I'm proud that I was able to use my recognition to, maybe, raise the awareness of skateboarding and help grow it, and to help fund public skateparks. That's the legacy, just trying to grow the entire sport.

I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport. 'Action sport' would be the least offensive categorization.

I never imagined getting to do what I love for a living and having so many people appreciate it. There was only one other skater in my high school and we were the lowest form of cool. Our classmates couldn't figure out why we liked such a loser sport, or why we hadn't grown out of it yet.

I think skateboarding is better now in terms of the amount of facilities and the amount of support young skaters have - including encouragement from their parents. There was definitely an element to it when I was younger that was exclusive and kind of rebellious because most parents didn't want their kids skating. They thought it was a bad influence.

My definition of success is doing what you love. I feel many people do things because they feel they have to, and are hesitant to risk following their passion.

I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large.

I think that the board is a lot more intuitive than people assume. You get on it and all you have to do is put one foot on the tail and one foot on the nose and rock it up and down and that will get you into the tricks or wheelies or manuals. It's not about the balance so much as it is about the timing.