Cathedral City resident and professional skateboarder Jeff Wright, 19, practices at the Palm Springs Skate Park on Monday. Wright, who has numerous sponsors and has won several competitions, closely followed the X Games and his skateboarding idol Tony Hawk. The X Games begin again today in Los Angeles. (Marilyn Chung The Desert Sun)
PALM SPRINGS — The concrete already was starting to bake at Palm Springs Skate Park on Monday morning, but Jeff Wright coolly stretched and then stepped on his skateboard.
On his first attempt of the morning, the 19-year-old desert native descended a ramp, gained speed and then threw his body backward when he climbed the opposite side of the bowl.
Wright cleanly landed a backflip, and without hesitation, he skated back to where he began to perform another trick.
“The backflip was the fast lane to my career,” he said.
Wright, who was born in Palm Springs and now lives in Cathedral City, is a professional skateboarder. He took a risk by deciding to leave school to pursue the sport several years ago, but he has succeeded by winning competitions and procuring sponsors.
Intrigued by action sports, Wright tried BMX, rollerblading and scootering, but skateboarding captivated him when he was 12.
Tony Hawk was his idol. Hawk always wowed crowds at the X Games, the Olympics of action sports that begin today in Los Angeles. The skateboarding legend pulled off the first 900 in competition history at the X Games in 1999.
Those amazing tricks motivated Wright to get on his skateboard. After honing his skills in Desert Hot Springs for several years, Wright started to come to Palm Springs Skate Park.
“That's when I determined I really wanted to make something of my life with skateboarding,” he said.
Wright strove to excel at bowl and pool skating, which he preferred to street skating. He learned and perfected tricks, including the backflip, in Palm Springs.
He couldn't get a handle on the backflip when he first landed it. He thought he had pulled off a 360.
“It was like a blink of an eye,” he said. “You see the ground, and you see the sky. You don't ever think it happened.”
But after working on it for several months, he could perform it with relative ease.
Armed with an arsenal of impressive tricks, Wright decided to seek out sponsors who could help him break into the professional ranks.
Like NASCAR drivers, skateboarders rely on sponsorships. The names of their sponsors are not plastered on their race cars, but the bottom of their skateboards. Skateboarders sport the latest styles provided by apparel companies, not colorful firesuits. “You're like a mobile billboard when it comes down to it,” Wright said. “People don't like to see themselves as that, but that's what you are.”
Wright sought out his first sponsors when he was 15. He posted video footage on his MySpace account and e-mailed companies. Some liked his style and sent him gear to wear.
Wright slowly found his footing in the sport, but he faced a major decision when he was 17. His family was moving to Arizona, where it would be difficult for him to pursue the sport he loves. Skateboarding thrives in San Diego and Los Angeles, as well as New York and Miami.
Wright chose to move to San Diego. He left Desert Hot Springs High School, where he had finished his sophomore year, and devoted his life to the sport.
“It was either stay in school and be a nobody or go out and be a somebody,” Wright said.
The decision paid off. Wright has made a name for himself.
He has attracted sponsors, including BambooSk8, a skateboard company; Ocean Current, an apparel company that will feature him in an ad in a leading skateboarding magazine next month; Monster, which makes energy drinks; and Berma Clothing.
“He's just got a nice, natural, raw style and grace to his skating,” said Geoff Koboldt, the owner of BambooSk8. “His tricks are clean, and he's got a good, positive attitude.”
Wright has succeeded in competitions this summer. He won first place at the California State Games in bowl and pool skating.
He has competed in events organized by the Vans Warped Tour, a major concert tour. He skated in Ventura in June, and he will compete in August in Pomona and San Diego. He also will skate at a major action sports trade show next month in San Diego.
Wright works on new tricks daily to add to his routine, but it all goes back to the foundation he built at Palm Springs Skate Park.
"You do a backflip, the crowd goes wild,” Wright said. “It's one of those tricks you don't see everyday.”
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