Harbour County Scene Report: Christian Haffer of West Virginia

Rural is an odd word. The dictionary says it has two syllables but say it out loud. Rural. How many syllables was that? One? Two? Are we saying a word or just making a noise? In the skate-o-sphere, rural holds the same meaning as it does out in the normal world; requiring a countryside, but being a rural skateboarder also requires profound dedication and appreciation for your sparse, countryside skate spots, the DIYs you build, the skate shops you keep afloat and the subculture communities you and your friends represent, or more simply put, being a rural skateboarder means you have to work harder for it.

Christian Haffer photo by Mick Posey

Christian Haffer checks all those boxes. Homie literally lives where most people dream of retiring – miles out in the country on top of a mountain. Christian is the type of east coaster who doesn’t take a skate break in the winter – he just stocks up on thermal underwear. When he isn’t out skating or fixing up spots, you can catch him adventuring with his dog, road tripping with homies or breaking bread with the rest of the Apartment Skateboards team, just don’t ask him for a pepperoni roll recommendation. Curious what Christian would come up with under a bit of a spotlight, I hit him up and asked if he’d be down to film a part to accompany this interview.....and, incredibly, he came through for us.

I caught up with Christian recently to chat about filming, visits from the Mothman and what it’s like skateboarding in rural America surrounded by forests, mountains and creeks.

Christian Haffer in "Between the Sheetz" by Bryson Sapio

Age?  26

Where are you from?  Huntington, West Virginia until I was about 5 years old, then my family moved to the top of a mountain out in the country about 36 miles away. We’re like over 2000 feet above sea level.

Lost Creek Farm, West Virginia photo by Mick Posey

Sponsors?  Elk City Skate Shop, B-Slides Wax and Apartment Skateboards

Occupation?  I‘m a behavioral technician. My brother has autism, so the line of work has allowed me to help out my mom, give her a hand and still get paid, but it’s not really about the money.

Coldest weather you’ve ever skated in? 19 degrees

Is the Mothman goofy or regular?  He skates goofy, but homie is pretty ambidextrous so it can be hard to tell when he’s skatin’ switch, haha. Dude owes me a cigarette from the last time we were at the Huntington park! 

Furthest skate travel?  New York City 

Kickflip photo by Mick Posey

Which are you most likely NOT sharing the pin drop for – location of a West Virginia skate spot or location of a West Virginia swimming hole?  Haha, I’m not stingy with the pin drops, but I’m not just handing them out either, but if anyone asks, I’ll for sure share some locations, skating or swimming.

Skate influences?  The homies, and just being able to cut it up with’em and have fun. I really like fixing up spots with the crew, rub bricking, lacquering ledges and stuff. That’s what gets me hyped to skate. As for individual skaters, that’s kind of hard, because that always changes for me, but right now an influence for me is a collective of cats up in Philadelphia – Bilyeu, Jahmir, Panebianco. After my first trip to Philly, I came back and immediately bought four pairs of Lynx – I’m heavily influenced by that area. Also, John Drake. Dylan Rieder. Christopher Lusher for telling me not to get clips in shorts, haha. But yeah, those can change a lot.

How long did you film for this thing?  I was actually in the middle of stacking clips for a project my homie Bryson was working on when you asked if I’d be down to film a part, but once I got wind of the Theories opportunity, we decided to use those clips for this part, plus we’ve been filming the last couple months as well. Bryson’s still working on his project for 2025 too!

Step-Up to Backside Nosegrind photo by Mick Posey

How were your nerves while filming?  It was hard at times because I would be comparing myself to other skaters too much, which makes me feel really uncomfortable. I actually talked to Blair about that a bit while working on this thing. Blair’s the team manager at Apartment. He helped a lot, just reminding me that I don’t need to compare myself, and to just do my own thing. This was really the first filming project I’ve done. I had some clips in the Rhododendron video, but I filmed all those last minute. I’m excited for everyone to see the part. We definitely worked hard on it. 

Did you get to do any traveling while filming?  It wasn’t so much we traveled for this part – we had two homie trips already planned before you emailed me. One to Philly and another to New York back in November. A main motive was definitely gettin’ clips, but the trips were also about making memories and being able to remember our time in those cities. In the last 8 months, we’ve gone to Beckley, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York City. The home base right now is Huntington though, so a majority of the footage is from West Virginia.

Any plans on moving out of West Virginia?  Within the next two years I’m trying to move to New York City. Now that I’m back from that November trip, I’m trying to save as much money as I can for the next couple years.

