In 1989 when I was 14 years old, I competed in a national freestyle skateboard contest in Phoenix, Arizona and took 9th place. This was a huge acheivement for me, considering I was the youngest competitor going against men all the way into their 30's. I worked very hard to get where I was. There were anywhere between 60-70 freestyle skaters nation wide competing for a spot to compete in the nationals that year, which only half of them qualified. Everyone was shocked and amazed to see a 14 year old beat alot of the usual top skaters in the U.S. that year, and it was well deserved since I practiced skating extra hours for 4 to 5 months straight before the finals.

I also included just one of my 1st place trophies I was most proud of. I was 16 when I won 1st place in freestyle skateboarding, competing against others my age and younger in the factory sponsored division. Contests get more challenging the older you get, because alot of skaters have fully developed a lot of their skills and balance. I used to win just about every freestyle contest there was when I was age 10-14, after that, the contests became more challenging. I still did very well in contests throughout the rest of my skatebarding career. I usually stayed in the top 3 and I would have competed professionally if freestyle contests continued through the 1990's and early 2000's