We’re thrilled to present our first in what we hope will be a long and illustrious line of interviews with excellent skateboarders. Patrick Melcher is an Illinois-native living in Hollywood. He likes to skateboard, dance, beach comb and shoplift. He wears shoes by Dekline, and is ridiculously fleet of hoof.

What are some of the best things about skating in Chicago?
Lake Michigan. It’s like a beach right in the middle of downtown. You skate in the heat in the summer and then jump in the lake amongst all the bikinis and buildings

Is there any one thing that you miss the most about the city?
The populous, all of the faces and places. I miss walking down the street and seeing five people that I know on each block.

Melting salts fuck up a pair of shoes, huh?
Yeah, you’ve gotta choose what types of leather to wear on what days; weather according. That disgusting black snow on the sides of the roads … fuck that. You’ll never see me in a pair of Chuck Taylors in a blizzard.

What are your favorite Deklines to skate in?
Right now I’m rockin’ the Sixers. They’re so b-boy. I love them red white and blue

Do you believe in “chill” shoes?
Absolutely. I’m a skater most of the time, but how am I gonna go out and dance the night away to James Brown and Lee Dorsey a pair of sneakers??

What were your favorite shoes growing up?
You may have never heard of these but back in Rockford, Illinois, when I was about five years old, my mom got me a pair of ZIPPS from Stride Rite Shoes. They’re etched in my memory as the single greatest pair of shoes on the face of the earth … I learned to ride a bike in those shoes.

Do you feel like a new man each time you put on a pair of new shoes?
Nope , but ill try to preserve the good looks for a little bit.

Do you prefer a vulcanized sole or the other kind?
Doesn’t matter. It all depends on the design of the shoe itself.

Do you have dancing feet?
Are you kidding me? Let’s dance this. Music is the raddest thing in the
world. Anybody who doesn’t take it in and let it move them is sleeping!!!!!

Do you really carry a knife?
Usually. You never know when you need to open a bag of skittles in a hurry.

Have you ever stolen shoes, and if so, what’s you’re preferred method?
All the time. Some thieves will wear a shitty pair in and do the swap out, and walk out with the new pair. Not me. I just get the dude to bring out a bunch of samples and act like I’m trying on a bunch of different kinds and then grab one pair and walk out like I already paid. Again, it all depends on the situation. As always in the game of shoplifting, you work it according to the atmosphere. This one time there was this shoe pavilion and they were such douches that I just wanted to see how far I could take it. I walked in in a pair of socks, no lie, and walked out in a brand new pair of Ben Shermans.

I have some friends who had a competition to see who could steal the most cheese over time. They kept a running tally. Do you have any sort of log or contests going?
Not really. I have a collection of corkscrews and bottle openers that I’ve stolen from bars and house parties and shit, it’s rad.

Would you rather eat some sushi or wear sandals every day for a week?
I will never be caught dead in a pair of man-flops, sandals or bikini brief underwear.

Do you have any tips for keeping hard-working feet looking moderately pretty and in good skating condition?
I have the worst heel bruises, developed over the years, and that sucks. I think that if your feet look good, that’s just good genetics.

If you were a horse, what breed would you be?
The Black Stallion.

Do you like hay?
No. Crazy allergies, dude.