#219 - Chad Caruso's Ride from Addiction to Advocacy.

I'm stoked to bring you a conversation with Chad Caruso, a dude who embodies what it means to push yourself to the limits. Chad's story is a wild ride from the streets of New York to the Guinness Book of World Records, and he doesn't just tell his story; he inspires us to redefine our own limits.

This episode has us cruising down memory lane and the vast American landscape with Chad as he recounts his cross-country skating adventure. Dodging traffic, and mastering the art of capturing it all on camera, his tales are a testament to the relentless spirit of a skater. We get real about the injuries, the battles with addiction, and the sobering journey back to the board—a journey that many of us can relate to in our own quests for personal triumph.

We wrap up with Chad's vision of leaving a legacy. He shares his dreams for his nonprofit and the documentary that might just land him on Netflix, all while offering a candid look at the transformative power of sobriety. This episode isn't just about skateboarding; it's about falling down and getting back up, about the freedom found in four wheels, and about the community we build when we Keep Pushing together. Join us, and let Chad's story spark a fire in your own ride through life.
Enjoy,
Shan

Checkout Chad's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChadCaruso

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Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:20

Hey, it's Shan here. Welcome back to another episode, another year of the podcast. This week I start the year off with Chad Caruso. Chad is probably best known for his recent feat of skateboarding across America. He did it unassisted. He now holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest skate across America. He talks about that journey, the story, all the media coverage that happened after it. He also talks about his YouTubeing, his early days as a YouTuber, which is sort of how he got started doing how to do videos, his vlog. He also did the 50 tricks in 50 states journey.

Speaker 2: 1:03

He's just a really interesting guy who seems to go with the flow of life. I kind of thought I was going to be talking to someone who's super motivated and trying to be inspirational and stuff like that, but he's just like a dude who just likes to set challenges. He talks about his sobriety journey and how that was quite influential on him being motivated to do what he does. Talks about being on the Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis podcast Hawk vs Wolf. Talks about how Tony Hawk bought his skateboard that he's skated across America with, and much, much more. We go into depth about content creation and being a YouTuber. I did find that interesting the challenge of being identified as a YouTube skateboarder or a core skater, and yeah, we just delve into that a little bit, but overall pretty relaxed convo, great dude, so hope you enjoy it. Happy New Year everybody. And I was actually watching your vlogs years ago, especially when you did the 50 tricks in 50 states. Was that the right one, yep? What motivated you to do that? Out of curiosity?

Speaker 1: 2:31

Well, so I had a YouTube channel for a few years and I came up with this thing New Trick Every Day for a month. So it was like right, when I started YouTube, I get off of work and I just like raced to the skate park and I'm just like learning YouTube, making videos and learning tricks. And after I finished that, I was like how could I top this? You know, a year or two later it like hit me and I was like, holy shit, that's possible.

Speaker 2: 2:57

Do you mind if I ask how old you are?

Speaker 1: 3:00

Yeah, how old am I? I'll be 37 in a month.

Speaker 2: 3:04

Nice, and you've been skateboarding your whole life. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 3:10

I mean I kind of got started late, like 13, something like 14, so maybe 25 years, something like that.

Speaker 2: 3:18

Isn't that funny how that's considered late.

Speaker 1: 3:20

Now it's late yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:24

You skated across America. I kind of just want to get that out of the way. Early, an amazing feat, and I'm really curious as to, again, what inspired that originally. Was it just an offshoot of what you had already been doing on YouTube and it was just a fresh idea?

Speaker 1: 3:45

Yeah, I mean it was, as you know, you hear the New Trick Every Day and the 50 States. It kind of makes sense Like the trajectory, like how am I going to top that, like what's the next thing? You know, I mean, and then I was just doing research and I saw like no one like legitimately did it, like people have crossed and maybe they took breaks or didn't measure it properly. So when I saw that I was like that's pretty interesting and no one's really like concretely cleanly done it, so I just became obsessed. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:13

Obsessed? Yeah, I just was, I think. For me personally, I was so impressed by not only were you pushing up to what 50 miles a day, correct?

Speaker 1: 4:22

Every day yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:24

But then you were like going back to wherever you were staying and then like editing your videos, which is a lot of work and exhausting as well.

Speaker 1: 4:31

Yeah, 57 days in a row, daily vlogging, honestly, like people see the skate and they think that's the hard part. To me, it was the video editing, the filming all day long. Like I'm meeting people, I want to have genuine conversations and stuff. You know so I'm like trying to figure out ways where I could hold the camera like calmly, like subtly, you know so no one notices, because that changes like the dynamic. You know, that was probably the hardest part.

Speaker 2: 4:58

I just could feel that actually and you know this is a bit of a random question so you're quite predominant on YouTube and you have now done this amazing feat. Do you feel like it's actually helped you or has transitioned you into more than just a YouTube skater or vlogger?

Speaker 1: 5:20

Yeah, I mean honestly I feel like nothing's changed, like I just the same. I don't know that's the same thing every day. I just go skate Like I don't even think about it. But I did notice that people that watch the skate across America it kind of hit a different audience. Like 70 year old people could watch it, like 13 year old kids. It was kind of more generic or you know, you could. More people could relate to the idea. The 50 States is like if you don't skate and you're watching someone try a trick for three hours in a row, you're like it's like a different language, you know.

Speaker 2: 5:54

Yeah, interesting, because I've noticed, like, since that, you know you've had a lot of mainstream media coverage, you know you've featured on some pretty amazing podcasts, like the Hawk first Wolf podcast, and I guess I was just curious because me and my friends we talk a lot about. You know, there's the, there's YouTube skaters, and then there's skaters, skaters, and it's very obvious from the start that you set out to be effectively a YouTube skater, right? So I guess I was just curious to see if it has actually opened up more opportunities for you, would you say?

Speaker 1: 6:30

I mean it's kind of funny. You say that because I started the first 20 or whatever 18 years or something being a core skater. I think that was the only way I you know, I actually was completely against like YouTube and filming contests like all that stuff. You know, it wasn't until I got sober when I like embraced it and tried out this new thing, okay. But yeah, I don't know the question was did I get more exposure.

Speaker 2: 6:58

Well, no, has it? Has it created opportunities beyond YouTube?

Speaker 1: 7:03

No.

Speaker 2: 7:04

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:06

Almost honestly it was like no, I've been on the podcast and stuff like that, but really nothing came from those things and no opportunities, no brandy, like literally nothing. So it looks cool from the outside but like everyday life is like exactly the same.

Speaker 2: 7:24

It's a tough world, you know, like create, like not create. I mean, I get really conflicted about the term conflict content creation. You know it's content just seems so generic. But I just feel like there's a real sincerity to what you do, even with your vlogs, and I think that's why I was captivated by what you were doing originally. But I think also it's like this endless beast you have to feed, and is it really enhancing people's lifestyles or hindering them? What would you?

Speaker 1: 7:56

say what? Just consuming content or creating content?

Speaker 2: 7:59

Creating content.

Speaker 1: 8:01

I mean, it depends on the person you know it depends how they approach it.

