Skateboarding and that whole industry just became so far away. I was trying to find that ultimate place, that place of contentment but I couldn't. I didn't find it in pushing the dark things of life to the limit either.

I read the different translations of the Bible they had and really just dove into it, almost so I could prove it all right.

When I was released from prison everybody thought I'd go back to doing the same things I did before, but I had no desire to do any of that anymore. That stuff steals, kills, and destroys your life and robs you of all the blessings that God has for you.

I won contest after contest until finally I realized, "Ok, I am the best in the world, but now what?" So I opened my own company, but there was still that feeling of, "What else do I need to do?"

Back in the day however, careers were strictly built on competitions, just like surfing, though surfing is changing too so you can free surf and still get paid. So I think that rivalry was really because of the fans and the media who built it up, but it did bring something exciting about the sport, just like in any sport, whether it's Larry Bird or Magic Johnson, I think it just made skating that much more exciting.

I was introduced to skateboarding through my father. He was a surfer back in the 50's & 60's in Hawaii, where my parents grew up. They later moved to California and I was born. Skateboarding was the thing for surfers here in California in the 60's and my Dad immediately made me a homemade board.

When skateboarding hit, I wanted to be best skateboarder in the world, and I fought for it, there was nothing that was going to get in my way.