The story behind 5th wheel

Skateboarding has always been about freedom, individuality, and the creativity it brings into my life.

I still remember the first time I saw a group of skaters when I was 10 years old. To me, they looked like they were flying. That year I told my mom all I wanted for Christmas was a skateboard from a skatshop. That Christmas became the beginning of something that would change my life forever.

For the next year, I ate, slept, and breathed skateboarding—literally. I slept with my skateboard every night. During the day, I watched Rodney Mullen videos and spent hours practicing the tricks and techniques I saw in his videos. Skateboarding quickly became more than just a hobby. It gave me a sense of freedom, friendship, and community that I had always been searching for.

But like anything in life, skateboarding comes with its highs and lows.

In the summer of 2022, I experienced one of the lowest points in my skateboarding journey when I suffered a severe dislocation of my right knee. After a long recovery, I was left with nerve damage that requires me to wear a knee brace every day.

The news was devastating. Something that had always brought me so much freedom and joy suddenly became difficult to think about. I didn’t know what the future of skateboarding would look like for me, but I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to give it up.

That determination became part of the inspiration behind 5th Wheel.

My goal is to create new ways for skaters to get around town skateboarding—to PUSH boundaries, open up possibilities, and give skaters even more freedom to explore. I want to help people go farther, experience more, and continue doing what they love, regardless of the obstacles they face.

5th Wheel was born from my refusal to give up on skateboarding and my desire to help others experience that same freedom.

Because skateboarding has never just been about the tricks you can land or the distance you can travel. It’s about the feeling of being free—and I believe that feeling should always have room to grow