All right, let's start with your name.

Don : My name is Don Luong

What is background of your last name and is Don short for something?

Don : No, that's funny. I’m Vietnamese. Traditionally everyone is named Donald, but there was definitely a cultural disconnect when it came to naming me. But not short for anything. Just Don. I got birth certificate proof.

You rolled over to the coffee shop, can you tell me about your board today?

Don : Ed Templeton, t's just called The Cat graphic. I believe this is a, old New Deal graphic, right?

Yeah, yeah, his og New Deal graphic on a new shape.

Don : Square tail, pointed nose, 8.75, nothing too crazy. But trucks for cruising I ride Indy’s and Slime Ball wheels.

How would you describe your profession?

Don : doesn't feel like profession, because it's still so fucking fun, but I am a filmmaker, Director, primarily worked in skateboarding.

And how long have you been doing this?

Don : I graduated in 2006 from high school, and I was already filming, so probably 2002 or something like that, maybe a friend handed me a VHS camera and said “film this.” I just caught the bug of holding a camera and being able to create stuff.

Someone handed you their parents VHS camera, when did it go to the next level and what was that camera?

Don : I think when mini DVD cameras came along and I met my friend Ryan, who was pretty knowledgeable about cameras. That's when I realized you can take videos and put it on a computer and add songs. Ryan was really into this, using effects and stuff and making music video effects and I remember just being really infatuated with how fast you could take footage and make it into something that created another level of feeling. I never really owned a camera, but that next level was a small Panasonic, mini DV camera that was just around at the time of those years and my first tool, I would say. And the main thing I remember about it, we had a fish eye with no adapter, so we would literally have to hold it up to the camera lens, making the vignette move around. I have a photo somewhere of me with that setup.

What was the attraction of the fish eye lens, versus just shooting without it?

Don : All skate videos were using the VX 1000 with the death lens (a version of the fish eye) and we just wanted it to look like that. Yeah, it did not look like that. But we thought this is really close. And you know, we were chopping feet off, chopping heads off, arms, wild filming. I'm pretty sure there's clips where you might just see a board or just a body in the air and you don't even see what we're skating. We were just a bunch of kids trying to recreate the Transworld and other videos we were influenced by at the time. I caught the bug and just knew then that this was all I ever wanted to do. Never in my wildest dreams did I think skateboarding could lead to anything like the life I am living.

Was there a video that influenced those early days?

Don : The Reason [Transworld Magazine video] and Fulfill The Dream [Shorty’s Skateboards video] were watched religiously.

Was there a filming style or line that influenced you?

Don : I think what excited me about those videos, was all the kids in that video like, Sammy Baptista, Jesse Silvey, Brandon Turner and Toan Nguyen. I don't know how old, but they might be my age, or a year or two older. But seeing kids in a skate video really helped kind of spark a fire. My friends and I aren't as good as them but we could pretend to be them. Fulfill The Dream was huge. It helped also that Toan, who is also Vietnamese, I am like, what the hell?!? There is a Vietnamese Pro Skater and he is always at my local skate shop Furnace. Every other weekend by my school trying to sell me boards, but like the shittiest board for 20 bucks. Those dudes all hustled me out of my lunch money. It was a really formative time and I was lucky to be exposed to skating in that way. I owe it all to Furnace.

How did you make it to the next camera level with all the money spent on Shorty’s decks?

Don : I was gifted a VX 1000 by a friend, Chad, you know his older brother, Young Blood. He gave it to Chad and I was around it for a while. Mind you, I'm still, like, skating pretty heavy and I'm not the filmer yet. But I would be the first to volunteer, if someone wanted to film a trick. ‘Yeah, I'm down. Let me do it.’ But once Steve got kind of over filming, he gave it to Chad and then eventually Chad got over it and he passed it to me with the lens and all for free! I owe a lot to Chad. He taught me a lot about filming and editing.

That is an extremely fortunate story.

Don : Fun fact about that camera is that it’s Ronnie Creager’s old camera. Knowing that this is Ronnie’s Sony VX 1000, God knows what this camera filmed of him!?!? Pretty sure it’s the camera he used to film during Menikmati video and that’s pretty fucking cool. Thinking back at it, it doesn’t even sound real. So, yeah, gifted a camera, and it really changed my life.

Ronnie is one my favorite skaters back in the early ‘90s. Everyone must go watch all the wild antics in the video Barbarians at the Gate [World and Foundation skateboards]. That must have been about when you started, what was your first skateboard?

