10 Minutes with Stevie Williams

Skateboarding has taken the world by storm and it also helps to have Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell promoting and being a part of the culture it only made more room for Stevie Williams to let the world witness his story and legacy. Scheme got the chance to catch up with what he hopes to become the icon and the example for the youth that you can come from nothing and make something as long as there is some guidance and you have a good head on your shoulders the possibilities are endless. At the Palace 5ive between Flordia Ave and 13th we met up with the skateboarder of 17 years and got his take on DGK, why he decided to pick up and leave the east coast for the west coast and you may be surprised by what he thinks about while he’s on his board.

Scheme: What was and is it like being one of the pioneers of really allowing skateboarding to be something that is accepted amongst the community of color?

Stevie Williams: I’ve been a skateboarder for 17 years and as fashion started to change and people in the hood started to be more diverse skateboarding got embraced by the hip hop culture and urban lifestyle culture, it just so happened I’ve been doing for years and now the kids have someone to relate to.

Scheme: Did you ever pciture it would get this big?

Stevie Williams: Nah, for me and my team to be sitting here signing autographs is a crazy thing. To have mothers and fathers supporting kids who like to skateboard is cool, we didn’t have that growing up.

Scheme: What made you decide one day to get up and roll to California from Philadelphia and pursue skateboarding?

Stevie Williams: It was cold (laughs) and I was actually here in DC and I left from Tyson’s Corner came to Freedom Plaza and it was negative 20 degrees. I called up my boys and we decided it was something we had to do. It was a good feeling so we did it.

Scheme: As far as skateboarding and on the business side what is the ultimate Scheme for Stevie Williams?

Stevie Williams: My main goal is to be a icon to the kids in the community, for them to have someone to relate to and give some type of guidance. Deal more with my non-profit and give back to the hood and educate. Really going down in the history books coming from nothing to something and giving back by not just saying it but really doing it.

Scheme: Are you a huge sneaker head and if so what are your favorite pairs to rock?

Stevie Williams: My own, I have a crazy collection but there are a lot of politics involved with that but I have some heaters though. When I signed to Reebok I sold all my sneakers and made about $2,500 off of those alone and since then I’ve left it alone, but since everything has sparked back up I have my man from ALIFE designing some kicks and I’m getting back to where I was.

Scheme: Where are you in that whole sneaker designing process and where do you get the inspiration for the different designs?

Stevie Williams: I get my inspiration from taking the bus, riding the train, stealing even to the shirts we design. It comes with everything we already know and what we’re trying to learn. We have a lot of collabos with Travis Barker from Famous Stars and Straps, Dipset, Bun-B and Beanie Seigel, just being active.

Scheme: What advice would you give to the up and coming skaters that are trying to get to Stevie Williams level?

Stevie Williams: Keep a good head on your shoulders, know what you want, definitely be aware and if you don’t have it try and go find some guidance, you’re not going to get there being a knuckle head. Don’t listen to everything everybody says. Be comfortable with what you’re doing and if you know it’s hot just keep doing it.

Scheme: Dirty Ghetto Kids (DGK) what is your vision for that company?

Stevie Williams: As far as it can, before it was Stevie Williams and DGK but now it has become its own person. Kids relate to DGK probably more than they relate to Stevie Williams. DGK is so diverse, you see White, Spanish, Canadian, Brazilian, there could be DGK bikes, there are so many possibilities anything can happen. At the end of the day it’s a statement for the kids in the hood to know where they came from. I have 40 year old men telling I was a DGK and I love it.

Scheme: What do you think the biggest mis-perception is about Stevie Williams?

Stevie Williams: Right now the biggest mis-perception is that Pharrell and I are still beefing. It’s so old but people are still dealing with the old stuff. So to clear the record me and Pharrell are cool, me and my man T.K. are cool, Ice Cream and DGK are cool and we like working together to make this thing that much bigger than to be opponents.

Scheme: Describe the feeling you get when you’re on a deck, what is that like for you?

Stevie Williams: When I skate I don’t think about skating, I think about a bunch of other things. It’s like playing basketball, you don’t think about when you have to dribble to the right you might just do it, but your mind might be thinking about what happened yesterday. It’s kind of like meditation.

Scheme: People are going to have their opinions but in a perfect world what do you want your legacy to be and when people speak you up what do you want them to say?

Stevie Williams: That dude came from nothing to being at the top of his game.