Scotty Arnold Interview

New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mountain raised some crazy kids. G.G. Allin, Adam Sandler and Franklin Pierce all grew up under his watchful eye. But, these were the Old Man’s unloved children. He cursed them with lackluster destinies. In 1992 the Old Man adopted 10-year-old Scotty Arnold from the beaches of Southern California. For young Scotty, the Great Stone Face chose the destiny of professional snowboarder, a destiny tied to the mountains. Scotty cherished his fate with style and enthusiasm, filming parts for Standard, Mack Dawg and Robot Food. Salomon Snowboards, Agency Bindings and Grenade gloves even rewarded him with pro-model gear along the way. Now, Scotty just sings, er, raps the Old Man’s praises, or something like that.

(D.S.) What are you doing in SoCal?
(S.A.) My parents live in Newport Beach so I’m just visiting them this summer. I live in Park City in the winter time. Then I come down here in the summer and chill.

How’s Utah?
It’s got the best snow in the world and some of the weirdest rules in the world as far as drinking and laws and stuff goes. The powder is awesome, the mountains are dope, the skateparks are dope. It’s a good spot to be. There’s lots of riders, lots of photographers, lots of reps, everyone’s there. A lot of snowboarding stuff going on in the City.

Did your HCSC session go well?
It was the third one. This year we had Andreas Wiig and Hana Beaman up there. We had a rap battle again, some more give-aways, dodgeball. Basically, it was more fun than last year. It keeps getting better each year. We just shredded with the kids on whatever they had up there. We had some fun contests.

Who won the rap battle?
His name is Gus. I can’t remember his last name. He’s a little kid, good shredder, funny rapper for sure.

It must’ve been pretty fun to see Andreas Wiig rap…
Him and Ami Voutilainen had an international battle. Andreas rapped in Norwegian and then Ami rapped in Finnish. It was pretty funny. No one knew what they were saying and they didn’t know what each other was saying.

Who won?
I have no clue. Talk to the translator. (laughs)

What would you rather ride: Rails or Powder?
After last season, it was mostly rails because there wasn’t that much pow, so coming into this season I’d say I would like to ride pow. I like to mix it up. If I could only ride one it would probably be the backcountry, because there’s so much to do out there.

If you like powder so much, why haven’t you gone to Whistler?
I’ve been to Vancouver. Vancouver is a dope city, I just haven’t made it up to Whistler yet. No reason in particular, it just hasn’t worked out yet. I was going to head up there this spring but they had like two weeks of rain. So, I went to Superpark and did that stuff instead.

We’ve had your S.C.O. Dubbs mix tape lying around the office for awhile, so I’ve got to ask some questions about that...
I’ve got to get you guys some new material. That’s the old stuff.

Have you had trouble with golddiggas?
A couple here and there, man. Girls are scandalous. Especially down here, it seems like all the girls are more into what car you drive and what clothes you’re wearing and stuff. Definitely, some golddiggers all around these parts.

Does S.C.O.T.T. stand for anything other than your name?
No, it’s just my name. That’s actually a sample from an old KRS1 song. He had a friend, Scott LaRock that actually died. I just used that sample in the beat.

Obviously I don’t know my rap history. So, the song Newport is about the beach?
That’s about the beach, ya. Just the change of life when I come down to Cali. It’s a little different than mountain towns. I get back into going to the beach and partying with girls and stuff. It’s a little more fun.

You grew up in Newport Beach?
I was born here, lived in Newport until I was 10. Then I moved to New Hampshire and lived there from 10 to 18. That’s where I got into snowboarding. Then my family moved out here when I graduated high school and I moved to Mammoth. Now, I’m back in Cali.

What are the thangs you rap about in Pull them thangs out?
I don’t know if it’s appropriate for the Web. But, it’s a nice little girl’s frontal units.

How big is your biggest diamond?
Nothing to big, just a small one. I’m not that iced out yet.

So you won’t be getting a studded grill anytime soon?
I’m not too into the grill. I might get a pinky ring, a nicer watch. I don’ think I want the grill, it might be a little much for me.

Do you ever flow to Marc Frank’s beats?
Maybe not to one of his beats, but I’ve definitely freestyled in the car with him. He’s got some skills, he’s a funny guy. I hung out at his house when he’s deejaying and stuff. We were rappin’; It was pretty fun.

What does Marc Frank rap about?
Basically you know, chicks, money, hustlin’, the usual, the norm.

Speaking of rapping with pro snowboarders, when’s the last time you rapped with the Fizz (Shawn Farmer)?
I rapped with Farmer at the Grenade office back when it was in Mammoth. It was three or four years ago. That’s the last time, that’s the last time I’ve seen that guy. Farmer hit me up fool! What are you up to?

What are your top 5 rappers of all time?
Lil’ Wayne
Eminem
Paul Wall
Notorious B.I.G.
And I guess I’ll say Jay-Z, because he’s accomplished a lot.

How’s the real estate market?
The real estate game. It’s going right now. I got some stuff goin’ in Park City. I’ve got a couple things here. I want to try to get something in Newport, but I’ve got to wait for a house to sell before I can buy one. That’s the best way to make money. Kids, invest your money in houses, not the stock market.

Are the Red Sox doing pretty good this year?
I’m not exactly a huge baseball fan. It’s more like Boston is my city because I grew up in New Hampshire. I’d always go down to Boston and skate and all that. That’s why I’ve got all the Boston hats just to represent where I came from, East Coast, you know.

You filmed with Standard this past season?
Yep, Standard’s Catch the Vapors coming out in September. It was good. I rode mostly with Mitch Reed. I got ride with Jusso Laivisto. It was awesome working with those guys. I worked with them back in Notice to Appear, which was a couple years ago. It’s good to be back.

Anything different?
Standard same style, good powder, good park. There’s going to be a lot more rails, more variety of footage compared to their older movies.

Just to conclude this thing, if you and I were in a freestyle battle, what is the last thing you would say to me?
I don’t know exactly what I’d say. I’d probably say something about your bowl cut and how that ain’t too hip hop. I’d probably just talk about your steez and how crusty those shoes are. You need to step up the shoe game a little bit. Maybe get some dark denim jeans…All right interview’s over!

Thanks Scotty.