‘Skateboarding seems to have a fair amount of money but never enough to properly go around.’
Dharam Khalsa
September 2025
Is it true that a life changing injury led you to photography?
All my injuries caught up to me and I had a herniated disc in my back. It would just get worse the more I tried to do anything, messed my hip up and had nerve stuff. I had to walk with a cane for a week. It was rough. I was gifted a camera by my mama and sister the same week I had to use the cane, it was serendipitous. I thank them for seeing what I couldn’t.
As of Feb25 you have been shooting exactly for 10 years. Are you happy about your journey as a skate photographer?
Yes, I really only ever did it to get back out with my friends when I couldn’t skate. Anything else has been extra. So many epic times and memories. Now it’s the whole process and that’s nice being able to slow down and appreciate more, see more, not being mostly only focused on the accomplishment like when I was skating, giving it everything I had. There’s been ups and downs like any part of life but I have all these photos to look back at my life with. And that means a lot to me. Probably won’t be shooting skate photos too much longer, at least not at the clip I have been.
A career in skate photography feels like a pipe dream. Feels like there’s less than 15 photographers to ever had made a career out of it. Skateboarding seems to have a fair amount of money but never enough to properly go around. Who am I to argue with that. I give so much focus to it the rest of my photography suffers. I still have a wish of making a photography career for myself. If I can gather the focus to really give it a proper try. I’d like to say I did I think when it’s all said and done.
‘A career in skate photography feels like a pipe dream.’
Proudest moment as a photographer?
Let’s see, picking favorites not my strong suit but I’ll give it a go. Emerica ad with Figs, cover of Skatejawn with Reese, photos of my homies printed in Thrasher. In no particular order.
Most embarrassing or funny?
Having my name come out of the mouth of a very respected editor in chief at a big skate magazine because he was too busy and couldn’t jump in the other van, only for me to essentially fumble it more or less. I got sunburnt the first day because I forgot my hat and was literally fried the next day, and I was working and going to school 6 days a week and my car couldn’t make it to the city they were skating in so I rented a car and drove there each day to drive back to work and go to school. (Laughing). I didn’t have the right gear, or the right awareness. At least not a 100 percent anyway. And sometimes that last two percent is really important. Trying to do way too much in my life in general and my mental health was in a bad space that I wasn’t even aware of until years later. Sorry guys, I tried my best. I appreciate yall and the chance, yall were nice about it but I wasn’t ready even if my photography was sometimes fooling people. I just wanted to get out with my homies still when I could skate and it turned into a whole other thing I never intended. Happy it did tho, so many good memories attached to those photos.
Which skate photographer inspires you?
I don’t really look at photography like that, it’s weird. One time I ran into a dude I skated with a few times in NYC. He was an established pro who had a huge role in east coast skating when I was growing up. And we were talking about a video I had just seen, and he said he hadn’t seen it. He said he didn’t watch skate videos really, skate videos messed with his motivations and how he looked at things and I thought it was the hardest thing to comprehend at the time (laughing). But now I know what he meant and how he felt. It’s strange to say but it’s more about the singular experience of doing it all, the rest is just the cathartic process of getting to the end of something you started. Like taking the photo and having it be seen in some capacity. Don’t get me wrong tho I’ve been looking at skate photos forever and there are some legends I love like Daniel Harold Sturt and Skin Phillips.
Trenton Wilson: If you had to be a monkey, what type of Monkey would you be?
Good question. I don’t know a lot about monkeys, but I know something about apes, and I’ll bet that apes were included when you said monkeys. So having said all that I’ll go with orangutans. Super peaceful, smart, mostly relaxed, strong, graceful, somewhat solitary aside from family and friends.
‘Our eyes met and we had this moment out of a movie.’
Trenton Wilson: What’s the closet you ever been with a celebrity and why?
I had a fair amount living in NYC trying to make a skate career for myself, but this one time I was working on a job in the Hampton’s with Kate Hudson. She was late so I went to the beach. I was working as a production assistant that was just there to get a nice check and get back to my life. Definitely not a photographer at this point. When I came back, she was leading the whole working entourage around the corner of the house. I was coming around the other corner solo and we all almost ran into each other. When we both turned to see who we almost ran into our eyes met and we had this moment out of a movie (laughing). Everyone saw it, and we were both like um what, where did you come from, and who are you please? And then quickly followed by a man, and all yall saw that moment where everything slowed down for each of us for a second before it sped back up? The photographer and people on the set treated me extra special. They had me stand in on a couple set up shots as the model she was going to be shooting with. It was super embarrassing, for both of us for the rest of the shoot I think.
Who would you call the godfather of Texas skateboarding?
My godfather to Texas is skateboarding is Jake Nunn.
‘And sometimes that last two percent is really important.’
Any local skaters that are making a name for themselves?
Oh yea, I’ll let your readers take a look at the mag and make up their own minds.
Last question. If you could anyone in the world, who would it be? Kate Hudson?
Strangely people don’t interest me like that, but having a conversation with a person that likes to understand things and ideas in an exploratory way would be great. I also love a good story, so either a good storyteller or someone like Leonardo di Vinci. (Laughing).