Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabe Vigliotti.
Hi Gabe, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I started skateboarding 8 years ago with a little kid’s dream of going pro one day. I was ten years old at the time. My parents got me some ramps and rails to skate on in our driveway, and my mom would often take me to a little skate park in New Middletown, Ohio. I got good pretty fast, even though we didn’t realize it at the time. We started looking up different skateparks throughout Ohio and western Pennsylvania and would go to them as often as possible. I can remember when I was in 5th grade, every day after school, my mom would drive me to this indoor park in Brook Park, OH, to practice. When the weather was warmer, she’d drive me to Columbus, Cincinnati, and Kettering to skate the outdoor parks as well as ones in PA and Michigan. I started competing in skateboarding contests at age 11, and over the years, I have competed in over 30 different states. I win a lot of them! Fast forward to today, I am currently globally ranked in the top ten teen men’s street skating division, with my sights set on the 2028 Olympics.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a bit of a struggle to get where I am in the industry today. I’ve put in hours of skateboarding each day to progress and get better. While working on various street skating video parts, I also have to continue to progress so I can hold my own against other skaters at competitions. This oftentimes includes skating against professional skateboarders and even Olympic athletes from around the globe. Financially, it has been a burden on my mom as she funds all of our trips. When I started skating, she had just opened her own business, which gratefully, has allowed me to get to all the places I’ve skated at. Another obstacle I’ve faced is simply being from where I am. Skateboarding is not a popular thing in northeast Ohio as its roots lie in California and Florida. I’ve had to go above and beyond perfecting my skill to make myself a standout among all the other teens trying to break into the industry. Thankfully, there are a LOT of skateparks in Ohio, so when I’m not traveling, I still have parks to skate at when I’m not skating in the streets. Going to public school also became an issue when I was in 6th grade. I was missing a lot of school to travel to all the contests I was in, and a couple teachers gave me a hard time. Luckily, my principal supported what I was doing and helped me get into an online school that allows me to practice and travel whenever I want to.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I consider myself an athlete., one day to be a professional athlete. In the contest aspect of things, I am known for putting down flawless runs during contests, a difficult thing to do under pressure. In the past couple of years, I’ve finally gotten to compete in international level competitions where I’ve gotten to skate against people from all over the world. I have worked hard to gain sponsorships with brands that include Vans shoes, Deathwish Skateboards, Spitfire Wheels, Thunder Trucks, Mob Grip Tape, and Bronson Speed Co. bearings. I am hoping to add an energy drink sponsorship to that list soon. I’ve also had the pleasure of getting a small role in a movie that was released on Netflix, as well as appearing in a commercial for Ford, both filmed in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. I’ve been fortunate enough to have gotten a feature video on The Berrics which is something I’d only ever dreamed of. Also, I recently got to work on a feature video for Mob Grip tape called Grip It and Rip It, which was pretty cool.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was just a typical kid going to public school playing pee wee football (that did not work out because I was very small for my age, and why I opted to skateboard instead). I liked to draw, build Lego sets, and sing. I loved playing with Matchbox cars, too. I was shy when I was younger, but nowadays, I’m more outgoing and interactive with people. I feel like having been able to travel all over Ohio, and the rest of the country has made me that way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabevigliotti/
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@Minnowskate
- Other: https://youtu.be/eyG65dO-uCc?si=FEctglRWErnoE_oz
Image Credits
Matt Shail
