At the end of this interview Chad asked me if I was going to write an introduction to his feature. I always write an introduction to everyone’s interview. “Why was Chad so concerned about his intro?” I wondered. Perhaps he was worried that I would take the low road and only call attention to the seedier parts of the interview. Like, the fact, a gay porn star shares his name or that he acquired the dubious nickname “Baby Arm” regarding a certain part of his anatomy. I’ll tell you right now, that was not the plan. The plan is to write about the new smarter, stronger, sober Chad Knight. And the fact that CHAD KNIGHT IS BACK BITCHES!
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All in all, I’m a pretty restless person. I’m not sure whether it’s a virtue or one more of the many personality quirks that work to my detriment, but I just can’t seem to sit still, to find any sort of satisfaction within the mundane qualities of everyday life.
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AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE'S 2nd ANNUAL
BATTLE OF THE SHOPS

"Isn’t skateboarding the fucking greatest thing ever!” Brian Schaefer yelled from the deck of our handrail obstacle through the PA system. Moments later Marquise Preston charged past him and threw a kickflip crooks down the rail. Yes, Brian. Skateboarding is the greatest fucking thing ever!
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Normal people don’t go to Syria and skate. But then again, normal people aren’t tracking down fat-assed Druze businessmen who have stolen money from Somali warlords. This all started about three years ago. I had met Jay early in college and we had crafted a sweet plan that included, among other things, doing contract work for the government. Our skills honed (me: linguistics, Jay: Islam, history ballistics), we were ready to rule the intelligence world, especially after 9/11 when Mohammaden know-how was getting eaten up with a spoon.
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Right now skateboarders are living through the second skate park boom. The thing is, most of the parks going up around the country are built by contactors that are clueless. Usually it’s the result of a group of city parks department fucks slapping together some piece of shit design that they see as a way to get skaters off their backs and off the streets without seeming like pricks, but in the worst cases it’s a result of a great plan being blown by a contractor knows nothing about skateboarding. These images were sent to us by a reader in New England. The company that built the parks is called Scituate Concrete Pipe.
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18 year-old Jake Smith is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. Now he lives in San Diego California and works at Utility Boardshop in Del Mar.   I've seen Jake skate in person a lot over the last year and half, but I had never talked to him.  I didn't even realize it was him while I was doing this interview.  But now that I know who he is and started to get to know him better, I realized he is down to earth and easy to talk to.  If he happens to be grip taping the board you just bought at Utility don't be afraid to say, “what's up” and bullshit with the dude, 'cause he's a good human-being from Utah.
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