Christian Maalouf | Brixton Interview
Christian Maalouf is a man of many talents. Pro skateboarder, Brixton team manager, and line cook at LA’s popular Woon Kitchen. On top of that, he’s a married cat dad with a closet addiction to rare collectibles as unveiled in Jenkem’s “Secret Hobbies.” Is Christian living the dream? We caught up with him to pick his brain, and to provide some inspiration for all the “adult skateboarders” out there making it happen.
You have three jobs. Is it nice switching gears on a daily basis?
Yea it’s pretty cool just being able to switch it up on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Sometimes im the skater and then if I'm not feeling it I can just be the team manager and force someone to skate a handrail or something haha and i love to cook and I love my job at Woon, but my kitchen style is slightly more aggressive than that of my skating, my bad to all my team in there hahaha
Any advice for all the adult skateboarders out there skating and working?
No, but they should know that their skating is way more impressive to me than someone who has never held a job.
Wise words. So you have been with Brixton since the start? How has your role at the brand evolved?
I don’t know that I was there for the “start” of the company when it was garage style and then they had a little run of just hooking up any stylish skater, i remember Clint Peterson having an ad for them back in the day. But when they started a defined skate team I was there from the start. My role with them is obviously different now, having been there almost 13 years i have a deep sense of pride and connection with the brand, and with that I get to be in on more of the behind-the-scenes stuff than before when all i had to worry about was kickflipping over stuff
We are glad you are still kickflipping over stuff. What's challenging about being a team manager that you never dealt with being only a skater?
Driving the van, I'd rather just sit shotgun and look for spots. Also keeping the schedule can be shitty. Like if we need to get to a demo or something like that and one of the guys is in the middle of trying a trick, I never want to pull them away from that but I also don’t want to blow it with the behind-the-scenes stuff. Luckily I'm talking about Jake Braun right now and he lands stuff quick as shit. Thanks, Jakey
You have put together some great ‘fits in your parts over the years. Do you think clothing has any impact on how someone skateboards?
Absolutely, if I'm having a gear crisis, although rare these days, I skate like absolute shit. On the days that my clothes fall on me the way I like, I tend to just flow better and smile more while I skate. Is that vain?
Haha, well I guess we can be vain together. What's your favorite Brixton piece?
I have a t-shirt from when I first got on that is a painting of a bunch of gross eyeballs done by Michael Upton and I still wear it all the time and Upton sent me the original painting that I have hung in my house. I also have a golden cardigan from around then that has many many miles on it. Then there is my pant the “Medina” Those are super special to me because they fit exactly how I want my pants to fit and the whole team liked them too which told me "I know what I'm doing".
What is your favorite kind of food to cook?
At home I mostly cook foods with Lebanese, Spanish, and Portuguese influences, i keep the Chinese food pretty much strictly at Woon.
Do you get roped into cooking for the team on trips?
Absolutely and if I have the time, I'm more than happy to. However, I hate deciding what to cook for 8 to 15 hungry stoners. If that’s the case you’re getting spaghetti or a Shepards pie. But if they hit me with a valid request and it’s not midnight I'm fucking down to cook. I cook mostly vegan at home now and I really wanna have Kenny Anderson over to see if I'm legit.
What video part are you the most proud of putting out?
I have a part in Static VI which just came out and I can’t believe I'm in a static video having worshiped 1,2 and 3 growing up, pretty mental. I think my favorite part of mine is either my pro part for wknd or one I just made for myself years ago between board sponsors and I just put it on YouTube, its called comfort zone if anyone wants to watch it, and its all spots within spitting distance of where I grew up skating in Arizona. Also, all the pyramid country parts that Jackson and I made are pretty sentimental to me.
You have some of the best pop and flick in skating. Could you bless us with a tip or technique for popping kickflips?
I do not. My flick is shit, they turn so slow! I wish I had Cromer or Puig's flick.
Alright, alright, at least the pop part then. What’s coming up in 2024 for Christian Maalouf?
I’m slowly chipping away at a part with Globe Skateboarding, traveling with the Brixton team as much as possible, and lurking around LA with the WKND skateboards horde. Oh yeah, and cooking at the restaurant hahaha.
Thanks for your time Christian! We are looking forward to seeing more from you and the team over at Brixton in the future.
Thank you Tactics, tell Scotty Copalman that I said hi and I love and miss him. Also, order a bunch of my pro gear hahaha. No pressure ;)
Interview by Sam Goldberg-Jaffe
