Outdoor Adventures
How Skateboarding
Has Shaped Me
I started skateboarding when I was around 5 years old. Invented in Carlsbad, CA, skateboarding quickly became one of the most popular sports in my hometown, and luckily for me, there was an “afterschool skateboarding program” at my school. Every day, there was a bus that would take kids from my elementary school to the local YMCA skate park where we could have fun skateboarding until our parents were able to pick us up after work. The many friends that I met here are still my friends today, and we share these memories of having fun together in our community. Having these unsupervised social interactions at such a young age allowed me to develop strong bonds with my peers and cultivate an independent social dynamic that was all our own.
Behind the scenes, checking out raw footage.
Premiere of my friend Nathan’s skate film, Country Road 40. Filmed over the course of a year, the film documents the group dynamics of my friends and myself, riding buses and trains to skate parks all over San Diego to enjoy the diverse skateboarding community that was in our backyard. Looking back on the film now that I’m older, it’s a love letter to my childhood.
A clip of me skateboarding in “County Road 40.” This scene, included toward the end of the film, shows my friends and I slightly older, now with driver’s licenses. Though we may have gotten older, the act of skateboarding is still a driving force that brings us together, a constant that will never fade from our collective consciousness.
Me skateboarding in a residential neighborhood in Downtown San Diego, August 2023.
Nathan films an airborne Nico performing a backside 50/50 on a concrete stucco ledge for the skateboarding film Country Road 40.
A photo I took of my good friend Indy Jones skating in North Park, San Diego, CA, in March 2024.
Hiking & Camping
My friends and I hiking in Ocotillo Wells, CA, in the spring of 2023. This location is a special place for us due to its unique landscape and plant varieties. The springtime brings many blooms to this dry ecosystem, including California poppies, wildflowers, and the striking ocotillos.
Scenic viewpoint at the end of my hike near Julian, CA. This area is a marker of civilization, the last town you see before heading into the rural wilderness of the high desert of inland San Diego County, where the only signs of life are the bunnies and snakes and hawks, and lilac blooms in the spring.
Camping in Big Sur, CA
This is our tent one night after a 3 day backpacking trip through Big Sur. Away from the trappings of our day-to-day lives, the remote setting of Big Sur swallowed us whole, allowing us to prepare for the excitement of our goals and dreams, looking forward to the adventures of our college years. I spent my youngest years growing up in Santa Cruz, so I’ve been to Big Sur many times, but this time was different because I was in the driver’s seat. Maybe it’s symbolic, but I enjoy getting the fire started for warmth and cooking. Working with other people around a campfire always makes me happy.
More photos from our time backpacking in Big Sur, and a day hike taken late in the day upon our arrival on the southern coast of Big Sur. Every time I venture to Big Sur, it has been beyond formative, for the dramatic meetings of land and sea never fail to humble me. I enjoy refocusing and submitting my attention to the limitless power of the natural world. The escape from streets and stop lights has allowed me to pivot my focus to the underlying themes of my life, deepening my connection with nature and the powerful effects of even the smallest creatures.
