Sean MacAlister is a bit of an anomaly. I've been curious about this creative Calgarian for a while, and finally got to meet him on a camping trip to BC's Okanagan with C1RCA Canada this summer. I guess I wasn't really "On The Horn" with Sean per se, since he was sitting on a trampoline right next to me, but perhaps you can picture us having this chat using the ol' cup-and-string telephone up in the Penticton hills. From concise observations and opinions, to shopping for a Diana Ross CD in his spare time—when it comes to MacAlister, there's more than meets the eye.

Vitals
Age: 20
Residence: Calgary, AB.
Sponsors: Lifetime clothing, C1RCA shoes, Kitsch skateboards, and The Source skateshop.
Stance: Goofy
Switch mongo push, or regular switch push?: "Bringin' out the mongo. Whatever's natural, I just go with it."

What are you stoked on the most about the skate scene in Calgary and how is it different from Vancouver?
Do be honest, there's not a whole lot going on with the skate scene in Calgary. There's not many people filming and there's not many people taking photos, but there's a lot of people riding their skateboards and that's exactly what I wanna see—people having fun riding their skateboards. In terms of a scene with lots of infrastructure like Vancouver has...Calgary doesn't have it. Calgary has the spots, but the whole skate "scene" kinda thing has gone downhill since Rob Thorpe stopped making his videos. There's been less of an incentive for the kids to be doing their stunts.

Who are your favourite guys to skate with in Calgary?
My roommates: Drew Merriman and Steve MacIntyre. I like skating with Kevin Lowry when he's in town, but other than that I pretty much exclusively skate by myself.

There's varied opinions on Calgary's Millenium park, what's yours?
It is the most amount of concrete I've ever seen in my life in one spot. It was poorly designed and it was a waste of money, but I've been skating there for 8 years now since it opened on the millennium, so I've really been able to figure it out. It's pretty crazy, and it's not for me. I live about 2 blocks away from it but only show up there once-a-month. I'd rather skate street.

Where has your skateboard taken you in 2008?
This year, it's taken me across the ocean—to Barcelona, Portugal and Rome. It's also taken me around BC and Montreal. Portugal was a huge eye-opening experience. The government there is extremely corrupt but the people just have this ability to smile through it and be proud of where they're from. Everyone is very sociable, very pleasant, hospitable and hard working even though they're under a lot of hard times. Portugal has an amazing culture, and it's beautiful there.

Switch frontside shove-it. Brian Caissie sequence.

Are you an iPod roller, or do you appreciate the raw skate sounds?
I appreciate the raw skateboard sounds, really. I do not own an iPod and I don't really believe that music comes from a little thing in your pocket. The only way I recognize music is just from a stereo in my room. Skateboarding and music are totally separate things for me and I like to keep it that way.

What tunes are you listening to these days?
I'm kind of all over the map these days. I've been really appreciating artists that don't take themselves seriously. I'm a writer myself, and I've been feeling like songwriting is a total let down. I really appreciate people making cheesy songs; not like Weird Al songs, but people that are just tacky. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of weird Fleetwood Mac songs. I'm liking the ear candy—the other day I found myself looking for a Diana Ross CD. I like some big bands, like Radiohead, and classics like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt...I like good music of any genre.

What have been your educational pursuits as of late?
So far, I've done a year at the Alberta College of Art and Design and I'm majoring in Drawing. I've actually just been taking a year off to write books, and work on grant proposals. If things don't go well in the grant scheme of things, I'll go back to school and finish my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Then, I'm going to University to get an English degree. One of my long-term prospects is to be an English teacher.

What's the meaning behind that tattoo on your arm?
It says "Sleeping is the only love" and it means whatever you want it to mean. I have my own meaning and it's inside me. But if you see it, you'll get something out of it.

Sean's Welcome to the Team video by Kitsch.

Sean's part from Calgary's Norbeece video, 2006.

Hit the Kitsch skateboards video channel on YouTube to see Sean skating in the Europe 2008 video, and the Hungry Like The Wolf summer ‘08 tour vid.

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Related:
On The Horn with Kyle Desaulniers
On The Horn with Magnus Hanson
On The Horn with Ryan Decenzo
On The Horn with Sascha Daley

Kitsch video