Dave Ackels

Episode 23 with Dave Ackels! Dave grew up in West Chester, Ohio and has been a staple of the Dayton/Cincinnati scene since the late 80’s. A gifted visual artist, Dave was mentored at the Wright State film school under Academy Award winning documentary filmmaking team Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar. He has also had stints working for Cow Skates, Alien Workshop, DC, and Ohio Surf & Skate (where he was also a team rider). He ran his own brand and video series Absorb around 2009 for several years, and its impact loomed large in the Dayton scene. Dave continues to skate regularly, and just participated in an art show last month with fellow Ohio legend Doug K. Currently he works as a brand director for local BMX brand DK Bicycles. In this episode we discuss various topics such as formative punk music, Neil Blender, Jimmy George, music videos, the first DIY in Dayton, The Breeders, being a gay skater in the 90s, and much more. Dave has led a fascinating life and is a legit skate historian, so this conversation really covers a lot of important Ohio skate lore. Timestamps 11:55- Background info/Moving to West Chester 26:20- Getting first video camera 36:40- Making the Basic video 40:00- The Dayton scene 44:35- Film school 55:30- The perils of making films 1:03:35- After college/ Cow Skates / Alien / DC 1:17:30- Being an openly Gay skater 1:31:20- Fairborn DIY, Nate Jones, Eye Level 1:40:00- Doug K 1:49:45- Solid Brand/Fat Mike’s/Mike’s Backyard Bowl/ Jimmy George 2:06:00- Dayton Legends 2:20:55- Absorb 2:31:30- Social Media 2:35:35- Art world 2:44:00- Closing thoughts/ Working in the BMX world 2:51:00- Influential Ohioans