Check it out! I began skateboarding at the tender age of 18 months. Well, I didn’t really skate..I just sort of scooted around. My dad had his old skateboard hanging in the garage (his way of hanging on to the glory days). According to my parents all I ever pointed at in the garage was the skateboard. So one day at the ripe old age of 18 months I was allowed to skate my dads dinosaur (he’s going to be mad when he reads this). It was a 10 inch wide ALVA pool deck with O.J. (not orange juice) wheels and Tracker trucks with some thing that looked like 1” spacers under the trucks. According to my dad this board had hit all the parks and pools (that I never heard of) like the Concrete Wave, The Colton Skate Ranch, the Tiki Bowl and more.
For the next 3 years that skateboard went everywhere with me. In home videos the first toy to come out of the truck was always that skateboard. I did a lot of “traditional” things such as Tee-Ball. Believe me when I say that Tee-Ball was a very traumatic time for me. I wanted to compete but a lot (NOT ALL) of the other kids just wanted to watch the grass grow. Man, was I bored. I thank God every day that my parents realized that I was not having fun. They never pushed me into a sport or activity but they supported me with all their might…..no matter what it was.
The true beginning of skateboard started for me during the summer of 1995 when some kids on my street in San Clemente built a quarter pipe. This was the first time that I had ever seen anything like this and I was determined to learn how to ride it. My dad came out and decided it was time to teach! He grabbed his baby (the ALVA) and pretty much asked us to step aside. He never inspected the ramp to see that it was rated for 50-60 lbs.. Those of you who know my dad at 210 pounds can see where this is going. Yep…..straight through the ramp. It never had a chance! So my dad apologized over and over and put all of us into the mini-van and we headed out to Home Depot. That was one of the best summers of my life. My dad built a new quarter pipe and tons of other cool stuff for all of us kids to skate on. From that point forward it never ended. A few years later my mom heard about CASL (California Amateur Skateboarding League). They were having a contest in Hemet. My dad was out of town on business so my mom took me there. I won the contest, met some really cool kids and had the time of my life.
During the winter 1996 all I could do was think about skateboarding. Nothing else mattered and I wanted to skate with Tony Hawk. My dad told me to write a letter and invite him to my birthday party at Encinitas. So I did! ….and he responded with sure do you have chocolate cake? Skating with Tony for 3-4 hours changed my life. Skateboarding was just coming back at that time. There were no video games, big contest were just starting and prize money was pretty small. It didn’t matter to me. Skateboarding was my release, it was all I thought about and all I wanted to do.
During 1997-2001 I was winning the CASL state championships. I had also picked up an eyewear sponsor from Arnette. This is the same company that was sponsoring Tony Hawk. At some time the Arnette team manager asked me if I wanted Tony’s vert ramp and my parents said it was OK. We put up a 12 foot vert ramp in our backyard! It was amazing and I skated it every day………right up until the minute the city of San Clemente threatened my mom and dad with a lien against the house if we didn’t knock it down to just under 8 feet. The short story is that we knocked it down and I had one fast and awesome mini ramp.
In 2003 World Industries turned me pro and I was determined to make a statement. Crazy things happen when you become a professional skateboarder. Haters come out of the wood work! They spread hate about you, your family and your friends like mad. That is a very new to me. I just can’t figure out why people hate on people they don’t know. How crazy is that? As I look at things now I can really reflect on the scum bags that just wanted to see me get hurt or fail. I remember talking with Mike Valleley about this during and interview at Volcom and he told me that you have to have thick skin in this industry. He also told me skate because I love it not because I care what other people think. I took that to heart. 2003 was an amazing year for me. I won the X Games, Gravity Games, Vans Triple Crown and Slam City Jam.
In 2004 I was named the World Cup of Skateboarding’s National Street Champion.
In 2005 I was named the World Cup of Skateboarding’s National Street Champion and the Dew Action Sports Tour Athlete of the Year.
2006 is off to a good start! I won the Global Assault in Australia and I recently finished 5th at the Tampa Pro in Florida after suffering from a pretty good knock out and concussion.
Some more information about me:
Skateboarding is my life. I do it because I love it. I can honestly say that not a day goes by, rain or shine that I don’t do something on my skateboard. It’s who I am. My fans are awesome and I appreciate all of them. My life has become a kind of open book with the internet being so popular. My fans know more about me than I know about myself. The one thing that isn’t on the net is that I’m a sleepwalker/talker. I guess it’s pretty crazy, I act out full scenes. So if you ever tour with me it can get pretty crazy. I freak a lot of people out. So there you have it. One of my secrets as told by me.
There are a lot of people who have influenced my career. Three people stand out the most. Rodney Mullen has definitely shown me how to keep my head on straight and not let anything get in the way of my skating. I really respect Tony Hawk’s business mind (and his amazing talent on the skateboard). Chris Cole is a skater I have always looked up to. He can skate anything and has a style that is ridiculously amazing. Chris also has a really good attitude and I think that’s a great quality to have.
If I had to list my favorite skaters I would have to say Paul Rodriquez, Jereme Rogers, no explanation necessary. I travel a lot with Lutzka, he’s a great motivator and always has a good attitude. Chris Cole, because he is an animal. Chris Haslam, for his unique style and Rodney Mullen for defying physics.
If I were not skateboarding for a living I would definitely have been deeply involved in motocross. I have spent a lot of time with Travis Pastrana. In fact I got to ride double with Travis on his Supercross track. It was amazing! We fired up his factory RM250 and went for it…..I did the shifting when Travis told me to and he did what he does best, pinned the throttle. We were hitting doubles and then we had a good system going so we hit one of the triples too. I also hang out a lot with Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg at all the big events like the Dew Actions Sports Tour. He’s an avid skateboarder too so I try to keep him hooked up.
Cars are a huge part of my life! Hot rods, sports cars, trucks, exotics it doesn’t matter. I get that from my dad. He’s an engineer and a real gear head.
In my spare time I love to watch movies. I watch all the thrillers but always go back to my favorites. My favorite movie of all time is “Pump Up The Volume”. I still like to watch “Willie Wonka”, the original, with my little brother Kane. On my comedy list is “Happy Gilmore” and “Anchorman”.
I can honestly say that I am addicted to music. I listen to everything. I like heavy metal, classic rock, rap and even some of the 80’s every once in awhile. I really don’t know how I could travel as much as I do with out all of my music. With that being said I really need to give a shout out to Steve Jobs and thanks him for creating the iPod.
Things I can’t leave the house without (not necessarily in order) are cell phone, money, iPod, chapstick and my sidekick. Talking about this subject makes me think about the foods I can’t live without. Chicken, steak, mac & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and fettuccini Alfredo to name a few. My favorite color is RED and a close second is BLUE.
A lot of people ask me if I get nervous before a contest. The answer is YES! I get nerves every contest I enter. I get nerves sometimes when I think about a trick I want to film. If I didn’t get nerves I would really worry, because I think getting nervous just lets me know how much passion I have for what I’m doing. I’m an adrenaline junky and the nerves just add to the rush I experience. Dealing with nerves can be difficult. I focus myself. I’m a spiritual person, so I pray. It allows me to mentally prepare for what lies ahead.
I’m asked frequently about what I hope to get from skateboarding? My answer is simple. I’ve already gotten so much from it. My goal and hope is to give back by contributing to the growth, popularity and evolution of skateboarding
Peace! Ryan
Written by Ryan at his official site, ryansheckler.com