Team USA-World Rolling Games-Downhill Inline

Please read my story before you donate.

As most of you know, rollerblading has been a deep passion of mine. It started when I was 9, racing the kids in our neighborhood and began leading the way into skatepark and street as an outlet. It was always an expensive sport but my parents were always supportive of the passion and drive I had for it. I’ve been a part of the Seattle skate community for a long time and used to host our local Wednesday night skates until an injury I suffered in September of 2015 when I ruptured a disk pinching a nerve and leading to the permanent loss of feeling in the front side of my left leg. At that point I was terrified and not sure what the outcome was going to be. I unfortunately had to hang my skates up for the following 2 years to come, along with 3 days a week of physical therapy and doctor visits. It was not only physically draining and demanding but also very mentally difficult to coop with. There were nights that I could easily say were some of the most difficult nights of my life not knowing if I’d even make a recovery to the point I could skate again. I found myself stuck for along time before finally making some changes including my diet, my perception in life as well as picking up hot yoga. With these changes and support of my friends and family I found myself finally being able to skate again, not quite the way I wanted but I picked up “big wheel skating” a freestyle inline urban kind of skating. I needed wheels on my feet and it didn’t matter what kind. I started a new journey, a journey that took me to Greenlake in Summer of 2018 where I did laps to ease my mind and make a recovery involving the motion that was my passion. This is where I met some of the most incredible people I know to this day but this is another story. Another year into it, I found myself finally getting back into the skatepark scene but never again have I been able to skate like I was before. This big wheel skating opened my eyes and doors to different areas I wasn’t aware existed. This is where downhill skating was born. I saw posts and videos of Maryhill Loop Road in 2018, a famous downhill road in my backyard, the back yard in Eastern Washington in a town called Goldendale. It was incredible and knew I wanted to take part in this sport. I researched it more discovering it had been shut down due to covid. As I researched this event more I discovered other rollerbladers such as Craig Ellis (Gravity Master inventor), Scott Peer and Gabe Holm. All incredible influencers to the rollerblading community. I discovered Gabe Holm was the record holder for fastest downhill at 82.3 miles per hour, at that moment my heart told me I needed in. I wanted to meet these people and race Gabe Holm. In fall of 2021 I caught drift of Maryhill coming back but I was late to registration.. (it’s a repeating cycle lol) I reached out to anyone I could including Crystal Ka’apana, soon to find out Maryhills inspiration, a quad skater going downhill and artwork designer of Maryhill Ratz for this year. She pointed me to the right direction who would soon be Dean O’zuna, coordinator of Maryhill. I managed after some effort to land myself a position to be apart of the event. I had no idea until I found myself there, that I was not only the single rollerblader there but surrounded by some of the most talented downhill long boarders from all over the country. I stood my own and soon found myself meeting some of the most humble and inspiring people. The following two Seasons I found myself volunteering for the event as I had to support something I believed in and loved. I then continued to meet more people and more friends including Cj Garner, Ryan Villa, Crystal, The Pap Dog and of course my wing man Dan Duman. Spring of 2022 my girlfriend Aslie Juan, our beloved Dog Mckoy took way back to Maryhill and now this time “Camp Fakie” (our group and because our circus canopy flipped over) in tow. This season was a big season for me because I convinced Gabe Holm to join us this year, the very reason and inspiration for me doing what I do on that mountain. Rollerblading is overlooked by many on the mountain in these years and not thought of too much but with Gabe’s influence and push we found ourselves having enough inliners to have a race. By the end of the weekend I landed myself 2nd place podium to Gabe Holm taking first and Dan Duman taking third. I heard about these longboarders now qualifying for the World Rolling Games not realizing that inline at this moment had qualified as well but very excited for these people I now know. Another season went by and now Gib n Rib ( Gibraltar Road) in California had come up as a race. Gabe had reached out to me about this one time race but Aslie and I had plans to be in Florida to visit friends after the hurricane, celebrate our one year and enjoy some warmth without smoke. As my now leading passion, I could not miss it. I slid Florida back a week and made it to California, I wasn’t aware the treat I was in for. Gabe introduced me to Craig Ellis and Scott Peer, the legends I spoke of earlier. We road a famous road called Tuna Road before Gib n Rib took way the following day. Gib n Rib ended up being clouded over and wet but I didn’t care, I was here, I was present, nervous but ready to take it slow, the weather took a shift and was not only deadly foggy but also raining now. When most didn’t want to skate, I did. I loved it, was ready and prepared to learn to drift this day anyways. With leathers on I stayed dry, safe and made it through the day. The following day was not much different but without rain, it began to clear but left the deadly fog. With patches drying it quickly became a pathway for serious talent and serious guts. I mustered up the courage to take the course with a faster time each run working my way in with faces I recognized from Maryhill. I found myself with the thoughts “I deserved this, I was meant to be here this day, I was meant to meet these people and skate with these people” I was blessed and inspired once again. With Gabe’s influence and attention, he pointed out I could partake in the 2022 World Rolling Games, the very Rolling Games I heard about in spring of 2021. I was not only bummed because registration was closed but because South America is a place I had been working towards going to for this very sport. I told myself once again “I deserve to do this, I’ve made a Road of recovery to find myself on skates again and here I am surrounded by what I love”. I once again found myself reaching out to people and anyone I could to find a way in. After many hours and many days including days in Florida emailing coordinators of World Skate, USA Rolling Sports, Argentina coordinators and judges I got a way in. Most of all with the help of my mother Diana Shipes and Aslie, my loved and supportive girlfriend keeping my head focused and keeping me patient, I have now found myself registered and ready to represent for Team USA in the World Rolling Games 2022 in Argentina. It has been difficult getting it but I am excited for this new chapter in my life and am so grateful for the people around me who have helped me get here from the very start. Whether you decide to donate or not I am still thankful for the time you have taken to read this and am happy to know you now understand my story. I am going to represent for my family, my friends, my loved ones and most importantly, my community and myself. Please reach out to me for anything.