Speaker 1: 8:05

You know, if you're like if that's going to be your job and you just have to keep pumping it out, eventually like the creativity well runs dry or it goes in waves, you know what I mean. So it's like if you're just having to pump it out every day to pay the bills, at some point it's going to like get exhausting mentally. Or you're like forcing yourself to do things. Maybe you don't want to do Interesting. I've just I run a food truck, I have other jobs and things, so I don't even like focus. Whatever happens with that is just kind of on the side. So you know, if you see, after this get across America, I just stopped uploading until I'm basically psyched again, you know, until I have another idea or like something I don't know.

Speaker 2: 8:48

So it's. It's not like it's your end game. It's not your bread and butter. You said to have other jobs.

Speaker 1: 8:54

And it probably could be if I like, cared more. I don't know. I feel like I care more about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it than making money on it. You know, I've been skating for 25 years, so I don't know if I want to like milk that I'd rather do it on something else. You know, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 9:15

And Guinness World, records, guinness Book of World, records have actually documented it, as can you clarify exactly what the achievement is in the Guinness Guinness Book?

Speaker 1: 9:26

of Records, so it's written out as the fastest crossing of America on a skateboard.

Speaker 2: 9:31

Right, so it's not the first.

Speaker 1: 9:32

No, it technically is the first, but that's just how they word it.

Speaker 2: 9:36

Okay.

Speaker 1: 9:36

Yeah Cause, all right. So one guy did it before this guy, jack Smith, and when I was doing my research I found out he did it with three people in like a relay where they each skated like five miles, rotated the whole time. They had like a car, you know, it was just like a different thing. And then when Guinness looked into it they were like oh yeah, he didn't actually do it, got that one wrong footed.

Speaker 2: 10:02

Wow, dude, and you must be fit, bro. I was thinking that. And like was your front leg just like, massively, like did it just get really muscly, like I don't know, like did you have a huge, one calf muscle bigger than the other?

Speaker 1: 10:19

No, because I push switch basically evenly the whole time, so like they're half and half. If you don't, yeah, like your legs you're done. Like you gotta push switch yeah.

Speaker 2: 10:31

You were switching around, I guess.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Yeah, and it's tough because you're like going up hills, on the side of the road there's like little rocks everywhere, ridges, you know, like to prevent the cars from like driving off the side and like you got no room. So you're pushing switch and you don't feel comfortable. You're like you want to go back to regular, you know. So you end up like you know, beating up your one leg more. But you have to do what you can and balance it out.

Speaker 2: 10:59

Dude and like we're getting back to your hotel and just stretching recovering, what were you doing?

Speaker 1: 11:06

Yeah, in the beginning I was, but with, like you said before, the you know doing the daily vlogs. I get to the hotel, I eat really quick and then I would just tackle this project like a three, four hour you know thing of editing All the days. Foot is chopping everything up. You know, I gotta do the thumbnail and, like you know, and it's not just that you gotta think, well, I'm posting on Instagram every day too, and then you got to write a caption. Sometimes that could hold you up for like a half hour. You're like wait sure. Like you know what I mean. You're just like there's so many little details, you know, like a titling and like all the stuff, so it's crazy and you were doing all on your phone.

Speaker 1: 11:45

Everything and my whole YouTube channel. For the past seven years, or whatever it's been, the whole thing's been on my phone.

Speaker 2: 11:52

Dude, that's so right man, Like just so motivated, like just such a motivated human. I was just thinking about it, like where do you, where does your energy come from? Is it just pure passion?

Speaker 1: 12:06

I honestly have no idea. Um that's. I've been that way since I was a kid, like if I get excited about something, I'm just all in on it, you know.

Speaker 2: 12:15

I thought you would have had more sketchy situations. I watched it and then I noticed in the last or the second last vlog it was like yeah, I think you're in Virginia Beach coming into the town and you almost got hit by a car there.

Speaker 1: 12:26

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 12:28

And, but, but nowhere else in the whole trip.

Speaker 1: 12:29

Oh no, there was plenty. It's just you know how often can you be holding the phone to catch them? You know what I mean. There were times where I'm listening to headphones and you get into the zone, you forget that you're on the edge of a highway and you like step off the side and you're like car zips by your face and you're like, oh well, like I should probably turn my headphones down a little bit or I'll die. You know?

Speaker 2: 12:51

No way and like didn't come across any like sketchy humans, like people wanting to roll you yeah, things like that.

Speaker 1: 12:58

I mean for the most part nothing too crazy. No one like actually tried to rob me. I've had people like maybe they had drugs or we're looking for drugs or a little sketchy, but when you're holding like a little camera, like picture like running up on me, I got this backpack, like it's just like you know what I'm just going to pass this guy, it's probably not worth it. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 13:20

It's insane dude and I don't look flashy either.

Speaker 1: 13:25

You know what I mean. So it's like I don't know, what are you going to get at me? You don't lose something stealing from me. I mean, I got nothing.

Speaker 2: 13:34

And again, again. That's what was so insane that you just had the one backpack, and I remember at one point I think you ditched your. You threw away a jumper or a jacket as well, as it got warmer.

Speaker 1: 13:45

Yeah, so I had one. What was it? I think it like two spare outfits, to start.

Speaker 2: 13:50

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 13:51

And then like the one I was wearing and then one in my bag, and ended up just dumping the extra one because of the weight. Like you don't realize these little things like a couple of items here and there are a charger and outfit and something else and you're like all day long you're wearing this weight on your back for 10 hours. You know it matters. So I ditched the outfit and at the end of the night I throw on shorts, throw that in the wash and then just every single night, like I had to make sure the hotel had a washing machine- Interesting, and you found yourself funded the whole trip, correct?

Speaker 1: 14:29

Yep and the 50 States one too.

Speaker 2: 14:32

So can we delve into the difficulty of sponsorship.

Speaker 1: 14:37

Yeah, well, so did you?

Speaker 2: 14:39

did you try to get sponsors for it?

Speaker 1: 14:41

Yeah, so I messaged or emailed like a bunch of companies. I thought it was pretty professional. You know I had decks and things written out and you know I had already done the 50 States thing. So I kind of had like proof I'm going to do something like this. You know it's not just some idea. But you know, skate companies, my vibe and I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth, but I just got a vibe like they didn't want to be a part of it or maybe they were nervous too because like, how will they take it is just he's like half core, half not. Like you know, they don't want to get ruined their name by going like on a YouTube skater. You know what I mean. That's just kind of how it felt. And then I'd message the camel back and other brands and they just like no, it's not really up our alley, like some people were there.

Speaker 2: 15:31

And the shoes? What about shoes?

Speaker 1: 15:33

I actually had some dealings with skate companies where I like emailed them and they said yes, and then they almost seemed like they checked with like someone higher up and they were like actually, like well, good luck on your trip. Like you know, we can't expanse you.

Speaker 2: 15:49

Interesting. What about post event, you know? I mean, you've got some pretty good street cred from the likes of Tony Hawk, who actually went and bought your skateboard off of you, correct?

Speaker 1: 16:00

Yep.

Speaker 2: 16:01

That's pretty rad.

Speaker 1: 16:02

Yeah, it's insane. Yeah, I mean I don't know. I mean I don't know if it's just because maybe I don't wear like a ton of brands, or maybe it's because I'm older. I really have no idea, yeah it's a tough game, bro.

Speaker 2: 16:17

It's a tough game, man. I've got a question, but you don't have to answer it. I'm going to ask, like I've got to know, how much did you just how much you, tony, bought the board for?

