I started skateboarding at around age 10, and enjoyed the artistic aspect of it as much as the sporting aspect, so for me it was more of an art form and a lifestyle.

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.

Big decisions in my life have always come easy and are made without hesitation. It is easier for me to make a life-changing decision than to decide what to get for dessert.

I think skateboarding is hugely challenging - it teaches you self-confidence, it teaches you self-motivation, and it can be something that helps you throughout your life.

I think that there's a sense of self-reliance that exists in skateboarding that kids can take to their daily lives. I think there's also a sense of creativity and community-based goals - in skating, even though it is an individual pursuit, a lot of things that you learn are things that you borrow and expand from other people's ideas. I call skating a combined evolution - it's individual, it's artistic, but at the time, there is a communal push to keep doing your thing. And a sense of camaraderie in that.

All I care about is that people remember me as a good skater, as someone who was innovative.

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