Special Edition Jon Hart Interview!!!

I've known Jon for a long time. The picture on the top of the post proves this statement. That's Jon sitting between me and Brian, incase you couldn't tell. Since I don't live in Utah anymore, I don't have any recent photos of Jon, so I put up some photos that he gave me in 2002. The gap he's trying to ollie is the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) gap. I think he was the first one to try it, but he never rode away. The picture below it shows his big earnings for trying this mega gap. The back of the picture reads "Me and my earnings: $2.50 and 2 bruised heels and 1 cut palm". Big money for a 17 year old. The picture on the bottom was taken by Garett Taylor in 2011 on a metro in Paris. Good times. Anyway, I figured that since Jon was interviewing everybody, he might like to get interviewed too; so I sent him some questions that I had. Even though I've known Jon his whole life and we've always been best friends and really close, there are still lots of things that I don't know about him. These questions reflect the deep things that I think about while I'm spacing off in school. Speaking of school, I wanna say congratulations to Jon for graduating from college! He only took 6 years to get his bachelors, which means he's tied with Brian for getting their bachelors the quickest in our family. I got mine in a hefty 7 years. So we're all real proud of Jon and wish him the best in the future, which he will talk about in this interview. He thought that maybe this interview should be broken up into 2 interviews because of its length, but I feel that the epicness of this interview suits Jon perfectly, so I'm keeping it just like it is. So, here it goes, welcome to the Jon Hart Ultimate Collector's Edition Director's Extended Cut Interview!

What are you up to nowadays?

I just finished school. Now that I’m graduating, I’m working for the summer at a park in Provo taking care of the grounds. I like the work because it’s outside, I don’t have to talk to anyone, and I get to exercise. It’s pretty simple work, and I get to think all day long about whatever I want to, so I like it. When I’m not working, I skate all the time, try to get tricks for Bolts of Thunder 4, or film other people getting tricks. It’s always a good time. Rachel, my wife, comes out skating with me as much as she can, and we hang out the rest of the time that I’m not working or skating. That’s seriously all my life consists of these days, not much variety, but I like it. It’s all going to change soon, so I’m soaking it up while I have it.

Why and when are you moving to Vermont? How long will you be gone for?

I’m moving to Vermont in August because I’m going to graduate school. 6 years to get my Bachelor’s degree wasn’t enough for me, so I’m taking on a Master’s degree in energy regulation. Everyone always asks the follow up question, “.. what can you do with that?...” whenever I say ‘energy regulation’, so I will tell you before you ask that question. I’m not sure. But it involves working with cities, states, our country, other countries, businesses, and individuals on how to use, manage, distribute, or generate energy. I think energy is fascinating, and I think we have a long way to go to make our country and world use energy in ways that benefit our health, economy, and environment. Vermont has the best program in the country for this kind of thing, so I’m going out there. The program is only for 15 months (which is a year and 3 months for those of you who don’t want to do the math), so I have no idea where I will be or what I will be doing after that. Hopefully somewhere cool and fun.

Your dad was 28 when you were born and you are 28 and will be having a baby boy in a couple months. Is this a coincidence? A sign?

I’m hoping it’s a sign that the new generation of Jon Harts are going to be brought into the world with a love for all things good. I’m not sure how I make that connection, but I feel it in my bones, and especially in my tibial tuberosity. That’s the bone that feels it the most (it’s more of a protrusion than an actual bone of its own, but that’s the part of the tibia I feel it the strongest).

How’s the new video coming along?

Really well. I’m super happy with what we’ve gotten so far. If we were to stop filming and making the video right now, we would have a really fun video to put out and would stand on its own against all the other videos we’ve made so far. Everyone’s constantly been getting footage, so everyone already has enough to make good parts and a good video overall. I’m super excited for the finished product and for what we’re going to get in the next couple of months. More than just about anything, I’m excited to see other people watch it. I don’t know why I love to see people’s reactions to things. So the finished product will be fun for me to watch, but I will have just as much fun watching other people watch it and hopefully enjoy it. You’ll like it, trust me.

