I had people telling me I was the best and when it would sink in, I'd feel like I'd have to push things further, otherwise I wasn't worthy of their praise.

Contests were so pertinent that you had to think that way but today, it's not like that. You have your contest skaters, you have your video skaters, you have your skaters who don't like either of them, but they all are sponsored and get paid.

Being involved and hanging out with my brothers who skate is really amazing, especially because of our age. I mean, we're in our mid-late forties and we're still skateboarding in competitions. Who'd have ever thought?

I was literally living on the edge of life, to the point where I didn't know what was going to happen, not caring, taking chances and finally landing in prison and once there, all my lines were cut.

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.

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 spent five years in prison, a free man for the first time in my whole life.