Brandon has been a homie since day one. The type of kid that will definitely let you know what’s on his mind, not afraid to speak the truth, good or bad. If he thinks you’re a duck, he’ll let you know to your face. This is someone that straight up skates for the love of it, finding shit that nobody skates, making things happen in a small town on the constant. Enjoy some good solid skateboarding in a different light.
Brandon silhouette shot — photo Hobie Hiler
who he [dot] be — Brandon Damron
How did you first start skating and who did you skate with back in the day? What got you first skating?
Well it all went down on a bright, sunny, south Florida day when Kyle Rhodes decided to blow my mind busting a massive frontside ollie from my driveway to his! From that day it was on!
I moved to Stuart, FL when I was 13 years old. From there I linked up with John Clayton. The kid has been a homie ever since. John was the homie that learned real quick which pushed me to keep up with new shit.
Teak opened 561 Skateboarding. Our skate possy consisted of John Clayton, Bradley Cushing, Teak Leasor, Matt Matheny, Kyle Rhodes, the Durante’s, and some other random heads.
You lived at that dope house on the farm. What used to go down in the farm lifestyle?
Ah, the Cove Road house was classic. The barn was ill, it had a long pad of nice cement all the way end to end baby. I had a lil’ box and flat-bar that held it down for me. 40 acres it had on it, 3 ponds, 2 horses, a cow, and the pony kid. Fishing went down every day at that place. I wish it could happen again.
You do a lot of fishing now though too right? What is some recent stuff you caught?
Fishing to me is a nice way to free my mind! Spots consist of canals, rivers, oceans, and small ponds all around Martin county! Fresh water is my favorite cause I always catch a bundle of fish, bass, brim, and tilapia are mostly at the end of the line down here. Salt water is good for the big boys but it’s always an event running around catching bait getting to spots that are low key that are not over fished. Recently I reeled in a couple red drum, a bunch of snook, one was 35 pounds that was a good 15 minute fight!!! Martin county is a well known county for fishing so I’m glad to be posted next to the inlet, beaches, and rivers that run through the whole town!!!
What inspires you to go skate these days?
I don’t watch tv or skate videos too much so I pretty much do my own thing! It’s just the love for it I guess that keeps me rollin and the fact that people are still hyped on me and still help out with product! Skateboarding is fun and a good thing to open my mind to new ideas so it will be in my life forever!!!!
You lived in Tampa a couple years back? How was that city?
I sold my car, quit my job, got a new renter for my spot, and went to philly with Steve McClintock and Jack Runnels. That’s how I ended up staying in Tampa on Brad’s floor! I ended up getting hired at the same subway as him so it was free food and blunts in the back all day.
Tampa turned out pretty good, some people were nice like Curtis Valentine, Stefano Kerster, Erick Millz, and Geno. Those were all the tight homies and all the SPOT homies too! I was getting free boards and shoes then so we actually came up on some good skating going to Orlando and St. Petersburg. Mike Atwood and James were nice to skate with, holding down St. Pete spots!
You got some shotguns and AK’s pointed in your face before, what happened with that?
I came to Stuart and stayed with random people! Most of my nights ended up at this kids house that thought it was cool to run pot all around town. Well one day we were on our way to my buddies cook out for some seafood and steak when this cat gets a call from some duck, “Yo come ride with me to this dudes house so I don’t get jumped for our loot.”, he says. The retard says yes, so now I’m stuck in this kid’s whip going on a weed sale. We pull up, the kid walks up to the door and just gets tackled by black tee’s. Now 5 unmarked cars pull up and surround the truck that I’m in, they pop out of all the bushes, all brawning guns, shotguns, AK’s, handguns, and even some canon thing. That was the worst ride of my life. I never had to stare down the barrel of a shotgun 5 inches from my face before. That turned into the longest day in my life!
Miami has a pretty big skate scene now, and MIA Skateshop just came out with “Welcome to MIA” to push it even more.
Mad people did start moving to Miami that turned into a flood! The scene for skating down there is good so people just caught on and stuck with it. Def some ill homies down there, that made it big.
What did you think of the video?
