Ryan Sheckler

San Clemente, California, used to be known as the home of “Tricky Dick” Nixon. These days, it’s renowned as the home of another trickster: one who is undeniably legit. Ever since Ryan Sheckler won Summer X Games gold as a 13-year-old in 2003, the phenom from San Clemente has been grinding, boosting, and gapping his way to skateboard superstardom. His amazing skills in the park and on the street have won the respect of pros old enough to be his father, while his big green eyes have won the adulation of girls too young to get a driver’s license. He’s a phenom in every sense of the word. Although he’s yet to graduate from high school, the SoCal teen is focused like a laser beam on his future. “Shecks” wants to go down in the record books as one of the greatest skaters who ever lived – and he’s traveling the globe to make it happen.

Bursting onto the scene

Ryan Allen Sheckler (aka “Shecky,” aka “Shecks”) was born in La Palma, California, in 1989. He started rolling on a skateboard in his driveway at 18 months, and by the time he was four, he could do ollies. At seven, he got a mini-ramp in the backyard and started skating every day.

In 1997, Sheckler made his first appearance at the California Amateur Skateboard League (CASL) State Championship – and won. The next year, he scored a repeat state crown and placed sixth among experienced competitors on the Vans Warped Tour. He was only eight.

And so began the travels of Ryan Sheckler and his intrepid mom, Gretchen. Between 1999 and 2002, Sheckler took multiple podiums on the Vans Warped Tour, was runner-up and (in front of a home-town San Clemente crowd) winner at the U.S. Open of Skateboarding, chalked up another CASL State Championship, and gave runner-up performances in the Gravity Games Amateur Challenge and (against pros) in the Best Trick Contest at the Jockey Core Tour, along with strong finishes at the Globe World Cup, the Tampa Am, and the Slam City Jam.

Then in 2003 he turned pro and busted out a season they’ll be talking about for years.

The 13-year-old’s plethora of accomplishments for that banner year included second place at the Scandinavian Open, first place at the Slam City Jam, first place overall for the Vans Triple Crown Street competition, a gold medal at the Gravity Games, and, yes, that astonishing win in Street at the 2003 Summer X Games – where he was the only skater to land every trick he attempted.

From that year forth, it was officially on. In 2005, Sheckler was named the Action Sports Tour’s Athlete of the Year and World Cup Of Skateboarding’s overall Street Champion. The year after, he was named both the Skateboarder and Athlete of the Year at the Arby’s Action Sports Awards as well as being crowned the 2006 Action Sports Tour overall Park Champion. And in 2007, Sheckler made history by becoming the first skateboarder every to win an AST Championship three years in a row.

Making a huge contribution

It’s no secret that Sheckler dominates the contest world, but do his talents also hold up in the streets? After dropping two doubt-crushing video parts in Almost’s Round Three and Oakley’s Our Life, Sheckler has the skateboard media salivating to his skills. At the age of seventeen, Sheckler was given his first cover of a magazine (the “holy grail” of coverage) on the May 2007 issue of The Skateboard Mag. In 2008 was he interviewed in Transworld SKATEboarding for a second time.

Between the magazine coverage and the contest winnings, Shecky’s popularity fuse had just been lit. But once his reality show, The Life of Ryan, premiered on MTV, his fame exploded into international stardom. Now in its second season, Sheckler-mania is more contagious than ever. Whether he’s entering a contest or attending an industry event, wherever he goes, the barrage of screaming girls and signs reading, “I Love Ryan” always follow.

With the philosophy “Pay it forward and live each day like it’s your last day on earth,” Sheckler thrives on throwing it down with the best on the planet, letting the weight of his responsibilities roll off his 5’6” frame. When he gets a chance to kick back, he likes to seize the day by riding motocross, surfing, snowboarding, and messing with remote-control cars.

All the appearances, signings, fame, and fans aside, skateboarding always remains at the top of Sheckler’s list. “I’m always trying to improve to keep up with the progression of skateboarding,” he says. A typical year in the athlete’s life includes traveling all over the world filming videos and competing in cities from Prague to Toronto and countries from South Africa to Germany.

So when – or how – will he know that he’s achieved his goal of being one of the greatest skaters ever? Sheckler thinks for a moment. “What I mean is that I want to make a huge contribution to skateboarding,” he explains. “The only way I will know that I have achieved legendary status is when my peers say I have. There is no other way.”