Blair Hess is South Florida’s Ambassador of Skateboarding. Ask anyone who is serious about skating, I’m sure they have either skated with him or heard of his legend. We go back to the early 90’s and Blair has always had this impact in the skate community. He’s the type of guy who creates and spreads positive vibes in everything he does, including his art. Blair’s love of skateboarding runs deep and he attributes this as his main artistic influence. He spoke profoundly that “Skateboarding is one of the few things that you get along with everybody. It doesn’t matter your age, color, or creed, nothing…you see someone with a board and you’re automatically their friend.” I believe that to be true, skateboarding is unique like no other sport or hobby. Blair’s art works in a similar way bringing people together, though you don’t have to skateboard to appreciate it.

I spent the better part of a Saturday hanging out with Blair and  his friends from the Coffin Krew and Geriatric Skateboards. We had so much fun shredding two of Broward County’s finest skate parks. We took a break from our session to rap about old times, new times, and his art. I learned a lot about Blair, like the fact that a judgmental teacher back in high school shut off his artistic valve. Fortunately twenty years later he was inspired by friend and fellow artist, David Lavernia, to get back into creating. Though this episode started off with some technical difficulties, we got past them and had a great conversation. Make sure to check out the Skate or Die art show at Howley’s Restaurant in West Palm Beach on March 28, starts at 8PM.