While the summer Olympics might seem far away, it can’t come soon enough for Team USA’s Heimana Reynolds, who hopes skateboarding will finally get the recognition it deserves.
In the pantheon of sports, even though some might know names like Tony Hawk or Shaun White, skateboarding hasn’t traditionally been considered a sport by the general population.
With the inclusion of skateboarding for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, delayed because of COVID-19 and now set for the summer of 2021, Hawaiian native Heimana Reynolds, hopes to help change the perception that skateboarding is just for kids.
From the Team USA site:
For the sport to be on this level it’s going to open everyone’s eyes to the beauty of skateboarding. This isn’t just for the drug-headed kids who want to hang out and vandalize places. This is what we do; we train hard and work as hard as any other athlete. I skate six to eight hours a day, after waking up and working out at 6 a.m. This is what I do, and I want people to see this as a sport and for parents to want their kids to do this.
Reynolds, who grew up on the island of Oahu in Hawaii (who’s name Heimana is of Tahitian decent) and moved to San Diego to be close to the Olympic training facilities, started making waves at age 10 as Disney XD’s Summer “Next X” winner and credits his father for getting him into the sport.
My dad has grown up around skateboarding and surfing and he introduced me to surfing at a very very young age but I never really picked it off. He introduced me to skateboarding when I was about 6 or 7 and I instantly fell in love with it. I would skate everyday before and after schools and all day on weekends, just any possible chance I could get.
Now 22, with impressive wins under his belt, like his World Championship win in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and being the #1 ranked park skater in the world (and 18th overall out of the top 1,000 U.S. skateboarders) Heimana Reynolds is hoping to add to his success and bring back gold for the U.S. in 2021.
You can follow Heimana Reynolds and his journey to 2021 on Instagram.
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