If contradiction was measured in carats, Rob Dyrdek and Christopher "Big Black" Boykin would be the Hope Diamond. Consider the stats:

TURF: Dyrdek, from Ohio, is true Yankee, northern, corn-fed stock. Boykin is as Southern Mississippi syrupy as can be.

SIZE: Dyrdek stands (on his tiptoes) at 5'7" and might hit 135 pounds after being chucked into a pool. The latest mathematical projections have Boykin somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 pounds and 6'enormous.”

STYLE: Dyrdek is so thorough, obsessive and focused that he compulsively immerses himself in the most mundane details of his projects. Boykin is so mellow and laid back that you might fall asleep just listening to his dulcet tones.

But in 2003, Dyrdek (professional skateboarder) and Boykin (professional bodyguard) created the skit heard ‘round the skateboarding world when Dyrdek hired Big Black to “deal with” security guards who were trying to run him out of skate spots. What has grown from that skit is now a global phenomenon, a hit show on MTV, but most of all, a true friendship.

Risen Magazine: Do you still have family in Mississippi?

Big Black: I do. A lot of my mom’s family is down there. In Chicago, that’s more my dad’s family there. I kinda go back and forth.

RM: Was your town in Mississippi integrated at all when you were growing up?

BB: It’s still the same in the South. One race is over here, the other is over there. That’s pretty much what told me that I had to move on cuz I’m not about all that.

I went from having white, Korean, Mexican, and Puerto Rican friends [in Chicago] to having one set of friends who were all black. That was just not the life I wanted to live. I wanted to be around a lot of different people. I wanted to understand different races. When you understand people, you understand they’re not different.

That’s why I came to California. I joined the Navy. I skipped college for a couple of years so I could join the military, become a man, see the world a little bit, and serve my country.

RM: Was the brotherhood in the military a step up from the South for you?

BB: We were a team, 456 guys. I knew everybody’s last name because I was the cook. I saw them every day. I served them every day. So it was sorta like one big happy family.

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