Are you stressing at all for it?

Actually, no. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’m going to go on a hunch and say it’s a good thing. Making this video has been pure fun so far, and that’s how I see it ending. I’m not sure what it is about this video that’s made it so laid back, but being really relaxed about it has helped me have a lot more fun when I’m skating and when I’m filming. I’ve been able to get more stuff because I’m not super stressed about it. But I’m sure as it gets closer, I’ll have more sleepless nights where I stress about our little home made video.

Of all the videos you made, what was the most stressful?

Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild. We’ve made quite a few videos over the years, not just Bolts of Thunder videos, and they all involve at least some stress. Mostly stressing about the tricks I want to get. I usually have a handful of tricks that are pretty scary for me, but I really want to get them. I’ll stress about it when I think about them until I get them or accept that I’m not doing it. I think every video I’ve made I’ve had that happen. But Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild was a different kind of stress. I was stressing over everyone else getting their parts done. I don’t know why, but I really wanted everyone to have good parts, so I was going crazy trying to track down people and film them. I was getting married that summer, and I had quite a bit going on, so it was pretty stressful. I’m glad this video is not at all like that, even though we’ve got a baby on the way.

What are your 5 favorite tricks (not including you) that have been done in the previous videos?

Nick’s roof drop is timeless and classic. Everything about it screams Bolts of Thunder. For real, Nick, you will ever go down in Bolts of Thunder history for that trick. The wrist guards, the roll ups to the edge of the crumbling roof, the make shift landing we made, cops driving by and Nick ducking down to not get caught, the slams he took, then the final ride away. The camera battery died right after he rode away, so it was perfect timing. That trick brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

AJ’s full cab flip over the rebar gap in our last video. I can’t remember if he just started throwing it over it or if I jokingly suggested it. Before he ever tried it,  I would have never thought that he’d actually do it because that’s such a crazy trick, but then that spot is the scariest thing to skate fakie. But then he just started trying it and getting close then sticking it and slipping out. It was way hot outside, and he was beat, and he kept almost getting it but not quite. Then all of a sudden he did the most perfect full cab flip you could imagine over that gap. It was nuts.

Dan’s mega launch in Paris, his last trick in his part in Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild. Dave filmed it and sent me the footage, so I wasn’t there when it happened. I thought it was super nuts when I saw the footage. But then I actually skated that park last October when I went to Paris and skated with Dave, and I could not believe Dan did that. Even for Dan standards, I was in shock. I was scared just rolling down the roll in for it, and I didn’t get more than 6 inches out of the launch. After seeing the launch in person, that’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen Dan do.

Matt’s hippy jump from one board to the other to huge hill bomb, his last trick in Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild. That hill is scary to ride down, and I’ve only ever done it sitting down. Matt for some reason embraced the power of the hill and found two ways to film on it in different videos. We went to get that trick one day, but it was super windy and Matt didn’t get it. He kept sticking when he jumped on the second board and rolled down the hill a couple times. It finally started raining, and we had to call it quits. We went back the next day and Matt did it first try with no warm ups or anything. It was one of my proudest moments for some reason watching Matt ride out that hill. Truly epic.

Dave’s ollie down that huge gap in his first part. I’ve told this story on the blog before, so I won’t tell the entire thing again. But that gap is completely insane, and ollieing it when you’ve got double heel bruises is even crazier. Dave inspired us all in filming that first video, and he definitely led the way in getting gnarly. That ollie summed up a summer of working ourselves to make our own little video that we thought nobody would ever even see.

What are your 3 favorite tricks that you have done in the videos?

5-0 on the big power box. I did that just to spite myself for having fallen on it so hard.

Kickflip over the 10 stair rail. That was right after Dave ollied that huge gap, and I wouldn’t have done it had he not done that gap. I got a stress fracture in my right leg from jumping down it so many times. It took me an hour and a half straight of trying it to ride away. It was painful but very rewarding.

