Dave was one of Apple's main locals (noted for his killer backside laybacks) and a sidekick of Duane Peters during Duane's visits to the park. Interview conducted by phone in late 2002.
Right here in Columbus, Ohio.
When did you start skating?
When I was fourteen or fifteen—probably around 1976.
How did you first hear of Apple?
I can't remember how we found out about it, but everybody that was skating around here knew it was happening. A bunch of us tried to see if we could get involved with building it, digging ditches, or whatever.
Did you help build it?
You know, I honestly don't remember. I don’t think so, really.
You know how everyone has a different story. Everyone remembers it all differently.
I might have wheelbarrowed some dirt around, or something.
Were you there on Apple's opening day?
Yeah, I'm sure I was. I think several of us kind of got familiar with the guys that were building it—Wally Hollyday and Peter Drotlef—and it seems like we might have got to skate there before the park even opened.
How often did you go to Apple?
Probably pretty much every day, except for when I was in California once for about four months.
Were you still going to Apple a lot during the last few months it was open?
Oh, yeah.
Which areas of the park were your favorite?
I'd say probably the halfpipe and the L-bowl. I didn't think the pools were that good. I mean, I guess they were, but they were just too quick and too steep.
Please comment on any pros that visited Apple.
David Andrecht: I remember him being there. We hung out with pretty much any pro that came in there. His handplants were probably the most memorable trick.
Brad Bowman: I definitely liked Brad Bowman—awesome style.
Steve Caballero and Mike McGill: I actually don't remember them coming there at all, but it may have been when I wasn't there.
The Variflex team: I do remember Allen Losi fairly well—he was pretty cool. Mr. Losi was a pretty cool guy.
Fred Blood, Duke Rennie: Nothing sticks out, but they pretty much did anything they wanted, you know. Duke Rennie was a good guy—he stayed at my house, as well.
Steve Olson: Yeah, definitely. I remember all of the Santa Cruz guys really well. They stayed at my house when they were here.
Duane Peters: I tried to stay somewhat in touch with both of those guys (Peters and Olson) for a few years, actually.
How do you feel about everyone calling you a Duane clone?
I don’t know. What can you say? I just think a lot of people didn’t get it and they were jealous that they couldn't do that.
I was stoked when I saw you at Apple. I remember walking in and seeing you by the egg pool all punked-out. No one looked like that in the Midwest back then—especially in Ohio.
I think a lot of people couldn’t do that or wouldn’t do that, because their parents would flip out, or whatever. But, I'm probably not really that different now than I was then. Everybody grows up. I kind of doubt that Duane Peters is still like that today. But, I've heard some pretty rough accounts of Duane Peters now.
Were you and Duane good friends?
Yeah, I mean, how good of friends can you be with someone who you only hang-out with a few days at a time maybe once or twice a year? But, yeah, we got on super-well. We liked skating, we liked the same kind of music and drinking and doing drugs—that's pretty much all there was when you were nineteen.
I don’t think people meant it in a mean way when they said you looked like Duane.
I didn't think anyone was really serious or really mean about it. It just seemed funny when I was reading through the site. It seemed like almost everyone had something to say about it.
Probably because it was such a vivid memory.
Yeah—that could be.
No one else did that at Apple.
I definitely have no ill feelings toward anybody that was on the web page. I knew all of those people and probably hung out with all of them in some capacity at some point or another.
Please comment on any of the following Apple locals (that you knew).
Rob Roskopp: I remember lots of stuff with Rob. We were always doing crazy shit—probably more so after Apple.
So, you skated Cherry Lane and that little mini-ramp in Kentucky?
Yep. We went there—I forgot about that one. I talked to or emailed Rob not too long ago—within the last few months. Being in the bike business, I used to see him every year at the trade show.
Did you guys ever go riding bikes together?
Nope.
Michal Grau: I remember Mike Grau. He was a pretty laid-back, nice guy. I think he was from Cincinnati.
Geoff Hazelton: I lived with Geoff for years and we were both into cars together and played in a band together called Bad Humor—it was a punk rock thing (laughs)
Marty Jimenez: I think I actually knew Marty even before Apple. It seems like we used to skate some ramps together. I think he lived here in Columbus before he lived down in Cincinnati. Marty is definitely a good guy.
Jeff Kasson: I still see Jeff Kasson every now and then.
He said he worked in the pro shop.
Yeah, I think he probably did. (Laughs) There's probably a lot of stuff I don’t remember because of drug-induced [memory loss].
Pete Kunz: I remember Pete. He was a pretty gritty kind of skater.
Wayne Lyons: I actually talked to Wayne not too terribly long ago—just a few months ago.
He's into real estate.
Yeah, he actually has a web site. He's doing good.
Wasn't he a photographer?
Yeah. He took a lot of pictures.
Did he shoot photos at Apple?
I don't really remember him shooting pictures at Apple. I think it was really pretty much after Apple, when he was going to college, that he really he got into photography.
