Skaters With Jobs
A look at how skaters balance their jobs and their passion—shot over one day, at work and on a session.
Ep. 17: Steve Rodriguez, Creative Advertising Executive, Skateboarding Advocate, Skatepark Designer, and Brand Consultant
Your favorite skatepark in NYC? Steve Rodriguez designed it. Sixteen parks across the city, from L.E.S. to Astoria. He helped unlock the Brooklyn Banks with Gotham Park. He runs creative talent and culture at EP+Co, consults in the margins of his day, and founded 5BORO NYC.
He’s one of the few people who can speak fluently to skaters and the Parks Department in the same breath—why every major NYC skatepark conversation eventually goes through him. Equal parts politician and skate rat, he's one of the most influential voices in skating today.
Ep. 16: Marco DiBattista, Mayor & Committeeman
As a two-time mayor and current committeeman, Marco DiBattista helped build Pennsauken’s skatepark—not as a pet project, but as real infrastructure for a town he’s focused on revitalizing and turning into a skateboarding destination. One hour he’s filming clips at the park, the next he’s in a suit handling county and state business. None of it is performative. He approaches public office the way he approaches skating: show up, do the work, and raise the bar for the people around you.
Ep. 15: Nick Weber, Preschool Teacher
Nick Weber spends his days teaching preschoolers and his nights skating Freedom Plaza, wrangling a crowd that may or may not be more mature than his three-year-olds. He brings the same patience, playfulness, and lack of ego to both worlds.
Episode 14: Jordan Rain, Tattoo Artist
Jordan Rain built her career surrounded by skaters—sleeping on an air mattress in the back of a New Jersey skateshop and trading $20 tattoos for experience. Now a full-time tattoo artist, she’s come full circle with a five-board series for Terror of Planet X, translating her flash designs straight onto wood, each one ready to be tattooed.
Episode 13: Jeffrey Stockbridge, Printer & Photographer
Jeffrey Stockbridge became a printer by accident. While preparing an early exhibition of his fine art photography, he bought his own printer to get the quality he wanted. Word spread, and soon he was fielding requests from friends—then strangers. Today, Stockbridge Fine Art Printing serves everyone from museums to iPhone photographers. The spark that started it all? Naturally, skateboarding.
Episode 12: Maddy Hirsch, Jeweler & Mom
Maddy Hirsch runs Tshatshke Jewelry Studio—a workshop and gallery she built with the same DIY spirit that fuels her skateboarding. Between raising newborn twins, experimenting at the bench, and relearning early grabs post-pregnancy, her worlds converge into one buzzing, chaotic universe—where changing diapers and breastfeeding between lines at 9th and Poplar are just part of the day.
Episode 11: Jaiylen Marrow, Lead Video at Woodward
Jaiylen Marrow grew up a Woodward camper, came back as a counselor, and now runs cameras as the camp’s content manager—capturing everything from skate to BMX to parkour. He calls it “fishing”: riding around, watching closely, and waiting for moments worth holding onto. Sometimes it’s Ryan Sheckler on tour. Sometimes it’s a kid’s first ollie. Either way, he’s in the trenches making you feel like you’re right there.
Episode 10: Anthony Fischetti, Veterinary Radiologist
By day, veterinary radiologist Dr. Anthony Fischetti spreads ultrasound gel on cats, dogs, and the occasional penguin; by night, he brushes lacquer onto concrete coping. He’s spent 40 years chasing the same flow in skating that guides him through high-stakes calls in the ultrasound lab. Originally a street skater, his residency in Ohio introduced him to concrete parks—and with them, a discipline he’s carried ever since.
Episode 9: Kerry Weber, Skatepark Owner
Kerry Weber turned a childhood dream into reality with Switch & Signal Skatepark in Pittsburgh. Housed in a former bowling alley, it’s part park, part shop, part café—and all about inclusivity. From first-time skaters to women, trans, and adult beginners, everyone gets space here. The food and gear are vegan, the staff are skaters, and the ethos is simple: no cool-guy vibes, just skateboarding for everyone.
Episode 8: Darren Harper, Maintenance Manager
When Darren Harper’s pro skate career ended, he had no fallback plan. After a brief stint selling drugs, he threw himself into learning trades like plumbing and HVAC—entirely self-taught. Over time, he worked his way up to Maintenance Manager of a large residential building, while also running his own handyman business, Harper Handy.
All the while, he’s been coaching his daughters on what he calls his own skate team. Now, he’s come full circle—earning his name on a DGK board once again, this time alongside Tink and Demi.
Episode 7: Bob Fisk, Record Store Owner
Bob Fisk started skating in 1996—and he’ll be the first to tell you he’s still stuck in that era. His Philly record store, Cratediggaz, feels more like a clubhouse than a shop, shaped by the same ’90s skate influence that guides his taste and the records he collects.
Episode 6: Tom Pontone, Sculptor
Tom’s life revolves around sculpted concrete. At work, he designs fluid, hand-crafted furniture using the material he first chose for its low cost. After hours, he navigates the winding lines of FDR —concrete shaped with a similar touch. The inspiration clearly flows both ways.
Episode 5: Dan Michalik, Furniture Designer
Dan is a pioneer in cork furniture design, a product design professor at Parsons, and—surprisingly—a relatively new skateboarder. I assumed he’d been skating his whole life based on how natural he looks on a board. But he only started during the pandemic, in his mid-40s, to skate with his kids. It’s since become a full-blown obsession.
Episode 4: Joe Kalucki, Farmer
Joe Kalucki is as comfortable planting a field of flowers as he is ghost riding his tractor to grind a parking block mounted on the back—all in the same pair of rubber farm boots. This is what modern first-generation farming looks like at Timberline Farms
Episode 3: Nagisa Landfield, Seamstress
Seamstress, artist, mother of three skating daughters (though she skates more than them), surfer, snowboarder, and founding member of the Brooklyn Skate Moms. Not sure how Nagisa Landfield finds the time, but she does it all with an infectious spirit.
Episode 2: Emrys Berkower, Glassblower
Glassblowing is relentless—no breaks, just heat, control, and flow. Emrys Berkower brings that same precision and intensity to skating.
Episode 1: Arthur Lisi, Equine Farrier
Ever wonder what skaters do when they’re off the board? For episode one of “Skaters With Jobs,” I spent a day with farrier Arthur Lisi, jumping from equestrian farm straight to Freedom Plaza.