‘No two crutch skaters on earth ride the same way so you’re on your own figuring it out!’
TIA PEARL
September 2024
Do you like the label ‘adaptive skater’ or would you rather be called simply a skater?
Yes, to me adaptive skater is such an important title because I’m figuring out ways that I can skate. I adapted into this sport that I already knew so even though I started as a skater, I went through a lot to come back as an adaptive skater!
From the little sources, I understand you were not always an adaptive skater. Please take me through how you got into skateboarding in first place?
When I was 12 years old the kids in my neighbourhood started skateboarding- usually for my good report cards I would get money from my Nana. $5 per A, $4 for Bs and $3 for Cs. But leading up to the end of first quarter during 7th grade I asked if I could get a skateboard instead. Sure enough report card day came and I had gotten the grades I needed for my fresh Mongoose board from Walmart! It changed my life forever and next Valentine’s Day my mom surprised me by taking me to get my first “pro model”. I picked out a Grey Blind rocking horse board with tensor lows that had orange bushings. I got lucky 5 bearings, monkey nuts hardware and orange and blue swirl spitfire wheels! I couldn’t even sleep that night, I just set up my board across from my bed and looked at it until morning when I could skate to school! I was forever in love.
You still continued to skate despite a nerve injury when you turned 22. What was that like as I assume most of us would have given up as landing tricks would become harder/impossible?
From 22-25 I kept trying to skate normally but since I was losing brain control over my left leg (my front foot) I started getting discouraged. Why couldn’t I keep my balance like before? Where did my tricks go? I thought May 2014 was the last kickflip I’d ever land, but I was so wrong and never have I loved being wrong as much as I did in that time of my life. (laughing).
A hernia repair put a complete stop on your skateboarding. How did you maintain a positive mindset without it?
I started drawing again. I always had decent art skills, but I never learned to draw portraits so now was my chance as I sat there “recovering” for 2 years. Learning about chronic pain from nerve damage along the way. Drawing portraits was so hard to learn but once I got the hang of it people wanted to pay me to draw their family members or celebrity crushes. I loved making money, but I hated sitting there all-day drawing. It was so boring. But I figured hey this is my new life, and I should learn too at least like it.
‘I was so wrong and never have I loved being wrong as much as I did in that time of my life.’
You just do not seem to give up because you are the first female crutch skateboarder. Where was the point in time when you moved from the wheelchair to skate with crutches instead?
In 2019 I saw a giphy on Facebook with a guy doing some crazy crutch flip onto a flat bar and shared it like hey maybe I can try this! September 2019, I met up with one of the skate families from a girl’s skate class I taught. I happened to bring my crutches and my board along to try and landed a pop shove it the first day! NOW I WAS REALLY BACK!
What is more challenging between the two?
For me WCMX in the Midwest was really hard because all our skateparks are flat and set up for street style skating. We don’t have flow parks like some of the warmer areas. However, I didn’t know where to put my crutches or my feet when learning tricks, so crutch skating was a great challenge. Especially since no two crutch skaters on this earth ride the same way so you’re on your own figuring it out!
You took gold in the first ever adaptive competition (Dew Tour) a few years ago. How do you feel about the progress made to date?
From my first ASF event where I placed 6th out of 10. Tthe other 9 were adaptive skate guys. I knew I could do it. I got invited to Dew Tour 2021 which was a lifelong dream of course-this is an invite only competition that I watched on tv all these years! Now Grind For Life added adaptive skate to their series which gave me so much practice for my next Dew Tour 2022. Back-to-back golds. Now I had to focus and keep up this record you know? 30 First Place wins later and I’m now the world champion. I know one day my record will change but I’ll forever be proud of my accomplishments and the chance at showing the world that all your dreams can come true. Just don’t give up. My bills are paid thanks to skateboarding from competitions to skate lessons to skate classes to skate events. My office is a skatepark and my title is Professional Adaptive Skater. Now that’s a real dream come true.
Who are some of the female adaptive skaters that inspire you today?
All of them! Kanya Sesser, Tracie Garacochea, Annika Hutsler, Kiana Clay and Darian Haynes. I’m always their biggest cheerleader. You’ll see me looking like a happy mom in the background of all of their competition clips! (laughing)
‘My office is a skatepark and my title is Professional Adaptive Skater. Now that’s a real dream come true.’
You skate for bamboo skateboards. How different is it compared to maple decks?
Bamboo skateboards were the first board I bought when I got back into skating in 2019. To me it feels much lighter, and the pop is perfect. Not to mention it’s one of the few companies that still comes in a 7.5! I’m very grateful that they have my back. Shout out Bamboo Skateboards
You still call your skateboard ‘rocketship’?
I sure do and I was lucky enough to recently get a UFO board gifted to me from Ghost Longboards. I’ve always been the alien so rocketship was probably not the correct term I should have used but either one works. I wanted to fly, and I am again! Shout out Ghost Longboards! My sign off went from the rocket and skateboard emoji to the ufo and skateboard emoji. (laughing).
What else is on you wish list?
I hope to spread the word of adaptive skateboarding so much that I can manage an adaptive only skateboarding agency. Adaptive skateboarders are one of the most underrated groups on the planet, but little do they know that each and every one of them is worth so much for the future of this sport! I’d say we know about 50 adaptive skateboarders on the planet but there are so many more out there that we need to get connected with. We not only struggle in our daily lives because of having to adapt one or many things but most people don’t know what adaptive skateboarding is. I want to make commercials and have billboards just to get the word out about this amazing sport and all the phenomenal athletes that are part of it. They all deserve a chance at having a real skateboarding career someday and I hope to help them achieve that.
Last question. If you could interview one person, who would it be and why? What would you ask?
Rob Dyrdek, I not only respect him as a skateboarder but also a businessman. I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 5 years old making my own money as a kindergartner. I already know a lot about how he does what he does thanks to his podcast, but I’d definitely ask him to please teach me how to build my brand.
Stay Happy, Feel Rich (TM) Don’t forget even if you failed at your task, it was still a success because you learned something from it. Be proud of yourself in every learning moment and you’ll finally understand your worth. I’m proud of you and thankful that you read my story!
Much love and skateboarding,
Tia Pearl
‘I wanted to fly, and I am again!’
