Its been said that if you love your job, you're never going to have to work a day in your life.  After firsthand experience in the skate industry, I've discovered that nothing could be further from the truth.  Working inside the skate industry isn't going to make you rich right away, or possibly ever, and you'll actually have to do work, but the one thing it will do is allow you to enjoy your job. If you're one of the people that's looking to get involved in the industry, then put down your laptop and get ready to take notes. Let's take a look at how CIRCA's very own Elliot Hentzman ended up in one of the most ambiguous jobs in the skateboard industry: The Team manager.

Elliot Hentzmann.

How did you end up in you position?
I was working retail at the Circle in Whistler, and wanted to get out of town, so I got a second job, deep frying tempura, to save up money. The owners of the Circle also ran Nubile and Fourstar distribution in Vancouver and they offered me a job packing boxes for the team dudes and promotional events

How long have you been a team manger?
4 or 5 years.

As a team manager, what duties do you have to carry out?
I've got to get new product on our skaters, pay dudes for being rad, and occasionally crack whips on the burnouts. I'm also a terrific chaperone/babysitter if you want me to take your daughter to a high school dance.

What's the hardest part of your job?
Giving a skater the axe for blowing it. But with all our means of communication these days it's probably a lot easier than it used to be. Breaking up with a girlfriend on email is pretty bad...but a team rider? No problem.

What would you say makes a good team manager?
A good TM will always buy a bunch of beers for the underage bros. And he'll rule with an iron fist.

What makes a bad team manager?
A bad team manager will always buy a bunch of beers for the underage dudes, who then get arrested. Then that bad TM will try to talk some sense into some agro cops and nearly get arrested as well. They only had to spend one night in prison.

What's the biggest misconception about being a team manager?
I guess the biggest misconception is that the job is all play and no work. Which is only half true...

Geoff Dermer. Brian Caissie sequence.

What's the worst situation that you have ever been in with your team?
Just the usual shit that piles get up to. ‘Doing marijuana' in hotels and getting the boot. We can usually get out of that one. Under age drinking in public isn't bad unless you're in the States; cops are dicks down there, they all have something to prove. I guess we've been pretty lucky. The dudes I roll with are cool as shit too, so that helps.

How do you determine if someone should get hooked up?
It's no secret that there are a million kids who are amazing skaters but that doesn't mean shit in today's world. Skateboarding today is like football (or any other mainstream ‘sport') 30 years ago. There are still kids who understand where it came from, but for the most part it's so saturated. I guess what I'm saying is if you can't hang and be human with out being a idiot, you're screwed.

Who are a couple of your athletes?
Really? Damn, I can't remember...a bunch of burnouts really. Haha... [Geoff] Dermer, Magnus [Hanson], Scooter [Decenzo], [Kyle] Desaulniers, Sheldon [Meleshinski], [Sean] MacAlister, Sean Lowe, Mortal, TJ [Rogers], Nathan Roline, Crolly, Serduletz, etc. If I left you out, send me some photos goddamnit! Just kidding. But seriously.

How many people have you fired?
Not many. Get back to me on that one.

What do you hate about your job?
Well at our old warehouse we had toilet stalls next to each other and you could battle-shit co-workers. I kind of miss that, actually.

Any words for someone who wants to be a team manager or get a job in the industry?
Work hard and stay in school. A penny saved is a penny earned. Takes one to know one. PEACE ON EARTH!

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Related:
On The Horn With Magnus Hanson
On The Horn With Kyle Desaulniers
On The Horn With Sean Macalister