Episode 252: Ed Templeton - Work Works

Skateboarder, photographer, artist, Toy Machine company owner - Ed Templeton is one of skateboarding’s most influential and beloved influences. 

And as a 14-year-old who obsessively wore out their copy of 1281 back in the day, he was a real and important influence on me personally when it came to working out how to express myself as a creative person. 

What, you could be into this stuff - and also art, culture, and literature? And skateboarding and snowboarding could be the catalystt for this exploration? This was revelatory to me.  

All of which is why I’ve been hoping to interview Ed since I began Looking Sideways back in 2017. In October 2025, we finally made it happen.

Whenever you interview somebody of such notoriety, who at this point has been interviewed countless times, the challenge is always the same: how can I make this person comfortable, and get them to open up?

As is often the case on Looking Sideways, a shared interest in art and creativity was the foundation of a conversation rich in insight and honesty.

Yes, we spoke about skateboarding, Toy Machine, Welcome to Hell, art and photography, as you might expect.

But we did so through an unexpectedly wistful and nostalgic lens as Ed, now in his 50s; and with the wit, candour and humility that have always been his hallmarks; grapples with the topics that come for us all in the end: aging, impermanence, the value of possessions, the influence of our forebears, and the legacy we want to leave behind.

Special thanks to Don Brown and Thomas Campbell for their help with this one.

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