Full episode now on the Living Proof Patreon. Ali Boulala is a skate icon who came to prominence through his association with Flip Skateboards in the late 1990s. He was one of the original members of the “Piss Drunx”, a notorious skate crew that embodied a raw, punk-infused ethos that left a lasting imprint on skateboarding culture. 

On March 7, 2007, Ali Boulala was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident in Melbourne, Australia. Boulala sustained severe head injuries, leading to a coma that lasted four months. He underwent extensive rehabilitation to relearn basic functions such as walking and eating independently. Due to the accident, he was convicted of culpable driving and sentenced to four years in prison, serving two years before being released and deported back to Sweden. The accident had a profound impact on Boulala's life, leading to years of substance abuse and personal turmoil.

In 2013, he began a journey toward recovery and has maintained sobriety since then. Finding new purpose in life and moving forward with a renewed spirit, he has channeled his creative energy into music. 

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Full episode now on Patreon. This episode features GIZ in conversation with DESA. They speak on the charges behind the “Million Dollar Vandal”, GIZ’s time in Rikers Island, New York City throughout the 1990s, and more. 

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Full episode on Patreon. Ozzie Juarez is an artist and curator from Los Angeles. His work explores themes of identity, ancestry, and the built environment. Coming from a graffiti-background, Juarez blends street aesthetics with spiritual symbolism to create richly layered paintings, sculptures, and installations. He is also the founder of TLALOC Studios, an artist-run space in South Central L.A. dedicated to uplifting emerging creatives through exhibitions, residencies, and community programming.

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Full episode on our Patreon. Vinnie Stigma is a foundational figure in the hardcore punk scene and the longtime guitarist of Agnostic Front; a band that helped define the New York hardcore sound. Their music touches on the realities of an early New York, social change and independent thought. Stigma's guitar work was central to releases like United Blood and Victim in Pain, albums that became cornerstones of the hardcore genre. 

Stigma was involved with Madball, a band fronted by Roger Miret's younger half-brother, Freddy Madball. He also launched a solo project under the name Stigma, releasing albums such as New York Blood and For Love and Glory. 

In 2024, Stigma published his autobiography, The Most Interesting Man in the World. The book delves into his upbringing in Little Italy, his experiences in the hardcore scene, and his passions outside of music, including cooking, acting, and martial arts. 

Stigma remains active in the music scene, performing with Agnostic Front and maintaining a strong presence in the NYHC community. 

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Full episode on Patreon. Arto Saari is a Finnish-born professional skateboarder and acclaimed photographer, who  first gained international recognition in the early 2000s as part of the Flip Skateboards team, where he became a standout in videos like Sorry and Really Sorry. Arto won Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year award in 2001, cementing his legacy in skateboarding history.

Beyond skating, Arto has built a successful second career as a photographer, capturing intimate moments within the skate, music, and fashion worlds. His most recent book “Bike Path” captures scenes from the local community within the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.

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Full episode now on Patreon. In the summer of 2002, CURVE suffered a fall in Southwest Philadelphia that left him in a coma for 6 weeks. Recovering from the traumatic brain injury took a full year, it onvolved CURVE relearning how to walk and dealing with the accompanying emotions. He spoke to Living Proof in an honest fashion of the experience.
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http://livingproofnewyork.com

Full episode on our Patreon. Braydon Szafranski is a professional skateboarder whose charisma and un-filtered personality saw him become an icon; symbolic of the live-fast energy that defined skateboarding during the early 2000s. 

Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Szafranski moved to Los Angeles to pursue a professional skateboarding career in the early 2000s; with no defined plan or place to live, he arrived and started sleeping on the streets of Venice. His talent caught the attention of Chad Muska, leading to Szafranski riding for Shorty's and Circa. He later joined Baker Skateboards, becoming a prominent team member and appearing in influential skate videos like "Baker 3" and "Baker Has a Deathwish”.

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Full episode now available on our Patreon. Gino Iannucci is a legendary skateboarder from Long Island, New York. First gaining recognition in the mid-'90s, particularly through his parts in videos from 101 Skateboards. His video parts in Chocolate’s “The Chocolate Tour” and Girl’s “Yeah Right!” are considered all time classics.
As one of the original riders for Nike SB, he helped redefine the brand’s place in skateboarding. He has worked alongside Adidas putting out shoes like the Samba ADV, and now rides for ASICS skateboarding. In recent years, Gino has focused on Poets, his personal skate brand rooted in his East Coast roots in Long Island, New York.
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http://livingproofnewyork.com

Full episode now on our Patreon. Born in Portland Oregon and raised in Oklahoma City, Nuge is an icon in skateboarding who made a name for himself with classic parts in videos like Foundation’s Cataclysmic Abyss. Born to Vietnamese parents who came to America for a new life, Nuge’s childhood was largely spent coming up in Vietnamese pool halls. Eventually relocating to California to pursue skating, his early days saw him living in a legendary skate-house on Melrose dubbed “Hellrose”, an apartment that housed Nuge and 5 of his friends. Nuge later joined his close-friends at Baker Skateboards, who he still rides for today. 

Aside from skating, Nuge works on Open Beer alongside Tino Razo, Ako Jefferson and Atiba Jefferson. Open Beer has featured designs by artists like Joe Roberts, KATSU, and Meryl Smith on their beer cans. 

Nuge also has his restaurant, Burger She Wrote; a Los Angeles-based restaurant renowned for its high-quality smash burgers. Their smash burgers are made with 100% American Wagyu beef sourced from Snake River Farms, served on King's Hawaiian buns.

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Full episode on Patreon. Kevin Spanky Long is a professional skateboarder, artist and art director of Baker Skateboards. Spanky was a key figure in the early Baker Skateboards line up, with classic parts in Baker 3, Baker has a Deathwish, This is Skateboarding and Stay Gold; his approach to skating made him one of the most recognizable skaters of his generation. 

Spanky now handles art direction for Baker skateboards, contributing to board graphics and other visuals every season.

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http://livingproofnewyork.com