What got you into skateboarding?
I had almost zero interest in it until some of my homies Jeff and Ryan, who were a couple of years older, showed me ‘Girl: Yeah Right!’ when I was 14-15 yrs. old. I then joined them on a couple of street missions as a tag-along and I was hooked… pretty much got aboard and just ran with it. I do my best to make them proud
What is your skate scene like in your city?
I am from a small town called Cloverdale, about 45 mins outside of Vancouver, Canada so it’s pretty active. We just got a new park built which is fantastic. It seems to grow in popularity every year and for the youth, it is treated almost like hockey was for me when I was younger. A lot more families backing their children as skateboarders these days.
What is you to go trick to start your sesh?
Probably a kickflip down something or a kickflip nose manual on a pad. If I get both in a line right away, I know it is going to be a good day.
Do you feel skateboarding has changed your life? How?
100% it has. I believe you can learn almost every life lesson through skateboarding. If nothing else it has helped me further understand how the mind operates which I can then learn from, improve on and use in other parts of my life. Things like; having confidence, balance, dealing with frustration, letting go of things that aren’t working, trusting one’s self, making slight adjustments to make things work, resilience, determination, the illusion of fear, the ability to visualize and then have that visualization take place in my reality (sometimes immediately) and the vital ability to keep calm and focus in pressure situations. I think anything can change you if you are willing to pay attention to and grow with/from it.
What pro skater inspires your skateboarding?
There is no way I could name just 1… Wade Des Armo, Ryan Decenzo, Sean Malto, Ryan Gallant, Chris Haslam, Marc Johnson, Guy Mariano, the list goes on. But lately, I have played far less attention to what others are doing and tried to be more genuine and authentic with my skating, my ideas are inspiring enough these days. Those guys play(ed) their parts in my journey though, along with many others.
Do you prefer watching skate videos on social media or buying it? Why?
It does not matter to me. I watch old street leagues more than anything. I find the consistency incredibly fascinating.
What is the gnarliest trick you have ever done? How did you feel when you landed it?
I don’t know if this is classified as “gnarly” but I did a pretty crazy manual combo across 4 thigh-high blocks of cement (manual – manual – kickflip nose manual – nollie shuv nose manual). It took 2 separate multi-hour sessions to lock it down, but I got it and it was glorious! Shout out to Tommy G for sticking with me through it ha-ha
Tell us a little bit about your local skate shop & what they do for the skateboard scene?
The boardroom is great! They are always supporting the skate scene by hosting contests and events, lots of great brands/products in-store and amazing staff. I became sponsored by them after winning one of the contests they hosted. Shout out John and Justin for always supporting and young Taiyo (@taiyosk8 on Instagram) for constantly evolving and having an inspiring amount of drive for his age.. watch out for him in the future!
What is your daily routine before you go shred?
I follow no routines, I find you block a lot of life’s magic when you stick to routines so I do my best to live free. I still work and it rains a lot here so pretty much any time I can skate – I skate… If anything, my routine involves rolling and smoking a joint ha-ha.
Any inspiring words you want to tell the next generation of skaters?
Yeah…
If you love skateboarding and feel that it is what you want to do, do it. Do not let people try and tell you about how dangerous it is, how unpractical it is or how there is no future in it. I have dealt with endless adversity and tons of injuries, a couple of years ago I even fractured my skull, and nothing has come close to killing my desire to get back on the board. I also have the support of all my favorite companies so, believe in yourself and what you choose to do, be yourself and do your best to have fun with it – your skate life should pan out just fine.
I think this theme can be developed indefinitely Good writing. Studied somewhere or simply with experience has come?
I almost accidentally went to this site, but stayed here for a long time. I was delayed because everything is very interesting. I will definitely tell all my friends about you.