Crailgrab Frontside Air. Photo: Garric Ray.

Roughly 8 years ago, when Mason Merlino was just 10 years old, the Dreamland crew rolled into to his township of Roseburg Oregon and built a magical concrete wonderland. A short while later Dreamland dropped 2 more parks an easy 20-minute drive from Mason’s home. We discovered Mason during an IPath demo at the Tigard Park. The kid was absolutely destroying the Tigard park. He hit the 11-foot wall with a cache of tricks so gnarly that there wasn’t a soul in the park that didn’t take notice. Ipath’s, Ben Raybourn rolled by me and proclaimed,  “This kid is getting sponsored today”.  Ben was right, we decided right then and there that Mason should become the CCS Tigard Oregon shop newest AM.  World meet Mason Merlino.

Mason where are you right now, Burnside?
No I’m at home in Roseburg, Oregon.

You are part of this new generation of Oregonians that were raised skating perfect Dreamland skate parks, how old were you when they built the park in your hometown?The park was probably built like 8 years ago. I’ve only been skating for three years or four years.Photo: Garric Ray

What! You’ve only been skateboarding for 4 years!?
Yeah.

That is absolutely amazing. This supports the theory that if you build good skate parks kids will get really good, really fast. You are the result of a very elaborate experiment. How many hours a day did you put in at that park?
We’d get there at like 8 in the morning till late at night. There’s not much to do in this town. You either got into really gnarly drugs or you skated. I just started skating and things just kind of went from there. There are a lot of really good skaters from around here.

All the footage I’ve seen of you is park footage. So do you skate street at all?
Yeah we don’t have too many good street spots; it’s either really big stuff or really small stuff, nothing in between.

Say you were stuck on an island and you could bring three people and the contents of one big shipping container. Who would you bring and what would you bring?
I’d bring a skateboard. I’d bring my friend Chris and I don’t know. I’d maybe bring a tent, some guns, some bullets, a crossbow. Ah I don’t know.

You’re going to be on this island forever, you’re going to want to stuff that container full of tools to build a new civilization. You’d probably want to throw a couple of cement mixers in that container.
Yeah, I’d bring Red (Mark “Red” Scott) to help me build a bowl.

Ah now you are thinking. That is your second person. Who else would you bring?
Third person would be Peter Hewitt.

Hewitt? Wow you’d bring Peter Hewitt and not a girl? Wow you are committed to your craft!
Oh I didn’t know I could bring a girl.

Oops!  Too late, you’re now stuck on the island with your friend Chris, Red, and Peter Hewitt for the rest of your life. God those dudes are going to be so bummed on you.
Okay, I’d just die then.