Mike Vallely

Vallely was born in Edison, New Jersey, United States to Art and Mary Vallely.[citation needed] Vallely has an older brother, Joe, and a younger sister, Amy. Growing up, Vallely played little league baseball, but, in 1984, at age fourteen, Vallely discovered skateboarding and punk music,[citation needed] borrowed a skateboard from a friend and proceeded to dedicate his life to skateboarding.\n', ' At Christmas in 1984, Vallely\'s parents purchased a Jeff Phillips professional signature model skateboard for him. Besides street skating, Vallely also began vert skateboarding, and often skated at Tom Groholski\'s ramp, as well as The Barn Ramp, both of which are located in New Jersey. Vallely also skated at the Brooklyn Banks, a well-known skateboarding location under New York\'s Brooklyn Bridge.[citation needed]\n', ' In 1986, Vallely moved with his family to Virginia Beach, Virginia, for a brief period and, while living there, befriended some local skaters at Kempsville High School. Skating with a local team called "Subculture", in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach, Vallely tested his street skills in local contests, as well as on neighborhood quarter-pipe and launch ramps. In the spring of 1986, the Virginia Beach Skate park, Mount Trashmore, hosted a professional vert skateboard contest. Vallely and his friend began skating in the car park, adjacent to the vert ramp, during practice, and drew the attention of professional skateboarder, Neil Blender, from atop the ramp. Lance Mountain and Stacy Peralta, both of Powell Peralta and the Bones Brigade, were also impressed with Vallely. Seeing Vallely skate on a worn board, Mountain provided him with a brand new skateboard. Following the impromptu demo, Peralta offered Vallely an amateur sponsorship deal with Powell-Peralta Skateboards.\n', '