Dashawn Jordan is the number five skater on the planet. The Arizona native and X Games medialist was stoked to represent the United States on its first-ever Olympic skate team, until of course the Olympics got delayed. But he's not letting that bring his spirits down (5:04), and instead is focusing on some of the more positive sides of his recent decision to go pro.
He just launched his first decks with Business & Company, and he's ridden for Nike SB for a while now, a flow team that comes with some excellent perks (6:48). Hopefully that'll lead to his own signature shoe, if not a collab now that we're in a new age of Nike SB. But Jordan's already got a few ideas for what his Dunk would look like (8:30).
The following interview has been edited and condensed.
Jian DeLeon: How's Arizona treating you?
Dashawn Jordan: Arizona is treating me pretty good. Out here chilling with the family and hanging out and stay healthy mentally and physically and stay positive in the midst of-But it's a lot of positives coming from it, so it's great.
JD: How's the quarantine isolation experience over there? Are you guys getting out a lot or?
DJ: I built a box and I've been skating in front of my crib. I bounce back and forth, see all the family, and keep the circle I'm in real small. It's a little bit more relaxing here.
JD: Are you bummed about the Olympics getting delayed?
DJ: I feel like it's honestly a blessing in disguise; it's more time for preparation, more time to grind, and more time to make good habits an everyday thing. With all that's going on, I'm not really bummed on it. Everything happens for a reason; God's timing is the best time. It's not an “off” time though. It's a time for us to get more in touch with ourselves, and really make sure we're taking care of what's important.
JD: You've been on Nike's flow team long enough to have a serious stockpile of heat. You've got the OG Air Max 1s, the Sean Wotherspoons, some Off-White™ collabs, and of course you got the Chunky Dunkys. Do you make a habit of skating every pair, or are there any you want to keep in mint condition?
DJ: I'm not the type of person to want a shoe to sell it. I'll hang onto the shoe for the rest of my life because I find it special. It's a part of history, a lot of OG Nike skateboarders say: "Man, I wish I never skated in all these shoes," because now those shoes are worth a lot. It goes to now and it just shows you that the sneaker history and culture is really big now, and it's amazing.
JD: When — and not if — you get your first Nike signature shoe, what's it going to be? What's it going to look like?
DJ: I would love to make a Dunk. That's been the shoe I've been skating a lot. I was really attracted to the culture and just the whole significance behind them, and I got back on skating in Dunks and I've been skating in them ever since. What's funny is I'm the type of person to speak these things into existence, so I've already been messing with Dunk ideas and colorways. I would love to do an Arizona-inspired Dunk using the OG Diamondbacks colors: the turquoise, the copper, and somehow implement the copperhead snake in there. I want to get down to the details and have it very culture-driven, something for the AZ Heads, but you could also appreciate them if you're not from Arizona.
JD: You've also been working on music for a while. To have your skating be co-signed by a legend like Eric Koston and your music co-signed by guys like A$AP Ferg and TJ Mizell, it seems like you're already on the right track.
DJ: I've been making music for years...I always hung out with my older cousins and they all rap, and they would write raps for me. I would send it to myself, I'll send it to close friends, and I keep it in a vault. I'm probably sitting on over 50 songs that I'll play for myself or my homies like TJ, and I love getting constructive criticism because I want it and I want to be good at it. I really put in time and effort to make music just like skating — I share the same love.
JD: You've also got a new video part on the way. When can we expect to see that?
DJ: Yes, it'll be coming out at some point. It's actually been done since February, but we don't want to rush anything and given this time while I'm in Arizona, I want to try to get out and get a little bit more stuff on it. It's good right now, but if it can be better, I want to make it better, so I want to maybe try to get a couple more lines for it. I'm excited to drop that part, man. I'm stoked how it came out. It's definitely going to be my statement — my first part where people are like: “Okay, Dashawn Jordan, he's out here.”
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