Chris is from Los Angeles and has been passionately skateboarding for more than 25 years. Skateboarding has been a constant companion through his life. He attributes many of his successes to the concepts used in skateboarding and he has put much of what he’s learned into Pacific Skate School’s curriculum.

Growing up, Chris was an athletic child as a sponsored skateboarder and captain of his high school wrestling team. He spent his youth outdoors exploring his communities and creating videos on a skateboard. He and his friends would spend their weekends coming up with creative combinations of tricks, challenging their balance, spending hours upon hours under blue skies perfecting their movements. It was obvious during this time that there was a lack of support for skateboarders and a poor reputation that came a long with it. Because a skateboarder doesn’t always have access to a skatepark to practice the sport they love, typically they are left to finding schoolyards, public plazas, or empty parking lots to skate. Seeking out smooth pavement or unique objects is often met with resistance and even reprimands. A skater is often labeled as a trespasser, loiterer or vandalizing from trying to practice their sport. It is a familiar feeling for a skateboarder and was one that many have no choice but to accept.

Being exposed to travel at a young age, Chris noticed his passion for people, cultures and communications. It motivated him to go out of state for university to the University of Colorado at Boulder to graduate in 2011 a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. This is where he found an interest in Buyer Behavior and discovered his skills in operations. This lead him to an Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Program in Camp Town, South Africa to work as a business consultant and fell in love with the art of an entrepreneur.

Chris worked for 5 years with Park West Gallery, an International Art Gallery, who operated onboard cruise ships. Over the next couple of years, while sailing around, he would run the onboard art department for several cruise lines, working his way up from an Associate, to Gallery Director, to an Art Auctioneer. Here he was able to get both exposure to running a small business while also work within a large corporation. Moving laterally in the company, he spent few years as a National Recruitment Manager to teach the skills he had crafted and then again promoted to an elite team of International VIP Art Consultants to work and travel with the company’s top art collectors. This one of a kind experienced exposed him to more than 65 countries of the world, worked with thousands of different people, and accruing tens of millions of dollars in sales revenue.

Chris first recognized the need for a skateboard program on a beautiful sunny California morning at the Santa Monica Bike Campus. Shaded by palm trees with the breeze and backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, he was helping a friend’s 3yr old stand on a skateboard for the first time. He noticed that with a little bit of instruction and few adjustments, the little skater was rolling in no time correctly safely, and having a ton of fun. Looking around, he noticed that bystanders were watching and smiling at what what the little boy could do. It was a positive and healthy addition to the community while being respectful as he was supporting the skateboarder’s athletic lifestyle. He realized how teaching skateboarding correctly could bridge the gap for a new generation of skateboarders and help overcome many the hurdles he experienced as a young skateboarder. And how developing a teaching curriculum would give a coach tools and pave a road for larger programing.

Proud of his early professional successes, he felt there was an element missing from his work/life balance. He dreamed for a community business environment, the life of an entrepreneur, and of course, skateboarding. Chris came to the realization in 2018 to pair his passion for skateboarding with the profession dream of running a small business.

A mission to have skateboarding be accepted by communities and accessible to youth, teen, and adults who want to practice their sport in a safe and respected place. To progress the sport of skateboarding by building more skateparks, creating more programs, and share the physical education of a skater athlete.

Chris’s ambitions is to have Pacific Skate School Skateboard Programs accessible to the youth across neighborhoods of Los Angeles by leading a success team of coaches, building new skateparks while improving old ones, and a flagship location for a Youth, Teen, and Adult Skateboarding Leagues.