Speaker 1: 16:28

I don't want to say because it's his personal information. You know what I mean. Sorry, he probably wouldn't care, but I just don't want to. You know respect, yeah, yeah, it makes sense. It wasn't like an insane amount or something. You know what I mean, but I appreciated that he was even interested in it, you know, and threw me anything.

Speaker 2: 16:46

Yeah, were you surprised that he wanted to buy it?

Speaker 1: 16:49

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it made sense afterwards when I saw like his collection and like how much he loved you know old skateboards and memorabilia and things like that. But at first, yeah, I was like what? When I got the email, I thought it was fake For it to come on his podcast. I was like this has to be, you know, some scam or something.

Speaker 2: 17:11

So they reached out to you to be on the podcast. Yeah, interesting. So you know Jason Ellis is Australian. You know I used to watch Jason Ellis skate in Australia back in the day and on vert ramps and stuff. So it's kind of a trip for a lot of Australian skaters, especially in my age range, to see Jason Ellis such a well, he was such a predominant figure on LA radio and just to sort of see where he is now with that it's. I find it really interesting actually.

Speaker 1: 17:40

Yeah it's awesome. He's been super consistent. That's what I take away from him, like he's just plowed away at it for years and years and years. He's like I remember him being on like XM, just like on the radio, you know, always having a show, always doing something you know. So they paid off.

Speaker 2: 17:59

Yeah, it did For sure. How was that experience, though I'm curious as a podcaster.

Speaker 1: 18:06

Damn. I mean, it was weird at first. Like anytime you walk in you see a guy for like 30 years. You know, actually he was the one of the first skateboarders I ever saw, because my brother gave me a skate video called Propaganda and Tony Hawk was in that 19,. What? 91, I think it came out and so you know it's my first video. So like 25 years later the guy's interviewing me, you walk in, it's like you know, but then afterwards it's just a normal conversation. You know, he's just into skating just as much as I am.

Speaker 2: 18:37

Just another dude, right? Yeah? Yeah, he's actually doing like an open mic speak story night in Australia, in Sydney, in a few weeks and I'm going with a bunch of friends and he'll be on stage just telling his story. It's really going to be curious to see how they format an evening like that. But the same thing, like you know, you feel like you know these people. I mean, my first ever skate movie was the Search for Animal Chin and I think it was 1988. Yeah, I'm 46 now and yeah, you do. You watch them in videos for 30 years and you feel like they know you right, and I feel like that's almost similar to what's going on in this world with these consistent YouTube creators such as yourself. You've got quite a large following. Do you have people approach you in the street now and feel like they know you because they watch your vlogs?

Speaker 1: 19:36

Oh yeah, all the time, yeah, and I'll see people like bring it back, Like they'll be like talking to me, and then they're like oh wait, I forget. Like you don't know me. Also, you know, like I see them like sometimes I'll say it or I could just tell you know, but yeah, it's common, More so in New York, or if I go to a skate park because it's a pretty small niche, you know what I mean. So like I'm not that I don't have that many followers, but in skateboarding it's kind of a lot, you know.

Speaker 2: 20:02

It's a lot yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:04

Skating yeah.

Speaker 2: 20:06

It's skating, it's skating.

Speaker 1: 20:08

In our little world, you know.

Speaker 2: 20:10

I really like. I think I really admire your humility. There's a humility about you that I find awesome. Can you tell us about your early life, like where did you grow up?

Speaker 1: 20:20

So I grew up in Long Island, new York. Okay, yeah, nothing crazy about it. I mean it was nice having the city nearby and just being in New York in general, I feel like it kind of ups the level of competition just being around like that hustle, you know. It's like overall, you just kind of like be at a higher level. I could be completely wrong about that, but it just feels that way, you know.

Speaker 2: 20:45

Yeah, nice. And how would you describe your childhood, like you know, growing up in that environment, was it, you know, reflecting on it with positive experience or feelings?

Speaker 1: 20:55

Yeah yeah, I loved it in New York. Both my parents cool. They were into like Buddhism, yoga, things like that. Yeah yeah, so super chill, relaxed parents, you know. And I had two older brothers, so they one of them skated the one that gave me the video and they always, like you know, beat me up. I was always competing against them and you know. So that's what kind of made me, I guess I don't know just into like challenges and pushing myself. You know, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 21:26

Did you feel like you needed to prove yourself constantly?

Speaker 1: 21:29

Um, I mean, I don't even. I wasn't thinking about it like that. It was just like I have to keep up with these guys, Like I'm playing a game and they're just kind of bullying me. You know, I have to like, get better.

Speaker 2: 21:39

Okay.

Speaker 1: 21:40

Interesting.

Speaker 2: 21:42

How would you describe your time at school as a child? Were you a good student?

Speaker 1: 21:46

Oh no, it was horrible. Oh horrible since the start. Well, not since the start, all right. So I was like a good student, never missed a day of school. And then I went to the hospital one day and they were keeping me in and I was going to miss my first day of school. I like didn't want to. I was begging them, no, no. And then, once I did, I just basically never cared about school again and that was like fifth grade, you know what I mean. And then, like the rest of my life, I just got, you know, I got into skating. So I was cutting all the time, I got left back twice and then I just dropped out.

Speaker 2: 22:25

Right, how old were you when you got into skating? Exactly 13.

Speaker 1: 22:29

Yeah, 13, 14. It's about a blur between 12 and 14, I think.

Speaker 2: 22:34

High school Before high school yeah. Yeah, nice. What were you into before skating? Did you have any other hobbies, like things that you went to?

Speaker 1: 22:45

Yes, I played basketball and baseball because that's what my dad was into my brothers, so I was like one of the best players on the team. I loved it. I went to like camps in the summer. I was just as intense about that stuff as skating. But you know, playing on the basketball team after school, you know three-hour practice or whatever it is, and then getting home skating I was starting to get shin splints, I got Killy's tendonitis, like all this stuff. So I ended up just quitting the team and just both teams and just only skating.

Speaker 2: 23:17

Yeah, nice dude, that's exactly what happened to me. I was I used to play. I played soccer from the age of five till, yeah, 12, and then I found a skateboard and I remember I was on the side. My friend bought it to the soccer game one day and I'm at half time like I'm trying to learn how to ollie on the grass with my soccer boots on.

Speaker 1: 23:35

That's awesome.

Speaker 2: 23:36

I just remember thinking I'll never play soccer again.

Speaker 1: 23:39

Yeah, I think yeah. Once I found skating, everything just kind of got dull, you know.

Speaker 2: 23:46

How did dad feel about that, though, when you quit?

Speaker 1: 23:50

So he, all right, he wanted me to keep playing sports, but you know he would drive me to a skate park occasionally and he wasn't like against it, but he wanted me to like do well, in school at least, and like pass. You know, I remember making a deal with me If you pass I think it was what, seventh grade or something If you pass, I'll pay for your trip to California, because I've been begging, like you know, you're a skater in New York, you just want to go to California. That's where the whole scene is, you know. And I failed. I just I couldn't even pass then. Yeah, so he tried.

Speaker 2: 24:31

Yeah, interesting. So in terms of, like you said, you left school, what did you do for work, like how are you surviving in the world?

Speaker 1: 24:41

Yeah, I was like at a young age I kind of hated the whole system, I was against it and this was like before. I never used internet. I just like hated the idea of like you go to school, you go to college nine to five, like I just didn't believe in that. Yeah, so I was just I would work at a skate shop here and there, pick up odd jobs. I just like learning shit, so I would just do whatever you know.

