Stacy Peralta’s creative footprint is like someone playing hopscotch in wet concrete.

He leaps from side to side, following whichever muse will satisfy his inclinations, but always leaves his mark. The former number-one ranked skateboarder became a skate-industry magnate with Powell Peralta, before transitioning into filmmaking where he made celebrated documentaries on surfing, skateboarding and LA gangs. According to Stacy, his artistic sidesteps stem from an, “Unquenchable appetite to keep growing, progressing, and experiencing new things.” His latest project involves a series of paintings, in which he revisits his skateboarding roots. We chatted to Stacy online about his ‘Against The Current’ exhibition and why painting has so much appeal. 

How did this artistic bent begin, or was it always there?

I’ve been drawing all my life. All of my drawings were abstract, black ink on white paper. Though I’ve always been drawing, I really wanted to paint and assumed I’d be an abstract painter because of my drawings and because, Kandinsky, is one of my favourite artists. Over the years, whenever I ventured into painting, I painted abstractly and never liked the result, so I kept stopping. 

Powell Peralta was always such a graphic brand. How directly were you involved in the art and the graphics, which became iconic? 

I was involved in every way except in the actual execution of the physical work of drawing up the graphics. My job was to artistically and strategically aim the company in the right direction and our graphic presence was a huge part of our success.

You’ve ridden skateboards at an elite level, built skateboards, made award winning films. You still surf and now you have applied your energy to painting. Are you a renaissance man in the age of the specialist?

The most commonly used word in my vocabulary is ‘Wow!’ ...