Why freestyle?
This is an easy one. I street skated from the mid 80s to the early 2000s. In the late 90s, I blew out my knee (skating stairs) and had it reconstructed.
I kept street skating but the impact and twist involved would put too much strain on my knees. I want to see myself skate up to my senior years so in order to do this, I had to pick a style that suited this. When the Casper…video came out, it showed me that freestyle was still alive and well. All 30 freestylers worldwide.
I recall that you’ve got a connection with Australia. Could you tell us a bit about that?
I moved to Australia around 1994 from Brunei Darussalam. My parents sent me there for college and university. I lived there for 6 years to finish my Bachelors.
So did you get injured (and started freestyling) in Australia?
Yes, in Melbourne…and yes, the full freestyle transition happened around 2001/2002, I think, when the East Coast Industries single kicks came out.
Hopefully the healthcare here was good?
My dad paid for insurance prior to my trip and he said I maximised it. First year there, my friend crashed his car and I had to be rushed to the hospital. After that, foot fractures, the 3 knee surgeries, etc.
The healthcare is fantastic! Pay for in full and then claim about 95% back with no questions asked. In the States, they question every bill. I stayed in the hospital for 5 days with my own room, food, etc., and I think insurance paid for it all.
What was it like, being part of a very, very small scene?
The small scene…that’s a whole book by itself. You won’t believe what we went through, especially with the lack of social media. It was a nightmare but we pulled through. Everyone knew each other and equipment was hard to come by.
Is that why you started selling and designing gear?
Nah, Decomposed was supposed to be one and done. One small deck run made for myself so I can have a supply of decks after Capital Skateboards went down. Slowly, I made a few more for friends like YoYo, Guenter, Keith, etc., then a few more after that and the rest is history.
What was your favourite Decomposed board out of all the ones you made (and why)?
Too many to mention. I like the Guenter ‘monster faces’ one because of the silk-screened detail in it.
The Darryl Grogan ‘skeletal one’ is also one of my faves. Clear matte ink screened on black so you can only see the image under the right lighting.
The Rodney Mullen one was also extra special. It was our 10th anniversary release. One continual graphic on a 2-deck set. The image was also set on a wood grain which gave the image a brown rusty tint.
I guess picking your fave board would be like picking your fave child. Too hard a decision.
Ok, last question: what do you hope you’ll be doing in 10 years’ time skate-wise? Collabs? Personal trick/skate goals? Decomposed stuff?
In 10 years, as long as I can keep skating and keep everyone else skating and happy, I’ll be happy. Collabs, these are never planned, just spur of the moment. Personal trick, I only have one. The coconut, backside 360 flip out. I never take anything too seriously and everything is done just because it is ‘fun’.
Connect: it’s unlikely that we Aussies will get to skate with Witter since he lives in Nevada, USA. However, we at Flatlandia have started stocking some freestyle goodies from his brand Decomposed. Items from the rest of the Decomposed catalogue can be shipped directly from the USA, just email Witter first for a postage and handling quote. Alternatively you can DM him via his Instagram handle, @decomposedskateboards.