Sean Pablo was born to be in the arts, and nothing else. Born in California, he later moved to New York to realise his dream to be a skater. Inspired by the likes of Mark Gonzales, Brian Anderson, Jason Dill, Dylan Reider, and Alex Olson, it was these names that featured alongside a 16-year-old Pablo in the Supreme video “cherry”, later appearing in “BLESSED” featuring another list of the who’s who in the skate world. Pablo has a style of his own, both on a skateboard and in the way that he dresses, and this has seen him get noticed by Supreme and Fucking Awesome while he also started his own label PARADIS3. Friend and Supreme filmer, William Strobeck, caught up with Pablo to capture his usual daily life and to sit down and discuss... well almost everything.
First of all, what is your ethnicity, and where were your parents from?
I am American. My mother was born in El Salvador and my dad was born in Glendale, California. His parents were both Irish immigrants.
Have you ever been to Ireland?
Yeah. I’ve been there.
What’s it like there? I’ve never been.
It’s pretty sick! I went when I was, like, 10 years old, so I don’t remember it too well, but it was really green and pretty, with a lot of rain and a lot of drunk people (laughs).
Sounds about right. I heard that, as a kid, you were playing guitar on street corners. Where was that?
I went from LA to New York on a train, and I stopped in New Orleans, so played in New Orleans as well as in LA and New York’s Times Square.
You and a guitar and a fucking can to collect money?
Yeah, I swear to God, and a mic.
Do you remember how much money you made?
Umm, about $2,500. The money I made I used to buy this guitar when I got home but it’s all fucked up dude, I busted this thing off.
So, you bought this guitar and it’s signed by Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. How did that come about?
I went to a music summer camp because I had been to this conservatory for years that Flea and this other guy called Keith owned, and they had this summer camp.
So, you went there to practice and learn from them?
It was like I was playing with an ensemble of people and different genres of music. I was in the funk group and played, like, shaft and shit.
Sick, for real?
Yeah, they, like, taught us. You know how like Flea is all... bound, da da bount bount bount... (slapping Bass noise)?
Is there any footage of all this somewhere?
Maybe, I don’t know. Maybe my parents have it or something, but it was pre-iPhone...
Like mini-DVD!
I had one of those cameras and I fucking lost it, or I put it down somewhere and some kid stole it.
That’s typical. There is footage that my friend filmed of me when I was younger skating for the first time in my neighbourhood, and I hit up the dude recently to try and get that footage because it’s bananas. It’s like a weird phase, my hair was dyed, but he said he didn’t know where the VHS was. It sucks, I’d love to see that.
Dude, I have a video of me running for class president, saying my speech. I wrote this whole thing, me and my dad wrote this whole speech and he made me practice it and I was pretty sick. I could have won but some other chick did.
That is so good. That has to go in the interview, it is so amazing! So, you have been taking photos for a bit now, and it looks like it’s all for fun and on the spot. Your photos look like you are just with your friends in situations that just happen when you’re around your age. Tell me what you feel about shooting flicks. Is it just for fun or is it something that you feel like you might want to pursue?
I don’t really know how I started getting into it. Maybe Sage got me into it initially but then it just became something that I would do when I would go on trips and stuff. It is something that I want- ed to get good at, and I was super into it when I was little, so I just do it cos there is so much free time on those trips. I just feel like I should be doing something besides just skating and drinking. It’s just another way to be creative, I guess.
For me, and probably for you too, it’s super-fun when you’re on those trips and you’re just shooting photos. When you get home and have them developed, you are reliving it for a second. I just feel like that’s part of it. It’s even crazier because there are cell phones now, so you can just get things right off and shit, but I think that there’s something dope about getting film back.
Yeah, because you never know what you’re going to get. There are just some weird things that you can get, and with the phone, you just know that it’s going to be, like, pretty standard.
You know what you’re getting with your phone.
Yeah.
I always say that there’s a shot that you are looking at through the camera when taking a photo, and you’re like, “That one is gonna be so sick!” And when you get it back, it’s not as good as you thought, but another one is so epic. So crazy.
I think there are just some pics that I feel pretty psyched about, like that one with Dylan and KB. That was just super-random. Dylan was just, like, join in and I took that one photo, and it’s my favourite picture.
Yeah, that photo is amazing.
I want to get it printed.
People really notice that photo, I think. KB really loves that photo.
Yeah, he posted that photo and shit. I still don’t think that he knows I took it though cos he is always posting...(laughs).
(laughs) Yeah, but you’ve got an eye, and you’ve got the eye for it.
I think everyone should fucking do it, like, there’s no reason that everyone can’t get good at it. I’m not even good at it.
