In the mid-2000s, skateboarding was all about the biggest stair sets and longest handrails. If you weren’t trying to watch some dude from Southern California jump down a 14 stair, then you were pretty much out of luck. That was unless you were watching Brent Atchley’s parts in Elementality or This Is My Element. He was able to flow effortlessly around Burnside and make it look as if he was casually surfing the colossal transition.
Just as quickly as Brent popped up in the industry, he went incognito and suddenly disappeared from Element releases. Around the office, we always pitched a “Where are they now” type of interview with him, but it never came to fruition. That was until recently, when he dropped a part for Satori Wheels with the exact same flowy style we used to be mesmerized by.
It turns out that when he’s not at Burnside, Brent now has a full-time job as a peer support specialist and works with Push Movement. To figure out what that job actually entails, and why he dipped under the global radar, we hitched it to Portland and tried to track him down. Luckily we didn’t have to look for long, and he was open and willing to share his story with us.
Related Posts
-
WATCH KONTON, A NEW FLOWY HOMIE VIDEO FROM JAPAN
A showcase of calculated speed, flow, style, and consistency we've come to love from Japanese skating
-
THE EARTHERS EP. 4 – SKATING ROOFS IN MICHIGAN
Jake has a knack for always finding something enormous to roll off of.
-
WORKING ON JOKES WITH SKATEBOARDING COMEDIAN, WHITMER THOMAS
Meet the only skateboarder to ever get an HBO standup comedy special.
-
PREMIERE: HODDLE’S SECTION IN PASSPORT’S “KITSCH”
We're not 100% sure what a Hoddle is but we sure as hell like it.
-
PREMIERE: BRANDON GIRONDA’S “PFP5” PART
I think we're gonna call this type of skating "sketch hesh" from now on.
-
DISCOVERING SKATE SPOTS VIA GOOGLE EARTH
I guess living in a surveillance state has some perks, right?
-
WATCH “THE HEALING SONG” A MYSTICAL HOMIE VID OUT OF ATLANTA
The usual homie video with an devious occult twist.
-
UNSEEN PHOTOS FROM THE “THIS IS SKATEBOARDING” ERA
Only now do you realize you've been idolizing children all along.
Comments
Popular
-
A SERIOUS REVIEW OF MARK SUCIU’S SERIOUS “VERSO”
Verso asks that we pay it a kind of attention many of us automatically do not. Knowing this, we choose to either look more closely or let it pass before our eyes the way the rest of skating does.
-
BRIAN SUMNER ON LEAVING THE SKATE INDUSTRY AND FINDING CHRISTIANITY
"People are going to hate you for different stupid reasons, but people shouldn’t be divided over the faith."
-
MY EXPERIENCES IN SKATEBOARDING
"I've been terrified of garnering the reputation of 'ramp-tramp' or 'pro-ho' just from spending time with skaters."
-
UNDERSTANDING THE NEAL HENDRIX ALLEGATIONS & POWER DYNAMICS IN SKATEBOARDING
How can skateboarders within the industry do a better job of keeping each other in check?
-
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ILLEGAL CIV?
The Illegal Civ stuff feels like an ongoing soap opera, so to air out any confusion we talked to a few key characters.
October 18, 2022 1:27 pm
Great job on this , as a Portlander and someone who has known Brent for a long time this made my day.
October 18, 2022 1:39 pm
Hell yah! Good for him
(Mikey Chin is the best, baby!)
October 18, 2022 4:21 pm
Amazing content, kudos!
October 18, 2022 5:27 pm
This Dude is my Favorite skateboarder