Don : My first memory of riding a skateboard, which is really rad, was my dad. He could push and had a classic old school shaped, big ass wheels, shitty trucks, board with a dragon on it, and it was an executioner. I wish I still had that thing. You know, they probably just threw it away. Then when I was older, I was at a swap meet. That's where I remember getting blank wheels for $10 or something and red ventures and a slick bottom World Industries with Flameboy graphics. But that was my first board.

Growing up in the heart of skate culture, what are some outside influences, even outside of your parents, who was kind of the like an influence or a guiding light or a mentor?

Don : I have a really cool uncle growing up, my mom’s little brother. He didn't skate, but we played a lot of video games together. He was in gangs and shit, and he just took me everywhere he went. Places I probably shouldn't have been, exposed me to shit without knowing I was being exposed to it.

Is there any advice that he gave you that you cherish or hold on to?

Don : Not really. No, because he was a kid himself, you know. He seemed like such a big figure then, but he was only six years older than me. I think he just took really good care of me and sometimes I would watch fights from across the park. He'd be like, sit here on the swings and would go and beat some dudes down, kind of turf war type shit. These were more hand fighting days, no guns, no knives. They were high schoolers just trying to be tough. But seeing that, I'm like, damn this is crazy.

Don : But in skating, I just have to shout him out William. We called him Bubba and he was probably three or four years older. He actually had a VHS camera and the house that had the fun box, the flat bar. His mom would drive us to the skate parks. He was such a respectful, good kid and did good in school and also didn’t drink or smoke. It showed me you can be a skater and still kind of have your shit together. And that I didn’t have to be a punk. I had cousins that were really into tagging at the time and my elementary school was in the same neighborhoods. We would paint on the walls and he found out that I was tagging. He got super bummed on me and it felt like I was letting down an older brother. So, I was, like, a tagger for, if that's the right term, for, like, two weeks. I listened because I respected him and looked up to him so much.

Following your youth, you have gone on to film and direct some major projects in skateboarding. Keeping things spontaneous, after I share the name of the project, can you share with me the emotion or special note that first comes to mind? First Up: Splendor [Foundation Skateboards] video?

Don : Splendor, ok wow. This is gonna be fun, I've never done this before. Ok, first thing that comes to mind. My friend Jake Frank had a Bolex and I asked him come along on a lot of sessions. He gave me such a beautiful B roll for this video. This is the first video that I kind of realized, like, wow, collaborating and getting help can only make your shit better. Learning that collaborating on the creative process is not for everything. But at times, it can be beneficial and make the final product tenfold better. I've never even thought that or said it until you asked, so fucking crazy, how the mind works.

Programming Injection [Toy Machine Skateboards] video?

Don : I actually talked about this with Georgia Martin on the way to a spot. We were just talking about videos I've made and she's Pro for the team now. For this one, to be honest, disappointment. It was my first Toy Machine video and I had always only contributed to toy machine videos at the time and maybe done little web edits. But that video was really built up in my head like a traditional full-length where we're gonna film for three or four years and it was after Kevin Barnett had left. He created this aesthetic for the company that I was trying to bridge and emulate. That video wasn't my best because I wasn't trying to be myself and when I watch it, the incredible skating aside, I feel like I could’ve done so much better. The skating in the video is incredible and I do think maybe I’m being a bit hyper critical but that’s one that I rewatch and just feel like it wasn’t my best showing. I just felt like it was rushed and I wasn't true to my personal self. So, you know, that one brings a little bit of disappointment.

We all have those falls. Next up: Whippersnappers [Foundation Skateboards] video?

Don : Have you seen all these?

Yes, of course.

Don : Thank you for watching! Whippersnappers was fun to make. It feels like one of my most complete skate films I’ve made. I was so happy with that video and the response’s and the effort put in by everyone involved, the music and the team at the time. It was before Corey Glick left, so it was the last of his time at Foundation. I’m super proud of that one.

How about Souvenir [Foundation Skateboards] video?

Don : Souvenir, all I can think of is Corey’s part. His skating at the time was just so undeniable and I think the song and the last trick all just came together so magically. Corey’s part in Souvenir is one of my personal favorite parts I’ve gotten to make.

Yeah, the song that was used in it was really good. It's my favorite edit. There's a beautiful aspect of slowness that exists in the song to let the sounds of skateboarding speak.

Don : There's a story to the end of the part, the little ender part of the song that kind of blends in. This didn't exist. We were friends with Mikey from Drugdealer and over the phone on our last tour before the video we asked him to record this piece for us for these last tricks. And I was literally humming a melody to him and sang the last course on the phone asking for it to go into something like this and within the next week, he sent it and we used it. We got so lucky that he's just such a talented musician and can make my fucking shitty hum into this amazing music.

Tee-Hee [Furnace Skateboard Shop] video?

