Sandy Standard Profile

Name:

Minty

My birth certificate says Scott M. Minton. The “M” is the initial of a legendary Philadelphia Flyers hockey player who scored the only goal to nab the Flyers the Stanley Cup of that year, 1974.

Place of birth:

I was born at the beautiful Jersey Shore, in the land of Springsteen and liberty. They never called it a coast, although it certainly counts as one. I grew up in the shadow of Philadelphia, in the crown jewel of the Garden State. Don’t believe the rumors.

How long on in Sandy:

I’ve been in Oregon for 12 years, living in Sandy for four. I drove through it forever, up and down the mountain on my way to work with Mt Hood Ski Patrol and Skibowl. I never thought of living here until I had a child; then it finally made sense to settle here. Now it’s hard to imagine living anywhere else.

Profession:

If you were not brought here as a child, what brought you to the area: 

I own and run A RECORD SHOP on Pioneer Blvd. It’s a labor of love and an obsession I can’t kick. Sell me your punk, metal, and hip-hop albums every Wed & Thurs.

Other professions:

Nobody pays me to run the shop, so I make a living as a professional designer. I design and create graphics, retail interiors, skateparks, & signage. I’ve worked in the trenches in the field and in fabrication shops. Back in Philly in the 90s, I helped develop Urban Outfitters’ store fixture program before moving to California to work with Studio Concepts, Nest Displayit, and The Berrics to create hundreds of retail activations. I was once the creative director for a multi-million-dollar design/build outfit. I eventually figured out that money isn’t the point, so I struck out on my own and built my own small agency, scottmintondesign.com. I work as the sole proprietor with amazing clients and companies. I helped design and build the North American Bigfoot Center. I’ve done hundreds of projects for Globe, FXD, Skibowl, Lake Simtustus, Kah Nee Tah, and many more. 

Movie/and or Musical:

Down By Law (Jarmusch, 1986), Raising Arizona (Coen, 1987), Dinosaurus! (1960, Yeaworth)

Actress and Actor:

Winona Ryder, Jessica Williams, Molly Ringwold, Nick Cage, Robert Shaw, Woody Harrelson.

TV show:       

Northern Exposure, Shrinking, The Simpsons (first 10 seasons), Cheers, M.A.S.H., Sanford & Son

Book:  

Mink River, Brian Doyle; Fire on the Mountain, Edward Abbey; Five Skies, Ron Carlson;

Grendel, John Gardener; Zeitoun, Dave Eggers.

Type of music: 

50s Jazz, 60s Soul, 70s Psych, 80s Pop, 90s Emo, 2000s Hip Hop, most metal & punk.

Food:

Cheesesteak, Pizza, Sushi, Hoagies. Dorine’s home cooking.

Hobbies: 

Skateboarding. Collecting vinyl, books, movies, and art. Bigfoot expeditions.

If offered a dream vacation, where would you go, and why: 

Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks (North Carolina) with a ’91 Jeep Cherokee, a cooler full of beer and my partner Dorine in the passenger seat. You can’t get any more relaxed based on location & available recreation opportunities. Or a brisk blower night with bottomless refills on Upper Bowl at Skibowl.

Best lesson learned as a child:

“Do, or do not. There is no try.” 

Defining moment in your life or your greatest accomplishment: 

1. My daughter Fiona. 2. Working as a special-projects coordinator for The Berrics. 

3. Earning a National Merit Star for National Ski Patrol. 4. My next challenge.

A memorable dinner: 

That time I flew home to NJ to surprise Mom at her 50^th birthday dinner. BBQing at Donno’s ramp in Orange County with Ray Barbee, Lance Mountain, Jeff Grosso, Ben Schroeder, Big Jer and the gang from San Pedro. Opening day campout party at the Mammoth, CA skatepark with the Creature Team, JFA and Dave Duncan. Any night at Brady’s, Thai Home, Sandy Underground, Noodle House or Skyway. 

A funny moment from your life that you can share:

Once upon a time in another life (before cell service existed) I took my best friend Clyde hiking down in Devil’s Canyon (San Gabriels, CA) to find a mythical waterfall, but really to ask him if he would be my best man for my wedding. We had a sufficient amount of fun, then dawdling, then relaxing, resulting in a late start back up to the trailhead. 

We ran into a bear in the box canyon trail out, so we headed back down to wait it out. After realizing the bear was bedding down on the trail with no way around, I had the bright idea to try some dodgy online description of a rumored side canyon as an alternative way out. After climbing and sliding for an hour on a near vertical incline, as the sun rapidly dropped below the horizon, we opted to head down to the bottom to camp out until morning to try to get out safely. Surely the bear would be gone by then! 

On the way down my buddy slipped and fell into a creek, completely soaking everything he had on! We made a fire under a rock outcropping and proceeded to dry his clothes on a makeshift spit and play word games to pass the time. I believe one sock may have been lost to the embers. As we went through the various stages of reconciling our situation, I realized that my fiancé was going to be extremely worried; and based on the fact that I had borrowed her car, possibly quite angry with me. Despite my growing worry, we eventually chilled out and fell asleep. 

I was woken by the sound of what sounded like a tank rumbling through the mountain canyon. It turned out to be an LA County Search & Rescue helicopter with spotlights sweeping through the canyon. This was a time before everyone sued everyone, so we were able to experience a live rope rescue. A S&R officer rappelled down from the helo, grabbed us each in turn and pulled us up into the hovering copter. To top it off, they were low on gas, so they dropped us off on a helicopter pad at a hospital in the middle of nowhere. Turns out my fiancée had called one of my hiking partners who said not to worry, who promptly called the Sheriff's office, who located our car and sent the S&R team in after us. 

I guess it was a slow day, and rescuing people who weren’t technically stuck or in distress seemed like a fun shift for them. I can’t say the circumstances were ideal, but it was a hell of a ride and a great story. They never would have let us rappel without safety equipment and training in this day and age. Needless to say, Clyde maintains to this day that he will never hike with me again. Note: This was not the last time I would spend the night on a mountain, without supplies or a plan. That’s another tale…

If you could invite anyone (past or present) to dinner, who would it be, and why: 

The late Brian Doyle, to discuss the beauty, wisdom, and wonder of the written word.

Describe yourself in one word: 

Determined

When you're not reading The Sandy Standard, what book/author/magazine/other do you read: 

Thrasher Magazine, the “bible” of skate culture

If your life were made into a play or movie, what would the title be: 

“This guy…” (spoken in a stereotypical sarcastic Philly accent)

Pet peeve: 

Do I have to pick just one?

Bad habit you’d like to break:

All of them.

Famous person(s) you have met, and the circumstances: 

Lemmy, Eric Kosten, Mike Vallely, Dizz Hicks, Tony Hawk, Rod Dyrdek, Kirby Hocutt, The Beastie Boys, Kathryn Keener, All the Finding Bigfoot people (What’s up Cliff and Bobo!), Dr Jeff Meldrum, Thom Powell, Tyler Bounds, Chuuch!, DGS, The Hood Report Podcast, Eli Watson and more. Also, all my friends are famous to me.

Favorite quote:

“No guys, no glory”

Favorite part of The Sandy Standard:

This column!... and anything Brit Allen writes.