MIKE VALLELY - "Strip Mall Heroes" (1998)

"Over the last twenty years the name Mike Vallely has come to be associated with an ever-expanding pal... more >

"Over the last twenty years the name Mike Vallely has come to be associated with an ever-expanding palette of disparate but oddly complementary activities and ideas. Much more than just an explosive, unpredictable skateboarder, Vallely is also a spoken word artist, vocalist, brutal brawler, and most recently- acclaimed television personality (Drive on FuelTV). Married fifteen years and a father of two daughters, Vallely's never slowed down. Imbued with a sense of limitless freedom and a love of responsibility, he attempts to live his life as a creative and energetic role model to thousands of skateboarders." -- Transworld Skateboarding Magazine November 2007 Mike Vallely's careers in music and skateboarding haven't been about fleeting moments of fame or winning some specific prize. In fact, they're more akin to the drafting and execution of a battle plan, enacted by a warrior on a mission in perpetuity. All the skate demos, recording studios, television appearances, concert stages, vert ramps, pages of poetry, street courses, and countless miles behind the wheel don't even begin to describe the human spirit embodied within Vallely that not only consistently proceeds and persists, but ultimately prevails without the need of any outside assistance. "I'm at the point now where I no longer follow the scene, at all," he says. "I don't get involved in the politics and I do not care about the industry aspect of anything. I really don't care. And so my skating, it's just about skating, just the actual act of doing it." Nevertheless, the 37-year-old New Jersey native is still facing blank pages of which to pen fresh chapters of his already incredible life story. To read the rest of the bio, go here: http://www.mikevallely.com/bio < less