Speaker 2: 25:10

So always just odd jobs.

Speaker 1: 25:12

Yeah, yeah, just, I work construction for like six months. Yeah, honestly, anything Worked at the Moot ran a movement company right now.

Speaker 2: 25:21

Hospitality. I run a food truck as a server Food truck.

Speaker 1: 25:25

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 25:27

What sort of food is it?

Speaker 1: 25:28

Mexican food.

Speaker 2: 25:29

Right tacos.

Speaker 1: 25:31

Yeah, a place called Swaltaco. The owner was from California. He moved to New York, Started like a California style Mexican restaurant. It's got like skate and surf stuff everywhere. Yeah, it's cool.

Speaker 2: 25:44

I love Mexican food. We don't really have the greatest Mexican food here, but the Mexican food in Southern California was insane. I went to Mexico and I feel like the Mexican food in Southern California was better than Mexico.

Speaker 1: 25:59

Yeah, I mean, it depends. It's probably more of a palette thing, right. It's probably more like Americanized a little bit, even, you know, I mean Gotcha. Maybe it's more authentic coming from there, so it has a little bit of a different style.

Speaker 2: 26:12

Yeah, Did you have dreams as a teenager to make it in skating sponsored? You know things like that.

Speaker 1: 26:20

Yeah, I didn't know what that really meant, but I was, yeah, I was. I remember I said to myself when I was 14 years old I was like Um, look at that, all right, make a living off of skateboarding. Or like that's it, like that you just dropped out of school, like that was my only goal. Yeah, that was it. Yeah, until I, like, started drinking a little older and then I kind of just like threw that away.

Speaker 2: 26:48

So did you consciously throw the dream away?

Speaker 1: 26:52

Um, let's see. I mean, I remember one distinct moment. Um, I was getting flow from s and I worked at the skate shop and like that's how I got on s and they gave me the opportunity to go meet up with the team and do a demo. So my friend drove me four hours upstate to do this demo. Um, and I'm standing there and like I didn't want to be that annoying kid like jumps on the course and tries to skate and I couldn't find the team manager I think it was a guy, scoob of Steve at the time couldn't find him and I just didn't want to be that kid to just jump out there. Um, so I didn't skate and I remember at that moment I just felt like like that was a pivotal moment. I was like you're not cut out for like skating in front of people and contests and like I kind of at that point was like, yeah, this isn't like your thing.

Speaker 2: 27:46

Interesting.

Speaker 1: 27:47

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 27:48

Do you think some, do you think some skaters hold onto the dream too long?

Speaker 1: 27:54

No, I don't think so. I mean, in a sense I kind of still hold on to the dream by skating across America at 36 years old. You know like there's some truth through it, but um, I don't know. I think if you love it, like, do it, you know. But the thing that frustrates me sometimes is people hold on to the dream but they don't do the things to accomplish the dream. It's like, yeah, you hate, you love skating so much you want to make a living off it, but you hate everything about like making money or this or that kind of conflicts. Like you're going to have to make it a job at some point, you know like they're not putting in the work right.

Speaker 1: 28:32

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 28:34

Wow, yeah, that's really interesting. Hmm, I want to talk a little bit about, uh, you mentioned you, your sobriety journey. I mean, it almost feels cliche these days to discuss sobriety journeys because a lot of people are talking about it online, which I think in public, I think it's fantastic, um, and it just turns out people, a lot of people, are realizing that, hey, alcohol is not great, you know, yeah, yeah, it is. But, uh, do you mind if you share why you felt like it was something you wanted to let go of?

Speaker 1: 29:11

Yeah, um. So you know I skated like you could tell how obsessed I was about skating, right, I did that like my whole life. I was like 22,. And then I had a knee injury. I had ACL and PCL on my knee. Then did the surgery. I was like pumped to come back right. When I healed Six months later, some kid crashed into me at the skate park, tore my MCL on the same knee and that kind of knocked the wind out of me. You know, it was just like, and that's when I went more into. You know you're hanging out with friends partying and I kind of. You know I still skated, but that more like cool guy like, oh, just talk about skating, I don't take it seriously, you know. And then that led to 2DWIs fast forward. So you know I'm $10,000 in debt, putting other people in situations by borrowing money. And then that's when I realized like I got it. Something's got to change.

Speaker 2: 30:06

Yeah, do you mean to get you know? We call them DUIs, but you call them DWIs. Well, there's so drink driving, correct?

Speaker 1: 30:17

There's driving under the influence and there's driving while intoxicated. There's like two separate things. Here you get in trouble for, and DWI is like more serious.

Speaker 2: 30:26

Okay, I mean so that it really does highlight that maybe you have a problem there. Why were you drinking originally? Was it Were you trying to numb something, or was it just because you wanted to party?

Speaker 1: 30:41

So I mean, I was just kind of having fun. But looking back I realized it was that desire to skateboard, to have the dream like, to be focused on just anything you know, like that obsession and that love for something was kind of gone. So when it left it got filled by alcohol Interesting.

Speaker 1: 31:02

It's an easy way to forget about your dreams, and you know what I mean Talk about them and have fun and not think about it. And then eight years go by and you know like you're in a completely different spot. It's just like.

Speaker 2: 31:15

How old were you when you first started drinking? If you don't mind me asking.

Speaker 1: 31:19

I got started late. I was like completely sober, I think, until like 1920. That's interesting. It wasn't really until I got injured when I started.

Speaker 2: 31:30

Yeah, okay, yeah. So because it sounds like you had like a quite a happy childhood too. I mean, that's quite a common one for people, you know, it's like the trauma thing and they've had traumatic things happen to them when they were younger, and alcohol does work in suppressing those dark feelings and emotions. But you're sort of saying for you it was post injury and letting go of a transitional period in your life.

Speaker 1: 31:55

Yeah yeah, I think it definitely had to do with that, Like you know, kind of giving up. My whole life was based on skating, you know what I mean. So when I, like I gave that up, that whole guy filled, you know.

Speaker 2: 32:07

So funny because it's just a different perspective. Actually, I actually haven't heard that one before. It's different. No, I really like it. Can you maybe highlight some ways your life has improved since you actually removed that from your life?

Speaker 1: 32:22

Yeah, I mean I could fill a whole podcast with that. But you know, it was like at first you get more energy, you know, more excitement, more energy, more focus. You just like motivate. Yeah, that's how skating came back in my life and the idea to try out YouTube, something I was against my whole life, Like I needed something to do. I was like, all right, I'll make videos, document what I'm doing. You know, I'll make trick tips and share everything I learned. You know, which is a mindset I think came from getting sober. You get sober and you get clear. And like I had this moment where I realized all I did was take from skateboarding. My whole life for like 15 years, all I ever did was take from it and I never actually gave back. And then that's when I was like I'm going to get skate parks built, I'm going to get you know, and that's that's where that came about. I think that happened because I got sober.

Speaker 2: 33:14

Dude, I love that you said that man, love that I think I made myself included. A lot of people think that skateboarding owes them something, or even the world owes them something. And there's the famous Jake Phelps quote and he said skateboarding owes you nothing. Like he said, skateboarding owes you will bite in the rain and it's true, you know there's a lot of guys that are just sitting back expecting and wanting things from it, but you know, for me it's a meditation now, skateboarding at my age it really is.

