Jaime "Rust One" Affoumado

 

 

When we were deciding on a place to meet up for this interview, Jaime suggested Washington Square Park because he had been playing jazz there often. As I rolled up to where his band was performing, I immediately recognized the song they were playing: "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock. Of course my next thought was, "who skated to this?" Oh yeah, Guy Mariano in Mouse. What are the odds?

What did you get into first, skating or graffiti?

It was about the same time, but graffiti might have been before. I was only six years old. My older brother was three years older, and he wrote K 166, then he wrote Love 67, then he wrote Void ATB. He wrote a lot on the 1 train because he was going to Kennedy. He was also in the same class as Fuzz One at PS 80. Fuzz was already doing bubble letters back then and we all looked at that. And we were tagging around the neighborhood (Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx), but we also built a skateboard around the same time with metal wheels off of a roller skate. So it was basically at the same time because we built the skateboard and we were writing graffiti. 

Peep the Zephyr tag on the deck.

How did you get into skating?

Well, we built that skateboard, then urethane wheels came out. In 1975 my brother was working at a flea market, and he saw a used skateboard that had urethane wheels, so he copped it. But the trucks were small and thin, so they broke right away. That was a drag. Then I hooked up with the Riverdale Boys, and they had pools. There was also the Upper West Side guys like Andy Kessler.  Then my family moved down to the Village, so I got to hook up with all the Village skaters. I was twelve years old then, but I was an old 12: I was streetwise, graffiti wise, and fight wise. I was a childhood actor, too, so I got to go to California to film a movie. I got to buy some Vans over there, and skate all the skateparks: Pipeline, Skater Cross, Concrete Wave. That was in the summer of '77. So when I came back I was kind of ahead of skating here in NYC.

 

How did you get into graffiti?

Just being in the Bronx - everybody tagged. Also because of my brother, and knowing Fuzz. I wasn't like this dude that was bombing every night, although I did go to yards with NE and Rasta. We had a click: The Mins. I was never a big time graffiti writer, but I hung out with the big time guys - MG Boys, RTW guys, The Rebels, Zoo York skateboard crew. So I got respect that way.  

 

 

How did you get your tag?

Rust came in '75. Before that I was writing Mine 2. That was someone else's name, but he gave it to me. But I really wanted my own name, and for some reason I came up with Rust. I don't know, I guess I really just like those letters.

How did you get down with the MG Boys?

One day I went to PS80 to play basketball and there was some guy there I didn't know already playing. He had combat boots on and spray paint on his pants, so I knew he wrote graffiti. But I didn't know who he was. So we started shooting. Then these three Puerto Rican guys showed up and jumped the dude. Instead of running away, I fought these dudes with him. I clocked one dude in the head, then I clocked another dude in the head. He was choking one dude and threw him on the ground, then the other two dudes jumped him and I hit them in the head. We ended up getting the better of them and they ran off. The dude said to me, "Yo, that was amazing. Here's my phone number. If you need anything, just call me. You got a lot of heart, man." Then he goes, "I'm Mark 198." And I was like, "Oh shit! That's you?" After that, we were boys! Mark was like, "anybody fucks with you... call me!" Because I had his back, he had mine.

What companies have you gotten skate product from?

Madrid, Kryptonics, Santa Cruz, Independent Trucks, Mike Smith, personally, sent me boards. Also, in 1985 we skated at a nightclub called Area. They had a ramp in there for six weeks and they paid me to skateboard. $500 a week for six weeks. That's three grand! 

Salba, Jaime, and Rob Roskopp

What writers did you have respect for back in the day?

Guys like Ali, Zephyr, Bill Rock, all the RTW dudes, Wane, NE. Of course all the original MG boys, those are my main dudes. But I wasn't this top-notch graffiti guy - I'd rather skateboard. But I still hung out with those dudes. They were my friends. They got into a fight, that was my fight.

Did you ever write with Andy Kessler?

Oh yeah! We did everything together. We skated everywhere, skated everything. He was better than me, then I got better than him. And he had a lot of respect for that. He was like, "dude, you surpassed me."

 

Where did the name Puppethead come from?

I was skating at the courtyard in Westbeth when I was like 13 years old with KR2, Fat Peter, Joker 1, and Me 62. I used to spin my head like a ballerina when I did 360's - I'd spot my head. Those dudes were like, "you look like a puppethead." Next day they called me like, "yo Puppethead!" I was like get the fuck outta here... And it stuck. I was meeting people I didn't even know and they'd say, "yo aren't you Puppethead?" I was like I guess, who are you? My name is Jaime. That's a nickname for certain people from this inside thing. But now it's 45 years later and it's still going. That's a long time. 

 

 

What is it about skating and graffiti that they attract the same people?

It's street culture. You got street art, and you ride in the street. That's where they meet - in the streets. Then you got style. Depending on someone's graffiti style, you can kind of tell who they are. Skateboard style is a certain thing, too. I feel like skateboard style and graffiti style have a similarity in which you could be a toy or a poser. We just carried around markers while skateboarding. You see, on skateboards you could bomb easier. You could go from 96th street down to 42nd street in like ten minutes and bomb everything on a skateboard. You could also use it as a weapon - if dudes try to jump you, you could hit them with your skateboard. It's a multipurpose tool.

Here's a story that relates to what you're talking about: I was on an audition in midtown, and Joust was a messenger. I had my skateboard with me, Joust sees me and goes, "you skate, man?" Then he sees the graffiti on my board and says, "oh shit, MG boys, you know those dudes?" I said, "yeah, I'm from the Bronx, but I moved to the Village." Next thing I know he's inviting me to come skate a spot in Brooklyn. I think him seeing the MG Boys thing made him comfortable - because those dudes were serious. So I called him up, stayed at his house one night, and we skated this little blue bowl in a courtyard on Neptune and 15th St. 

How has the acceptance from the mainstream affected the cultures?

Graffiti and skateboarding were rebellious in the '70's and '80's. Skating got accepted into the Olympics which kind of watered it down. The tricks got more difficult, which is supposed to happen; you're not supposed to keep doing the same tricks. Back in the day you could count on your hands and toes how many people in NYC skated. Now there are thousands. Why did that happen? Kessler opened it up with the parks, it got commercialized, and it just grew. Now it's in the Olympics. Great. Now it's ok? Now skateboarding is not a crime?

As for graffiti, guys like Keith Haring and Basquiat upped the ante for a price of a painting. But they were street art, not graffiti. Then Futura and Haze and dudes like that went a certain route. It was either addicts trying to get some money, or it was totally good dudes who knew how to do business. And they made millions. And good for them. They came from the streets robbing paint, to the mainstream making money. It's kind of what's supposed to happen if you're a smart businessman.

Last question: will you hit my book?

Yeah! Definitely, man. Bring it out!