Don : Damn. I didn't think that was gonna be on the list. That one's special to me, because that was when everyone was transitioning cameras from VX to HD. It’s the last VX camera video I made. No one was asking me to make that video and no sponsors to pay for it. All the skaters were donating their time and just down for the cause. That video came together organically. That is definitely the last. I was already working for Foundation and Toy Machine. I was filming a side video on top of my work responsibilities, which, to me now, sounds psycho. But you know, you're in your 20s and just want to skate and hang on to your friends. That one just screams pureness to me.

Scorched Earth [Toy Machine Skateboards] video?

Don : Man, that one was all for Myles Willard. Willard, that's what I think of, it's just his video. I also feel like I was coming into my own creatively with Toy Machine and Ed's like, yeah, do whatever and I trust you. I was like, whoa. Like Ed Templeton is telling me this? That one gave me a lot of confidence.

The Balance of Opposites [RVCA Clothing] video?

Don : Thankful for the people and experiences. Everyone on the team was so busy with other projects, so it was hard to wrangle up the crew to film for a clothing brand. But it did really make me realize how lucky I am to be in this space because you're waking up in new country every other month and everyone's just as excited about what we're having for dinner as about what we’re gonna skate. Meeting people like Andrew (Reynolds), Spanky (Kevin Long) and Mark Suciu, and just being exposed to crazy parts of the world and people that I would never have normally skated with.

How about Oddity [Foundation Skateboards] video?

Don : Riley, my wife. I met her at that premiere. Neither her best friend nor her were into skating and her friend was seeing a skater, who invited them to the premiere but flaked. They ended up still going. I saw her at the bar, beautiful, and approached her and, yeah, married her.

Best story. What about Real Life Sucks [Toy Machine Skateboard] video?

Don : That one came together easily. Everyone that is highlighted in that video, Georgia or Jeremy and Braden, was just firing on all cylinders. When you have good skate footage, it makes editing a good part much easier. For me it's just an easy watch. My favorite Toy Machine video I've ever made.

Vaccine [Toy Machine Skateboards] video?

Don : Fuck dude, we were literally in a pandemic. It’s cool to be able to hear the name of the video and literally remember exactly the time we were in. During the peak of the pandemic, I’d be driving down the 405 on Wednesday at peak traffic hour and it was just me, no one else. Everything is empty, courthouses are closed, schools are closed. You really couldn’t stop skaters from skating, so I really took advantage of spots during this time. There's like, two or three spots in there that I can confidently say, if it wasn’t for the pandemic we most likely wouldn’t have gotten enough time to get tricks there. Such a crazy time. 

And the last on my list, Ta-HA [Furnace Skateboard Shop] video?

Don : Ta-Ha…. I was as very serious about that video because that was my first video. We spent five years on it. Everyone in that video was so dedicated. It was a type of thing where we were just inspired to put on for furnace and live up to all the generations of skaters in Long Beach and make them proud this is our shit and we have the best crew right now. It gets brought up to me just as much from people compared to the bigger brand videos I've made and it's cool to be in, like, the middle of USA and have someone call out this video.

I'm going to take music from your videos and make a playlist to share with the readers. Besides the Drugdealer story you mentioned earlier, is there another song with a story?

Don : Cole Wilson skated to The Animals’ “It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

I remember, it's on my list too.

Don : We had gotten the second to last trick, his nose grind on the triple kink in Walnut Creek. All of us smoking so much weed on this drive home to LA from Northern California at night. It’s a shitty long drive, you know and we're just going through his playlist to find his video part song? And while everyone is asleep, boom, the euphoric music feel, you hear something and it clicks! That's rare. Also because of Cole's story as well, his rise and fall, if you will. Man, like, it's a tear jerker.

Some special insights into these projects of yours. Where are you going after this?

Don : Physically or spiritually? I'm gonna go home and make some eggs, hang out with my dog, go to the gym. As far as my future, I’ll always be a skate rat, and want to progress professionally. Because my whole life has been about skateboarding, hopefully start dabbling in other industries creatively. I want to direct more. I guess maybe just put myself in more uncomfortable situations in and out of work. Skateboarding, at this point, is second nature and I just want to be in spaces that will push me to learn and use my brain in different ways. Production and commercials and working and collaborating with other creatives. 

And for our ender, is there any questions you have for me?

Don : Maybe not a question, but some words on doing this with you and knowing the chapter you're in with your life: I'm excited for you, and you're pushing yourself to be do new shit because I feel like there is just that innate creative muscle we all have to flex. And now that it’s not work for work anymore, I’m excited to see all the cool shit you’re gonna be working on.

Thank you. Thank you, Don.