For some professional skateboarders, retirement can ironically be the scariest part of their career. How do you live without your name on a board? How do you translate a kickflip back lip into real-world skills? Shit, how do you explain the 20-year resume gap?
With no clear answer to many of these questions, oftentimes pro skaters are left white-knuckling, trying to stretch a career to the max in fear of getting lost in the beyond. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Moving on can be empowering.
Take it from Joey Brezinski, who recently posted about his transition from skating full-time to a simpler life as a USPS mailman.
In more ways than one, it’s motivating, and to celebrate Joey’s new lease on life, we followed him on his paper route, hitting some curbs along the way and appreciating that moving on from pro skateboarding isn’t something you should be ashamed of, it’s a start to something new.
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April 6, 2026 3:32 pm
Being a pro skate boarder is amazing. But it doesn’t offer medical benefits, retirement or 401k
April 6, 2026 5:17 pm
Or a living wage, for that matter. Being paid to have fun is not the same thing as making a living. If you ain’t a top dog, you already have two jobs: skateboarding, and whatever the second job is!