The secret life of... John "Superfly" Skavarla

*edit*
I got this IM from Supes last night...

Superfly: image searck didn't work cuz its spelled "skvarla"

I wonder where I got the idea it was spelt "skavarla" from?


This is so clusterfucked. I was going to steal pictures from his Facebook, but instead, I am just going to do a google image search for both "superfly" and "john skavarla" That isn't working well.. So if you shot the photos I'm stealing from facebook, thank you.


This came up, and I think it's a good way to introduce our boy.

Fuckbmx: you ready?
Superfly: sure lets go
Fuckbmx: alright, so you're superfly, how long have you been riding, and how long ago did you quit racing?
Superfly: If I answer these questions wrong are you gonna kick me out of BMX?
Fuckbmx: woah woah woah, i'm asking the questions here
Fuckbmx:i'll consult catfish and see though
Superfly: been riding about 22 years i guess, i raced from age 13 to 23, I'm 33 now
Fuckbmx: so you grew up racing gaska, how was that?
Superfly: I think only raced him at Shoreham in Open Wheels, we are the same age but he was always a class above, when I was nov he was ex, when I turned ex, he turned superclass
Superfly: but I definately looked up to him
Fuckbmx: yea, mr smooth.
Fuckbmx: what was the most memorable race you've been to? i'm sure you've seen wild shit go down since that was when bmx races were actually wild, and they didnt have church and prayers before races...
Superfly:I think one of the craziest races I was in was an Open Wheels Main at Shoreham, it was a Stacked Main, Brian Foster, Rob-O, Timmy S, Justin Lofredo, Mulligan, a Poole brother, and Maybe BI, Bivona or Terra I can't Remember, and myself. IT was nuts, 1/2 the Main blew up in the 1st turn and I had nowhere to go but over the berm
Fuckbmx: haha nice.
Fuckbmx: i guess we can get away from racing now, i know you said you have allot to say...
Fuckbmx: so whats with all the trail drama?
Superfly: I don't know, Isn't there always trail drama, I'm not sure if its anymore than normal maybe just a lil more extreme


Fuckbmx: whats the spot your digging at now, is it still keyko? i know i saw photos with rock walls back there holding landings up...
Superfly: yeah, been digging at Keyko still, this is the start of the 5th season with this setup, I had jumps in there when I was 13, 20 years ago, Hopefully it keeps going but we got word from the Landowners that there's a possibility of it getting plowed in the Fall.
Fuckbmx: that sucks, atleast you'll have until fall(hopefully) if it gets plowed though... will there be a crazy putting keyko to rest party?
Superfly: I doubt it, we've been advised to keep things low key so that it doesn't get plowed. But if its getting plowed for sure and theres no stopping it then maybe
Fuckbmx: yea, might as well end it with a few arrests, right?
Superfly: I'd actually just rather just ride them till sunset with my good close friends, pour some beer out, and roast some hot dogs, real mellow like the lips
Fuckbmx: are the landings equally as mellow? or is 2009 all about the nose dive?


Fuckbmx: my interviews suck, by the way



Superfly: too old for nose dives, everythings real forgiving, mellow lips mellow landings, so if you fuck up you can keep going, I'm too old to stop and go back up the hill. So a lil mellower than normal I guess, at least thats what i've been told, You can decide for yourself. As Sal from Posh once said "I'm a grown man, if I want to go high I'll pull up damn it. These kids with their crazy steep lips."
Fuckbmx: word. well, i'm young and scared, so dont worry, there's no hate here.
Fuckbmx: are you disappointed in how un-punk rock bmx has grown over the last 5-10 years?
Fuckbmx: i mean, even from the shady bunch to NHSH the whole vibe changed... for the worse

Bangers.

Superfly: at this point I'm not really concerned with anything other than what my myself and friends are doing in Bmx, the rest of the shit that you see on the internet is almost an entirely different thing. I stopped looking at certain Bmx websites a few months ago, cuz I don't relate at all to whats going on with what they're featuring, to me it just seems like bad trend after bad trend, and too much about atttitude, its weird to me. But then again A bunch of weird grown men spending way too much time together digging and riding in the woods together is weird in itself too.
Fuckbmx: would you say it's fair to compare "that" kind of bmx to basketball? people always trying to get points for doing something... wether theyre 'just having fun' or just saying they are...
Superfly: I don't even know what to think of it so I don't really. I'm just stoked to ride trails with good people. Seeing how wild some of the InterStreetNet BMX scene is makes me appreciate how simple good times in the woods with some jumps and friends can be. Just green trees, blue grooves, and friends. Thats basically all I'm thinking about

