Skateboarding has always been a part of my life, when I say always I mean since I was 4 years old. I picked up more aggressively at the age of 6 and really took off at the age of 13. Skateboarding among stress relief has taught me critical life lessons, and handling situations in everyday life. It has also taught me determination dedication and hard work. Ironically it has taught me to eat healthy and stay active. Although it is fun it’s one of the last things I learned from it, it also taught me about being cautious whether it was a real life situation or just a skateboarding situation. It helped my self-confidence as well as being a life coach to teach others the things I already know. The sport has taken me places I could only dream of being a kid, whether it was city to city or in competitions with a diverse set of individuals. My experience is a classic one as it started basic and blossomed into a hobby and then into a job. I got paid in skateboarding merchandise and skateboards, as well as stickers. The people I met also played an important role in my life, meeting business owners who saw the potential in marketing skateboarding provided, as well as upcoming brands who are now well know skateboarding brands. It taught me to be a part of a community where everyone knew of each other in one way or another and all shared the same goals and interests. Street skating and filming is another dimension in its own. It forces you to be creative making a video including a direction and actor, the director being the cameraman and the actor being the individual skateboarding. Angles and lighting are important things to take into consideration as well as tricks and stances used. A well put together video that is short, sweet, simple and “cool looking” will land you a sponsor who will provide you with free merchandise that you can do with as you please. The smart move would to be use the products you were given to further pursue skateboarding, but many have turned their hobby into a job, strictly filming for product to sell to local skateboarders or other means. Other skateboarders also get paid to do photo shoots and to be featured in certain brand’s videos. Once a skater is well known he will be approached by several industries the goal is to pick the right one getting paid the most possible and receive the most possible product. Skateboarding has provided me with experience I couldn’t relate to anywhere else other than ITT-Tech, picking and perusing your career in and field they provide. It provided me with several life experiences that helped me grow up like any other method could. There are several aspects of skateboarding used today to diversify and utilize you skills in the sport, the most important being to make it your own and you will go farther in skateboarding.