Speaker 2: 33:47

You know, picking a trick, and I've seen it in your videos picking a trick and just chipping away at it, working on it. I love that process. You do too, yeah.

Speaker 1: 33:56

Me too. Yeah, I mean, you could tell all that 50 tricks in 50 states and stuff like that. It's like I love doing that. Most people when they look at that, they're like you're insane, Like what are you doing? That's punishment, you know, and I'm thinking like this is awesome. Like you know what I mean, I'm feeling more relaxed there than I do, Like, you know, sitting at home. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 34:15

Yeah, I'm just saying more of a transition guy.

Speaker 1: 34:19

So that goes back to the injury. A little bit, right, I had the injury, so I like I jumped down stuff less, I was still doing it, but when I got back in the skating it just made more sense to focus on that because of, like my you know my knee problems and I had a friend who did really technical tricks and I started unlocking this one little area where like I felt like no one was really exploring that much. So I was doing tricks that I felt no one was doing or like very few people were doing. So that just excited me. It was like a new thing, you know, just like trying to help grow the encyclopedia of skateboarding, you know, like trying to do new tricks.

Speaker 2: 35:01

I love that and, like you had, I love your lip trick combinations Like the master of it dude and you were skating that spine mini ramp and remember there was one I was watching and it didn't have coping. It was just like a metal edge, yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was like a spine, but it was like a wide spine.

Speaker 1: 35:20

That's my hometown park, yeah.

Speaker 2: 35:22

Yeah, what state, what city is that in?

Speaker 1: 35:26

That's in Copeg in Long Island, New York.

Speaker 2: 35:28

Right, because it didn't look easy to skate at all.

Speaker 1: 35:31

It's not, no, but I grew up skating that park. I actually so rewind like 20 something years and I petitioned to open that park when I was like 15 years old, me and my best friend. We were getting kicked out of the spots and stuff like that. And our friend's mom was like you should make a petition for a skate park. So we did, took it around, took a picture with the you know the um was it like the town supervisor? You know what I mean? Like an opening day demo, all that stuff. And so I've been going to that park for 20 years so I got used to that weird kind of coping.

Speaker 2: 36:05

So you're partly responsible for the creation of that park.

Speaker 1: 36:08

Yep and I just got them to renovate it, so it's going to be brand new cement park. Should be within this year or next year.

Speaker 2: 36:16

Yeah, I seen that on Instagram, like I've seen a story put up that people were stealing their pool coping.

Speaker 1: 36:22

That's a different. That was a neighboring park A couple of times over, but yeah.

Speaker 2: 36:27

Why.

Speaker 1: 36:28

Yeah, I actually found out who it was and it was some like local skaters and they used it some somewhere else.

Speaker 2: 36:35

I feel like a DIY or something.

Speaker 1: 36:37

Yeah, like a pool, local pool. I'm getting demoed anyway, but yeah.

Speaker 2: 36:44

And so then they're going to actually renovate that park or your original park.

Speaker 1: 36:48

Yeah, they're going to both of them. Mine is because I kind of petitioned, went to the town, talked with them, I pushed for it and that one was more cause they actually built that park on like like a swamp or like something like underneath the grad, like they built it where they shouldn't have built it, like an illegal spot basically. So there's nothing to do really with the coping, but it kind of all fell in the place where they're like all right, we got to fix this park.

Speaker 2: 37:17

So amazing. I don't know what it's like in the States, but in around the area I live in in New South Wales, australia, there, since the Olympics, local governments have just been building skate park after skate park. It's insane.

Speaker 1: 37:33

Really, that's awesome.

Speaker 2: 37:34

Yeah, and like they're getting. There's a few really amazing contractors in our country who would just have got it down to a fine art. They're just building the best skate parks and I'm almost like a little bit resentful, cause I'm like what do all these skate parks have to happen?

Speaker 1: 37:51

when I'm in my late forties, that's the best time, that's when you need them. You need that nice smooth ground, nice mellow ramps, everywhere bunch of options.

Speaker 2: 38:01

Yeah, I mean, how do you? How do you feel about the the growth of skateboarding in recent years? Are you feeling positive about it or, you know, do you feel like it's turning more mainstream?

Speaker 1: 38:15

I literally never think about it, like I don't yeah, I really don't care, and I think I mean I like that there's more skate parks for people to use. That's cool and I, you know, I want to help get more parks built for kids, but in terms of like Olympics or thinking about that stuff, I could care less and I think it's more about how it is for you. You know, I mean each person, that's what skating is for you and like I don't think about it. So I just have fun and that's what it is to me. It's this beautiful thing Anyone could enjoy anywhere. I don't care about what people are saying about it, or it's sure there shouldn't do this, you know. So it's your world, your mind and how you view it for each person, you know.

Speaker 2: 38:57

Dude, I love that yeah.

Speaker 1: 39:02

I mean, that's just my view, you know.

Speaker 2: 39:04

Speaking of minds, I noticed that you've just recently started your own podcast called the feeble minded podcast. Is that correct?

Speaker 1: 39:12

That's correct, but I just switched it to the keep pushing podcast. Yeah, not publicly, but it just makes sense with the skate across America and the sobriety and stuff. I was finding like people didn't the feeble minded thing with skaters. They got it because of the feeble. If you don't skate, that's kind of like a negative connotation feeble minded, you know, like a week of mind. Yeah, exactly. People like, yeah, they don't want to hop on board with that. You know exactly.

Speaker 2: 39:40

What are you aiming to achieve with it? What's your basic premise?

Speaker 1: 39:44

Yeah, I mean, I just love hearing like you, I'm sure just hearing people's stories, and you know people that overcome difficult things, whether it's, you know, making it and skating or sobriety. I had someone on who lost 180 pounds in like 18 months. So I just like hearing people overcoming things and you know that's really it.

Speaker 2: 40:04

Wow, Actually I want to listen to that. I'm curious as to how they did it.

Speaker 1: 40:08

Yeah. Yeah, I guess he was on like the Ellen show and all this stuff. It was like this huge thing.

Speaker 2: 40:15

Did he do it in a healthy way?

Speaker 1: 40:17

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 40:17

Okay.

Speaker 1: 40:18

I mean, he taught, he talks about it. There was like different waves of it, but yeah, okay, that's interesting.

Speaker 2: 40:24

It's interesting actually, like on a bit of a random tangent, I've been experimenting with fasting. Every couple of months, I won't eat, I won't eat for three days. And, man, I tell you, in terms of like a bio hack and making yourself feel better, I cannot get over how much better it makes me feel, like not just physically, mentally, yeah, like it's like my mind gets clear. I get this clarity. I don't get hungry after the first day. So you know just something I've learned recently.

Speaker 1: 40:53

I had the same experience when I did keto, when I did carnivore and when I fasted. All the same thing. You kind of just like get super sharp, right. It's weird, you get like more energy. You're like not like lagging and lazy. You know, I don't know. For me, yeah, I'm just like dialed in which you'd think, oh, I'm not getting energy, like from the food. You think it was the opposite. But I think not putting that stuff in there actually it makes you have to focus.

Speaker 2: 41:21

Yeah, yeah, and it gives you your digestive tract time to reset and rest and then your body uses that energy to heal instead of digesting. And I was like oh wow, and I sort of have that mindset while I'm doing it, like my body's healing now and it's going to places that hasn't been able to go because it's been digesting. So it's pretty cool, yeah, so like you've experimented with like things like keto and carnivore diet, is this all post? Is this all sobriety party of sobriety journey, just inspired by those things Interesting?