Front board down the hospital hubba. Again, Dave stepped up and 50-50ed that thing second or third try right after we pulled up to it. I had been wanting to skate it for a couple years, but it wasn’t until Dave jumped on it that I finally did it. I landed it fourth try, and I remember thinking it was way easier than I thought it would be as I rode away. So I did it a second time right after that just to do it again.

Who has the best part in Bolts of Thunder history?

That’s a hard one to say because there have been so many good parts. It’s like asking who my favorite child is when I love them all so much… But, Dave’s part in the first video. I got a tear in my eye once from watching it, and I’ve started clapping at the end of it several times. I’m being completely serious. But I still love everyone else’s part too.

How do you do such good kickflips and what’s your favorite kickflip you’ve ever done (filmed or not)?

Practice. It took me a year straight of trying to land kickflips until I finally landed one. All of a sudden something clicked in my head, I knew how I was supposed to hold my balance in the air and everything. Once I landed one, all of a sudden I could land every one I tried. It was so weird because I had tried so hard for a full year with nothing at all then all of a sudden it was strange for me to miss one. I think I loved the trick so much because I had worked so hard for it that I just kept doing them over and over. And never stopped. That’s still all I do when I skate. For real, probably 80 percent of the tricks I do on my board are either just a flat ground kickflip or another trick with a kickflip in it. I still get goose bumps on my arms and butterflies in my stomach when I land a good solid kickflip. The thrill of doing them never went away and I hope it never does. There are two kickflips that stand out in my mind as my favorite ones. One was over this drop that we called “the 11 stair drop”. It was about 5 or 6 feet high and had a curb at the top. I had kickflipped it a couple times, but never filmed it on my own camera, so I wanted to do it again. I remember this one that I did over it and as I started popping the tail to do the kickflip I got the most excited and relaxed feeling like I already knew I had done it. The board felt like it flipped perfectly, came right back to my feet, and I floated to the bottom. That’s the best feeling kickflip I’ve ever done off of anything even though I’ve done bigger kickflips since then. Another one that stands out was off this 8 stair in St George. It was a similar feeling when I landed, but I really liked the way that Matt filmed it. I don’t know what he did to film it so well because it’s just really simple, but my heart rate goes up a little when I watch that trick in “shred zeppelin”, the video it’s in.

Here’s your therapy section. Say what comes to your mind:

Oysters

The most delicious farts I’ve ever smelt

Washington

No money and laughing so hard that my abs hurt

Your new baby

Anticipation

Bolts of Thunder

My friends

Mega green power box

Relief that I don’t want to skate it

Your new crew of friends

Youth and fun

Gnarred for Life

Proud of the tricks I did, slightly embarrassed to watch it

Level 8

Pure skateboarding. Some of the funnest times I could ever have with Matt and Nick

Can I spoon with you?

Two brothers willing to save each others lives in Havasupi

Biggest disappointment in life

Being mean to people

Tell dad you fell down

Loyalty to the game. Willing to go down in the 15^th round for your brother.

Alright, are there any tricks that you regret putting in any of your parts?

Oh man, this came straight to my mind when I read that question. In ‘Gnarred for Life’ I put two angles and slow motioned one of them of this nollie bigspin out of a half pipe. I can’t do that trick, so I was happy to get it, but it looks so cheesy the way it’s in the video. That entire part has some pretty bad editing. It was me trying way too hard. I’m glad I’m past that.

Are there any big tricks that you got planned for your new part?

A couple. I’ll just say it, you’ll still be surprised if I get the tricks or not. There’s this hubba ledge on State Street that I’ve wanted to skate for years but it has no runway. I could have done it last summer but my ankle was hurting really bad and my confidence was low. I’m feeling way better these days, mentally and physically, and I really want to skate it.

Who’s gonna have the best part in the new video?

Hard to say because it depends on what kind of skating you like to see. I think Zak will have the most variety because he can do every single trick you can think of. AJ has some really solid tricks and lines already, and he’ll be back filming again, so we’ll see what he gets next. And Kenzo has some crazy stuff and looks so good when he skates. Everyone else is getting really cool stuff too, but those are the parts I’m most excited to see. Coleman and Steve will have full parts also, and there’s will be good and fun to watch. Just wanted to give them a shout out.