The MIA video is fresh oxygen to get my skate blood flowin! I was hyped to see some good old east coast skateboarding again, no combos or stupid looking gear. It was put together perfect!! I was hyped to see Chris Williams and all the MIA crew still cruising the streets of Miami!!! Mad hype kid, can’t wait for the next one!!!
Who has been holding you down lately as far as companies or shops go, who’s helping to keep you on that board?
561 skateboarding stays true!!!! Thanks Teak! Ryan from KAYO has been hookin’ it up with DGK boards and Jo from NIKE tossed me some kicks so they have def been keeping me hyped and feelin’ fresh on the skateboard! Thanks Jo and Ryan for all the help!
What are some of the places you traveled while pursuing skateboarding and to just kick it?
Miami trips opened the mind for more traveling, skate missions, and good times with the homies. The East Coast was our main focus on traveling for sure. We did make it a few times to San Francisco also.
You recently got back from NYC and New Jersey in the summer, how was that trip and filming for the mixed bag?
Meeting up in NY and dirty Jers with all the boys is all I needed to feel free and spread my wings for a lil bit! It was the best to just skate, chill, and do what we do!!! It was John Clayton, Mitch Teed, Alex Raspa, Bradley Cushing, and myself just doing it up FL style in NYC!! Overall, the best trip I’ve had!!!
I know you’re a bit of an artist yourself and your brother gets down with some dope pottery. Your mom is also a talented painter, tell me a little about that?
My whole family has an artistic mindset. My brother can make anything from pottery to painting. My mother has the talent to paint stuff she looks at, not really off the top of the dome type art. Seeing their work definitely makes me hyped to get into the art and crafts.
You had a baby girl recently, Autumn Paige Damron, what is it like to be a father now?
Yes, Autumn Paige Damron is my lil’ chicky monster! It is awesome to watch my baby learn! She picks up things so quick and everything is a whole new learning experience to for me. Though it did not work out between her mother and I, I’m so glad she is in my life.
Do you have any video parts coming out soon? What is “16 Blocks”?
“16 Blocks” is a lil’ video Teak is putting together of footage only documented in the Stuart, Florida city limits. I Hope you all enjoy small town footy, got to make what you can out of them! Everything else will be filmed for the [dot]…
You’ve been doing a lot of skating in Stuart? How has skating a small town more in the recent years influenced your skating?
Skating in small town Stuville has opened my mind to new ways of skating old spots and just being more creative with what the town has to offer! I could be the dude that says “it gets old skating the same shit everyday” then go straight to the park and call it a day but I cant, it’s just not in my blood, so I will come up with something out of nothing before I do all of that!! It’s funny because once people see all the coverage we have been getting in Stuart, people will want to come here and skate! Just watch hahahaaaa!
You had some dope tricks in the Florida section of Focus Magazines “Stay Focused”, how was filming for that?
Yea, really haven’t got out of Florida lately so all my footage turned out ok for a FL section for FOCUS. “In My Neighborhood 2″ was just a bunch of chillin’ footy, so that one was nice I suppose.
You got a full plate, what’s a day in the life like right now, how do you get everything done, you got mad responsibility.
My plate is pretty full huh!? It’s pretty basic, work, eat, spend time with Autumn, link up with J Bird and cruise! Never stop, got to keep the brass bands going!!! Yeyeye!!!
How’s your brother Russ doing after breaking his leg?
Homie got busted up for sure. He is doing real well, chillin’ in a nice spot on the river staying more productive than ever! I do miss skating with him. Russ def had his own style on every aspect. It was awesome to watch his way of skating evolve. He really started to pick it up towards the leg injury too, which bums me out cause he was one of the best to watch for sure and was always down!
Brandon Damron in “Six Piece”
“Six Piece” is a skateboarding video by 561 Skateboarding. Filmed and Edited by Teak Leasor.
Who would you like to thank for keeping you together over the years and helping BDUBZ out.
I would like to thank the [dot], John Clayton, Russ Damron, Bradley Cushing, Teak Leasor and 561 Skateboarding, everyone that cares and supports what we do! Jack, Steve, Alex Raspa “Skulls”, and everyone I missed, don’t catch any feelings! hahaaa
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photo Hobie Hiler, Bryan Vallejo, David Cahall
who he [dot] be conducted by Bradley Cushing
