Kurt Winter is Welcomed by Hype

Hot on the heels of his part in Digital’s Smoke and Mirrors, Kurt Winter has been on the rise. 

His injuries are a thing of the past, and Hype is part of his future. Roll over to the Hype website and peep Kurt’s new footage.

You may know Kurt Winter as the guy who switch backside flipped the Santa Monica triple set in his Smoke and Mirrors video part. With an ankle injury that required two surgeries (the first didn’t do the trick), Kurt’s had some sponsor changes and some down time of about two years. But, he’s worked through it all, using David Brent as a reminder of how not to act while filling his time at Melbourne’s Street Machine skate shop. Now he’s back on board, touring through Europe on his way to the States, as the newest addition to the ever-growing Hype! Skateboardteam. Surely good things are coming his way. After all, he lives in the future (Australia’s a day ahead) and he said that everything’s pretty nice around those parts.

So where you working? It’s just this skate shop in Melbourne. I work here a couple days a week. It’s pretty sweet.

What’s the name of the shop? Oh, it’s called Street Machine. It’s just a local shop in Melbourne.

Really? I think San Diego has a Street Machine, too.

Yeah, it’s weird. We have people come in here asking us, “Is this the same Street Machine as they have in Europe?” I’m like, “What? Um, no. I don’t think so.”

I was on the Ashbury website and I read that one of your inspirations was David Brent, the boss from the original “Office” TV show. What’s your favorite episode of “The Office?”

I would have to say it’s the one where they have the customer training day or the one whereDavid gets the guitar.

Andrew PetersMr. Winter’s crooked grind could tell us something about our own futures, since it looks like it’s probably somewhere in the future, lik Melbourne, Australia. But, what? Look hard for an hour and then you’ll know what your future holds.

Have you ever tried to use any David Brent work environment tactics at the skate shop?

[Laughs] I wish. I don’t know. That stuff’s hard to pull off in real life.

[Laughs] Well, tell me about Hype! How did you get on?

Well, Chris McLean is from around here and he was trying to get Hype! distributed to Australia and I had just lost my board sponsor with Chocolate. From there, I spoke to Mike Crum andMike Hiskey and I was interested, so that’s how it all happened.

How many times had you been to the States before you decided to ride for Hype?

Last time I went was a couple years ago&#1512007, I think. I had got a year before that as well. I think one Mike Crum saw my footage on Bill Weiss’ computer and that’s how they first saw me. I guess that’s how Mike [Crum] first knew me.

That was the footage from the Smoke and Mirrors video, right? How long did that take you to film? Was that all in the States? Or did you film some of it in Australia?

Um, I probably filmed most of it in the States. That was the only time I wasn’t properly injured. But, when I came back, I had to just chill—that’s been the last couple years, where my ankle’s…I had to rest that up, because I had surgery. But, I was filming for that a year before I even imagined going out to the States.

What happened with your ankle?

I don’t know. I just kind of hurt it skating around. I had a weird landing and I heard it crunch. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, so I just kept skating on it and this little pain developed and it got worse and worse. Then, I went in [to the doctor] and they were like, “There’s structures here and we need to get that out,” so I had surgery and that actually made it worse.

It made it worse?

Then, I went back in and they fixed it for good, but it’s sucked.

What did you have originally? Bone spurs?

That and scar tissue in my ankle that they cleaned right out, you know? When I went back to the hospital for the second surgery, he just cleaned it out a lot more than my previous surgery and it’s been so much better since that.

Sean FenningKurt’s poke on this frontside feeble is not unlike David Brent’s charity dance moves.

So, you’re ankle’s feeling better and you’re going to Europe in the next couple days, right?

Yeah, I leave tomorrow. For the first time, my ankle’s doing quite well. I’m pretty excited. I don’t know anyone over there, so it will be cool. I know Jascha [Muller], the Adidas TM. I’m going to be staying at his place in Germany. I spoke to a couple of dudes, but apart from that, I don’t know anyone.

You’re kind of going blind to Europe. Have you ever been before?

Nah, I haven’t. I get in to Germany and then I’m going to Barcelona and London, so it should be a pretty good experience.

You’re going to get to see spots you’ve seen in all the videos, so that’s cool.

Yeah, I know a lot of people who have been there and they say it’s just amazing, the spots and the lifestyle and all that. I’m psyched.

Is that an Adidas trip or are you going on your own?

No, Adidas is sending me over there. Then, from Europe, I’m going over to the States to hang with Mike Crum and Hiskey and all the Hype dudes. I’m staying at Hiskey’s house.

It’s probably a lot better than Melbourne right now, right? It’s winter there, isn’t it?

Yeah, it’s been rainy and just really windy in Melbourne. Some days are perfect, but it’s just unpredictable here. The other day, I spent ten hours walking around in the rain, trying to find a good covered spot to skate.

Who’s your crew there?

Mostly, I’ve been skating with Steve McInnes , who will be riding flow for Hype Skateboards.Jack Crook , another Aussie ripper. And, we skate with Nugget when he’s not in the States. He should be back soon, even though I’ll be away. Bryce Golder , and a few other friends likeSpewbert and Aaron Winsbury. It’s a pretty huge crew, but those are the regulars. It’s a pretty big skate scene in Melbourne.

Are you guys connected at all with Sydney and Perth or the other cities?

Sydney’s a pretty far drive away, but I pretty much know all the skaters in Sydney. I actually haven’t been there a lot, though.

http://hypeskateboards.com/

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