Speaker 1: 41:58

Yeah, I mean I wouldn't say like exactly inspired, but there's a clear trajectory there, like I never thought about it my whole life, dieting or eating healthy or anything and then I quit drinking and now you know I'm a chain smoker. So a year later your body just starts going. My body just starts going like what do you do and do? And just like you're poisoning yourself when you're drinking with it. You're just like, yeah, whatever you know, you don't even notice. But you start cleaning yourself out. And then the cigarettes eventually went and then after that started to eat healthy. You know what I mean? It was just like taking care of myself. Slowly, it's becoming clear, you know.

Speaker 2: 42:38

That's so interesting.

Speaker 1: 42:40

I would have never pictured you as a smoker, oh yeah, I used to chain smoke two packs a day for like 10, 15 years. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 42:49

So interesting.

Speaker 1: 42:51

So as much as like I'm like positive, or like you're saying like where do you get the energy from? Excited, I almost did the polar opposite, like I would drink to shock people, like I would go all in on smoking, or you know what I mean. I gave up six to eight years of my life just focusing on drinking, you know just like doing that, Like that's it. I did nothing else. You know that's a waste.

Speaker 2: 43:18

You know it's funny, I'm 11 years and January actually next week I'm 11 years sober Right, I woke up on New Year's Day this year without a hangover again and just was like I just felt so good, you know. And then I remember I lived near a beach and I went down to the beach for an early morning swim and there's people who'd been out all night, passed out on the beach, and I'm just like, oh man, so grateful, you know, because you lose a whole day. You lose days when you're hungover and just feel like I've got so much time back and yeah, but it's funny, like I don't even think about it anymore, Like I don't think about alcohol, it's not even like it's not even on my radar. I don't even actually, yeah, think about anything to do with it, except I just know, started to refine what makes me feel good.

Speaker 2: 44:13

You know, it's like I did try, like you, I tried bio hacks like the Keto diet and carnivore diet too, and I'm like, oh yeah, I worked a little bit and I just feel like it's just an ongoing journey and it just has levels. Just keep going up and up and up and up and up. And I know I just sorry to talk a lot here, but I just felt you're a really good example of that because, yeah, you've achieved something that no one else has really achieved.

Speaker 2: 44:39

And you've inspired. Legends of people bro.

Speaker 1: 44:42

It's. Thank you, I appreciate that. I mean it's just. Yeah, I feel the same way about it. I'm just like, seven years ago, told me I was gonna have a Guinness record, like maybe for like drinking the most beers in like an hour or something. Yeah, I mean not for something like like prestigious or meaningful or like you know what I mean, like something actually challenging. You know, I don't know, I just didn't. Yeah, it's been crazy. The way I describe it is back to what you were saying. Like instead of shooting up and then down, you just find like you're just perfectly steady and you get good at that and you understand it and life actually becomes easy because it's just like neutral. And then actually it raises a little above the normal level a little bit. You know what I mean, but it's still that steady thing and over time it keeps kind of increasing, like slowly, though just a little bit.

Speaker 2: 45:34

Yeah, yeah, I love it. I mean, it must have been. There is times when life gets really difficult and I'd like an escape, you know. But I find, when I don't escape and have to just sit in it and work through it and get through that challenging situation at another level, I just, you know, it's just the growth and I'd miss, I've been missing out on that growth, you know, and yeah, I'm just profoundly grateful for it more and more, you know, and I've got children.

Speaker 2: 46:05

So I think the biggest thing for me is, like you know, I have two young children and they've never seen me drink, you know, and so for me that's just the most inspiring thing.

Speaker 1: 46:14

Yeah, it's insane. You're a great role model. You have time and energy and you could focus and like be present, you know.

Speaker 2: 46:23

I know that you're somewhat of a I feel like you're somewhat of an entrepreneur with your food truck and stuff, but you mentioned that you have a non-for-profit that you've started. Can you share about that?

Speaker 1: 46:35

Yeah, I actually didn't like publicly announce it yet, so this is like the first I'm talking about it, but it's called the MiniRamp Foundation, so yeah. So my goal is, like the only thing kind of like it that I know of is the Skate Park project, like Tony Hawks Foundation, and I was just like I've gotten so many parks built in my area, been a part of it and know the system and it takes a long time and it's very expensive. So my goal is to just do like mini ramps, like and fill the gaps in around the US a skate park, so there's not a hundred 200 miles in between where a kid could skate and you can 10K, 20K. The town's just like oh yeah, cool, it happens faster and it's easier and just fill the states in with, like you know, mini ramp on concrete skate park, like a little rail or something, maybe an awning, and that's it, you know.

Speaker 2: 47:33

Yes, dude.

Speaker 1: 47:34

Yeah, so I still in the early stages. I'd never done anything like this. Like I said, I'm a dropout, so I'm figuring out how to run a nonprofit. You know, it's like it's an evolution, but I'm psyched, man.

Speaker 2: 47:46

Not a dropout.

Speaker 1: 47:48

No, I technically yeah.

Speaker 2: 47:52

Well, okay, I want to speak to that a little bit, because I didn't go to university until I was like in my mid 20s, like later. Prior to that, I was like I thought I was dumb and I thought that I needed to go to university. But in hindsight, you know, I don't really feel like I needed to. I just feel like I needed to be more motivated and I used to think that was going to define me. But you don't get feelings like that.

Speaker 1: 48:19

I mean, the only thing I've really thought about it was, I probably like what helped me stay more disciplined when I'm working, like it teaches you how to learn. You know what I mean and like I needed to learn that. And like be able to sit down and really you know, like plug away at something instead of just like I don't know, going out and skating or going on some crazy trip. You know what I mean, so that's really the only thing I think. I think I learned more lessons being out of school, dropping out, going to California. I learned tons of things from all those experiences.

Speaker 2: 48:56

Yeah, man, it's so good. So what are you going to call your new podcast? Keep pushing, keep pushing. Yeah, nice, nice. Who is that skater filmmaker? Remember the Barracks used to do those red videos Red camera, a sponsor by Red Camera and they'd pick like a really predominant skate filmer or and they would make a short clip. Forget who made one. They made it. It was called Keep On Pushing and it was just, and I had Chris Markovich and a bunch of guys just pushing in the streets.

Speaker 1: 49:33

That's awesome.

Speaker 2: 49:33

It was called Keep On Pushing. I'm going to look it up and share it with you, yeah, yeah, send it over to me yeah, that's really cool. Yeah, so what do you think like? What do you think's next for you, aside from you know what's happening in your life, aside from the non-for-profit and the podcast? You know where do you see yourself going in the next five, 10 years?

Speaker 1: 49:55

I mean that's a good question. I would say, yeah, the nonprofit's like one of the main things. I have a documentary coming out for the Skate Across America. So this summer, spring, summer, do the whole festival run. Try to get it in as many festivals as I can. Hopefully get some eyes on it, hopefully get it like on a streaming service. That's my goal. And then I have like a show lined up, written all the episodes out like filmed. They call it a sizzle for like everything's ready to go with the show. So hopefully I can get that. But yeah, that's shot in the dark like anything else you know.

