I've been a fan of Jordan Taylor and his friend Willy Jones' @shortsoverpants Instagram account for quite some time. It was a great day when some fellow TWS staffers brought the account up one afternoon in the office because it immediately loopholed me into a whirlwind of laughter. I still laugh at the same ones I've watched over and over and over... And I don't know if you guys have seen it or not, but his recent NB# commercial encouraged me to reach out to Jordan and have a little chat about these skits and to basically butter him up a little, because let's be honest... the dudes a natural! And with no acting skills or "real" experience, it's seriously impressive. Anyways... watch some of his skits before diving into the interview. That should be the reason you're here after all. -Brian Blakely
Sort of a three part question, but besides you, who is the creative mind behind @shortsoverpants, why did you create it and what was the first skit you guys ever made?
My friend Willy Jones wears the shorts in the relationship [laughs]. I think we started making skits just from living together and nerding out on movies. The first one we did was a wizard who grants wishes but not how you intended. That just happened from having a smoke bomb lying around, like what else are you going to do with a smoke bomb? We ended making the first back to back that day. It was just fun to get weird and I remember thinking we should have been doing it a lot earlier.
What's your favorite SOP skit that you guys have made? And what character is your favorite to play?
My favorite one we've made is probably these stuck up guys who drink wine. The characters are jacked but those types of people actually exist so it makes it fun. Or these two janky Italian guys who enjoy lunch time. Who doesn't love a good lunch?
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Who comes up with the concepts and what encourages you to bring them to life?
We both go back and forth on random ideas from everyday life to the most tweaked thing that pops in our heads. Its just fun to think of something and make it real. Pretending to be something or someone else is fun, like when you're a kid you pretend to be all types of things. It's fun to use your imagination basically.
Are they all pretty much made for Instagram or do you guys make long form versions of them? I know you have a YouTube with a handful of longer versions, but is it better/easier to keep them under 60 seconds?
The first one we made was about five minutes. It's called "bad doggy" I think it's on YouTube somewhere. It's fucked. But I think we just started making Instagram ones cause that was easiest. You can film it on your phone and post it that day. We've talked about making a YouTube series though. I think that's the next step. I also talk to Russell Houghten all the time about making a short, it's just coming up with ideas that are original or doing them in an original way.
There's definitely history when it comes to skits in skate videos dating all the way back to The Bones Brigade. What are some that have stuck out to you over the years?
I'm having hard time with this one, I'm not really sure. Maybe just like Bam doing weird shit in videos. I do remember one in Chomp On This that was so good. I don't even know who was in it or what it was for. The guy is just skating down the street and a car pulls in front of him and he melons over it while someone yells, "Oh shit!" It's super simple but I'll never forget it.
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Seems like creating skits as apposed to filming a couple tricks in a montage at a skatepark is a formula that works for some brands in skateboarding these days, but not all. That said, I know WKND is super successful with them. Do you think it's important to keep skateboarding funny and interesting and basically not so serious by doing stuff like this?
I definitely think it's important to keep skating fun. It's so stuffy sometimes. Everyone is scared to step outside what's safe, myself included. But you have to be true to yourself at the end of the day. Having said that, I do take my skating very serious [laughs]. Like I give my video parts everything I have. I think it's just finding that nice balance. Just be yourself and do what makes you happy.
Sort of on the same subject, one of my favorites is that new one you did hyping up your 255 colorway for NB#. Who came up with the concept behind the mafia/blue shoes skit? You play pretty much every character in that, right?
My partner in crime Willy Jones actually helped me with that idea and then I pitched it to Russell Houghten and he was super down. He came up with the idea of me playing every character. It made it trickier for sure not having someone to act off but I actually had my brother stand in a couple times so that was rad! There are still a couple more skits coming out for the colorway that I'm excited about. I'm just super hyped New Balance is down for all the ideas and let me be me. They're fully supportive, it's awesome. Just one of the many reasons why they're the shit. I hope you guys like them!
Have you ever taken any film or acting classes? If not, you're a natural.
[Laughs] Thank you. I've never taken any classes just kind of act on instinct. It's hard for sure like if you actually have lines it gets a lot trickier.
How fast do you knock each video out? An hour? A day? A week? And do you guys try to keep them on any type of consistent basis or are you just doing them with your free time?
They usually take a couple hours but sometimes a couple days, just depends how much we've lost our minds that day. We had it going consistently for a while but we've been blowing it lately. We'll be back soon [laughs].
Have you ever thought about taking acting/directing to the next level? Like, have you ever tried to audition for a role or anything?
I've never auditioned but definitely been thinking about it more. It's just kind of that first step; I'm not quite sure how to take it. Do you need an agent? [Laughs] Who's got a good one?!
If you could have any three actors co-star in a short film with with you, who would they be and why?
Hmmm. Tom Hardy because he's probably my favorite actor. Nick Cage. Watch "Nick Cage loses his shit on YouTube" and you'll see why and Chris Farley cause he's Chris Farley. RIP.
What's your dream skit scenario?
Just making something out of nothing and having a laugh. A set of some kind is always nice.
Anything else you want to add?
One time I clogged a toilet at a house party and it overflowed. I panicked and left without telling anyone. I later heard it destroyed the plumbing to the entire house. Shit happens.
*Before you do anything else, go follow @shortsoverpants on Instagram
Check Jordan's interview from our July/August issue.