Heelflip into bike path photo by Mick Posey

I can think of only two skaters from West Virginia that became professional skateboarders, Dave Coyne and John Drake, and I know Drake is from Ohio, but I think his Iguana days give him solid West Virginia cred if he wants it. Is that a goal for you in skateboarding – professional skateboarder?  I would love to be one, but it’s kind of a thing where I can’t really expect anything like that but just appreciate anything that comes to me. I think it kind of goes back to me feeling uncomfortable comparing myself to other skaters. I just really love skateboarding. I see John around a lot. He’s on our big group chat, communicating on where we’re going skating and stuff. He comes out with us some, skates and shoots photos sometimes. It’s super rad. But yeah, he lives across the river actually, in Ohio.

When coming from a small, rural area do skate spots in cities like D.C., Philly and NYC feel more like skating on proving ground or a playground?  It’s a little of both. We don’t have an abundance of smooth plazas or marble ledges in West Virginia, come to think of it, I can’t name one plaza spot in West Virginia. But we take what we can get, so when skaters from rural areas skate some of these spots it can feel unreal. You kind of lose your mind with the possibilities and how smooth the ground is, haha. Also though, people from all over the world have skated some of those spots, and to have the fortune to try and hold your own at some of them is pretty cool. You gotta put some respect on all the skaters who put in their time at those places. 

What are some challenges when trying to make something out of skateboarding in a region like West Virginia?  I would say having enough filmers. We have spots, so spots aren’t really an issue, but it’s hard to have a good schedule with local filmers sometimes, because the few skaters that film are also spread out across the state. It’s easier to keep the energy up with a good schedule and projects. West Virginia currently has Mick Posey over in Fayetteville, Bryson Sapio from Beckley and Blair Burns up in Charleston. Those three have been holding down the filming. I got huge appreciation for those dudes.

The Crew photo by Mick Posey

Creativity and innovation provide solutions and facilitate change in rural areas. What role in West Virginia’s creative landscape do you see Apartment Skateboards having?  I think Apartment can show people that if you want to do something, and you have a good team put together, and I’m not talking about a skate team, I mean a good group of people that all have the same mindsets, then it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can do it. Plus, Apartment and Elk City have done a great job keeping West Virginia kids interested in skateboarding with pro demos like that Mark Suciu and Joey Guevara one they just had, plus other events and an entire week of stuff during Regatta every summer. When Charleston got their new park a few years ago, I was visiting to skate it, and Apartment had just dropped their new boards. Man, almost every kid there was riding an Apartment board, which was pretty cool to see.

Do you think skateboarding is more rewarding when discovered in a rural place as opposed to discovering it in an area where skateboarding has had a longer history of accessibility? I think it can be. Because that lack of accessibility, in some cases, can make you more passionate.  I think skateboarding in small, rural areas weeds out the skaters who are the devoted ones in those areas. In the bigger cities, kids can step on a skateboard, do it for a couple years, then just be kind of over it. There’s just more of it going on in the bigger cities, there’s much more of a presence, but in smaller areas, people who become super down with skateboarding tend to do it for life.

NRG Mini Nosepick photo by Mick Posey

Best pepperoni roll spot in West Virginia?  Haha, ah man I’m probably gonna get some hate for this, but I’m gonna say the best pepperoni roll is a homemade pepperoni roll. I don’t really eat’em.  Are you vegetarian? No, I mean I’ll eat some pepperoni rolls, but they’re not a sought-after delicacy for me, so I don’t jones for pepperoni rolls from any specific place. 

Fair enough, but yeah, you’re gonna get some flack for that one. The answer is Country Club Bakery in Fairmont. I’ll just answer that question for you when I transcribe it, haha. Thanks again Christian! It was great talkin’ with you. How bout we wrap it up with any shout-outs you might have?  Thanks homie, I also want to thank Theories and Josh Stewart for the opportunity. But yeah shout out to my cousin Gage, my mom, dad and family for the endless support, and a big shout out to my grandpa, Peter – when I was a kid he would drive me around everywhere, just pushing me to skate more. He’d even tell me which tricks looked better. Never even skated in his life. Also all the homies – Cincy, Beckley, Charleston, NYC and Htown, I love all y’all!! Thank you and appreciation to Bryson, Blair and Tyler for giving me their time, Apartment Skateboards and Brandon at Elk City. I wouldn’t be who I am without those people by my side.

Interview by Justin Hill @william_j_hill

Photos by Mick Posey @krogerpickup