The pro skater and metal guitarist in Night Fiends, checks in for a conversation with clown that includes music, skateboarding, and Tony Hawk’s new video game.
X Games Big Air Gold Medalist Elliot Sloan was the most recent guest on clown’s Electric Theater.
The conversation spent a healthy amount of time detailing Sloan’s passion project in his recently completed Mega Park. The massive undertaking fusing multiple ramps together to create a unique big air experience is not only a feat of engineering, it was labor of love that took Sloan years to complete.
The idea for the ‘Mega’ began some three-plus years ago and started with Sloan asking Tony Hawk to take a portion of the Boom Boom Huck Jam off his hands. Sloan recalled how there was a ramp from Hawk’s famed tour that was sitting the warehouse. After asking enough, Hawk told Sloan he needed to clear some space and that the ramp was his.
Like any other great plan, once the ramp was assembled, there was room to go bigger. As the ramp grew into a park, resources started to thin out, causing inevitable pauses in the progress.
Connecting with WeedMaps as a sponsor, Sloan would eventually find a brand that would fully support his vision and provided the support to help him complete the unique skateboarding haven. In March of 2020, the Mega went from a wild idea to something real.
The Mega has since become a destination for skaters of all levels to test their ability and their courage considering how massive this thing is. Both in riding and watching other skaters ride, Sloan admits finding a real sense of fulfillment. He would reference an emerging 12-year old talent in Sky Brown who recently made the jump – a feat that Sloan says he’s never seen someone pick up so quickly. (See the video of Sky Brown jumping the Mega – HERE)
While the Mega dominated a healthy portion of the conversation, clown did manage to explore Sloan’s headspace both as an athlete and as an artist. Like most laymen, clown attempted to understand the kind of mental strength you need to be able to fly through the air on skateboard.
Sloan discussed how the prep work that goes into landing a jump or trick can be tedious and repetitive. He stressed that landing just one jump can take days, weeks and yet the reward in sticking it makes the time all worth it.
Detailing his other interests outside of skateboarding, Sloan also discussed his metal project, Night Fiends, with In Flames drummer Tanner Wayne. Working a duo, the tandem enlist a rotating roster of contributors and thus far have released collaborative tracks with Norma Jean frontman Cory Brandan, Of Mice & Men vocalist Aaron Pauley, The Black Dahlia Murder guitarist Brandon Ellis, and In Flames’ frontman Anders Fridén.
Listen to the complete conversation with pro skater Elliot Sloan and clown of Slipknot in the latest entry of The Electric Theater.
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