I originally started skateboarding during the winter of 2001. I had just moved to Texas that summer, and was looking for some way to creatively express myself. I had actually stayed away from skateboarding for a while, due to the negative stereotype that skaters had developed. I did not want to be viewed as someone who tore up property, and disregarded rules and authority.

However, one of my fellow classmates who skated showed me a video of Rodney Mullen ("Rubbish Heap", World Industries, circa 1989), which totally changed my view of skateboarding. The way Rodney skated was so beautiful and so different, it was just like dancing with the skateboard. I knew immediately that this would be my form of self-expression.