What are your some tricks that you like the way they were filmed (tricks you have done and/or tricks that you filmed other people do)?

Zak did this line at the baseball diamonds and I like the way I filmed the first trick. The rest of the line is just standard following behind him because I didn’t know what else to do. But I really like the way the first trick looks. There are a couple other tricks that came to mind, two of Kenzo for the new video, so I won’t say what they are. I like the way I filmed Weston’s part in a video I made 10 years ago. It’s in the bonus section of the first Bolts of Thunder video. I don’t even know if it’s filmed well at all or not, but I remember being really happy with the filming at the time.

Are you planning on making any more Bolts of Thunder videos? Or is this the end?

Funny you ask that because I was thinking about it at work today. It’s hard to say, but to be honest, I don’t see myself making any more in the near future. I’m not even going to be around anyone I know when I’m in Vermont, and I don’t know where I’ll be after that. So as far as me making a Bolts of Thunder video with our crew, I don’t see it happening. Not that I’m closed to the idea, I would love to, but I don’t know how it would happen. But I’m sure I’ll make something in the future. I love working on projects, and I would be really bored if I wasn’t doing something. I’m sure I’ll be really busy with work and a baby and everything, but I like to have little projects on the side that help me relax and have fun. So we’ll just see what happens.

A number of people want to have some tricks in the Bolts of Thunder videos, yet, there seem to be plenty of kids that don’t make the cut? Why is this? What does it take for someone to be in one of the videos? Is there anyone who is banned from ever being in a video?

This is a loaded question. I won’t name names. Yeah, there are people that want to be in it that aren’t going to be in it, and it’s completely their choice not to be in it. It’s weird because I’ve gotten text messages or phone calls from several different people that are like, “can I be in the video?” but then they won’t even respond back to me when I invite them to skate. I’m not quite sure what they’re expecting to happen, if they want me to show up at their house with a fully charged camera, a cooler of refreshing drinks, a list of spots and tricks that I would love to see in our video, and hours of free time to wait upon them, but that’s not how it happens. Making these videos is just like it was when we were teenagers. We go skating with our friends and bring a camera with us. When someone wants to get a trick, we film it. As easy as that. If someone doesn’t even want to talk to me, then I’m not sure how they’re going to end up with a part in the video.

There are people that I would love to ban from being in the video, but I’m trying to be nicer to people, so I’m not banning anyone. I’ll just say that they’re banning themselves by being crack heads and not moochers. You know who you are. Actually, if you’re reading this, you’re likely not the kind of personality described above, so don’t worry. You can be in the video.

Let's say that each member of Bolts of Thunder is a Greek legend or a god, like from "The Odyssey"  or others. What character would each person be, or what kind of god/legend would each person be?

