Joy Lustig: a.k.a. Squid Hair

I’ve known Joy for a long time, watching from a distance, always thinking how sick it would be to actually skate together one day. You can see the ice background in her balance and precision. I remember watching her spin on ice in one of her videos, and my mind was blown. She’s easily one of the cleanest spin skaters out there right now. We chat about her journey from competitive ice skating to skating the streets. We also talk about her latest edit, Spin Cycle, which feels like a perfect extension of that energy.

Alright… why is your name Squid Hair?
It’s my own inside joke that I took way too far. A few years ago, one of my best friends got really into making funny personalized stickers. My favorite was a full-body picture of her holding a shrimp cocktail. I was so inspired, I knew I wanted to make my own. When I was deciding between photos, I texted her one where I was on top of a mountain, with locks of my hair in my face and a kind of grimace. I texted her, “Should I do this one, with the squid hair?” because I thought my hair looked like tentacles. And then I printed out 10 stickers to give to my friends and family. This was 2020, when I made my skating account. My first post is actually about the stickers. I thought it was so funny that I printed out 10 more, then 50, then 200. I give them out to people like business cards. 

[Laughs] That’s crazy! Did you start skating on ice before the streets? How did you start your skate journey?
I started ice skating when I was really young, and competed as an ice dancer in my teens. I was pretty competitive and even went to Nationals a few times at lower levels. I really loved it, until it became too stressful and not good for me anymore. I quit a few weeks before a major competition and didn’t skate for a few years. Then, during the pandemic, I picked up rollerblading, just going skating around Boston to get some fresh air. It sparked the same joy I used to feel ice skating. I eventually switched to park roller skating in the summer of 2021. 

It’s always interesting seeing how a skater’s past shapes the way they move now. You can usually spot pieces of where someone came from in their style. What do you think ice skating gave you that still shows up in the way you skate today?
Ice skating gave me foundational skating skills and body awareness. I don’t get dizzy when I throw spins. I think the way I skate can be almost like a routine, where I try to hit certain tricks cleanly and precisely. But I have way more freedom in the steps I take, unlike in competitive ice dance. 

I love how steezy your skating looks. I think you’re so good on the ramps as well as the streets! Definitely one of my favorites. We need more squid on the streets. What kind of spots do you naturally gravitate toward?
I tend to gravitate towards ledges and transition spots. I especially love skating, backyard bowls, and ramps. Something about being in the sun, skating fast and feeling the fresh air, the focus to stay upright on my feet, the adrenaline of trying something out of my comfort zone… I just love it. 

When you see a new spot, do you picture the trick first or just start messing around?
It really depends. Sometimes I’ll see a scary spot and know all I have is a safety trick, or there’s a perfect long ledge that maybe I can try something harder. I daydream about flowing around bowls and ramps, with all the tricks I could try. But then I get to the spot and realize it’s much harder than it looks in my head. 

[Laughs] I know that feeling. Since you love to color your hair, would you rather have hair that changes color with your mood or hair that glows when you’re hungry?
Hair that changes color with my mood! I’ve kept my bangs green for like two years now, but it would be cool if it changed color without me having to do any maintenance. 

That would be perfect! What’s a trick that looks casual now but took way longer than anyone would guess?
It actually took me a full year to consistently land full cabs. I was too afraid to land both feet on the coping, would always chicken out, or take a nasty spill. But it’s my favorite trick now. I’ll find myself in a haze, practising all sorts of full cab variations over and over again for hours until I come up with something I never would have thought of initially.

How do you balance style versus difficulty when you’re choosing what to try?
I think style comes when difficult things appear really natural. I want my skating to look and feel effortless, but that takes a lot of work and time, where it’s a struggle. Eventually, those things you struggle with become second nature, and you can execute them with lightness and ease. To me, that’s style.

When skating feels heavy, what resets you mentally?
Spending time outside in nature always resets me. Going on a hike or sitting by a creek, just staring at the water, makes me feel like my problems are small. Living in Colorado has been really good for me in that sense; it’s so easy to get fresh air and some quiet.

It’s such a beautiful place. You have these spins that look endless and so graceful. I know you mentioned this before, but how do you not get dizzy? 
Not on roller skates at least. I definitely get dizzy from ice skating, because I spin much faster for a longer time. It’s something you build a tolerance for. 

What hobbies apart from skating are you pulled towards?
I have been a bit of a serial hobbyist. I’ve spent a lot of time hiking, cycling, playing piano, doing yoga, crocheting, cooking, sewing, ice skating, country swing dancing… I think life is best with many hobbies and communities. 

Every skater hits rough patches, what’s been one of your toughest moments in skating so far?
I’ve had a lot of problems with my left ankle. I sprained it badly back in 2022, completely tearing my ATFL, but didn’t take good care of it, and ended up needing surgery nine months later. Before my surgery, I was having this sharp, weird pain in the back of my ankle, which seemed unrelated to my initial sprain. It got so bad that I had to stop all activity for three months. Then I got a ligament replacement, which put me out of skating for another four months while I was recovering. I ended up making a full recovery, but two years later, last October, I had a repeat sprain, this time a high ankle sprain. These sprains take a really long time to heal, and I wasn’t able to skate for two and a half months. And just two weeks ago, I tripped while walking and sprained it again! I know it’s so important to take care of and listen to your body, and I keep up with physical therapy. But it’s been tough for sure. I miss skating, but I know it’s always there for me as long as I treat my body right.