Speaker 2: 50:33

Like a show, like a TV show.

Speaker 1: 50:35

Yeah, like a Netflix series. That's the goal, something like that.

Speaker 2: 50:39

On your Push Across America or different?

Speaker 1: 50:42

No, like it's almost an extension of that, so the documentary would be separate from the show. Yeah, but it was kind of embodied the similar feeling of my Skate Across America. You know how I was meeting up with people and talking with them and you know Well we filmed the documentary then.

Speaker 1: 51:02

I have a friend, john Testa. He, it's just basically him. He's got a company, six Sense, and he flew out on his own dime and, just like, met me a couple of times throughout the way, filmed some things, met me at the end and you know, that's it Rad okay, and it's made like a feature length documentary.

Speaker 1: 51:23

I think it's about 40 minutes. Okay, we're still toying. There's a couple of different versions too, but yeah, the one we have now is 40 minutes. So that's my goal. I mean, in an ideal world I'd love to do that and like take it around everywhere, maybe do a Q and A with it, something like that. You know, go to like theaters. I don't know, I'm just spitballing here, but we'll see where it goes.

Speaker 2: 51:45

Just laugh out. I didn't expect you to be so like, just casual about these.

Speaker 1: 51:52

Really yeah. Yeah, you just say, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 51:55

I see what happens when I'm like, yeah, maybe.

Speaker 1: 51:57

Yeah, I mean, all these ideas weren't like calculated or like I'm gonna make it, they were just like I do them and like that's it, you know.

Speaker 2: 52:09

You say you're going with the flow of life.

Speaker 1: 52:11

Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 2: 52:15

Where can people find the documentary? Where is it available now? It's not about it's not released yet.

Speaker 1: 52:20

Okay, Not yet, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, if they can catch it at a festival, which I'll post about, like on Instagram or like I said, as when you're premiering a documentary, you can't, like, really show it in a theater. So once that's done, maybe I'll do a tour where maybe I'll go to Australia and play it in some theaters around there, you know something like that. Right, but until then, yeah, you got to catch a festival.

Speaker 2: 52:44

Right, yeah, again, that'd be challenging but amazing. But I also say it is an amazing legacy item. Whether it's successful or not, you've produced this thing that will stand the test of time, even when you're long gone. So what a great thing to leave in the world.

Speaker 1: 53:01

Thanks, yeah, I don't think about that stuff. Just try to do it like the best I can and that's it. I leave it behind.

Speaker 2: 53:08

Yeah, I'll see you there. So good, dude, I love that. Did you get the keys to the city when you finished?

Speaker 1: 53:16

No, no, they actually hand me the keys to the city. They just gave me a day. It's called Chad Caruso day, so I don't know if that's like technically the keys, but they didn't like literally hand me a set of keys, but yeah, what city yeah, virginia.

Speaker 2: 53:30

Beach.

Speaker 1: 53:31

May 19th, the day I finished the skate across America, is Chad Caruso day. So I'm thinking maybe I'll go there and like we'll do like a 10 mile skate if people are down and we'll like I don't know.

Speaker 2: 53:44

What was the date again?

Speaker 1: 53:45

May 19th. May 19th.

Speaker 2: 53:48

That's Chad Caruso days only, like you know, four or five months away.

Speaker 1: 53:52

I remember I was just like what? This isn't real. I guess it was a joke.

Speaker 2: 53:56

Is there going to be pressure on you to turn like do something that day now?

Speaker 1: 54:00

Apparently, yeah, I mean I don't know. Probably I'll show up and hopefully people want to skate with me. If not, I'll just do it by myself.

Speaker 2: 54:13

Are you like the first gump of skateboarding?

Speaker 1: 54:16

I've gotten that a lot. I don't think so. Yeah, I just. I'm just, I have a stupid idea and I enjoy stupid ideas. Where people are like that's not possible, you're going to die, I'm like, all right. I think I got it yeah.

Speaker 2: 54:32

You must have felt that way when, like everyone, was following you towards the end, though.

Speaker 1: 54:37

About what.

Speaker 2: 54:38

Like, like when people were following you, like in that last leg, you know, you had a whole group of skaters skating with you. You must have felt a little bit forest gumpy. Um, I mean.

Speaker 1: 54:49

I was yeah, I wasn't thinking about anything, but that I was in all that people were even there. I just couldn't believe that there was that many people there. I was just completely shocked because my girlfriend called me. She's like, should I come down from New York for the finish? And I was like I don't know, it's like let me like 10 people there, five people there, you know, there was like hundreds of people there. It's like dead wrong about that whole thing. Luckily she came down. I just envisioned like like one guy like interviewing me or something and uh, you know like.

Speaker 2: 55:27

What other feedback have you had, though, from people? Have they told you that you have given them a sense of hope? Um?

Speaker 1: 55:35

yeah, I mean I've gotten every message you could imagine from sober people, from people that want to get sober or wanted to go after an idea. People have told me they skated across their state, their country. I think there's a guy doing it in Japan right now or something.

Speaker 1: 55:52

Um. So I've gotten a bunch of messages about that and, um, yeah, yeah, smoother or better, I didn't expect any of that Cause I did the 50 States thing. I fundraised for that. I didn't have enough money to make it on my trip. I just went for it and was like, hopefully people donate. You know, halfway through, luckily they did. Um, so this trip kind of felt the same, like I'm just going out on my own, like hopefully it works and I don't you know what are we going to do if they didn't, and you didn't have the money to pay for hotels and things?

Speaker 2: 56:26

We just going to borrow a little family or something.

Speaker 1: 56:28

Yeah, you figure it out. You meet someone, you hop on a bus, you sell your car, I don't know. You figure it out.

Speaker 2: 56:34

How do you feel about material possessions?

Speaker 1: 56:37

Um, I literally don't have anything and I've given basically anything away. That means anything. As you can tell, with the board, a lot of people said they would never have let that go. You know, I was just like, yeah, I don't care, I would have chucked it in the Atlantic. What?

Speaker 2: 56:54

I was going to.

Speaker 1: 56:55

But there weren't so many people there, I would have just threw it right in the ocean. Yeah, my whole life. I basically I think it comes from, like my parents being in the Buddhism and yoga, um non-attachment, not really caring about material things. So you know, anything that was ever found that was meaningful to me, I would instantly just give it away and like trying to make someone feel good or be selfless or you know. So that's just kind of got like integrated into my character and I don't even think about it.

Speaker 2: 57:26

Does your girlfriend share the same mindset?

Speaker 1: 57:29

No, not exactly. I mean she's very kind and giving, but like I don't think in the same way Okay, yeah, not in the same like like she could just let go, or you know, if her computer gets stolen, that's $3,000. I think she'd probably be upset. You know where I'd just be, like I don't know, whatever. Probably she didn't left it in the car, like moving on, you know.

Speaker 2: 57:51

I love it and like I just, yeah, it's, I just can't stop. Like it's just making me laugh. Actually, I can't stop smiling, man, I just love. I love everything you're saying about that. I think I get very attached to stuff and I've been working on that for years. Man, he's like even like practice.

Speaker 1: 58:07

If you find something you really like, like and you find yourself attached to it, challenge yourself like, give it to someone.

Speaker 2: 58:14

Yeah, so maybe yeah. Does it make you feel more liberated?

