Evan Mock Is Ready For The Madness Of Pacha New York

Evan Mock is riding high. The night before our interview, he found himself on the streets of New York City when the Knicks secured their third win in the NBA Finals. As the seconds of the game ticked down, he felt the energy as the city erupted. “It was such a nice immersive experience being with the community,” he tells Bustle over Zoom.

While Mock might be most recognizable from his stint as Aki, the pink buzz-cutted son of a media mogul, on HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot, he’s been keeping busy ever since. The 29-year-old actor has founded the clothing brand Wahine based on his Hawaiian surfing and skateboarding roots, modeled in campaigns for Canada Goose and Saint Laurent, and starred across from Rosé in her music video for “toxic till the end.” Through all the milestones in his career, Mock has never strayed far from what he loves: skating.

On June 14, Mock will help host UNBLOCKED, the second part of a two-day event to unveil Pacha New York, Brooklyn’s newest nightclub from the same group behind the iconic Ibiza locale. The event, featuring German DJ Rampa and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, is an opportunity for guests to feel the buzz of the dance floor before the club’s sold-out opening weekend on June 20 and 21. For his part, Mock is organizing a skate jam, showcasing a curated group of local skaters. “It's going to just be madness all at once,” he says.

For Mock, skateboarding and dance clubs are symbiotic. “Musicians are inspired by skaters, and skaters have a soundtrack to their lives. The music that they're into plays a big part in how they skate and their style, how they dress, and who they hang around,” he says. “So there obviously is a big correlation between the two because we both need each other, and this will be a nice event to highlight that.”

Seeing his name on the flyer for UNBLOCKED next to members of Wu-Tang Clan was surreal, since the group — a longtime fixture in the skate community — was the soundtrack of Mock’s childhood. “36 Chambers is a big album for me. Growing up, it was on my sister's iPod when I first started skating,” says Mock, who started the sport at 10 years old before pursuing it professionally at age 14. “I don't know if she gave me the iPod or I stole it, but I started listening to the music she already had downloaded on it, and it was Wu-Tang Clan, it was Paramore, it was a bunch of other little punk emo bands.”

Along with being fueled by music, Mock finds inspiration in a lot of different mediums. Below, the multihyphenate opens up about his go-to fashion item, knitting, and his love of The Sandlot.

The Fast Follow With Evan Mock

What’s the weirdest internet rabbit hole you’ve ever gone down?

I like watching videos of these guys in the middle of the forest. They fully live off the grid in these houses that they built in the trees that are more amazing and bigger than some people's houses, especially in the city.

Who is someone you’ve tried to evangelize your friends on?

Michael Jackson.

What’s your most used saying?

I call everyone uncle, and that’s what I call Rampa. It’s a sign of respect.

What’s your most quoted TV show or movie?

I’m always quoting The Sandlot. There’s a whole bucket of quotes. Probably, “Wendy Peffercorn, my darling,” when [Squints] fake drowns so he can kiss her on the lips.

What’s the weirdest hobby you’ve picked up?

It's kind of weird for my age, but during COVID, I got into knitting, and I just made a little hand towel. That’s as far as I got.

What’s your most worn item of clothing?

Honestly, I'm really digging these shorts that I made for my brand Wahine. We call them the Steve Short because my dad's name is Steve, and he's known for a uniform of a white T-shirt and denim shorts that he wears every day. So we made our own rendition of them. I'm slowly turning into my dad.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.