In ramp skating, theres this guy Alex Perelson whos really coming into his own and doing some amazing new stuff we havent seen before. Just different types of spin.

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

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.

You might not make it to the top, but if you are doing what you love, there is much more happiness there than being rich or famous.

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.

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.

I played team sports, but I never felt like I fitted in that well, so this allowed me to be part of a community but to do it in my own way.