Mike Vallely

I don't talk down to kids. Usually someone my age who's talking to a ten or twelve year old is yelling at…

— Mike Vallely

I grew up on the Bones Brigade as well. The very first skateboard video I saw was the Bones Brigade Video Show…

— Mike Vallely

What I do is I take action because I value the position I have, the career I have, the life I live,…

— Mike Vallely

I'm not out here on the front lines trying to create clones, or consumers, or worshippers of who I am, and what…

— Mike Vallely

Kids at skate parks will step up and challenge me to a game of Skate, but I'm over that, I really don't…

— Mike Vallely

I don't see masses, I don't see it like, oh there's hundreds of people here and I'm overwhelmed. I just try to…

— Mike Vallely

I strive to do my best every single time and I think that's something the skate community knows about me and appreciates.

— Mike Vallely

They told me I'd have to be there for the entire shooting of the movie which was two and a half months…

— Mike Vallely

I feel like the best thing, as far as what I do with kids, is I treat them like human beings.

— Mike Vallely

When I got sponsored, it symbolized a major change and a major shift in skateboarding.

— Mike Vallely

I'm not going to beat somebody up for talking smack to me, especially another skater.

— Mike Vallely

There's a lot of time when skaters think they know everything because they've seen videos of you, and seen you on TV…

— Mike Vallely

They'll try to apply the rules of the day to the game, where you can't touch your board with your hands, or…

— Mike Vallely

I don't want to be an object of consumption. I like to get out there and participate because I care about it.…

— Mike Vallely

Through skateboarding, I have an open line of communication, some common ground and common ground is big man. That enables me to…

— Mike Vallely

Everything that I'm really about is being an individualist. I believe in individuality.

— Mike Vallely

I would dream of being a pro skater, but I never dreamt I'd be discovered by Lance Mountain and Stacey Peralta, who…

— Mike Vallely

Where I'm coming from is that nothing I do is from a sense of obligation.

— Mike Vallely

I always try to individualize everything, every person. I see individuals and that's why I've never fallen for racism, or any type…

— Mike Vallely

If I signed a contract that meant someone else wouldn't be playing.

— Mike Vallely

I desire to have a dialogue that's positive, and communicative and moves forward, and is about something real, not just consumption.

— Mike Vallely

We didn't call it a sport necessarily, and skaters definitely weren't thought of as athletes, we were thought of as misfits.

— Mike Vallely

I don't like to get too involved in the idea that "I'm a role model" and that everything I do is right.…

— Mike Vallely

I grew up with heroes, people who made me aspire to raise my game, to dream bigger and I like to keep…

— Mike Vallely

I understand that these people are all there to see me ride, that that's why they're in the building, and whether I…

— Mike Vallely