The Rick Thorne Show

Pro skateboarder, filmmaker, actor and painter Danny Minnick talks with Rick Thorne about '80s punk and skate culture, the Seattle scene where he met Nirvana and Soundgarden, and how Larry Clark hired him as skateboard cinematographer on Wassup Rockers. He explains how Harold Hunter's death pushed him into sobriety and acting at the Actors Studio, and shows some of the paintings from his gallery w...

BMX pro Glenn "PP" Milligan joins Rick Thorne to talk about growing up in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, getting his first BMX bike by selling chocolate bars in fourth grade, and riding with the original New York crew at the Brooklyn Banks. He also talks about racing before freestyle, the Malali skate rink, why competition matters in BMX, Dave Mirra's intensity, how Mike Laird 'saved his life' at a Je...

BMX vert pro Mykell Larrin tells Rick Thorne about growing up riding in Racine, Wisconsin, his first contests, and how visualization helps him take on new tricks. He also talks about 15 Armed Forces Entertainment tours, including riding on tanks and water tankers and sleeping in the barracks, the college scholarship he earned, the influence of riders like Koji Kraft, and his work on suicide preven...

Tattoo artist Franco Vescovi joins Rick Thorne to talk about his teenage days in San Gabriel, where his cousins grew up alongside the tattoo artist Freddy who inspired him, the fine-line style that shaped him, and opening his first studio, El Toro Ink House, in Orange County. He goes deep on coil versus rotary tattoo machines and the story behind Bishop Rotary, plus his Vatican Studios shops in La...

Russell Burke tells Rick Thorne about May 26, 2013, when he dove off the back of a pontoon boat into shallow water at Lake Havasu and was instantly paralyzed with a C4/C5 injury, then flatlined on the medevac flight to Las Vegas. He talks honestly about months of depression, learning acceptance, rehab, the fundraiser that got him his van, and why he now visits the newly injured and speaks to peopl...

BMX photographer and rider Jeff Zelinski joins Rick Thorne to talk about competitiveness in freestyle, making the first Animal video for Ralph Sinisi, and how Glenn Losey helped him go from freelance shots to working at Ride and Transworld BMX. He also covers shooting stills versus video, freelancing for S&M, building a wedding photography portfolio, the X Games New York club led by Steve Rodr...

Kickboxer Eddie Jackson talks with Rick Thorne about learning to fight, the anxiety and pressure athletes carry, and the difference between amateur smokers and licensed pro fights. He explains why you can't 'play fight' when one shot can change your life, and tells the story of his last kickboxing fight at 45 against a 23-year-old, which was ruled a draw. CHAPTERS 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:09 Meet Eddie...

Tattoo legend Freddy Negrete talks with Rick Thorne about the black-and-gray style that grew out of California prisons, working as a tattoo technical adviser on around 30 films like Con Air and Blood In Blood Out, and how flash and the internet changed the trade. He tells how he gave himself a stick-and-poke tattoo with his sister's mascara at 12, then got good at tattooing in the California Youth...

Actor Frankie Loyal talks with Rick Thorne about spending 10 days in the ICU over his birthday and Christmas, and about his late friend Sid Krofft, the legendary puppeteer behind H.R. Pufnstuf, whom he helped move out of his Hollywood home before he passed at 96. He also covers his first acting job in San Francisco in '96, working in film with tattoos, landing his role on Mayans M.C., his clothing...

Comedian Ric Diez joins Rick Thorne to talk about open mics, how the room itself changes a comedy show, and what BMX taught him about knowing his limits. He shares stories from living and performing abroad in places like Thailand, explains why people get stuck in their comfort zone, and gives his take on Kill Tony as a launchpad for new comics. CHAPTERS 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:44 Meet Ric Diez 0:05:57...

Comedian Sandy Danto talks with Rick Thorne about why he performs in a suit, Bill Hicks and Denis Leary, and the advice he gives young comics about one-liners, storytelling and crowd work. He tells the story of opening for Bobby Lee when two hecklers flashing gang signs started a five-minute brawl, and gets into The Anxious Generation, reinventing yourself, and his head tattoos. CHAPTERS 0:00:00 I...

Joe Escalante, bassist for The Vandals, founder of Kung Fu Records and now a manager for Sublime, joins Rick Thorne to talk about the early Orange County punk scene, how he joined The Vandals, and why some people said punk was dead. He also tells how Penelope Spheeris let the Suburbia cast vote The Vandals into the film, and talks about his years as a CBS business affairs executive making deals on...

