How does a skateboarding legend end up in Cambodia at a football training day for
kids?
It really comes with being a Laureus academy member. We support all kinds of projects
globally so I can't be picky about which projects I go to visit...There honestly
isn't any skate oriented project just yet, although I do have my own foundation in
the US.
How do kids in Cambodia react to skateboards?
Let's just say I didn't get the same response as I did in Sierra Leone. There, as
soon as they saw it they all started yelling "rollerboogie! rollerboogie!"
thinking it was roller skates and as soon as I stepped on it that it would become
a magic carpet. It was a little different there because those kids hardly have shoes
or homes or running water or anything. Here when I stepped on it, people were curious
but not as amazed.
You're still skating at 40. How much longer do you think your body can last?
I don't know, I don't make any ultimatums. I think basically when I start sucking
at it then I'll stop doing it at a public level.
How good did it feel to finally pull off the '900?' (A high-flying ramp manoeuvre
involving 2 and a half full rotations while airborne)
It was a huge relief because it was almost 10 years of my life chasing this thing
and at times giving up completely and saying it's not possible. I'd never tried a
move for so long and not come through on it so when I finally did it, it was a big
weight off my shoulders. I didn't care whether I'd ever do it again - I just wanted
that one.
What's the worst injury you've picked up?
A few years ago I broke my pelvis, fractured my skull and broke my thumb all at once.
That was really hard to come back from and regain my confidence.
What was it like being involved in the Jackass shows and movies?
It's fun. I'm friends with a few of those guys so it's not like I just get thrown
in there with a bunch of skaters. What they're doing half the time is extremely dangerous,
but those guys are talented. As crazy and chaotic as it seems those guys have the
skills to do what they set out to do - or the pain tolerance.
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