Written by Travis Knight
Jacob Scherrer embodies everything we love about skateboarding: raw, in the streets, good times with friends, and a style that compliments the stunt while exemplifying the personality behind it. Sitting down with this Street Soldier to talk about his new part in Toebock American Folklore well-exceeded necessity. However, to understand the three-year mission of daily out-in-the-streets shredding, it’s best to first fully grasp the sheer rawness of Jake. To understand how a dude films one of our favorite parts to date without even a sign of intention to do so, we first have to head back in time; back to the beginning.
Reminiscing back to the long-ago, mongo-pushing days, Jake pauses to sip his Coors before venturing back into an early memory at Colorado’s Durango Skatepark.
“This dude was skating switch a lot, and I was like, ‘Dude, what fuck… like what direction do I go? I didn’t know about skateboarding switch or anything like that, and he was like ‘Oh well my shoe is blown out, so I gotta skate switch.’ That to me… I mean, after that, I just had a different perspective on skateboarding.” His eyes dazed off into memory behind the black-rimmed glasses that landed him his nickname, and then he sighed a bit disappointedly. “Shit used to be way fuckin’ more raw.” Ironically, the story he would share with us just moments later would greatly contradict his latter statement—Jake is one of the rawest dudes to rise since Chris Senn.
Tailslide on 1st Street | Santa Rosa, Ca (2016)
“I always just remember it as just two bros shredding. Maybe he was taking it serious—I can’t speak for both of us—but I was never really trying to be SOTY… or trying to go pro. I was just tryna skate and do what I like to do.” From listening to Jake’ story, one has to wonder if he was even trying to film a part. He just skates. Everything else seems to follow suit.
Crusin' down D Street | photo: Ben Ericson
After a full day of skating, the two old friends would go on “like really small mini-missions,” hopping in the iconic home away from home—or the home in front of Adam’s home—The Patriot. They would drive from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol, hit the town for a few frosty ones, sometimes they would camp nearby in Bodega Bay, and then do it all again the next day.
Patriot on Benton St. | photo: Crew
With Jake, it’s always “what-you-see-is-what-you-get,” and we don’t think it should be any other way.
“It was a good time, man,” Jake says with laughter in his eyes. “I don’t know.” No more is said as Jake sits there smiling, shifting his silent attention elsewhere and sinking into those past days that he enjoyed so much. Today, Jake and Adam’s good times live as a full part in one of the biggest endeavors to meet The INdustries: American Folklore.
Amidst our current days of endless Instagram parts, hour-long internet stars, and the daily plethora of one-clip wonders, in our eyes Jake shines like a cloudless, midnight desert skyline. He has held onto the soul of the craft, riding it to the fullest with every chance he gets, and continuing to remind us what skateboarding is really about. With Jake, it’s always “what-you-see-is-what-you-get,” and we don’t think it should be any other way.
About Travis Knight - Travis is an American author who has spent most of his life immersed in reading and writing stories. As a teenager, he started writing poetry and skateboard blogs while traveling across the US. Later in his adulthood, he began publishing stories through toebock.com and through his own literary collection, knight-writes.com. He has published one book, a collection of poetry titled, "PorchSide Poems."
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