Tabes for babes all day


Fuckbmx: so we shouldnt expect any banger parts with you doing random street manuals any time soon? gunna keep them to the roller sections/
Superfly: the last banger street clip I had was in Base's neighborhood Superhereos, it was a 1 handed feeble to no footer on a 12 in grindbox at a skatepark in Ohio. Thats what I'm all about.
Superfly: I actually did it as a joke, and somehow it ended up in my part
Fuckbmx: you also were all about sucking the cereal out of a box in that video using only a bowl. can we expect to see that happen again?
Superfly: That was a dream sequence, ful base uniform on poppin Whullies down the street, the cereal pops out of bowl and jumps back into the box

Speaking of dream sequence....


Fuckbmx: can we expect the full base uniform(and maybe some retro base reprints??) to make a comeback this year? my crewneck is getting a bit small.
Superfly: prob not, I don't see myself ever wearing a race unform again. And as for all the old superbmx designs, I have about 95% of the artwork still and could reprint stuff at anytime, but being that screenprinting is my business when I'm done I much rather go to the trails or the bar than print more shirts. But I did take some old shirts of mine and my friend taylored them XL back down to a normal size, been rockin them its a lot easier than re-making screens and they're already worn in vintage style.
Fuckbmx: is there any reason you stopped doing new origional super stuff? were you just sick of it and wanted to print 'as a job'?
Superfly: Basically the same reason as the question above. I do have new designs I just haven't gotten to printing them, after 15 years I'm burnt on printing. Plus I'm horrible at selling. Its way easier to print other peoples shit cuz that just comes to me and I'm paid. Designing, then Printing and selling your own stuff can be a lot of work, its hard. I get 2/3 rds of the way there then the shit just sits in a box. But there will be new SuperBmx stuff...someday
Fuckbmx: word. so back to bikes. over your years, i'm sure youve ridden at countless spots on the island. what were the most memorable trails that just always had shit going on?(aside from the obvious, sevs)
Superfly: Yeah obviously Sevs was known as the spot on LI but there were tons of other great spots. Every spot had its own style, Going way back Rob-o took me to the Genovese trails (the new Clinton) and going there was my first taste of what real trails were. Rob Micheline held that scene down. That was what it was all about, good trails and good people. Hooligan was real good but tough, it made you good if you could ride the place, Then there was Oak Park John Lee made that place awesome, and my old trails Port were also a favorite, riding with the Ghost on lips and landings made out of 1/2 sand 1/2 clay with carpets on them sounds shady but it was some of the best times in my life
Fuckbmx: haha i dug at genovese from the age like 12-15.... 3rd or 4th generation.
Superfly: haha awesome I didn't know that, I thought once they were plowed that was it
Fuckbmx: it kinda kept springing back i guess, always alot of kids out there
Fuckbmx: why do you think kids gravitate towards street riding vs. everything else? laziness?
Fuckbmx: i just put words in your mouth
Superfly: I'd say more of them needing instant gratification, younger kids are gonna look at what they see in the media which is 95% street and run out and try to do that. ITrails are few and far between and ts unlikely that some kid that just gets into riding is going to go out and find some woods and spend weeks building trails when its easier to have his mom drive him to the skatepark to hang out with his friends, or just go ride street stuff thats already there. It is what it is. To me it just makes the commitment to make something of your own more of a satisfying thing.
Superfly: you wanna finish this up another time? i'm losing daylight and I got some lips to work on…
Fuckbmx: round 2?
Superfly: sure you got good questions?
Superfly: how about in 5 mins?
Fuckbmx: sounds good.
Fuckbmx: as for good questions... nope.
Superfly: ok lets go
Fuckbmx: ok, top 5 riders ever?
Superfly: thats tough, but off the top of my head I'd say Mike Aitken, Brian Foster, John Lee, Joe Rich, Jay Lonergan
Fuckbmx: i know you're all about the trail bbq's so... if you were bbqin at the trail, what is the most important food product to pick up along the way? what are the essentials for a success?
Superfly: Jeff Allen gave me a bunch of coupons for free BallPark Franks so I get those, then you need buns and condiments, Oscar and Nick usually bring a big bag of coals that we'll get about 5 BBQs out of. Then we'll send a grom to the store to get more food if needed. But a dog or burger never tastes better than when you're eating it at the trails
Fuckbmx: how do you take your trail burgers?
Fuckbmx: i'm about to throw out a few questions and then shade out and get lunch.
Fuckbmx: jessica beil or jessica sumpson? This is kind of a trick question since theyre both busted now.
Superfly: cool send em thru
Fuckbmx: 2. how do you get a good gate starts? listening to the horns or watching the lights?
Fuckbmx: 3. where is the best place you have traveled due to bikes?
Fuckbmx: 4. why does ashlee simpson come on my random itunes so often?
Fuckbmx: 5. top 5 bands/songs.
Fuckbmx: 6 when can we expect you to guest answer the letters section of a major bmx magazine again?
Fuckbmx: 7. when is the next super video coming out?
Fuckbmx: 8. any plans to ever leave LI?
Fuckbmx: 9. should i come to the 70's party tonight? i might have swine flu
Superfly: i'll go backwards just to make it harder for you to copy and paste all this together
Fuckbmx: 10. what kind of frame are you riding? why isnt it an fbm?