Yeah, when I went on early skate trips, and everyone has T4, like this is even before hearing that Terry Richardson used one, but skate photographers had been using those cameras because they were like, “You should get this camera cos it takes the best photos.” It was early on probably 97/98, and they were not even that expensive because they’re out still, so I bought one from B&H. I ordered mine when I lived in Philly, and seriously got it in the mail and it was 110 bucks, which was cheap back then.
They are like 1000 bucks now because the fucking Kardashians had one on a talk show and the host was like, “So you are into photography?” And she had a T4. So now the price has just shot up.
Amazing. So, you played music on stage with Patti Smith. What age were you? Can you explain that? That’s a fucking big deal. I feel like you might’ve been too young to have even known how amazing that was.
Let’s see...I was super-little. I was in 4th or 5th grade, like 10? So, that conservatory that I went to, the Flea thing, was pretty sick cos he probably knows Patti Smith and a lot of rock legends. So, it was through that conservatory. They just picked a few kids to do, like, a concert or fundraiser, and she was some kind of guest of honour there?
Yeah, Patti Smith and Flea are definitely friends.
So that’s definitely how that came about, and...I was just so little. I don’t even remember. It just feels like, “Yeah, we have to do this thing.”
Yeah. It feels like it’s something you had to do, but dude, that is fucking insane.
He made me practice a few songs. I played a few original songs, but I definitely remember playing with her too. She was singing or something, and I was playing, but we were on stage at the same time. I don’t really know exactly.
Yeah, it was a long time ago, so...
So, my dad, I remember him being super, like, “What? That’s fucking insane.” He couldn’t believe it. He was at work, and one of his friends went to see this show and called my dad, so he could listen to it. He held his phone up, so my dad could hear it. Did I ever show you? There’s a photo of me and her on stage together.
No, but that’s fucking major. You should find that.
It was like in the Billboard magazine or something. It was me and then her. That was fucking epic dude.
Sometimes I think you are kind of all over the place, but when you get asked, you snapped out answering it. You have a pretty leisure-ish life. Do you like how your life is going up to this point? Do you feel like your life is going to the direction that it should be going?
Yeah, for sure. Lately, I haven’t been falling into much of a schedule. I think I’ve got everything that I kind of wanted, so I’m now kind of, “What do I do?” I have so much time and...
You’re 21 years old. I’m not lying. You have so much ahead of you. It’s so crazy. This is just the fucking cake batter dude. Seriously, I can’t even explain.
My grandfather was a classical musician. He played the trombone. He was one of the best in Ireland. My dad used to tell me that. So, my grandfather’s brother, he was a gnarly musician as well, guitar player, like traditional Irish music. It definitely runs in my family. My dad always told me all about how his uncle and was super into music. But my parents don’t play music.
Speaking about your family, your uncle is a director, right? What’s some of the work he’s done?
He was doing commercials. He was mostly a commercial director. He directed like an HBO series called “Witness”. It’s about war journalists that go onto the battle eld, and it’s about them documenting the war. I can’t remember if it’s real or not. It could actually be like a documentary. I don’t think that it was scripted. That did really well, I think. He’s done every company’s commercial, like Nike and everything.
So crazy to just be from a background of people that do a lot of different talented kinds of things. It’s like you’re bound to be involved in the arts in some sort of way. People are lucky to have that type of background. People don’t usually have that. So, you have photography, music, acting, and skating, and a clothing company. Which one would you choose over the rest?
I guess I’ve already done skating, so I’d choose music cos I haven’t gone anywhere with music yet.
I mean I’m sitting around you. There’s a keyboard, two guitars, a microphone. There is a lot of shit, and we’re in a small one-bedroom apartment. And all this shit is everywhere. This is like a photo from any music book.
I don’t know. I just plug my guitar into my computer and record shit. I try to make little loops and beats and stuff, but I always just get sick of it, and I never finish it.
Yeah, it’s like something that you’re doing, and at a certain point...
Yeah, I need to get more motivated.
You need more structure dude. You’re motivated, but you like to just free will what you do. You don’t have what a regular kid would have like, “At 2pm, you need to be here.” Your job entitles you to do what you want. That’s just how it is, but I mean you’re really lucky in that aspect cos people get up at fucking 9 and seriously go to work all day until 5, and then on the weekends...
That’s why I’m super-thankful. That’s why I’m trying to do all this other shit cos I feel like I have all this free time, and I don’t want to waste it.
Yeah, I know. You should be doing shit all the time. From experience, there’s a lot of time that I wasted, and I look back, and I’m like, “Fuck. I could’ve done so much more at that time.” To look back at the things I did do, it’s really fucking dope. It’s taking photos and filming and shit. There are a few years when and I didn’t do much, and I feel like that was the perfect time to do all the shit that I should’ve done, but I was just careless.
Another thing is like, in skating, you have to travel so much that you almost can’t establish your life in one place. You have to kind of plan your whole life around that like, “Okay, I’m gonna be in LA for two weeks, and I’m going to SF, and I’m going back to New York, and I have to go to Europe.” It’s hard to get into a schedule.
