Two years ago, an Atlanta skateboarder known only as Ferg sent us a full part of him skating in Timberland boots (you know, the tan boots that real New Yorkers live and breathe for).

Those answers and more, below.

So is ‘Ferg’ your real name or a nickname?
My last name is Ferguson so everyone used to call me Ferg.

Got it. Did anyone ever call you Fergalicious?
[laughs] My old football coaches used to do that shit cause they knew that I ain’t like it. So if I ever dropped a pass in a game or got a penalty or some shit then they would have the announcer say “Fergalicious” instead of my name.

It was horrible. But people don’t be calling me that. I be checking people if they call me that. I don’t really fuck with it.

I know you have a Batman logo tatted on your chest. When did you get that?
I think that was maybe my fourth tattoo, it was a while ago, but I’ve always been into Batman. I originally wanted to get it on my whole chest but I got a little nervous. I wasn’t tryna really go through all that, so I just got it on the left side. Honestly, that would have been kinda corny. I wouldn’t wanna be walking around with a fatass Batman logo like that.

photo: jourdynn sherman

So when did you first try skating in Timberland boots?
Almost four years ago. I never really liked skating in skate shoes in general. I tried it out for a while but they were always too flat at the bottom and too thin. I would be paying $90 or $100 for some shoes and they’d rip the first day. I never saw the point in that, so I was skating in Jordan’s and shit. My first pair of skate shoes was a pair of Allen Iverson’s, so I kept skating basketball shoes for the longest.

But I remember one of my homies hit me up to film and all I had was my Timbs, so I was just like, fuck it, I’mma just skate in these. When I got the clip I thought it looked so damn fire that I was like, I’mma just keep doing this and might well try to be the first person to actually get a box from them.

Did you have to figure anything out to skate in Timbs?
The weirdest thing at first was the heel, ’cause it’s raised as hell, but I got used to ’em in 30 minutes. I honestly like how they feel more than every other shoe I’ve tried, that’s really why I kept sticking with them.

They lasted like three or four months, so I don’t see the purpose of going to any other shoe. Eventually, Timberland reached out, so I was just like, why stop?

So Timberland started sending you boots?
At first, it was a dude that was just fucking with my shit on Instagram. He works for Timberland but he wasn’t in a position where he could sponsor me or something like that. So he started hooking me up with Timbs and then I had the actual distribution that runs Timberlands email me and said they liked the way I’m using the boots and they wanna send me some made from a Helcor leather to see how long it lasts.

He told me they only made two pairs in the world. They made the factory model and they made my model. I’m honestly mad I skated them shits because I really didn’t want to. I was the only person in the world with ’em, but they gave ’em to me because they wanted me to skate ’em.

“I honestly like how [Timbs] feel more than every other shoe I’ve tried, that’s really why I kept sticking with them.”

I’m glad you’re getting hooked up a bit from Timberland. I had no idea if you were buying all these Timbs or not.
[laughs] Hell nah, man. Timbs’s expensive as hell. They like $215 for a pair brand new. I wasn’t about to keep doing that.

Are there any Timbs models that are better for skating than others?
There probably is, but honestly, I just like the classics. I got a little secret, I don’t even be telling my secret, but there’s a secret to the boot that you gotta do before you skate it. If I ever get on video with y’all I could show y’all, but I’m not ‘bout to say nothing over the phone. It’s a little secret I be doing to the Timbs that makes them a little more flexible and it feels a lot better than just putting them on brand new.

It’s not putting them in the microwave, is it?
Nah, nah, nah. Timberlands got too much metal in it to put in the microwave. You do that shit you probably gonna spark some shit up.

photo: jourdynn sherman

Do you use any insoles in the Timbs?
I recently got some Footprints to try those out because I wasn’t using any insoles this whole time. Honestly, I don’t even feel no difference. I just paid $45 for these. I went to the skate shop and they were tryna tell me like, “You might as well try these, the ‘Gamechangers,'” or whatever, and I was like, man, they close to $50 for some insoles. Y’all are crazy.

I’m probably not gonna buy another pair because the insoles in the Timberlands ain’t even that bad.

I know you ride boards with your name on them. Do you print them yourself?
Yeah, I got my own little brand. I was just making clothes, but I met a guy that runs his own distribution and he was telling me that if I wanted to make boards he could do it. We just talked numbers and shit and he started printing me out boards, and I sold out within the first day or two.

“Atlanta is known for its black people, and the black culture in skating over here is crazy.”

At this point I got two people that I hook up over here. I wanna showcase the people I be skating with because I think there’s people I skate with that are better than me, but people don’t really get to see them.

Atlanta, it’s got a skate scene, but I don’t think it’s showcased like that. The only thing people really know about Atlanta is Stratosphere skate shop and Grant Taylor. I respect all them, but I know there’s plenty more potential, and honestly, Atlanta is known for its black people, and the black culture in skating over here is crazy. Everybody over here has their own type of style, it’s not just me out here doing it in Timbs. There’s plenty of other people skating in some sort of crazy-ass shoes. It’s normal over here, it’s not anything that we make up like that.

Outside of skating, I heard you’re really good at scootering. Is that true?
Shit, hell yeah. I broke my foot when I was about 14 or 15 and I really couldn’t walk or do nothing. But I really wanted to skate with the homies and shit, so I ended up picking up a scooter I found in the neighborhood and I rode that around while they skated. Once my foot was straight I got right back to skating.

What was your best scooter trick?
I honestly don’t even be knowing the names of the tricks. I could do the tail whips and 360s and stuff. I could do some grinds on the rails and shit too.

Did skateboarders give you shit when you showed up with a scooter?
I’d never give a damn if they was talking shit. They’d be like, “Oh, you gonna push around on your lil’ scooter?” and I’d be like, “Bruh, I’m hurt. I’m not ‘bout to just sit at the crib all day, I’m tryna do something.”

I look at it now and I can’t be no grown man riding on no damn scooter. That’s just some shit when you’re a kid.

Video by: Mitch Guth, Russell Baker, Patrick Eidson, and Elijah Gates
Photos by: Jourdynn Sherman
Interview by: Nic Dobija-Nootens
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