I’ve gotten tickets for about everything harmless and stupid in NYC: riding a bike on the sidewalk, open container, public urination, disorderly conduct..the list goes on and on. So I have no fucking clue how these maniacs didn’t get arrested. Skating police cars, grinding trucks, breaking windshields and grabbing onto any dangerous moving vehicle they could their hands on. No one is doing it as well as Colin Read and Mandible Claw.

Q & A with filmer Colin Read

How did this go down?
While filming this video, I tried to hold myself to a sense of ethics, although admittedly a convoluted one. When we did anything that would damage a private car, we tried to do it on a car that was either abandoned or already fucked up. For example, the car that got its windshield broken was a covered in bird shit and dust, had its guts stripped out. Some of the others were just waiting in a parking lot, though these were already beaten up.

What about the cars on the streets?
The first car-the Chrysler-was an exception, but who gives a shit about running over the roof? Well, I guess the guy who was driving it gave a shit. Dude was bummed-he was screaming, frothing at the mouth as we rolled out. We scrammed. That was basically the M.O. for the whole video: we got the clips and then busted out immediately. I guess that’s the only reason we didn’t get arrested. I know we were asking for it, especially with the cop car ride, but fuck it. Skate and destroy.

And the cop car?
The cop car was sketchy. Ryan actually did it twice; the first one was at the end of a pretty amazing line. That’s going in my next full-length video. We were ready to bail when he landed it, but we wanted to get one more photo. And right then, after he did it again, a police van turned onto the street. We bailed fast.

Any crazy shit that didn’t make it onto the clips?
I actually missed what would have been the best clip in the whole thing. Piro, the dude with the fro, has a tendency to suddenly fly past you, grabbing onto cars that are already speeding. So we’re eating at Popeye’s, and right when we walk out he yells, “Yo, come film this!” and grabs the side of some industrial truck and takes off. I didn’t have time to get the camera turned on, let alone follow him. He starts powersliding as the truck turns, and pushes almost his whole body underneath the truck, between the wheels, still sliding. It was terrifying. If he’d let go, he would have been a goner. But as the truck powered out of the curve, he pulled himself out and got away. He was pissed off the whole day that I didn’t film it.

Was he freaked afterwards?
I think he was a little freaked, but was more pissed than anything that I’d missed it. He instantly wanted to do it again so we could get the clip. One of the best things about Piro is that he absolutely doesn’t give a fuck. I’ve come home form work before to find that he has broken into my apartment and is just chilling there, lurking on my roommate’s computer. With anyone else I’d be mad, but he’s just hype, hype, hype all the time. It was definitely the same with that skitch.

You get a lot of hate for the clips? What do your parents think?
There are some pretty funny Youtube comments. A lot of death threats, a lot of, “If you did that to my car, I’d fucking beat you to death!” One called me and “idiotic sheep with no brains.” I guess he didn’t know that, aside from skating, I’m an adjunct professor at NYU. My parents were definitely bummed, as they always are when I do something stupid. I’ve been secretly awaiting a letter from the police telling me I’m going to jail, but one hasn’t come yet.

What video is next?
I’m working on the next Mandible Claw full-length right now. “Mandible Claw” is just the crew of my friends, whoever I happen to be skating with. I’m really excited for this one–I’m hyped on the line-up. The people in it are: Piro Sierra, Kenji Nakahira, Connor Kammerer, Billy Rohan, Quim Cardona, TJ Sparks, Matt Town, Ryan Barlow, Matt Militano, The Magenta Team. There are tons of others in there too. Brett Nelson, Leo Heinert, and Bill Pierce have been getting clips, as have Nic Nootens, Alex Fogt, and Fletcher Renegar.

Want to see more clips from Colin Read & Mandible Claw?
Watch them terrorize the NYC subway here