Greg Mack: He was a pretty good dude, too. He and Wayne lived in the same neighborhood. We knew all of those guys before Apple, from ramps around.
Brett Martin: I definitely remember Brett Martin. He's from somewhere near Springfield or New Carlisle.
Did you skate with him much?
Really just at Apple and at Rob Roskopp's ramp.
Kenny Mollica: He was somebody that we hung-out with a lot before Apple was ever around. He was always a really good skater.
He still rides slalom and bowls.
Yeah, I know—that's what I hear. I think Mike Ohm does, too.
Was Mike Ohm another friend of yours?
Oh, yeah—definitely. We were really good friends probably from seventh or eighth grade.
Do you guys still hang-out?
Well, since he doesn’t live here anymore, we don't. He lives outside Washington DC—in Alexandria, Virginia, I think. He sells insurance.
Any memories of him skating?
Ah, jeez—way too many to list, cuz that's all we did.
Sean Patrick: I remember Sean Patrick. Young kid, he was a good skater, definitely.
Chris Phillips: Definitely a good skater. I thought he would really go on to do something, like Rob Roskopp.
I think Chris Phillips quit skating not long after Apple closed.
Yeah, a lot of people probably did—especially younger kids like that who couldn't get around or build a ramp or drive to Cincinnati or somewhere to skate.
Do you know what happened to Chris Phillips?
No, I don’t. Actually, just reading on your web site was the latest, greatest thing I've heard about him.
Bobby Reeves: Yeah, he was from Indianapolis, I think. He was definitely a god skater. He always struck me as kind of a Brad Bowman kind of skater.
Ronn Dudley: I actually saw Ronn Dudley about seven or eight months ago for the first time since the park closed.
What's he up to?
Oh, man—to be honest, I'm not really sure. I think I asked him for a business card when I ran into him, but he didn’t have one.
Does he still live around Ohio?
Oh, yeah—he's living around Columbus somewhere. I don’t know where, exactly.
Would he do a little interview for this site?
Oh, yeah. I'm sure he would. I'll tell you what—I'll probably see him again. I'll try to get his info.
Did he skate or just manage the park?
He skated a little bit, but he was—I don’t know what his title was—more of an assistant manager, or something. I'm not really sure.
Gene Goldberg: I really don’t know what happened to that guy. I would imagine he probably lost his ass—and a lot of friends—in that whole deal. Being a little older now—and understanding what kind of money it would take to put something like Apple together—I'm sure he's probably allright now, but...
It's probably not a good memory for him.
I'm sure he took that one in the ass, you know?
Michael Musgrave: He was the manager. I don't really think he had any vested interest. I would say my biggest memory of him was probably drinking. I have no clue what happened to him.
Kevin Tate: Kevin was a blast. We'd hang-out all the time and party. Even when he moved back up to Michigan, I would go up there quite a bit and hang out with him and ride some of the parks up there.
Do you remember that room at Apple where the manager lived?
Oh, hell yeah. When they first opened up, they didn't have a security system, or something, so somebody stayed in there. It seems to me that Kevin Tate might have even lived there.
What is the raddest thing you saw happen at Apple?
Aw, man. I would have to say probably Eddie Elguera doing a rock 'n' roll in the two-thirds pipe, or something.
Do you remember witnessing any bad slams or taking some yourself?
Way too many to remember.
Did you ever skate a park that was better?
You know, I would say that some of those bowls—probably the L-bowl—had to have been one of the best things that was ever built. Probably the same with the halfpipe. As far as an overall park, there were probably some better ones—like Marina Del Rey—where everything was perfect. Apple was kind of lopsided, you know. You had two things that were pretty close to perfect, and everything else in the park was fairly marginal. It seems like the parks were more well-rounded out in California. You might not have had one or two flawless bowls, but everything was really pretty ridable.
What was it about Apple's pools you didn’t like?
They were just quick. The transitions were super-quick and short and the vertical was long. I know they weren't intended to be that way. I think they were supposed to be more like a Cherry Hill or a Marina Del Rey.
Wally Hollyday said that after he built Cherry Hill—which had big transitions—he built Apple with quick transitions on purpose to make it more like a backyard pool.
I would disagree with that. I mean, he made have said that, but I think the biggest contributor to the way Apple's pools turned out was the humidity here and the time of the year that they were spraying the concrete. When we were watching them spray the pools, the concrete would hang there on the side for a minute and then it would fall down. I think what ended up happening was the bottoms of the pools kept filling up with concrete that had fallen down of the walls. They started barelling concrete out of the bottoms of the pools and it got to be a mess. The pools sure didn’t look like that when they were in the dirt and rebar stage. They didn't look anything like that—they looked nice and smooth and gradual. I think that some other people that were there—like Wayne Lyons—would attest to that. I distinctly remember that.
But the surfaces turned out smooth.
Yeah, the surfaces were awesome. I think that was really due to Bigelow. Their finishing work was incredible.
