Ryan scheckler biography

Ryan Sheckler took the skateboarding world by storm when he won a gold medal at the age of 13 at the 2003 X Games. Sheckler grew up in California and began competing in amateur events in 1996, and by the time he was 8 years old he had his first sponsor. In 2003 he became the youngest skateboarder to turn pro, and ended the year with victories at the X Games, the Gravity Games, the Vans Triple Crown and the Slam City Jam, wowing audiences and seasoned pros with his skill and ambition. A familiar face in skateboard-related media, his early appearances included brief bits in MVP2: Most Vertical Primate (2001) and Grind (2003, starring Adam Brody and featuring an appearance by Bam Margera). Sheckler toured with Tony Hawk in 2004 and appears in the Hawk Underground 2 video game. Still one of the top-ranked skateboarders on tour, Sheckler’s life as a young man on the pro circuit is chronicled in the cable TV series Life of Ryan, on the air since 2007.

FAQs on booking Ryan Sheckler

Ryan Sheckler started rolling on a skateboard in his driveway at 18 months, and by the time he was 4, he could do ollies. At 7, he got a mini-ramp in the backyard and began skating every day.

Once his incredible talents began to take form, so began the travels of Ryan and his intrepid mom, Gretchen. Between 1999 and 2002, Ryan took multiple podiums on the Vans Warped Tour. He was runner-up and winner at the U.S. Open of Skateboarding (in front of a hometown San Clemente crowd), chalked up another California Amateur Skateboard League State Championship, and gave runner-up performances in the Gravity Games Amateur Challenge and the Best Trick Contestagainst prosat the Jockey Core Tour. All that in addition to strong finishes at the Globe World Cup, the Tampa Am, and the Slam City Jam.

Then in 2003 he turned pro and busted out a season theyll be talking about for years. The 13-year-olds plethora of accomplishments that year included second place at the Scandinavian Open, first place at the Slam City Jam, first place overall for the Vans Triple Crown Street competition, a gold medal at the Gravity Games, and, yes, that astonishing win in Street at the 2003 Summer X Gameswhere he was the only skater to land every trick he attempted.

In 2005, Ryan was named the Action Sports Tours Athlete of the Year and overall Street Champion by the World Cup of Skateboarding. A year later, he was named both Skateboarder and Athlete of the Year at the Arbys Action Sports Awards as well as the 2006 Action Sports Tour overall Park Champion. In 2007, Ryan made history by becoming the first skateboarder ever to win an AST Championship three years in a row; in 2008 he once again took home an X Games gold medal and first place at Thrasher magazines Bust or Bail contest, a win he cites as one of his greatest to date.

Its no secret that Ryan dominates the contest world, but his talents also hold up in the streets. After dropping two doubt-crushing video parts in Almosts

Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is Ryan Sheckler, one of the greatest skateboarders of all time! He turned pro when he was only 13 and, in that same year, became the youngest gold medalist in X Games history.

At 17, he was the star of his own MTV reality show, The Life of Ryan. And in 2008, he created the Sheckler Foundation, whose goal is to support and enrich the lives of children and injured action sports athletes.

Tune in to hear about his beginnings, the skateboarding community, Tony Hawk, the crucial X Game competition that made him famous, and so much more!

Time stamps:

00:50 Ryan’s first skateboarding experience

• He was around 18 months old
• A wild kid that moved around a lot
• Discovered skateboarding as a toddler and naturally took it to the next level
• All his neighbors skated
• Loves free-falling and speed
• The reaction of parents when they got hurt
• Broke his arm when he was 5

05:48 Wearing helmets and pads

• Very important for kids that are still learning
• Wore helmet until 14
• There is always a risk of falling
• Today, it’s all about social media
• Social media can work for you or against for you
• Kids should learn in their own way and at their own pace
• There're no rules to skateboarding, you’ve got to feel it
• Randall’s experience in Venice skate park

15:00 Meeting Tony Hawk

• Tony Hawk skated at the YMCA
• Ryan’s dad emailed him and asked to come to a birthday party
• Tony asked for $500 and a chocolate cake
• It was an incredible experience
• His coming and the way he treated them stuck with him

17:22 Skater community is a giving community

• Was in Cuba years ago
• The skate scene in Cuba is epic
• They build their own incredible skateboards from various materials
• Left everything he brought with himself there
• The skater community is special and very giving
• Ryan traveled the world as a skateboarder
• You don't have to speak the language, speaking skateboarding is enough
• What they al