The list of guys I know with a pierced nipple is short, so short I could probably count on one hand. A little over a year ago I joined that list and went through the most painful few seconds of my life. When I heard that Daniel also went through with the nip, I wanted to interview him to see if there’s some spiritual connection between us dudes with nipples rings, something of a weird masochist society that could bond two people who have never met. Turns out, there may be, as we dove deep into conversation about kinks, balls and porn in the most casual way. No kink shaming here, man.

What made you want to get your nipple pierced?
I was at a friend’s house on Halloween and I was like, “You know what? I think I’m going to get my nipple pierced.” So I just went to a tattoo parlor by myself and got it done. I’ve always talked about it as a joke. In the moment, I thought that if I didn’t do it that night I would never do it.

I was super nervous at first because I would watch videos of people doing it online and they all seemed like they were in pain. I was also in pain. When I stood up for the first time from the chair, I felt like I was going to fall over. I think it was all of the adrenaline leaving my body. My head was shaking and I was so dizzy.

Would you get your other nip pierced too?
I don’t think so. I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny, and now I like the way it looks and I want to keep the one. I also don’t want to sit through the pain again. If I was going to get both done, I would’ve had to have done it that night. There’s no way I want to do it again.

If you get your other nipple pierced you could hang a chain between them though.
I have my nose pierced on my left side and my left nipple pierced, and everyone tells me to get a chain from my nipple to my nose to my earring. I would have a three-way chain.

Would you ever get a dick piercing?
That is where I draw the line on the piercing. I don’t want a needle near my balls or any of that. That sounds horrible, and having your penis be in pain for months does not sound cool at all.

You recently shot a BDSM style ad for Welcome Skateboards. Have you ever thought of becoming a porn star for some extra cash?
No way. Never dude. I don’t think I’m actually “built” to be a porn star, for real. It’s so funny, anytime I do some sort of interview, I always get asked about porn and sex stuff. I don’t know why! But I guess everyone knows I watch porn, I guess.

Were you worried about sharting in those white pants?
No, but every time I wear white pants I keep an extra pair in my car just in case I sit in anything. I’m so afraid of walking around with a shit stain on my pants. That would suck, and not know about it, that would really suck. Every time I wear white pants, it’s like the day I buy hot Cheetos or something and I get it on myself for some reason.

“I don’t think I’m actually ‘built’ to be a porn star, for real.”

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re talking to someone and they say they don’t watch porn?
Never. I’m pretty sure everyone watches porn. They might be embarrassed to say it at first. Or I might be the weird one, but I don’t think so. If people say they don’t watch it, I think they’re lying. I think when you meet someone and if you talk about porn, it’s an easy way to open up because everybody watches it. Then you get comfortable around them because the tension is gone. It’s a funny topic that everyone could contribute to.

What inspired the kink-themed ad?
I don’t really know. We thought it would be a fun photo to shoot and we also did it so I could keep the props afterward [laughs]. We went to a sex shop to get all that. Originally they wanted me to be ball gagged. I put the gag in my mouth and was like, “No fucking way am I going to take a photo with that in my mouth.” Then thinking about my parents seeing it… no way. I’m good on that.

Did your parents see the ad?
Yeah, they saw it but we’ve never talked about it. My sisters and I have talked about it and laughed about it, and my parents have talked to them about it, but we’ve never acknowledged the fact that they’ve seen it. I know that they have seen it, but I’d just rather not talk about it with them.

I can’t imagine a more uncomfortable conversation than talking to your dad about BDSM.
Definitely. They were already weirded out about my nipple piercing. I thought it was funny so I showed them, but they were more bummed out about my nose piercing because it’s on my face, so we don’t need to talk about this one [laughs].

When you were shooting those photos, was it hard to stay serious?
Oh yeah, for sure. We were probably laughing the whole time, besides the split seconds when [the photographer] would actually shoot a photo. At times [the model] would yank on the collar so hard that I would actually have trouble breathing and that would just make it funnier.

I saw you rocking a Pornhub sticker on one of your old boards, are you on the P-Hub team?
Nah, I’m not on the team. I don’t know if they still do this, but a couple years ago if you signed up on the website for an account you got free stickers. The catch was that it takes eight weeks for the stickers to get to your house. Since my dad and I share the same name, he thought it was his mail and he opened it when they arrived. I got home one day and my dad was like, “Hey, you got mail.” and I was like, oh shit, and it was two Pornhub stickers. My dad totally opened them up first. I was just like, “Thanks.”

If you could either have a condom sponsor or a lube sponsor, which would you pick?
Lube sponsor. I feel like condoms are easy to get from anywhere. Lube you have to go out of the way to get.

What about a lube sponsorship or a pocket pussy sponsorship?
Shit. I’m still gonna go with the lube. I got gifted a pocket pussy by one of my coworkers for Christmas this year, so we’re good on that. I don’t think I need too many of those. I don’t need a whole arsenal of pocket pussies at my house. I already have to hide one.

Have you ever been to any Eyes Wide Shut type of parties?
No, I haven’t been to one. But my friend Nick and I just got added to a group chat with six other people and we don’t know who they are. We don’t know how we got added, but the first message was like, “Hey girls, we’re having a girls night out. It’s going to be at a rented house in Hermosa Beach. There’s going to be male strippers, we’re all going to be wearing masks. We have to figure out who is bringing what drinks.”

We were like, who are these girls? They were also like, “Topless is accepted.” It was fucking weird. We were like should we just show up to this party like, “Wussup.” This just happened a couple days ago. It was super random. We have no clue if they’re old, young, or what. That would be my chance to go to one.

Is it true that you have to have a gnarly fetish to be on the Welcome team?
It’s not true, but I think everybody has a fetish, regardless. Everybody has something that they’re into.

When is it acceptable to shame a fetish, where’s the line?
People should never be ashamed of their own fetish, but there is some stuff people should question. At some point, you have to know that whatever it is [you’re into] is weird, and you have to at least accept it and know that it’s weird.

Are furries acceptable fetishes?
Like wearing an animal costume? That’s fine. That’s mellow. I don’t think it’s that weird, because I’ve kind of done it. Not as gnarly as it sounds.

Were you dressed in a mascot costume with your junk hanging out?
We were in animal onesies with animal hoods. I was a lion and she was a giraffe. It was pretty funny.

Could you pinpoint someone’s kinks based on what team they skate for?
Maybe, I could see that. Certain teams have certain personalities to them. Like, someone on enjoi is definitely getting kinky with food, and someone on Foundation is totally getting choked out.

Interview: Larry Lanza
Photos: Richie Valdez and Welcome Skateboards.
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