Did you ever attend any am contests at Apple?
Oh, yeah. If there was one there, I definitely entered. I couldn't really highlight any of them for you—I don’t remember that well. But, it doesn't seem like they had a lot of them.
Do you remember any of the sleep-over sessions?
Oh yeah, we used to do all kinds of crazy stuff like stay in there really late at night or overnight—just partying. Nothing really sticks out. Somebody always did something that was unbelievable. Everybody was getting drunk and high and skating around without pads.
Did you hear that Apple was going to close?
Yeah, but I don't remember exactly. It doesn’t seem like anybody found out about it closing too terribly long before it actually closed-up
Did you get a last session?
I'm sure we did.
Did you ever go in after it closed?
No, I didn't personally. I think some people did and tried to skate it. It seems like someone said the owners did something to it to make it unskatable.
You didn’t see it after it closed?
No. Within a couple of days of it closing—unless we went in there at night with someone—I don’t think I ever went back there.
Do you have any photos of Apple?
That's a good question. I might have a couple of the ones I saw on your web site. But, Wayne Lyons probably has a lot of the photos, I would think. Well, no—I take that back. Maybe he doesn't, like we were talking about earlier. It may have been after that when he really got into photography. I don’t think I really do have any pictures of Apple.
Do you have the Apple brochure?
I don’t have any of the brochures, but I've got about a hundred of those freakin' Apple keychains, though (laughs). Look for those on eBay, man. There might not be a hundred, but I'm sure there are at least fifty or sixty. I have a shoebox with a whole bunch of them in there. I just sold some brand-new, unused Blackheart wheels on eBay.
Never ridden?
Never even put together. Someone paid $275 for them—that's pretty crazy, in my opinion.
Those are awesome wheels.
You think they would be now?
Maybe not now.
Back then, they were definitely the wheel—no question. But, I thought they would be way too hard now and the shape wouldn't be as good [as wheels now].
They were like rocks.
Yeah, exactly. But, I guess people want that stuff. I sold a bunch of old stickers.
Have you sold any of the Apple keychains?
No, we haven't put those on there yet. I told Geoff Ortlip that I have a whole bunch of junk and he puts the stuff on eBay for me and sells it. We'll be putting up a bunch more stuff. I've got a whole milk crate full of wheels. We're going to put some crazy stuff up on there. I have a brand-new pair of Molly shorts from Santa Cruz that have never been worn.
Do you have any Apple stickers?
No. That I don’t have—unless I find them somewhere.
I'd be stoked to have one of those.
If I come across any, I'll certainly hook you up. I couldn't find any T-shirts, which I know I used to have.
Do you skate anymore?
No, man. Geoff Ortlip and I talked about it all summer long, but I guess the bottom line for me is that I'm just too afraid of hurting myself. Geoff was actually skating a little bit last summer and fell really bad and really messed-up his elbow. We both like to play music. What if I do break my arm? I can't play guitar. I mess around with muscle cars, too. I do restoration work on '60s and '70s cars and I'd be really bummed-out if I couldn't do that. Especially playing music—if you screw-up your hand, wrist or arm or something badly enough, you might never be the same.
Do you have a band now?
Not right now. I spent the last five or six years doing instrumental surf music in two or three different bands. But, it's kind of like skating around here—people just don’t get it.
Is surf mainly the kind of stuff you play?
It has been for a while—I've always had an interest in it— and someone just wanted to start a band and we kind of did. Then it just kind of took off from there.
Do you play any other styles?
I would really rather play more alternative rock kind of stuff. I'd say The Cure is the biggest influence on anything I would play. The surf thing is just too limited—it's got to sound a certain way. I'm kind of tired of that for now.
Didn't you have something to do with vintage guitars?
I collected them for a while. Now I don’t so much. I sold quite a bit of them. I had a pretty decent collection.
I have a 1962 Fender Jazzmaster, a 1963 Fender Jaguar and two blackface Fender amps—a Super Reverb and a Concert.
Killer, man. I've got a black 1961 Jazzmaster, a fiesta red 1962 Jazzmaster with factory gold parts, another Japanese resissue Jazzmaster.
So, you live in Columbus now?
Yep.
What are you doing for work?
Actually, now I'm in sales. I sell office equipment like copiers, printers, fax machines—all that kind of stuff.
An office job?
No, I definitely strap on a suit everyday and drive around here in town. I usually spend a few hours in the office everyday and the rest out.
Didn’t you used to sell bicycles?
Yeah, I was in the bike industry for a long time—probably about fifteen or sixteen years. I spent eight years racing bikes—mostly road bikes. I raced mountain bikes for one year—all the rest was road. I managed the biggest store, Bike Source, here in Columbus. The last seven or eight years, I was a buyer for that company. I think we had as many as ten or eleven stores at one time all over the place.
Are you married?
Yeah, I actually just got married a month ago to Pam.
Do you guys have a kid in the works?
NO!