QTell us about Alchemy…

A We believe that skateboarding naturally promotes and teaches confidence, creativity, determination, grit, and the importance of fun. Despite all the good that skateboarding has to offer, it still exists on the fringes of our community, and has not been positively approached, embraced, or encouraged.  We are constantly inspired and humbled by the passion that skateboarders share worldwide and have made it our goal to support them on their journey and provide a framework and structure for them to improve the quality of their own lives, and the lives of everyone in our communities. 

QHow did you get into skateboarding and working with Alchemy?

A Growing up in Puyallup Washington, escape was priority #1. I discovered skateboarding when I was an infant. My brother was obsessed with Tony Hawk and N64. My family was really poor growing up, so I definitely wasn’t playing basketball or any other school sports. During my teenage years I was traveling to Tacoma, Washington every day after school to link up with friends and skate downtown. It was our escape from school and our home lives. Shortly after, I met Ben Warner, a soon to be college grad who let us sleep on his apartment floor in Tacoma. Ben was really nice. He'd get us breakfast and make sure we all set for the day; he was sort of like a coach that never cared about the results. I’d never met someone like Ben who didn’t really skateboard but was around and just loved and respected the culture. It was very empowering to have someone in my corner cheering me on from the side lines. I truly believe if it wasn’t for skateboarding and Ben I wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful I am now, so in 2014 when Ben mentioned starting a non-profit organization, I knew it was going to be something huge.