Ryan Sheckler might be a skateboarder, but he draws a crowd like a platinum-selling rock star.
As soon as the 18-year-old phenom arrived at the MTV Store in Times Square for an interview, his fans (almost entirely teen girls) made their presence known with intense "Oh my God!" shrieks and muffled rummaging for digital cameras. They filled the shop to the point where store management insisted on closing its doors. Outside the store, another 50 fans jostled for a glimpse through the window.
Just another public appearance for a guy who's been an award-winning pro skateboarder since age 13 and has his own MTV reality show, "Life of Ryan."
"The crying girls, the girls that pass out — I think that's pretty funny," he nervously joked.
Now Sheckler hopes that his swooning fans will come out to see him on the AST Dew Tour, which kicked off Thursday in Baltimore and will move on to Cleveland; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; and Orlando, Florida. Ryan will compete in the Skate Park events, a category in which he's won first place for the last three years. But this time around, one of his best buddies may end up being his toughest competition.
"Greg Lutzka, he's a guy [with whom I] go back and forth, first and second, on all the tours," Sheckler said. "We'll see how this year goes. We're definitely really good friends. He lives right by me, so we skate all the time."
Also significant this year is that the AST Dew Tour has partnered with MTV and NBC, broadening the event's coverage and the sport's public visibility.
"It's definitely going to bring us more viewers. That's what we need. We need people to see how sick the action-sports world is."
When Ryan isn't landing his patented "Shecklair" (that's an indie kick-flip fly-out, for those not in the know), he's rocking out to Lil Wayne. "I've been listening to him for the last two years. That's all I can listen to."
And, like any other successful public figure these days, he's diversifying. He says he's in the early designing stages for his own clothing company and is taking another crack at acting — though nothing too far from what he does best.
"We just did 'Street Dreams' with Rob Dyrdek," Sheckler said of his fellow MTV star, from "Rob & Big." "My part in that is basically a famous skate kid, so it kind of fits."
AST Dew Tour Dates, according to AST.com:
» 6/19-22: Baltimore, MD @ Camden Yards Sports Complex
» 7/17-20: Cleveland, OH @ North Coast Harbor
» 8/21-24: Portland, OR @ Action Sports Playground
» 9/11-14: Salt Lake City, UT @ EnergySolutions Arena
» 10/16-19: Orlando, FL @ Amway Arena
See Also
