I have been skating for 9 years now. It was 1996 when I started. I was just finishing up with the 5th grade. I was 10 years old.
I saw some kids skating at a spot near my house. I thought it was pretty cool. I saw it as an alternative to living the regular kid life. I wanted to be different from other kids.
I have been sponsored for about 3 years now. I remember leaving school and having a message on my cell phone. It was a message from Beer City welcoming me to the team. I was so stoked.
Getting sponsored wasn’t easy. Staying sponsored and doing your job well isn’t easy either. I sent Beer City a ton of videos over a couple of years. I was really into what Beer City was about. I didn’t want to represent a company that I wasn’t stoked on 150%.
I have been living near Palm Springs, CA for about a year now. CA has its advantages and disadvantages. I have been enjoying it a lot. It was my first time living away from home, so it took a while to get used to all the new responsibilities. I like the weather, the beaches, the girls, and the skateboarding there, so it is where I want to be.
Wisconsin is a really great place for skateboarding. Some of my favorite spots are the Sherman rails, Waukesha Central, Bishops Woods, and all the Marquette University spots. My #1 all-time favorite spot would probably be my mini-ramp. Sometimes a good ramp session with some old friends is as good as it gets.
I took a really bad slam at Red Arrow Park a few years ago. It was on one of the kinked rails by the street. The rail has a kink and then goes flat past the set about 10 feet or so. I tried to gap a lipslide out to the flat. My board didn’t come with me, so I got “stacked” really bad! Once I nutted the rail, I flipped onto my face. I wasn’t happy, especially since it was my first try. I was out for 2 weeks. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. That rail put me in my place.
My best memory skating would probably be winning the best trick contest at the DAMN AM contest in Minneapolis, MN; at the 3rd Lair Skate Park. I did a kick-flip front side tailslide on the handrail. I thought I was in for the long-haul but I pulled it 3rd try. No photographers got a photo because they didn’t think I would land it so quick. I won $300 for that one. I did the same trick at TAMPA AM and took 3rd place. I was pretty happy either way.
I definitely have. The first was at Marquette University’s big-3. The 2nd time was at the First Wisconsin building in downtown Milwaukee. My filmer got a ticket too for contributing to the crime. I got a ticket in CA too. It wasn’t really for skating though. The police found a street sign in my trunk. I use it to cover cracks. The police arrested me, impounded my car, and then gave me a ticket for possession of stolen property. Someone called the cops because they thought we were tagging up the building. Just my luck.
If I’m not skating I like to hang out with my friends and listen to music or play billiards. I like to relax and kick back. I like to film with my camera or edit videos too. I really like to film other people skating. When I can’t skate anymore I hope I can film for other skaters.
My favorite food is anything my mom makes when I’m back in town. When I am in CA, I live off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It’s really easy to be malnourished when you are too lazy to eat anything that takes more than 5 minutes to cook. Besides that, I love any kind of fruit, especially apples and watermelon.
My favorite road trip memory is floating down a clear-water spring in Florida with Tim Kulas. I never would have thought I would ever do something like that.
Tim knows how to have fun anywhere. I did lots of filming for the video while visiting down there. Tim was always reading a book. He is really cultured so it was an honor visiting him. I missed some school for that trip so I had to do a career research project while out of town. Part of the project was to pick a career and shadow someone in that field, so I picked professional skateboarder as my career and shadowed Tim. It was the most fun thing I ever had to do for school. I got a B.
Don’t try to bet sponsored until you think you are good and ready. When you think you are ready, wait another year, then you might be ready. It isn’t all fun, games, and free stuff. It is hard work and takes 100% dedication. A company gives you free product, but in return you have to give them all that you possibly can. It’s like having a job, so don’t think it’s just about getting free stuff. If you think that’s what it’s all about, you won’t last 10 minutes. Skating is about having fun with your friends, and not how many sponsors you have, trust me.
Mom and Dad, Mike at Beer City, Jeff Lunz, Stu Dodge, Kristian Svitak, Tim Kulas, Niel at 4 Seasons skatepark, Marqus, Shane, Tank, Bartels, 3rd lair skatepark, Midwest airlines, Pizza shuttle, Jamba juice, and left-over casseroles.
disfunctional skateparks, flat spots, bikers, mobbed kickflips, paying rent,gas prices, and ex-girlfriends.