It’s so fucking annoying. It really is. Not only that, I don’t know if you could agree, but once you start getting into a schedule, you got to fucking leave.
That’s exactly how I feel.
I think you’re the type of person that can put on any type of clothing and it will look right. Like anything. When I was younger, I could wear my girlfriend’s clothes, like the boyish shit she had, and vice versa, she would wear mine. I feel like you can do the same. It’s not really a question, but...
I used to dress way crazier, but I used to do shit like that for sure.
I mean, you can literally put on your girlfriend’s sweatshirt, and you would look totally fucking right.
I used to go to thrift stores and buy like fucking crazy shit cos Dylan would always run, like, crazy pants and shit, so I was like...
Favourite article of clothing you own. You can pick one or two things, what are they?
That’s a hard one. Maybe the Mickey Mouse shirt, the Vivienne Westwood one?
Yeah, that is amazing. It looks fucking dope on you.
It’s insane. It looks all fucked up. That’s pretty sick. Maybe that Dash (Snow) T shirt?
Just those shirts that are old and beat-up. They are so easy to wear. What’s your dog’s name? How old is he? And where did you get him?
It’s a she actually. Her name is Henrietta the Second because we had a dog when I was little named Henrietta, a girl. So, she is the second one. She’s two, maybe three years old now. I’m pretty sure she belongs to the family of the house that my Mom bought when she and my Dad split up when I was 10 or something. I’m pretty sure they just left her there when they moved out. And they just left her out in the rain and shit, all abusive and shit, and she’s all fucked up and traumatised for sure. Like whenever it rains, she gets all scared. If it’s windy or there’s thunder or reworks, she gets so scared, and she starts crying and going to the corner shaking. I feel bad for her.
She was pretty good when I was taking photos. She didn’t bug out. She was super sitting there, and the flash is going off, and she was just like, “Whatever.”
She’s like a person. A real person.
Basically, you live bi-coastal, living in New York and LA. In New York, you don’t need this, but I notice you don’t have your license, what’s up? You need to step up and get that. You can have a nice little car. Chicks want to get picked up in a car dude. When are you getting that? What kind of car would you get?
Oh my god. I keep going back and forth because I don’t know if I want to get it. I always have dreams about driving and crashing and shit. I’m kind of scared. But I do want a car, and if I got one, I’ll probably get like an old El Camino or something. Something super-crazy.
Something that would look right?
Yeah.
I just feel like at first, when I got my license, I felt like I was going to be kind of scared, but, it’s like anything. After a week, you’re like, “This is easy.” The whole point, really, is following the rules. You have to just do it right. Once you get into the groove of it, it feels like washing dishes.
Riding a bike, everyone says it’s similar to that.
Totally. Name some bands that you would recommend to some kids out there. If I was a kid, I would want to know what Sean Pablo listens to. Two bands on top of your head.
Whenever I get this question, I can’t think of anything.
Yeah, it’s like typical. Or two albums that you’re obsessed with.
I don’t know. I like older music. I don’t really like listening to that much newer shit, so I guess maybe... I’ve been listening to The Pretenders so much, just going back and listening to all their shit. It’s so good. It’s the best. I like 80s music, like that type of shit. I like The Replacements.
So good. I heard they’re playing here. I’m not sure when.
Really? I’m looking for my phone and I’ll pull out all my music.
Lately, has there been a song that you listen to over and over?
I’ve been listening to this Molly Nelson chick. She’s newer, and she has a new album that came out. So, I’ve been listening to that album a lot.
Why is your Instagram handle streethassle? Is it based off Lou Reed?
Yeah, it’s based off that song. Street Hassle. I don’t know why.
Is it because when you’re younger, you don’t want to pick your name?
Yeah, my name was originally Swan Pablo, and I wanted it to be like...
Yeah, your nickname is swan.
Yeah. I wanted it to sound a little tougher, I guess. So, I changed it, and everyone was like, “Dude, why’d you change it into that?” And it’s kind of stuck. But Frank Gerwer’s handle is streethandle, which is super-close. I didn’t know that when I made mine. It’s just from that song.
Why do they call you swan?
I guess I have the characteristics of a swan.
You do. Maybe you’re lengthy, and a swan has a long neck. You have like long arms and shit.
And they had to, like, break it to put it back into place, but they ended up breaking it for a second time, and it was insane. So, they had to do like crazy surgery on my arm, and they put me in a cast, and it’s now the shape of a swan.
That’s exactly where it’s come from.
When I was 8 or something. So, my dad and my uncle called me the swan boy. Even before I met any of you guys.
I just want to thank you for sticking in there and getting that. It was an important shot for the video. I know Dylan interviewed you before for a magazine, can you tell me something you miss about Dylan?
