Local Professional Skateboarder Heads to Spain to Represent Team USA in Downhill Skating Competition

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EUREKA (KIEM) – A need for speed. A local athlete is heading to Spain to represent team USA in skateboarding!

On Humboldt Hill, speed limit signs are posted up and down the street. But Ryan Farmer zooms right past the, with speeds between forty-five to fifty miles per hour, sometimes even more.

In 2017, Ryan competed in fourteen countries, and after a grueling competition. He was crowned the 2017 Street Luge World Champion.

“I had to win first place to get the world title and if I came in second or anything less, I wouldn’t have won the world championship,” said Farmer.

“I won by a couple feet at eighty-three miles per hour and brought home the world title.”

Ryan is not only a professional skateboarder, but he is also a double major at College of the Redwoods.

But when Ryan skates, his worries are left back at the starting line.

“I think the best way to describe is nirvana,” says Farmer. “It’s a way to not worry about the stresses of life and really get to enjoy myself in nature and in the mountains.”

In July, Ryan will be competing in Spain where he will be representing the U.S. in downhill skating. But Ryan has his eyes on a bigger prize, to one day compete in the Olympics.

It might be a little late for next year’s 2020 Olympics. But he’s hoping to one day be on that stage in 2024.

“I’m twenty-five now, and the average for a winning Olympics athlete is in their thirty’s, so I have 2024 and 2028 to try and get our discipline in,” said Farmer.

Out of the entire U.S., fifteen athletes were chosen to represent the country. This is the first time a national team has been put together.