Writer: Chris Ahrens | Photographer: Daniel Masson
Christian Hosoi defined the rebel skater, radical and flamboyant on and off his board. For years he had been at the top of his world, a threat to everyone he competed against, including mega star Tony Hawk. Then came the long slide into addiction and subsequent incarceration.
    We first interviewed Hosoi in Nellis Federal Prison, in Las Vegas, Nevada, three years after his sentence for possession with intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine. As evidenced by his pleasant demeanor and his well-worn Bible, his life had changed. He was calm and joyful and somehow, comforting, ironically more free than just about anyone we knew while encouraging us in on our then-new venture.
    His recent release and reunion with his wife Jen and son, Rhythm, would bring about new challenges from a world not regulated by visible locks and fences.
    This interview should be taken with a warning to skaters: Christian Hosoi is back and more radical than ever.

Risen Magazine: Would you consider a rematch with Tony Hawk?
Christian Hosoi: That would be exciting for those that came from that generation. I’m so thankful for those times, pushing each other to be the best. I can’t wait to skate with Tony just for fun. Whatever happens after that, I’m gonna be there.

RM: How has skateboarding changed in four and a half years since you were away?
CH: The skateboarding industry is much different than it used to be, which was very underground, backyard. Now it’s so big and so corporate. There’s a demand for it and it’s gonna stay in demand because of the lifestyle and the giving back to the communities. To imagine that there’re more skate parks than ever and they’re all free is mind-blowing.

RM: Do young skateboarders listen to you?
CH: I believe that God has given me a platform because of the things I’ve accomplished in skating. I have to be sensitive on how to share with someone about who God is, not to come on too strong because the ground may not ready for that seed. At other times He’s like Plant the seed now, plant it deep and water it as you plant it. That’s the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.

RM: Last time we spoke you said that you were stoned nearly every time that you competed; what’s the difference now that you’re sober?
CH: It’s like being 100 percent better, cuz I can calculate everything. The clarity of the things that I’m doing is at such a higher level of judgment, of timing. I’m just not winging everything. Before I could perform cuz everything was so familiar, but now I can take it to the next level and I believe that’s what’s gonna happen. I think that Jesus is the key to becoming all that you can be. Spiritual strength can only come from God. If it wasn’t drugs holding me back, there would have been another crutch. I don’t think there’s anything else that can give you a foundation that doesn’t move.

RM: Is there anything glamorous about prison life?
CH: Prison is a rough place to live day to day without having God in your life. In showing prison to be glamorous, people are promoting something that is not healthy for our children.

RM: Are the challenges greater inside or outside?
CH: Being a “free world” Christian, there are day-to-day responsibilities and the distractions that can keep you too busy to spend time with God. In prison I had so much time to sit and think. I would read my Bible, stay in prayer, go to the chapel. We have a lot of responsibilities out here, but it still doesn’t mean that we can’t reserve time for God or that He can’t be a part of all those appointments.

RM: Are you ever tempted to go back into the drug world?
CH: I’ve crucified that old man. Galatians 2: 20 says: “I have been crucified with Christ, so it is no longer I who live, but Christ who is in us, and the life that I now live is for the Son of God who died and gave himself for me.” I identify with that and II Corinthians 5: 17, “Those who are in Christ are a new creation. All things are old and passed away. All things have become new.” I can say, “That guy is no longer the guy I want to be.” Those things I loved I now hate, and those things I hated I now love, as [the apostle] Paul writes in Romans.

RM: What does crystal meth feel like?
CH: The thrill of it in the beginning was that you’d get all kinds of energy off of a little line. Then it got to the point where I wanted more and more and more. And pretty soon you start smoking it and you get into this ritual of how you do it. It gave you the boost to go do the things you loved; now you just want to do that [meth] more. Your priorities get all mixed up; next thing you know, you’re like dependent upon it. I was like Okay, I want t