Speaker 1: 58:18

100%. Yeah, It'll change the way you view things too. It like it could just form a whole new pattern for how you like view the world and view material things, you know. And you'll see like the joy of making someone else feel good just kills, like what any material thing could do for me. That material thing almost takes away from you, you know. So by giving it you're like you'll flip it upside down by giving it away.

Speaker 2: 58:47

Yes sir, yes sir.

Speaker 1: 58:49

At least in my experience. I don't know.

Speaker 2: 58:51

Interesting. There's a guy in Australia, in the area that I live, who was inspired by you. He's been on the podcast, nathan Kealy. He's actually doing a skate. It's 300 kilometers and for Australian listeners they'll know the area. It's from a city called Port Macquarie to Newcastle. But he has no cartilage in his knees, he has like osteoarthritis.

Speaker 1: 59:15

Yeah, that's why I got two.

Speaker 2: 59:17

Yeah, interesting, yeah, yeah, and yeah, man, he's just doing it to raise awareness for suicide prevention and it's awesome yeah again. So, like I just want to share that with you, because we're on the other side of the world in this, some guy doing that because of something you did, bro.

Speaker 1: 59:37

Yeah, it's incredible. And to think I hated the internet years ago or people got things against it. Like yeah, there's bad parts of it, but I try not to focus on that. Like, share where you can be, do what you wish it was. What you wish the internet could be, is that like someone seeing it and getting psyched and doing it and spreading something good.

Speaker 2: 1:00:01

Look, dude, and I'm with you. I get mainly positivity out of it, even out of Instagram. I get some amazing DMs and connect with people. I mean, I connected with you. I think that way, and I think what I get a bit concerned, though, is that it's I have to keep reminding myself. It's not reality, it's just because you're chatting to someone in a DM or you're emailing regularly. It's not socializing. I'm sorry and I feel very concerned sometimes that there's just a generation of people who are thinking that they're socializing because they've been DMing all day and you know, and they're losing the art of conversation, the body language, and that's where I get people, being around people, and I think people just need to keep reminding themselves yeah, use these things for positive, positive and still put them down and get out there and actually be with people.

Speaker 1: 1:00:58

Funny say that because, like the other day, I was just thinking about the comments. You know, and you, as you start to grow, you start getting more and influx of just random people popping in that like just say whatever you know, and I have to remind myself like this it feels, maybe it feels like people hate you or you're doing something wrong or something. You know what I mean. Like people are, you know, talk and say nasty comments or whatever. And then I remember, wait, this literally happens zero times in my life, like in the real world. Not one person ever says anything negative to me or confronts me or has a bad moment with me. You know what I'm saying. So like it's weird thinking about the comments because it can skew your view of the world. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 1:01:44

Ah yeah, People are just sitting home like saying whatever it could be little kids or someone, you know what I mean. It's just like it's so I don't know, and it's a different world because you don't face consequences. So it's interesting. I'm like wait, no, every day my life's pretty good, Like these comments don't mean anything.

Speaker 2: 1:02:01

Yeah, there's less accountability. If they say that to your face, you could smell me.

Speaker 1: 1:02:07

Sorry, real quick. I don't want to say the comments don't mean anything because you know you get good ones that are super meaningful. But yeah, just wanted to make sure that was clear, True.

Speaker 2: 1:02:16

I mean, do you read comments on your YouTube or Instagram?

Speaker 1: 1:02:21

Yeah, I go in waves. You know like when I did the skate across America I was reading them and just laughing at people, like just the wide variety of opinions. You know Like it was just funny to see how many people who I'm doing this thing that technically has never been done and how many people were experts and better than me at it. It was just like hysterical. You know they're probably never even skateboarded. You know it's such a true.

Speaker 2: 1:02:49

It's such a true Again, I think, for me when I, just as a skateboarder, I was just like like he's got to change those wheels out. I kept thinking that the whole time, but then, yeah, you didn't, yeah, so yeah, I'm happy I didn't.

Speaker 1: 1:03:04

I think it made the whole thing just like funnier, more interesting, more exciting. And then afterwards you got this thing that just looks like I don't know like a piece of art, like you know what I mean, like I don't know it was just gritty and raw that's what spoke to me man Just so raw, like didn't have a support crew, had no one, really, you know, supplying you with stuff.

Speaker 2: 1:03:28

You had this backpack and you had to plan your water out. There's a few times when you're in the desert and stuff and you had to, like, really plan your water. Was that one of the biggest challenges for you? Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 1: 1:03:38

Just going out, definitely just going out, into the middle of literally nowhere, like no cell service, no cars, like you know, just you and the blazing heat in all black. Yeah, I like doing things to such a stripped down level, almost so people that would complain or say you couldn't have done it this way. I take away everything that you could have said, so there's no excuse, and you just be like OK, I could do that too. You know what I mean. Like there's no way for you to talk out of it. You know I just strip it all the way, like, oh, he changed his wheels five times. If he didn't do that, it wasn't possible. You know what I mean. I try to make like, hopefully with my phone, by myself, like you know what I mean, so anyone could relate to it, anyone could do it themselves. Broken knee, 38 years old, 36 years old. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 1:04:39

No money, little, little money.

Speaker 1: 1:04:41

Same thing even with my YouTube channel. It's like I started it just with a phone from nothing and I still do it that way, just so people could know like you could do it too. No excuses, like you know.

Speaker 2: 1:04:54

Yes, dude, yes, I remember watching your vlogs and you were always like having trouble, like oh, my battery just ran out.

Speaker 1: 1:05:00

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:05:01

Oh yeah, you're almost. I think that was one. You almost landed the trigger, then your battery died.

Speaker 1: 1:05:06

Yeah, I don't think that happened hundreds of times. Yeah, oh man, love it Just melting in the middle of Texas.

Speaker 2: 1:05:14

Man, what an absolute. I'm so glad I connected with you because, like kind of what, exactly what I expected? Actually I didn't expect it to be so, like, I guess, casual about your achievements, so that's really inspired me. So thanks for that. And I just want to ask you this and then we talked about it the other day I asked all guests to come to the podcast for the cause they want to support or advocate for. And I know you have your nonprofit, but is there any other, any other things you'd like to advocate for today?

Speaker 1: 1:05:48

Yeah, so the nonprofit I donated to when I skated across America was Natural High. They're in classrooms in all 50 states and they help kids find a passion like skating or something like that and focus on that instead of drugs and alcohol. So kind of like the cause that helped me, you know.

Speaker 2: 1:06:06

Amazing, so I'll put a link to that in this episode's show notes, so scroll down, click on it and see how you can donate or maybe even be involved, if there's a way. I always think that volunteering your time is more important than giving money if you do have it, so thanks for sharing that one brother.

Speaker 1: 1:06:26

No, thanks, that's a great idea. I like that.

Speaker 2: 1:06:29

Right man, is there anything else you want to, you want to share, you think, if you know anything, you want to end on. You want to end on anything?

Speaker 1: 1:06:37

I don't know. I mean yeah. I mean anyone thinking about getting sober. Just do it. Rip it off like a band-aid and your life will completely change, like you'll. You know it can't get worse, you know, yeah. So I'd say, just just go for it and, you know, enjoy the ride. It'll be uncomfortable in the beginning but it'll get better.

Speaker 2: 1:06:57

Awesome man, Mr Chad Caruso, everybody.

Speaker 1: 1:07:03

Cheers. Thank you so much for having me on.