Skateboarding since he was three and competing in amateur events soon after, 11-year-old Mitchie Brusco is finally getting a chance to show his peers what he can do. His local peers, that is.
Over the weekend, Juanita’s Mitchie Brusco competed as in the LG Action Sports World Championships at Key Arena in Seattle. Nearly 150 athletes from across the world matched their skills in BMX, skateboarding and inline skating. For once, his mother Jen said, the entire family and their friends could see Mitchie pour it on in competition.
“He’s gone from home at least 10 days a month,” she said. “Where it gets complicated is (all the) travel.”
His grandparents – well into their 80s – travelled from Longview, Wash. to see him at Key Arena. Competing on Sunday in the amateur vertical ramp skateboard competition, Brusco finished fifth out of 18 competitors, finishing a fraction of a point behind teenagers Michael O’Fried, 15, of Silverdale and ahead of 14-year-old Sky Siljeg of Bothell. British skateboarding phenom Sam Beckett, 16, finished first.
While not as high his third-place finish last year in Dallas, Brusco’s got time to grow his 4-foot-11 70-pound frame. He hopes to go pro someday amidst the increasing popularity of extreme sports, thanks in part to the acceptance of skateboarding on the world stage and the success of local athletes such as Kirkland’s 2008 BMX Olympics bronze medalist Jill Kintner.
Brusco got his start as “Little Tricky” when his mother brought him down to the old Trickwood store in Totem Lake to buy him a new skateboard. Business owner Steven Baldwin, speaking from his second location in Ballard, said he was amazed the first time he saw the three-year-old riding the store’s mini half-pipe. They recognized his talent and soon started calling him by his nickname.
“He’s obviously an unbelievably talented kid,” he said. “There’s really no limit to how far he can go.”
His youth in skate competitions soon brought sponsorships and noteriety, leading to invites to TV shows “The Today Show” and “The View”. Nowadays, his sponsors have picked up the tab for his shoes, helmut, skateboard and even some of his training gear. The total cost of his equipment and traveling over thee course of the year is estimated at around $15,000. Due to the large time commitments and practice times needed to keep in shape, he’s home-schooled along with his little sister, Nicole.
Before the championship meet, Brusco travels with his mother, Jen, down to Skatebarn West for practice. The large warehouse, just south of Renton, is the only facility in the area that holds a large vert ramp and an indoor skate park. It also happens to be a great place to mix with and learn from vert professionals who visit the area, such as Canadian Pierre-Luc Gagnon or veteran skater Bucky Lasek. Viewed as part-artistic expression and part-athletic prowess, skaters often try new stunts and tricks they’ve developed or learned from somewhere else and then pass it along to others, hoping to improve their repertoire.
On a recent afternoon, he was zooming down the vert ramp and launching off the other side, performing a mute grab here, a rock to fakie there. His most challenging trick, he says, is completing a 540-degree spin off the top of the ramp. Stopping for a few moments to check some marks on his arms, Jen noticed them on his face as well. She thought it might have been an allergic reaction to a rice-crispy treat a friend had given him.
“He’s never had anything like that before,” she said. “It’s freaking him out.” Brusco’s been banged up in the past – twisting an ankle and taking a concussion from a seemingly minor spill – but he’s never been seriously hurt in a sport where the art of the awkward slip is almost important as the tricks, speed and power.
On his skateboard, the words “I Will Not Forget” are chalked on top.
“It’s so I won’t forget how hard it was to get to this point,” he said.
LG Action Sports Championships
Vert Finals – Official Results
Amateur Skateboarding
Seattle, WA – KeyArena
Place Name Age Home Score
1. Sam Beckett – 16 -Norwich, United Kingdom 82.00
2. Jordan Price – 14 – Port Orange, Florida 78.25
3. Chris O’Reilly – 18 – Newnan, Georgia 66.75
4. Michael O’Fried – 15 – Silverdale, Washington 39.25
5. Mitchie Brusco – 11 – Kirkland, Washington 39.00