Brian would be Zeus. I say that for several reasons, the first being that he can grow a beard worthy of the gods. His physical stature, charisma, and charming ways earn him nothing less than title of king of the gods. Matt would be Poseidon, Zues' brother, and king of the sea. He would curse earthlings for not paying him homage or giving him his hard-earned respect. Dan would be Achilles. This choice is obvious for those who know him, but for those who don't this is why: Dan is invincible. Not to mention his uncanny good looks. But he does have one weakness: his shin. He can take a blow to the head like a champ, but a skateboard to the shin will bring him to the ground. We would rename human anatomy to call our shin the "Achilles Shin" and our tendon on our heel would have another name. I'm going to say that Dave is Hates, king of the underworld. I don't know why, but I can see Dave hanging out with rotting corpses and be just fine with it. Maybe its because he wanders the streets of Paris unscathed, and that's not too different from the underworld at times. Dave would be a good greeter too for the souls of the dead. He'd keep them good company. And if he doesn't want to be Hades, he can be Dionysus, the god of wine, parties and festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, drugs, and ecstasy. Nick would be Perseus from "Clash of the Titans" who wanted to save the princess from getting eaten. Nick wouldn't have known what he was getting himself into, but his kind nature and tendency to volunteer to help people would have gotten him into an adventure of epic proportions. Kind of like the time he volunteered to convert the mp4 video to an mp3. That took a couple days, but he figured it out when any other person would have given up. AJ would be Apollo, god of music and poetry. With his endless, abundant freestyles that fill the air, AJ is going to be Apollo. Apollo's also the god of healing and manly beauty, so that belongs to AJ. Heal your shoulder, AJ. Ben would be Hercules. He has the abs for it, and he reminds me the most of Dan than anyone, and Dan is a demigod. So Ben is Hercules. Zak would be Asclepius, another god of healing. This would explain why his bowels are able to take Betos burritoes; he heals himself while he eats. Kenzo would be Aether, the god of the upper air and light. The Greeks accredited him for giving them sunshine that made them happy. Kenzo's radiantness serves the same purposes to Bolts of Thunder and makes the rest of the crew happy, and when he skates, he uses the upper air to power boost him several feet high at a time. Steve would be Archimedes, who was an actual person and inventor. The fact that Steve can make shapes out of balloons earns him the title of the craftiest of all Thunder Bolts, and he would go down in the good books as a great inventor. Coleman would be Helios, the guardian of the oaths. He is considered the best friend of all the gods because he is the most trustworthy. I don't know of a bad bone in Coleman's body or a person that doesn't like him, so he wins the spot of the best friend of all the gods. Bolts of Thunder itself would represent Chaos, the nothingness from which all life sprang.

Now that I am not in Provo to give the videos quality control, do you feel that you can do whatever you want in the videos?

Yeah. I’m in complete control these days, so I’m finally getting to put in all the special effects and time lapses I wanted so bad to be in the other ones. I think you and I are pretty much on the same page (Matt and me) as far as videos go. There might be minor editing differences, but nothing huge. This video will have the same feel as the others we’ve made, even if Matt’s not here.

Because of your arrogance and plain disregard for my wishes and feelings, do you feel that the video has gotten out of control and that it will totally consume your very existence?

It might. My arrogance does tend to get in the way of life some times, and I should heed your counsel more often. We’ll see if I make it out stronger or bitterer towards people.

Have I been getting the necessary respect among your new circle of friends?

I think you get more than me. For real. I’m just a grocery boy, sent on an errand by store clerks to collect a bill. You, you’re a legend. You went awal and have set up your little renegade camp somewhere up the river in Omaha, and from what I hear you’ve got a following out there of psychos and hippies. Everyone respects you, even if you did lose your sanity and you only bathe with a wet rag that drips water over your head. They still love you. But look out for dancing machete shadows in the night, and don’t let anyone in your neighborhood kill a cow.

I’ve obviously run out of any type of meaningful questions. Do you have anything you want to say? Any shout outs/disses? Words of wisdom?

In all sincerity, I would like to invite everyone reading this interview to try and be nice to other people and be a good friend. I realize more and more that I’m not naturally a nice person, but I’m so much happier when I am nice to people. I think I could have made a lot more friends and had better relationships with people if I wasn’t so judgmental, and I regret that. So I’m trying to do better. I don’t know why I’ve been thinking that lately, but it’s so important to be a good friend to people and help out in any way you can. You’ll never go wrong if you have a good attitude towards others and can help in anyway. Bolts of Thunder 4 is going to be awesome, I’m so excited to see it!

Thanks for the interview, Matt!!! That was an unexpected surprise. I’ll also publicly say that you are very missed here in Provo, but you are felt in spirit. No joke, you still have a very big influence over Bolts of Thunder. I also want to say hi to Rachel, who will read this interview. Rachel is the best wife a man could ask for. I’ll end on those words. 

(Editor's Note: I apologize for the weird and offensive text sizes that appear in this interview. Due to my lack of knowledge in the arts of Microsoft Word I am unable to figure out how to make all the words into the same size and font, so deal with it... or don't deal with it... either way is fine)