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How dare a successful young black man in America have an ego, or want more out of life than what skateboarding has to offer?!
As others have pointed out, he still rips.
Dude, that's the whole thing. Do you remember how cocky you were at 21 vs your late 20's/early 30's? He's still a kid.
And shouts for pursuing paths outside of skateboarding. I for one didn't expect his first venture to be a restaurant, but good on him.
What was the story with his mom?
She was keeping most of her life savings stashed in her bedroom. She had her reasons, but even so, $80,000 isn’t easily hidden from two little boys. Tyshawn and Bryan soon figured out where it was, and they would ‘‘pick at it,’’ in Tyshawn’s words, to buy skateboards and movie tickets. The family lived in the biggest unit in a condo building in Hackensack, a nice place with a doorman and a shared swimming pool. Sometimes friends would come over to use the pool. Once, Bryan showed off this gigantic pile of cash to a couple of friends from school.
Those same friends came back one day when Tyshawn was home alone, asking if they could go for a swim. Tyshawn let them in. They asked if they could use the bathroom beforehand — both of them. Tyshawn sent one down the hall and the other upstairs to the bathroom off the master bedroom. The one he’d sent upstairs came back down holding his towel awkwardly in front of him and saying they’d changed their minds, and didn’t feel like swimming anymore. Tyshawn sent them on their way. ‘‘I’m a kid; I’m not thinking anything,’’ he told me. ‘‘I’m, like, 10 years old.’’ A few days later, when he was at school, his mother called him in tears. Nearly all the money was missing.
Henry went to the police, only to be told, she says, that she couldn’t press charges against the boys unless she also pressed charges against her own sons, who were technically involved. Not only was the money gone, but Bryan had to watch the thieves enjoy it. ‘‘They were probably 13 years old with $80,000, cash,’’ Tyshawn recalls. ‘‘There was so much money, they were giving it away in school.’’
Left with an overwhelming sense of guilt, Tyshawn started casting about for ways to help replace the money. He was a clever kid. He’d trick the doorman into looking for something in the package room, then snatch apartment keys off the wall. ‘‘I was young and dumb,’’ he says, so he thought everyone had huge piles of cash hidden in their bedrooms. They didn’t, but he found other stuff to grab. He eventually got caught, and in the aftermath of all of this, the family moved back to the Bronx. ‘‘When I moved to New York, I would just think about that money,’’ Jones says. ‘‘I gotta get that money back for my mom. I gotta get that money back for my mom.’’
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Imagine having that happen to you and your family and then being able to pay them back, and then some, by the age of 21. When I was 21, I was still living at home, going to community college, and racking up a small credit card debt. Tyshawn is one of the most successful pro skaters of recent times, is a largely recognizable figure outside of skating, and has started multiple businesses. Let the man brag a little bit. He's deserved that much.
Topic: Does Tyshawn still skate? (Read 15035 times)