For this week's Athlete of the Week we have Sergeant
Dylan Harreld from Springfield, MO. Dylan is an extremely motivated skater and young entrepreneur with a very positive outlook on life and towards skating. See what Dylan has been up to lately below in this week's AOTW.
-Who influences you and why?
I have so many influences in skateboarding and in life in general. I have those Christian values where I want to try and stay humble, happy, and encouraging to everyone around me. In skateboarding I'm strongly influenced by everyone from legends like Lance Mountain and Christian Hosoi to the pros today like Grant Taylor, Collin Provost, Ronnie Sandoval and even the local guys like Rick Rossi, Jeremy Fullerton, Levi Pollard, and just anyone who loves skateboarding and is fun to be around. That gets me hyped!
-What/ Who inspired you to start skating?
I grew up in a small town that was basically a border town between Missouri and Kansas. We didn't really have a skate scene at all. I seriously think my friends and I were watching a re-run of Sheckler's X-Games win that originally aired in 2004 where he was like 13 and won gold. We figured if some little kid could skate with that much style and make it look as easy as he did that we could do it too. Ever since then I've been hooked.
-What are your proudest moments/ accomplishments in 2013/2014?
I started getting flow boards from Endurance Skateboards in early 2013, so I'm still really hyped on that. I also had a fun little local park edit we released on June 13th, 2014 that was really fun to finally finish and to just hear that people were hyped on it as well. Also my sunglass company 'Varsity Shades' turned one this year too. I'm super hyped on that and very thankful to everyone that has supported me through that venture as well.
-What part of your skating are you looking to improve upon most this year?
I'm filming a full-part for the Endurance Skateboards full-length video. I'm really hyped to be able to send in footage to actually be a part of that.
I guess my main goal is to skate more street and maybe stay off the transition a little bit.
-Have you had to overcome any challenges that made skating an obstacle at times? (i.e. Injuries, support)
I did tear my ACL a few years back skating. It was awful, being stuck inside and not able to walk is not something I want to spend my days doing.
It still messes with me a little bit, but for the most part it's healed and doesn't bother me too much. I'm very grateful for that.
-What is your daily routine and how do you prepare yourself for a day of skating?
I have a lot of free time right now since I'm not taking Summer classes. I usually start my day off with a time of just prayer and motivation to get me mentally prepared for whatever the day is going to bring me and just to keep me and the crew safe and injury free. As of right now I'm still really into the True to This video that Volcom put out. I seriously think I watch it every single day before I skate. After that though I usually meet up with the homies, grab a couple Monster's, warm up at the local park, and just have fun.
-Where would you like to see yourself in the next few years?
I always tell myself that I want to have certain goals in skateboarding because I enjoy it so much. In all honesty though, I just want to keep progressing and most importantly just have fun with it. I don't think many people started skateboarding to look at it as a job. We all did it because it was fun. I want to keep that mindset and skate on as long as I can.
-When I’m not skating you can find me ________________?
When I’m not skating you can find me with the crew enjoying life!
-Who would you like to thank?
God
My Mom and Dad for the support
Varsity Shade Company
Monster Army
Endurance Skateboards
Wicked Audio
Christian Skaters International
Daniel Barousse at Volcom
Tanner Armstrong
Joel Holmes
Drew Taylor
Mark Vote
Follow Dylan:
Monster Army- /dill417
Instagram- @varsityshades
Facebook- /dylanharreldOFFICIAL