Fuckbmx: have you seen how unorganized most of my posts are?


Superfly: 9. the 70's party is next friday
Superfly: 10. I got a Fit Van Homan from Rob-O a few years ago and its holding up fine. If I get a new bike maybe I'd switch it up and get an FBM.
Superfly: 8. I lived in Bklyn for a year but was coming back to LI almost everyday for the trails. Right now I have a pretty sweet set-up with working/living 5 mins from the trails and I have a sick group of friends here. It's pretty perfect, Its a great thing right now, but if the trails get plowed I'd consider moving somewhere else.
Superfly: 7. I was working on putting together a video of all old footage, I got a ton. But I've been slacking on that. Transfering footy then capturing it is a bitch. That'll be the prequel to "Live For Today", then the Sequel to it will be out in about 10 years I guess, so it'll be a trilogy thing, like yesterday-today-tomorrow
Superfly: 6. I guess if they asked me to I could. But I can't think of any reason why that would ever happen or why'd Id have the answers to their questions. They should just leave that to McGoo.
Superfly: 5. Top 5 songs right now...
Pulp- "Common People"
Grateful Dead- "Touch of Grey" (it's stuck in my head)
Donovan- "Season of the Witch"
Stiff Little Fingers -"Alternative Ulster"
Warren Zevon -"Werewolves of London" ( I put this song on the jukebox at the bar when I'm drunk then hit the skip button skipping everyone else's songs till it plays which usually leads to me being kicked out.)
Superfly: 4. Better question...Why is Ashley Simpson on your iTunes?
Superfly has gone offline.
Superfly is now online.
Superfly: my aim just quit, send me the 1st 4 questions again
Fuckbmx: jessica beil or jessica sumpson? This is kind of a trick question since theyre both busted now.
2. how do you get a good gate starts? listening to the horns or watching the lights?
3. where is the best place you have traveled due to bikes?
4. why does ashlee simpson come on my random itunes so often?
Superfly: 4. better question....Why do you have Ashley Simpson on your itunes?
3. Germany and Amsterdam
2. its all about the horns. my gates were never great

Who needs gates with a bike painted down the middle?


1. Not into either of them but I guess if I had to choose I'd have to pick beil, I heard Bam fucked Simpson so I wouldn't really wanna go there
thanks for the interveiw, if you want pics I might be able to get some for you
Fuckbmx: 2 different simpsons questions.
Fuckbmx: are you good at reading comprehension?
Fuckbmx: and thank yous?
Fuckbmx: and im robbing FB pics
Superfly: i answered both
Superfly: #4 and 1
Fuckbmx: oh shit
Fuckbmx: my bad
Superfly: thanks to the Glacier that dumped this sandbar here we call LI, thanks to Al Gore for inventing the internet. Mom and Dad, Moshi Moshi, all my awesome friends and Shoreham BMX

Fuckbmx: fuck, i forgot to ask how/why you end up on the news/tv/webvideos so often?
Superfly: back in the day whenever some tv or news show was looking for bmx riders for something they'd end up calling base brooklyn so Enos hooked up a few. There's also a talent agent NYC who somehow got my name and # and for some reason he thinks that, Myself, Nigel, and this guy Dylan who hasn't even rode in probably about 8 years, are the best bmers in NY. I'm not about to tell him whats really up, I just keep going with the weird gigs and usually end up up with a good story


Oh, and don't forget to go to SuperBMX.com to see me look like a douchebag twice in one party post.