On a scale of 1 to committed, professional skateboarderMariah Duranpretty much shatters the freakin charts.
The sport debuts at the 2020 SummerOlympic Gamesin Tokyo, and the qualification period for athletes is underway.
But even withoutOlympianon her resume, Duran is already pretty damn accomplished.
Doug Clark
The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
SELF: You started skateboarding at age 10 because your older brother Elijah skated.
At what point did you realize, Wait, I actually really like skateboarding?
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Duran:There were a couple moments.
One was when I was about 11 or 12 and aligned thekickflipfor the first time.
It took so long to land and months of not even getting close.
I was in my front yard just practicing, practicing, and then I stuck one.
And it was like my heart dropped.
I was like, Oh, my God.
It was an unreal feeling.
Its so much preparation for that one moment.
Its like less than a second.
And I was like, Yo, I want to keep doing this.
SELF: When did you first start entering skateboarding competitions?
In between skateboarding, I was also playing softball, and I was really good at softball.
The night before the contest, I got in an argument with my mom.
I told her that if I did well in the contest, I got to choose.
And it probably wasnt that serious, but I was putting so much pressure on myself.
In the contest I ended up taking second.
I was shocked at that.
I called my mom, excited and crying.
Nobody knew my name.
But when they saw that, then everybody was asking questions.
And I was just like, Dude.
Then I decided, You know what?
Could you elaborate on that?
Duran:Skateboarding, its such a wild sport because nobody can say that theyve mastered it.
Nobody can be like, I have every single trick.
Because every single day, even now, there are new tricks being invented.
Theres always somebody thats bringing a new trick.
Theres always somebody thats bringing a new style.
It also comes to the point where its like, you have your own style to it too.
Nobodys going to skate exactly how are you are going to skate.
SELF: How many hours a day do you skateboard?
Duran:It varies, because every day you wake up, your ultimate goal is to skateboard.
Its hard to put a number on it.
Its probably like six hours.
But my minimum would be at least three hours.
Because you might try a trick, and it could take you three hours to land that one trick.
And then you move on to the rest of the skate session.
SELF: Do you have a coach?
Or do you just practice on your own?
Duran:Not really.
I guess my older brother kind of would be considered a coach, but its usually just me.
My older brothers more of like a mental coach.
Hell be like Yo, Mariah, you have this trick.
Stop stressing yourself out.
Honestly, Im my own coach at that rate.
So I skate with people who are better than me, and then just go from there.
SELF: Do you do any cross-training for skateboarding?
Duran:I go to the gym and do cardio.
I take everything I learned in workouts for basketball.
Can you tell me more about that?
Just take a minute, just breathe and not focus on the future or the past.
Just be present and calm myself down.
Or just reading too.
I feel like skateboarding is like 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical.
Ive seen skateboarders do well just because they believed they could do it.
You have to have the right mind-set.
Otherwise if you dont believe that you might do well at this contest, then youre probably right.
SELF: What are your future goals with skateboarding?
Duran:My 12-year-old self still wants to have my own skate park.
So thats definitely still a goal.
And of course the ultimate goal physically is being in the Olympics.
Being on the podium.
SELF: What is the biggest misconception about skateboarding that youve heard?
Duran:A lot of people dont understand that we are athletes.
SELF: What do you like to do when youre not skateboarding?
Duran:Ive always gotten asked this question.
Ive always been like, I dont know.
But since Ive been injured, Ive had to do things outside of skateboarding.
So Im super ready for this.
SELF: Oh, good.
Lay it on me.
Duran:I love playing basketball, like pick-up or just shooting hoops.
I like reading a lot; right now Im readingThink and Grow Richby Napoleon Hill.
I like going on hikes.
I like watching moviesBridesmaidswill forever be my favorite.
