Hep Greg Interview

When I started brainstorming riders to interview, Greg Cohen was one of the first to come to mind. Fresh off the release of his first minivideo, everyone was really stoked on his riding. And they still are. He's been getting some nominations for Best Minivideo 08. I shot him some questions over MSN and here are his answers.

1. How did you first get into riding?

before i rode scooters, i skateboarded. i was at a sleepaway camp in 2000, and someone had left an Old A lying around, so being a skateboarder, my first instinct was to trick and do tricks on it. i picked it up, and did a feeble stall on this bench, and rode it around doing little jumps and stuff. when i got home from camp, my parents had bought me one, and the rest just followed.

2. Do you think your riding would be different if you lived anywhere else rather than NYC?

im not sure, but that's a good question. i think it might be, because i would have been riding with other people, or possibly by myself. so i wouldnt have had the same influences.

3. How did you get involved with C4 and EagleSport?

for C4, Gino invited me to join the team, and asked me to test out his prototype bars. so i agreed, and he put me on the team. for eaglesport, i was the first person to ride their wheels on a scooter. a few months ago, i emailed Marcel and sent him some clips, and was put on the team. i've been helping him with R & D, and testing prototype wheels and such since then.

4. How does it feel knowing that there's tons of kids out there basically worshipping you because of your scooter? Do you think people wouldn't have been so psyched on your mini/given you as many comments if you had never had such dialed setups?

haha i would hope that people dont just base their respect for me off of my scooter.. and as its been said over the years, one's scooter doesn't determine how well someone rides.

5. What has it been like living with Margaret in Florida by yourselves?

It was really nice, but Sarasota has nothing to offer entertainment-wise. We're both very happy to be back home in New York.

6. It might just be me, but you seem to know a lot about what is happening behind the scenes with various companies. Why is this?

Haha, because I'm Hep Greg. I just know alot of people in charge of big projects and stuff like that. and people tend to trust in my advice when it comes to designing scoots, so i guess that plays a big part in it.

7. What's one trick you could do all day long?

180 barspins. on anything, and everything. best trick ever.

8. You seemed to pick some winners when you got on C4 and Eagle. Did you know that they were going to get big? Are there any small/new companies right now that you think have bright futures?

i had no idea Gino was going to do anything with C4 other than making bars. I'm happy he's ended up with a successful small business.
I'm extremely happy to be a part of Eaglesport, it's probably the best thing thats happened to me since i started riding. Marcel is super open to new ideas, and he's a great guy.

As for new companies, Inward Scooters (despite their silly name) has a few good things going for them right now, and they have the resources to get bigger; which i believe the will. French ID is going to be HUGE soon. just wait, they're coming out with some crazy stuff.

9. Whats up with the SY DVD? Every time I go into the thread its like Lil Steve saying all he needs in a banger...

Oh lord haha. Ok, this is the official update for the DVD i'm guessing.. Jon's [Reyes] computer crashed about a month ago, so all the progress on the DVD was squashed & deleted. he still has all of the footage, but he just recently got a new camera so we're going to re-film most and/or all of it in HD. also, we've re-vamped the team and cut out a few riders who aren't as active anymore, so it will have less parts, but longer sections for each rider.

10. Any last words of wisdom, thanks, or shout-outs?

Hmm... ride more street. go out and explore your town, instead of chilin' at the skatepark everyday. Also, thanks for picking me to do this first interview, i think it's a pretty sweet idea.

Mini One. from Hep Greg on Vimeo.