I won't quit skating until I am physically unable.
I never imagined getting to do what I love for a living and having so many people appreciate it. There was only one other skater in my high school and we were the lowest form of cool. Our classmates couldn't figure out why we liked such a loser sport, or why we hadn't grown out of it yet.
I wanted to promote skateboarding as much as possible through different media.
Skateistan's not just about skating. It’s giving people life skills and hope for the future.
My definition of success is doing what you love. I feel many people do things because they feel they have to, and are hesitant to risk following their passion.
Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game. I'm proud of what we created; it's innovative, responsive & fun.
Most of my friends are skaters or were skaters at one time, so they obviously relate.
In ramp skating, theres this guy Alex Perelson whos really coming into his own and doing some amazing new stuff we havent seen before. Just different types of spin.
I'm proud that I was able to use my recognition to, maybe, raise the awareness of skateboarding and help grow it, and to help fund public skateparks. That's the legacy, just trying to grow the entire sport.
I think skateboarding is hugely challenging - it teaches you self-confidence, it teaches you self-motivation, and it can be something that helps you throughout your life.
I started skateboarding at around age 10, and enjoyed the artistic aspect of it as much as the sporting aspect, so for me it was more of an art form and a lifestyle.
I played team sports, but I never felt like I fitted in that well, so this allowed me to be part of a community but to do it in my own way.
I love the fact that there is now a skate park in almost every city, but it will always have a rebellious/underground edge to it because it is based on individuality.
I love snowboarding, but I would never want to do it competitively or at a professional level. Snowboarding is a spawn of skating, and skating is my passion.
I feel like skateboarding is as much of a sport as a lifestyle, and an art form, so there's so much that that transcends in terms of music, fashion, and entertainment.
I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport. 'Action sport' would be the least offensive categorization.
I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large.
For those that say I endanger my child: it's more likely that you will fall while walking on the sidewalk than I will while skating with my daughter.
Big decisions in my life have always come easy and are made without hesitation. It is easier for me to make a life-changing decision than to decide what to get for dessert.
Being different is awesome! All of those who are different are more interesting than those who are clamoring for acceptance because they follow the path.
All I care about is that people remember me as a good skater, as someone who was innovative.
I think skateboarding is better now in terms of the amount of facilities and the amount of support young skaters have - including encouragement from their parents. There was definitely an element to it when I was younger that was exclusive and kind of rebellious because most parents didn't want their kids skating. They thought it was a bad influence.
I think that the board is a lot more intuitive than people assume. You get on it and all you have to do is put one foot on the tail and one foot on the nose and rock it up and down and that will get you into the tricks or wheelies or manuals. It's not about the balance so much as it is about the timing.
I think that there's a sense of self-reliance that exists in skateboarding that kids can take to their daily lives. I think there's also a sense of creativity and community-based goals - in skating, even though it is an individual pursuit, a lot of things that you learn are things that you borrow and expand from other people's ideas. I call skating a combined evolution - it's individual, it's artistic, but at the time, there is a communal push to keep doing your thing. And a sense of camaraderie in that.
If you look at the success of snowboarding in the Winter Games and how that's brought a more youthful edge to the Olympics in general, they don't have that with the Summer Games. They don't have anything that's drawing in a younger viewership. To be honest, I think they need skateboarding more than we need them. Skateboarding's popularity is solidified for the most part in a lot of countries.
