers…I chose the action 2 trucks, then skated with my friend and they didn’t stop making fun of me till I got Indy’s. I felt dumb. Cool thing about the Mike V deck. It had a top graphic of a cow writing “please don’t eat my friends”. I didn’t give that much thought when I was 11 years old, but now ive been vegan for over 12 years and having that board again and living the message it has written on it, pretty cool I think!

Why do you only collect old Decks?
Mostly old decks, I get more stoked on having something that reminds me of simpler times. But I have some newer decks. Mostly the newer ones I have are done by artists that I know, or that are hand painted. I like to have each deck mean something special.

Is skateboarding a sport?
I guess its turning into one. But I don’t think of it as one. I always hated sports and jocks. I rode my skateboard to get away from that scene. Its been a strange few years with ESPN extreme games and the like. I’m not too fond of the way things are turning out, but im not as involved with that anymore, and there are still plenty of people who are down to skate and just have fun and not worry about winning medals or being on the cover of a Wheaties box.

How long have you been collection decks?
I think I started in the early 2000’s. I never wanted to get into collecting anything cause I was always broke, bit I decided to pick up one old deck just to ride, but I couldn’t bring myself to it, and its been downhill ever since. But I’m still stoked every-time I look at all my decks, I don’t regret starting the collection at all. I also love the reactions and stories I get when people come over and see it. Me and my girlfriend have touring hardcore bands crash at our place and every time they walk into the room when all the decks are hanging, we always end up talking all night telling stories about skating back in the day..hahah

Do you have a fav?
Im kind of a nerd for series of decks, im trying to complete the blind spoof series, when Jason lee, mark Gonzales, and rudy Johnson all had decks that made fun of the powell graphics in spite of george powell dissing small skate companies. I have the lee but im still on the look out for the Johnson and the gonales. Also I have a large collection of black powell decks as well as every color the tommy guerrero dagger except the dark blue. I like having them all together. Once I complete a set I get so stoked. But prob my fav graphic is the andy howell kid on the tricycle and the city behind him with all the word bubbles that you could fill in with all sorts of funny stuff. That board brings back sooo many good times. And of course Andy repped ATL hard.

Any of the decks signed by the artist or rider?
I have a couple that are signed bu the artist and one or two signed by the rider. I thought about getting more signed but im just too lazy for that.

The Collection: