Post by URSMAG on Apr 24, 2008 23:46:46 GMT 4
Eric Kirkwood
In July of 1986 I found what would become my pa*sion, addiction and life-affirming quest to eat, sleep and breathe skateboarding. Up to that point I had been an avid soccer player. From the age of six I had been involved in organized soccer. Living in one of the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, at 10 years old I had even been the ball boy for the Detroit Express, Detroit's professional soccer team.
However, this particular summer my friends had purchased skateboards from the local sponsored guy (Skull Skates represent!). From the first time I stepped on that four-wheeled plank of happiness I was hooked! Part of me instantly decided that all of my years of hard work on the soccer pitch were, at least to some extent, a device for training smart feet for the greatest invention of all time! . . . except of course for the wheel.
In 1988 I began to enter local contests, go to demos and basically "be" where skateboarding was. The a*sumed respect and friendship that is prevalent in skateboarding has always been one of my favorite aspects of the lifestyle. I might go to a contest alone, but I would probably leave with ten new friends.
During the spring of 1988, I was hired by Squeely'z, a local skate shop, after entering a contest that they'd sponsored. In late 1988 I had begun to get flowed by some companies on the West Coast through the shop. Although I hadn't skated long, I realized that there had been nothing in my life to rival the feelings of accomplishment or freedom that I felt when skateboarding. I wanted to take it farther.
The chance to take the next step came in 1989. All Skate shop owner, Dave Metty, had landed a counseling position at a California skateboard camp! The camp was Visalia YMCA Skate Camp. The camp was started by professional skaters and skateboard enthusiasts like Mike Ternasky, who went on to create Plan-B, perhaps the most influential skateboard company to date. Dave was excited and when he heard that they were looking for another counselor he connected me with the camp.
In the spring of 1990, I was riding on the amateur team for Vision and VSW and working as a counselor for YMCA Skate Camp in the Sierra mountains. It was a dream come true. After that first summer of camp I stayed with Dave and Kevin Bergthold at the infamous Blockhead house. I lived in their country house and skated the huge, double-bowl, masonite dream ramp that was the backyard. After a short stay with the 'Burgers', I moved to the Bay Area of northern California.
Twelve years later, I am still just a bridge away from San Francisco living in Albany, California. I have continued to spend my summers as a part of the awesome Skate Camp staff, most recently as the Program Director alongside my good friend Dave Metty. I have had a board model (1992), as well as a*sumed the role as team manager for the now defunct Poorboy Skateboards company. I have worked as a clothing rep in the Action Sports industry. I have even been a sales a*sociate at Victoria's Secret lingerie company, but that's another story altogether.
In the year 2000 life stoked me again with the opportunity to work with the wealth of love and talent that comprises the World Cup Skateboarding staff. My thanks to the industry that supports the thing that I love most . . . yes, skateboarding
(taken from www.wcsk8.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=81)
In July of 1986 I found what would become my pa*sion, addiction and life-affirming quest to eat, sleep and breathe skateboarding. Up to that point I had been an avid soccer player. From the age of six I had been involved in organized soccer. Living in one of the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, at 10 years old I had even been the ball boy for the Detroit Express, Detroit's professional soccer team.
However, this particular summer my friends had purchased skateboards from the local sponsored guy (Skull Skates represent!). From the first time I stepped on that four-wheeled plank of happiness I was hooked! Part of me instantly decided that all of my years of hard work on the soccer pitch were, at least to some extent, a device for training smart feet for the greatest invention of all time! . . . except of course for the wheel.
In 1988 I began to enter local contests, go to demos and basically "be" where skateboarding was. The a*sumed respect and friendship that is prevalent in skateboarding has always been one of my favorite aspects of the lifestyle. I might go to a contest alone, but I would probably leave with ten new friends.
During the spring of 1988, I was hired by Squeely'z, a local skate shop, after entering a contest that they'd sponsored. In late 1988 I had begun to get flowed by some companies on the West Coast through the shop. Although I hadn't skated long, I realized that there had been nothing in my life to rival the feelings of accomplishment or freedom that I felt when skateboarding. I wanted to take it farther.
The chance to take the next step came in 1989. All Skate shop owner, Dave Metty, had landed a counseling position at a California skateboard camp! The camp was Visalia YMCA Skate Camp. The camp was started by professional skaters and skateboard enthusiasts like Mike Ternasky, who went on to create Plan-B, perhaps the most influential skateboard company to date. Dave was excited and when he heard that they were looking for another counselor he connected me with the camp.
In the spring of 1990, I was riding on the amateur team for Vision and VSW and working as a counselor for YMCA Skate Camp in the Sierra mountains. It was a dream come true. After that first summer of camp I stayed with Dave and Kevin Bergthold at the infamous Blockhead house. I lived in their country house and skated the huge, double-bowl, masonite dream ramp that was the backyard. After a short stay with the 'Burgers', I moved to the Bay Area of northern California.
Twelve years later, I am still just a bridge away from San Francisco living in Albany, California. I have continued to spend my summers as a part of the awesome Skate Camp staff, most recently as the Program Director alongside my good friend Dave Metty. I have had a board model (1992), as well as a*sumed the role as team manager for the now defunct Poorboy Skateboards company. I have worked as a clothing rep in the Action Sports industry. I have even been a sales a*sociate at Victoria's Secret lingerie company, but that's another story altogether.
In the year 2000 life stoked me again with the opportunity to work with the wealth of love and talent that comprises the World Cup Skateboarding staff. My thanks to the industry that supports the thing that I love most . . . yes, skateboarding
(taken from www.wcsk8.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=81)