Comedian Mark "Gonszo" Gonzales tells Rick Thorne how he got the nickname and why he spells it with an S before the Z, why being original matters in stand-up, and the difference between actors who are funny and real stand-up comics. He shares stories about doing stand-up at a nudist colony, a backyard birthday-party gig that went sideways, opening for the Reverend Bob Levy, and a splitting-headach...

Ukrainian-born comedian Janet Roth tells Rick Thorne about growing up after the Soviet Union fell apart, starting comedy with 20 pages of material, and creating her roast character Valentina. She explains why she actually likes getting roasted, why she fosters dogs and pushes shelter adoption, and does a little of the character live. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:44 Meet Janet Roth 5:59 Life in Ukraine vs...

Skateboarder and streamer Curtis Fontenot tells Rick Thorne about aging out of foster care at 19, sleeping in his car, and how a Spider-Man skateboard became his only outlet. He also talks about the Crockett family who took him in, his Crunch Skate Club board collab, livestreaming skating every day, and what 'never been done' means in modern street skating. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:56 Meet Curtis Fon...

Brazilian comedian and actress Cinthya Brasil talks with Rick Thorne about myths about Brazilians, standing out as an outsider, and her love of Andy Kaufman. She tells how she discovered stand-up through TikTok voiceover clips after leaving acting school one semester before the stand-up class, being told to play it big on a kids' TV show, playing a robot cop, and winning over a conservative crowd...

Tommy Gelinas, founder of the Valley Relics Museum, gives Rick Thorne a tour through San Fernando Valley history, from the first Chevy Camaro built in Van Nuys to the Palomino club where Linda Ronstadt got her start. They dig into '70s BMX brands like Redline, rescued neon signs, backyard pool culture, Valley girls, and how to visit the museum at Van Nuys Airport. CHAPTERS 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:38 Me...

Musician and online creator JT Jasinski joins Rick Thorne to talk about the running joke that he's Jerry Cantrell's son, getting called Jesus at shows, and his 'Ruining Songs That Sound Like Someone Else' series that built his following. He also covers riffing on trending music news like Dave Grohl's, reinventing content when a series runs its course with ideas like judging celebrity Cameos, and t...

Moyes and Josh of the punk band Cold Forty Three join Rick Thorne to talk about how the band got its name, working as Dodger bat boys, and following tours in their van until they landed on Warped Tour, which they played three years in a row, including two summers as the tour's BBQ band. They also get into hearing crowds sing along after their song landed on the 2012 Warped Tour compilation, why th...

NOFX drummer Erik "Smelly" Sandin tells Rick Thorne how he met Fat Mike in the early-'80s LA punk scene and joined NOFX as a teenager out of Caustic Cause. He talks openly about heroin addiction, getting sober on August 7, 1992, and how the band gave him a reason to get clean, plus 20 years of shaping surfboards that grew into Picklesticks and snowboards with Signal. CHAPTERS 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:37...

Greg Dickson of the ska band Toxic Energy talks with Rick Thorne about his radio show days, growing up on heavy metal in Baldwin Park, finding ska, and rehearsing next door to a pre-fame No Doubt, where Eric Stefani let him bring his trombone into their room. He also talks about marketing a band, rude boy culture, whether the juice is worth the squeeze, and his company Hydra Promotions. CHAPTERS 0...

Jackass co-creator and director Jeff Tremaine takes Rick Thorne from the Rockville BMX scene to working at Freestylin' and Snowboarder magazines and running Big Brother magazine from 1992 to 2000. He explains how Jackass grew out of the Big Brother videos with Johnny Knoxville, why they quit MTV, how snorkeling with 10-foot alligators led to Wildboyz, and talks about The Wild and Wonderful Whites...

Mike Davenport, bassist for The Ataris, sits down with Rick Thorne to talk about leaving the band in 2006 to start Versus the World, playing Hellfest to a crowd of about 80,000, and the Santa Barbara scene that also produced Nerf Herder. He opens up about his upcoming memoir This Is Where the Hero Dies, losing his father at 19, the pre-foreclosure business and Craigslist ads that brought the feds,...

Shiragirl tells Rick Thorne how she worked Warped Tour for the Truth campaign in 2003, crashed the tour in a pink RV the next year, convinced Kevin Lyman to let her stay, and launched the Shiragirl stage for female-fronted bands in 2005, the year Paramore played it on their first-ever tour. She also talks about building her company Gritty in Pink with Live Nation as lead investor, her all-girl Sub...

Pro street skateboarder Jeff DeChesare tells Rick Thorne how winning the YouTube Skate League (YSL) and landing an inward heelflip down the Santa Monica pier triple set got Street League's attention, leading to wild-card spots at SLS Spot Takeover events in Cleveland and Vegas, and why he's more careful skating street before a contest. He also talks about growing up skating in North Jersey near Mo...