Bob Burnquist grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil and began skateboarding at age 11. Bob turned pro at age fourteen while living in Brazil. In vert skateboarding you compete one person at a time and are then scored by a panel of expert judges. So the competitive spotlight creates a lot of pressure that becomes a mental obstacle for many. However, as an amateur Bob competed in hundreds of events before turning pro, and those early contests helped Bob learn how to deal with the pressure that comes with vert competitions. With his open mind, creative and win-or-slam approach, Bob helped to revitalize and shape overall vertical skateboarding in the late '90s in a big way. He is known and respected for his uncanny and unusual ability to skate equally well both regular and goofy-foot, the progression of trying tricks switch-stance (to the layman, this means he can do most of his tricks backward as well as forward). In 1995, he showed up at the Slam City Jam in Vancouver, BC and competed against every top skateboarder in the world. An unknown to most, he amazed everyone with his technicality and switch-stance lines, and ended up taking first place. That's how this legendary skaters story begins.

He has been voted Best Vert skateboarder by his peers three times and honored with several TransWorld Skateboarding(TWS) Readers and Rider's Polls Awards. His list of contest wins include: X Games, Gravity Games, OP King of Skate (unique skateboarding/design competition format), Vans Triple Crown, Slam City Jam, countless Brazilian Competitions, and many others. He mentions his Thrasher "Skater of the Year" in 1997 his most relished award.