I feel like we kind of started becoming friends around the time he became sick.
I wonder if Dylan had seen a little of him in you. He got pin-pointed for the things that he did, and you were just really young, like 16 or something. And you kind of had a similarity that he had, and he was like, “Whatever, don’t fuck with this kid.” And he interviewed you. He was sick when he interviewed you, but...
That was right around the time when he first got Cancer.
How did it feel getting a phone call from him to interview you?
I was so hyped. He is my favourite skater for... he still is, but when I was little, I definitely idolised his skating so much. So, to have him call me up and interview me was obviously a dream-come-true.
Were you nervous or was it easy?
Yeah, I was nervous at first, but we started talking and it was chill. But 15-years-old me was shitting my pants.
What’s a movie out there that you think kids should see?
Over the Edge. It’s so perfect.
I feel like it’s so perfect for a younger generation.
Kids should just watch older movies and stuff. They’re cooler.
There’s a lot to be said about older movie. I was on the plane, and I watched The Breakfast Club and Risky Business. It was just... how do they not make them like this anymore.... what is the deal?.” These movies ain’t gonna make us a lot of money, so we’re not gonna make these.” Fuck that. I feel like... unless you’re Spiderman or all those crazy movies, I feel like movies don’t make a lot of money anymore anyways. Why not make something that’s true to heart?
Yeah, exactly. Maybe Paris, Texas? Is super-sick. Days of Heaven. Kids. You showed me a bunch of good movies. Christiane F. So good. I need to re-watch that. Out of the Blue by Dennis Hopper. I’ve only seen it only that one time.
Dude, we gotta see Out of the Blue at Castro Theatre. It was fucking mind-melting.
Dude, the dude on the piano that plays on stage before the movie starts... how sick was that?
Dude, if you ever make it to Castro Theatre in San Francisco. It’s like the best theatre in the entire United States. What’s the most amount of money that you’ve spent on an article of clothing?
Probably on a pair of shoes or something. These boots that I have. They’re like super-expensive. I didn’t tell anyone about them, I just bought them.
I’ve spent money on things and gone like, “Fuck it.” I just pretend that I’d never had the money and just spend it. Favourite skater of all time? Favourite skater right now?
Of all time... I have too many.
Who just can’t be duplicated, or has just blown your mind?
Probably Dylan is my number one and John Cardiel. Just from being little, they’ve probably influenced me the most. Heath, Gino, Jason Lee, and The Gonz.
All good. Anybody right now?
Definitely, Ben, or probably someone on Supreme, like KB or...
Ben Kadow?
Ben Kadow. Kevin Bradley. Aidan. I don’t know.
There are so many good ones. It’s like you can’t pick one.
If I have to pick one, I’ll probably say Ben because he’s probably got the most unique skating style of all time. None come close to that originality.
I’ve heard and read so many negative things about you. The fact that people try to talk shit about you is such a sign of jealousy. You’re the nicest, chillest kid around, it’s so funny how that works out. What have you got to say to these people?
If I had let it affect me, I probably wouldn’t be here. Fuck it.
This is funny. If I open a bar called “Whiskey Business,” would you work there?
Fuck yeah.
We call you Swanson because we feel like you’re the dude in the future that would often get oysters or would be driven around by a butler. Like when we’re eating Taco Bell, you’d have to get a steak frites and Aperol spritz (laughs). Do you think you’re lavish? You don’t live like a skateboarder really, other than your schedule.
Yeah, I’m definitely spoiled for sure. But I like Taco Bell and shit like that. I’ll eat anything, but if it’s up to me, I’ll probably go have a nicer meal somewhere.
Yeah, it’s obvious.
It’s all about atmosphere, bruh.
Are you superstitious? Do you believe in aliens? If you could pick one person that you know who could be an alien, who would it be?
No. I mean I don’t believe in God or anything, but I believe in like... there’s some weird fucking force, or something. And as for aliens, I don’t even think you have to be superstitious to believe in them because it’s...
Yeah, that’s a different question.
I think Aidan Mackey is definitely an alien. He’s not a human from this planet. And yes, there are aliens in the universe. Dude, there is a Bill and a Sean right now having this conversation on a different planet. I swear to God.
Maybe. What’s up with Mars? Are we trying to go there one day? It’s like, “Oh, Trump is president again. Let’s just go to fucking Mars.”
Well, they’re probably going there pretty soon.
They found water there.
They found valleys that look like there could’ve been water. Millions of years ago. Based on the formation of the valley they have reason to suspect that there has been water on Mars. They know that there’s not really any life there now, but maybe at one point there was.
Do you think that the moon landing video is fake?
To be honest, I don’t know. All that shit it’s interesting.
Favourite nail polish colour?
I haven’t been doing it lately, but black and probably red. I need to get back into it.
Anyone you need to thank?
My parents. Aliens. That’s it.