Lance Dalgart sat down with Jason Acuna in the fall of 2006 for a talk on skating, Jackass and killing life.



In the fall of 2001 MTV premiered the first episode of Jackass. An instant hit to a generation of zit-faced teens everywhere and a thorn in the side to politicians, pastors and preachers whom now had copycat ‘Jackasses’ on their hands. The controversy even made Larry King Live, which only fueled more fire to debate and higher ratings for MTV. Out of the rubbish an unlikely group of characters catapulted to fame and fortune, One being Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuna. I recently had a chance to talk to the little man with a big mouth about skateboarding, breaking bones and the release of Jackass ‘The Movie’ 2.



First of all how did you get the nickname Wee Man?



I got the nickname from Sal Rocco.



Who was Sal?



He was Steve Rocco’s brother. He used to work in the shipping area at World Industries when it first started. When I worked at ET skate shop I would go pick up boards and Sal would be like ‘Wee Man’s here.’ Big Brother magazine had an office there and they would see me come in and they would here Sal and it just stuck. Big Brother was the first magazine to print it.



So big things are happening for you right now?



Yep, big things for this little dude. I have two movies coming out soon. Jackass number 2 is coming out September 22nd and TV The movie, well ‘National Lampoons TV The Movie’ is coming out in November.



So ‘TV The Movie’ is going straight to video?



F’ no, straight to about 50 movie theatres. One in every state. Ha.



That’s Preston’s deal



Yeah, Preston Lacey did that movie, he got me, and Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Dimitry are all involved. About half the Jackass cast members. Preston defiantly had the Wildboyz cast members in his movie.



So what’s up with Wildboyz?



Wildboyz is done. When we were ending Wildboyz that’s when Knoxville said he wanted to get the band back together and we all got excited.



Knoxville pretty much initiated it?



Yeah, him and Jeff Tremaine (director). He told the Wildbozy guys first and we were amped on the idea.



You hurt yourself a while back?



Oh man, we just found out that we were going to film the movie and on the last day for me to get hurt with the contract and all I broke my right femur in a spiral break and I had to get a titanium rod put into it. When Tremaine came he told me ‘Ok, dude. You’ll be fine, but just ease into the movie.’ I said ‘F’that’ and I went full force and got some gnarly footage. I think I’m going to make all my fans happy.



So you broke your femur skating though right?



Yeah, I broke it skating. What happened was I was doing an interview at this Mexican spot and had a few beers, then my friend HMC called and wanted to know if I wanted to go skate this ramp. I was like ‘F it I had a couple of beers, I’ll go skate.’ Third run on the ramp. Just warming up I messed up on an axle stall and dove back into the ramp and slammed my knee and broke my femur.



What do you like about skateboarding?



I like that I can take a lot of aggression out and that it’s against the system. Normal people hate it because they think we are destroying everything.



It seems to be more accepted now though?



Yeah, it’s getting more accepted, but mainly for the soccer mom skate park. Where one day a week a soccer mom will pick up the kids in the neighborhood and drop them off. It’s still not accepted though when you find a secret spot and want to skate it people are going to get pissed. In the soccer form of recreational skateboarding it’s totally accepted in raw streetdog form it’s not.



Where have you been shredding?



Right now it’s been a lot of skate parks. One of my favorites is the Long Beach Park. It’s huge has bowls and banks. Everything is big there. I’m also starting to like ES High again.



What skateboarders influenced you growing up?



There are three skaters that influenced me growing up and these are in no particular order. Eric Dressen, Natas Kaupus and Jason Jesse. I’ll explain why. Eric D has a really good street style. He has really good frontside grinds and smiths. He also does everything so fast. Natas has such a smooth style and had the big ollie. I would pop in a video and saw him it would really inspire me. Jason Jessee brought the coreness of vert skating to people. The way his frontside ollies are, he just boosts them out of the ramp, but he also brings crazy antics into the mix. You never know what you’re going to get when the camera comes out and Jason Jessee is around.



How important do you think it is to interact with fans?



I think it’s one of the most important things. You can either make or break a fan. It’s just a cool bro thing to do. They’ll tell all there friends. I think it’s really important. It is just good karma.



What are your plans after these movies that are coming out?



Nothing really planned, going to London for the Jackass premiere there. Doing a lot of radio and press supporting it. That’s pretty much it. Other than that I’m usually at home going skating, gym and hanging out with my babe.



You realize you have a lucky life?



Yeah, I realize that. I’m very grateful for the life I have. When I was younger I had no idea what I would be doing.



Did Jackass pretty much change your life?



It started slowly when I got into Big Brother magazine and we started doing the videos. People noticed me more, but once Jackass hit the air, that’s when I really noticed it. More mainstream people began noticing, not just skateboarders. Now I can’t really go anywhere without someone noticing me.



Well I’ve seen your disguise and it didn’t seem to work.



Well I wanted to pick you up at the airport and wanted to be there when you got off so I put on some sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt.



Well you stood out even more.



I figured it out. If I want to fool people, I would have to put on some stilts, trench coat and sunglasses.



What’s your secret to living life?



Well, my secret to life is to try and stay healthy. I mean party a little bit once in a while, but don’t let the little things bring you down. Ever since I’ve been a little kid I’ve been stoked on life. When I was younger my Mom took me to a little person convention. I went for the weekend and met other little people and hung out. When I came home I told her I didn’t want to go back. All they did was bitch and complain about being small. I’m not like that. You can’t have that attitude. I’m so stoked to be able to push my skateboard around and just live life. Life is a big chance. I just roll the dice and hopefully get snake eyes.



What kind of tunes have you been rocking?



I like all kinds of tunes. From Heavy Metal to Industrial rock. When I grew up it was Black Sabbath and RHCP. My music has changed a little though. I throw in a little rap here and there.



Who’s been hooking you up?



Who’s got my back?



Yeah



Independent Trucks, Von Zipper Eyewear, Monster Energy, KMC Wheels, Toyo Tires.



So what are you thoughts on Jackass 2 now that it’s done?



Best one yet; we made it so much funnier than the last one. We defiantly raised the bar. You’ll see.