Mike Todd...where do I start. First of all, Mike ran, without a doubt, one of the best skateshops in the niagara region and it would still be around today if it weren't for people looking to make a quick buck of off skateboarding due to it's popularity. If there were any justice in the world, Mike's shop, Cyril Skateshop, would still be in business, getting all the good stuff that we loved to have under our feet.

Mike Todd also lives and breathes skateboarding. If it weren't for solid dudes like Mike in the skateboarding world, skating would be a lot different if you ask me. Mike was good enough to answer some questions I had to ask about his past, skateboarding and things going on right now.

Also, a reminder, whether it be a brand new deck, or just a set of bearings, always remember to support your local skateshop. Keep the money going to shops that deserve it like Mike's did. Now, on to the interview...

J.Coops: What year did you start skating and why did you want to start?

Mike Todd: I think 1988... i started cause I liked the sounds that skateboards made, I wanted to make those noises.

J.Coops: Where were you skating mostly in your first few years?

Mike Todd: Fonthill ... thats it, hit the hills, and skate the town, eat at the bakery... the Furniture House was the spot to go to... it had a oiled up wooden block, and I saw Chris Vetter do kickflip backside tailslides in 1988, he rode no top bushings, and he nailed that tick with ease.

J.Coops: Who were you skating with?

Mike Todd: Andrew Reid, Adam Alderdice, Ryan Huxley, Jeff Hardy. We had "Team Welfare"

J.Coops: When did you meet Joe Cleary?

Mike Todd: 1993ish... we were in st.kitts met him just out sk8ng, he bummed a two dollar bill off a bum and bought ice cream from a dicky dee, but he had so much to say to us, the ice cream just ran down his arm.... i didn;t see him again till years later in the falls, I was super excited to see him again, and we remebered each other right away, but he made fun of me for riding indy trucks... ahhaha, he will deny that though.

J.Coops: Is there any particular story from skating with Joe that sticks out in your mind?

Mike Todd: We don't really need to skate to have good times, skating to us was alwyas ummm... more of just filling up the day looking for records, having coffee, smoking butts, than play SKATE, find a spot, skate some, than go out to goodwill bins or the bar or just wander around in the car listening to Sabbath... Joe does have one of the best 360 flips of all time though. Oh we used to almost daily see how high we could ollie, that was our thing, jsut trying ot ollie anything at any time.

J.Coops: What was the whole story about that period of time you were in Denver?

Mike Todd: Cyril got broken into and I ran away to live with my good friend Rob Hostetter... I just went there to get away and hang out with tthe Flying Elephant guys, Joe came out there for like 6 months too, I was gone for 8 or something. I went to NYC,and SF and San Diego first, just hung out at Hanger 18 alot with Ken and those guys in SD.

J.Coops: You've been around a few times...what was the best place that you traveled to and had the most good times in?

Mike Todd: Well I usualy travel alone, and so I gotta say New York, for some reason I find myself in New York... I just feel alive there, its booming, yet I can still get some solitude, its a great mix when your head is a mess... but with some one it would be in Chicago with Rob, Joe and Hensley for a few days. Its not really where you are that makes a good time, its who your with. For sk8ing I love dowtown Buffalo. When you get older though the best trips are the ones with a ladyfriend... My X and I had a great time In NYC just walking around.

J.Coops: About Cyril Skateshop...what made you want to open your own shop?

Mike Todd: It was an escape from the real world... I needed a way out. Cyril was it and the best thing to ever happen to me.

J.Coops: Best memory about the shop?

Mike Todd: Getting new product on Wednesdays, customers, the shop cat Jimi, and the Wanderers.

J.Coops: What was the skateboarding scene like in Ontario around your first couple years of skating?

Mike Todd: There wasn't one at all. It was perfect. There were no more than 10 skaters in all of Welland and Fonthill at one point. It was the best.

J.Coops: What's your opinion on the skateboarding scene right now in Ontario?

Mike Todd: My opinion does not matter. If it did I would still have a store, ask that to arlies and west 49 and the barn and winners. Scenes suck shit anyways, thats why I liked sk8ing so much, there was no scene... it was just skateboarding. As far as I am concerned there will never really be a sk8 scene, just people out there hooked on sk8ing learning new tricks and falling in love with the feeling it gives you.... its the non skaters that kinda try to be skaters that want a actual scene... but when you sk8, like are hooked on it, there is no room or time for something like that.

J.Coops: You have taken quite a few photos over the years. Any favourites???

Mike Todd: I have maybe taken 3 rolls of sk8 photos in 15 years... i hate taking sk8 photos, I would rather just be sk8ing... I liek taking photos of friends... live music makes good photos in my mind. I always liked the Charles Peterson type photo, so thats what I went for.

J.Coops: Worst ankle injury?

Mike Todd: I don't even have ankles anymore. Just mush. My hips are way worse than my ankles anyways. The worst thing is not letting the body heal when you are young. I just kept sk8ing, and we all do that.

J.Coops: I've seen you skate this past summer and you were skating very well. Due to the ankle injuries you had over the years, does it hurt to skate sometimes and you just force it? Or are things slowly getting better?

Mike Todd: It hurts the next day.... after 20 years of it, i just have to be on mentaly, cause physically I am not... mind over matter, but it's hit or miss... a few beers and a good mood is the best situation.

J.Coops: How's you new job? going well?

Mike Todd: Its the second best job I could ever have.

J.Coops: Last word?

Mike Todd: Farts are the only jokes that never get old.