I think the reason why I never wanted to do a retrospective is because I was scared to go back and look at all this stuff through the years.

When I was growing up, all the films about teenagers were played by Tony Curtis or John Cassavetes when they were 27, 28 years old. We would see these teenage movies in the theaters and I would say, "They don't look like they're my age at all." So I wanted to make a movie that was real and I wanted to make a movie that wasn't about me.

If you're going to photograph skateboarders you can't run after them, you've got to learn how to skate. So at about 50 years old I learned how to skate, and skate fast enough to keep up with them and hold my camera.

I think the reason why I never wanted to do a retrospective is because I was scared to go back and look at all this stuff through the years.

At the end of the day, what I show is real life. I tell the truth. And the truth can be shocking.

For me there are no rules. I think I learned that from artists-from painters and sculptors. It took photography a while to catch up to them.

When I started shooting speed, amphetamine, when I was 15, almost 16, it actually calmed me down.