You’re so right. I think every skater kind of realizes this late, and it’s good if you start doing those little things to take care of yourself early on so you can skate for longer. Have you ever felt stuck? How did you break through it?
Totally, who doesn’t? I still get really scared skating some taller ramps. But my meaning of tall keeps changing. When I first learned how to skate, a three-foot drop-in felt enormous. Now I don’t even think about it. I think the best way to get unstuck when faced with something scary is to work your way up to something different. When I was skating in Boston and stuck to one park, it was really hard for me to break through my ingrained fears. But then I moved to Colorado and got to skate a lot of new parks and features, and I was able to break through many mental blocks. I know I’m really fortunate to be surrounded by so much skating here, and that might not be the case for everyone. I’d say, if you can’t skate in a new park, look at the place you go to and try to skate the features you never touch. 

Do you prefer solo sessions or feeding off a crew’s energy?
I generally love skating with other people. I get a lot of inspiration from seeing how other people skate. When someone tries a hard trick or a trick I don’t do often, I want to try it too. I never would have thought of it myself, but now here I am giving it a go! 

I also get a lot out of skating by myself. Sometimes I just need to get out and move, and I don’t want to wait for anyone to join me. I’ll spend a lot of time at a mini ramp in Arvada, trying to land something absurd for an hour. Oftentimes, I’ll think to myself, I want to practice 360 soul today, but then something else clicks, and suddenly I can land a 420 soul. When I’m by myself, I give myself permission to put my headphones in and focus on the same trick until I land it. When I’m with others, I prefer to be social and try what others are doing.

I totally get that. When I’m skating alone with something like Slipknot playing in my ear, I go for the trick nonstop, but unlock it in 20 minutes, and that is way more powerful than skating with my friends. When I’m with them, it’s just not so focused, but definitely more fun. Who’s your favorite person to skate with?
I really like to skate with this rollerblader, Mick Casals. He’s crazy talented and has really good energy. I never see him get upset when he can’t land something; he just lets it roll off his shoulders. I want to be like that too, just let the skating flow and not take anything too seriously. It seems like that’s the way to get the most fun out of it. 

How long were you filming for Spin Cycle, and did it feel like a continuous flow or a stop-start battle?
There were times when I could shoot continuously for a few weeks, but mostly it was stop-start. It took me some time to build up, get comfortable with my camera setup, learn to use Final Cut, and actually get into street skating, since I had mostly stuck to parks beforehand. I had some creative burnout and an injury towards the end. I think in all, including editing, I filmed for a little over a year.

Which clip in Spin Cycle cost you the most time or energy?
Definitely my ender. It’s this crazy five-kinked hubba at an RTD station in Denver. I first saw it on this Instagram page, @Denver_Spot_Locator and knew I had to at least check it out. I battled that spot on two different days. The first day, I was taking all sorts of unexpected, weird falls. It took me a while to get the rhythm of it, because I had to stair bash a small three-set beforehand and then jump at the right time with the right speed. I must have tried it 100 times. I was able to ride the whole thing down once, but wasn’t stoked how the clip came out, so I went back. The next time, I was consistently making it down further, and the falls felt more expected and safer. After fewer tries than before, I was making it to the end, picking up a lot of speed, but just couldn’t lock in the whole time and land cleanly. I took some wild falls, but none of them really hurt badly, and I was so determined to get it. It took a long time, but I was able to get something I was proud of. When I finally landed it, I think I said something like, “I think that was it? I don’t know, let’s look,” because I’d tried so many times to get it, but looking back at the clip, I was clearly unlocked. It was so hard with that spot, the concrete was so eaten up there wasn’t much to lock onto, and every kink threw me off balance, and then suddenly you’re going so fast you’re just trying not to bail.

That battle was so worth it. I loved that! So which clip are you most proud of, not because it’s the hardest, but because it means the most?
My ender for my first part, Just for Kicks, I landed a forward 720 in vert. It wasn’t the cleanest, but it came out of nowhere. I was throwing some forward fives, and suddenly I thought to myself that I could probably whip it a little faster and land backwards. I gave it a few tries and landed it on my third attempt. I basically cried, I was so proud of myself. It’s a really scary trick; I’ve gotten whiplash when I’ve tried it before. I want to approach it with more caution and intelligence in the future. I know I need to feel really confident in my basic spins, because I think for sevens, forward or fakie, you need to feel really comfortable with forward fives, which I still am not. My fakie five is my safety, but taking off forward or landing forward is still really tricky for me sometimes. 

If your skating had a soundtrack, what would it sound like?
Oh, I love this question. I used to think of ice skating in terms of music. You have two or three songs you skate to all season for your programs, and they’re all choreographed in advance with little or no change. But I still fell in love with the music. Somehow, you can listen to a song every day for a season, and it doesn’t get old. I used to listen to a lot of classical music and movie soundtracks while ice skating. Now, when I skate alone, I love listening to indie, rock, pop, and bluegrass. My taste is pretty eclectic, and my “Spotify age” last year was 62.

[Laughs] I can picture you skating with that music. I love your skating! I hope we get to skate together one day. Is there a place you’ve never been that you really want to skate? Or a skater that you really, really want to skate with?
I’d really love to skate internationally. There are so many parks and people all over the world, I can’t pick just one. I’d love to skate gnarly bowls with Lanna in Canada, vert with Rib in Australia, street skating in France with Lauren, the Netherlands with Miret, that iconic park in Colombia with Caro, and of course, I would love to skate with you in person, too! 

I cannot wait.