Ryan Sheckler Doesn’t Think He’ll Ever ‘Retire’ From Skateboarding

Though Ryan Sheckler has been skating basically since he was born, he still has that passion for the sport — and he has no plans to hang up his skateboard for good.

“I’m not competing full-time, but I’ll still go to the X Games. I still get calls to go to a bunch of these one-off street leagues. I’m not on the hunt for the championship, but I’m also like that doesn’t really matter. I just need to compete and have fun and be there for the crowd. I’m not retired. I don’t think I’ll ever verbally retire,” the 34-year-old, who is commentating on NBC for the Olympics this summer, exclusively tells OK!. “The passion never dies. It’s that the body does.”

Despite having a long list of injuries — breaking his left foot, left ankle, right ankle twice, left elbow four times, torn ligaments, etc. — the skateboarder feels good since his ailments have “healed.”

“I took the time to do physical therapy. I took time to heal and be sober and took care of my body,” Sheckler, who turned pro for World Industries at 13 and landed a gold medal at the X Games that same year, shares. “I feel sharp for sure. Some days I am sore, but that’s from training. Old injuries don’t really nag me that much.”

Since the MTV alum, who is married to Abigail Sheckler, loves the sport so much, he’s still learning new tricks. “It never ends! Skating never ends,” he states. “I guess that’s where social media comes in, too. I watch all these kids coming up. I also have a skateboarding company that I’m constantly trying to find new amateur skateboarders to help guide through the crazy world of skateboarding. I got my eyes on everybody, and I’ll see some random tricks that I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ I’ll take a variation of what I saw and try it in the park and then something will work — or it doesn’t. Also, how much time do I really have to devote to learning a crazy trick? I’m all about the feels — if it feels good on the board, I’m doing it. There’s so many levels to skateboarding that you can go through and transitions. It’s not that I can’t skate anymore, I’m just not going to jump off the roof as much as I used to.”

“I’ve gotten smarter,” the entrepreneur, who shares daughter Olive Oleta with his wife, says of his evolving career. “I’ve gotten smarter because I can digress real quickly.”

“When I was 21, I would keep doing a trick until I got it, which would be like 10 or 15 tries. Now I look at something and I’ll be like, ‘OK, I have three tries maximum today.’ That’s just being smart,” he notes of his process. “I can push myself, but then I’m not going to be able to skate the next day or the day after — and then you can push yourself into actually getting an injury, which is not ideal. If I don’t get it, I’ll go practice it at my skate board park on a much smaller obstacle.”

Now that the Life of Ryan alum is in the second part of his career, he’s thrilled to be partnering with Woodward, where he went as a camper, to help the next generation of kids who want to skateboard. For one week each summer, he, along with other athletes, will have the opportunity to mentor campers at Woodward West and Woodward PA, leading trick clinics, judging competitions, sessioning with athletes and signing autographs.

“I started going to Woodward as a camper when I was 7 years old, but even at that time, I was kind of a sponsored skater at that time. I’ve always wanted to do something with Woodward throughout my career,” he shares. “I would stop into Woodward periodically over the years, and the last three years I’ve been heavily involved with all the camps. I’ve been seeing a natural progression of change with the kids and how they treat each other — especially at the level of skateboarding. A bunch of girls were roller skating, which was dope to see. Through that, I’ve gotten to grow with this new generation of skateboarders and share my input and share what skateboarding has done for me and where it’s taken me. I also share the mistakes I’ve made and the successes I’ve had.”

“I’ve seen it all and been a part of it, so I can really speak about skateboarding,” he continues, referring to his impressive career.

Since the reality star has loads of knowledge about the sport, he’s stoked to be able to comment on the Olympics this summer — especially since skateboarding made its debut appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021 in Tokyo.

“It’s a part of my life, and now to have the opportunity to get to be a part of the Olympics is super dope. I wish it didn’t take 10 years because I would have loved to be compete for America, but with some injuries and surgeries, I wasn’t able to make any of the qualifying events. I truly believe God has everything mapped out for me and competing at the Olympics wasn’t in the cards but being a commentator is part of the deal, so I’m happy about that,” he shares.

“I’ve always felt like skateboarding should have been in the Olympics,” he continues. “Since I was a little kid, I always thought it should be there. We skate hard and what we’re doing is hard. To see it finally get there is dope. Skateboarding is a very individual sport. We are Team America, but it’s still every man for themselves. I can’t land a trick for you, you can’t land a trick for me. At the end of the day, the Olympics is giving these kids a chance to identify with skateboarding.”

“It almost got to me,” he admits of the ups and downs of fame. “Alcohol abuse and things like that — that’s part of my story. I’ve talked about it very openly, and I’m not ashamed of it. I’m blessed and thankful I was able to figure out I did have a problem and got the help I needed. Now, being four years plus sober, I’m helping a lot of other kids find their road in sobriety and find their new lease on life. I’ve had a very full life but to be at this point where I’m going to be part of the Olympics, going to have two children, still skating my butt off, I have my own skateboard company, being a partner at Woodward, these are all great things. I’m very thankful to be part of it all still.”

“I have so much to share with these kids,” he says, referring to Woodward. “Even if you’re not an athlete, I can help someone. It would be selfish of me to stop and keep it to myself. I want my legacy to be that I helped others. Simple as that.”

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