A D V E R T I S E M E N T

My Info

Name:	Joey brezinski
Nickname:	Bucky
Lives In:	Venice Beach, California United States
Hometown:	San Bernadino, San Bernadino United States
Age:	27
Birthday:	October 13, 1982
Gender:	Male
Description:	Sponsors: Adio, Autobahn wheels, Cliche Skateboards, Diamond, FKD bearings, Matix, Red Bull, Val SurfJoey Brezinski has been riding a skateboard since he was a punk kid growing up in the suburbs of San Bernardino. "I was in first or second grade the first time I stepped on a skateboard�the youngest kid on the block with a board," he says. Even though he's always known he wanted to go pro, his notoriety came up recently, quite literally, on two wheels. "He's best known for really technical manual skating," explains Carleton Curtis, editor of Transworld Skateboarding magazine. "Manual is a synonym for wheelie, where you balance on one truck or the other. It's very difficult and he's one of the masters."Brezinski grew up outside San Bernardino in San Dimas, Calif. and started skateboarding with older kids in his neighborhood when he was only seven years old. �It was like �Bill and Ted�s Excellent Adventure,'" he says. "Kids on my block all skated and there were launch ramps in front of all these suburban homes." He worked at a local skate shop and then got into filming. "I busted my ass, filmed, and sent tapes out, trying to get involved in companies. I guess a lot of kids were happy with what they saw from me and now they want more."Now it's Brezinski�s turn to influence the next generation. He's the only American skater on the French-based Clich� skate team, which won Transworld Skateboarding magazine's Team of the Year in the September 2006 issue. "It just happened at the right time," Brezinski says of the sponsorship deal that cemented his status as one of the top street skate pros. "They wanted to do something in America and they wanted to do it on two wheels. It just blossomed from there."The whole manual skating phenomenon wasn't something Brezinski planned. "I got hurt a couple of years ago and couldn't jump on handrails so I started doing more technical tricks like manuals and got pretty good at it. It just evolved from there." It's that combination of creativity and skill that have earned Brezinski his status as "Manual King." That title was cemented, so to speak, when he won the manual comp at the International Go Skateboarding Day in Venice, Calif. on June 21, 2006. Brezinski took the art of riding on two wheels to another level when he collaborated with Red Bull in 2007 and launched Manny Mania, skateboarding�s first-ever manual-based contest. With an assortment of banks, ledges, and balancing platforms blended together into one never-been-done Joey-approved obstacle, Brezinski put himself up against some of the most technically-talented professionals aching to overthrow his unsurpassed manual mastery. At the two professional stops on the eight-stop cross-country tour, Brezinski took first and third place, continuing to prove himself across the U.S. as the Manual King. It's not just about riding on two wheels, though. Brezinski's also ridden on no wheels�initially in what was intended to be part joke/part stunt by his bearing sponsor. "We thought we'd just go out and film me riding on the bearings and then it took off and turned into this thing [I was known for]. People were really psyched on it. It's not like I do it all the time. I guess you could say it was kind of a joke that became something else."In a sport where humility reigns and actions speak louder than words, Brezinski primarily lets his skating do the talking in video segments, photo shoots and demos. He�s not driven by competition so much as mastering skills and exploring new places to skate, seeking out new architectural features in whatever urban playground he happens to find himself in. Still, even though he might be humble about the contest scene, no one can downplay Brezinski�s ability to wow the crowd. Standing atop the podium at Red Bull Manny Mania is perfect evidence of that.For now, Brezinski is focused on shooting for magazine articles and video segments. In summer 2006, he spent four months traveling all over Europe, including a stop in his grandparent"s native Poland. "When I was little, my grandmother would talk about it, but I'd never been. There were a lot of rad kids there, all asking me questions about where my grandparents were from. It was a good time just hanging out with them." From there he went to Barcelona, where big plazas and lots of marble made it one of his favorite places to skate. "That place is amazing, like a little skate heaven," he says. "It's definitely the best place to be in Europe." Brezinski also has been on a Thrasher magazine trip to Russia, where good skaters and good places to skate fly under the radar, undisturbed by police or complaints from uptight citizens. "There're actually a lot of really good kids there that are totally ripping and have really good stuff to skate but they're just off the radar. You can just skate all day without worrying about cops or getting arrested the way you would in the States. The riding's crazy and everything is just so different�it was a total eye opener."When he's not traveling, Brezinski chills at home with his fianc�e in Venice Beach, Calif. and their three pugs, Brody, Pizza, and Runtie. "It's just the beach life, it's mellow. I ride my mountain bike sometimes, but most days I'll usually end up in the skate park," he says. Aside from leading the progression of manual riding, he's working on his first video segment for Audio footwear and helping to design a new skate shoe. Other than that, he'll just keep doing what he's always done�just go skate.