Wes kremer. this thread isn't an insult to these dudes, just facts. It's interesting to see which pros had to overcome more shit to make it. I personally give no fucks if you're a pro skater who grew up wealthy, good for you. But you can't honestly say money doesn't matter because statistically, people who grow up with a lot of money are so much more likely to be successful it's ridiculous. Another question this raises is would you guys think certain pros were as cool as you thought if they had to whore themselves out with wack sponsors? People shit on Nyjah for the monster sponsorship but the dude is just trying to stack as much paper as possible, while someone like Riley Hawk will NEVER have to pick up a sponsor that might hurt his raw dude image because he was born rich. Is one of those scenarios really more deplorable than the other? No offense to either because they're both great skaters. But then again Kalis turned down an energy drink sponsorship because he didn't believe in it, so does that make Kalis a better person than Nyjah or does it mean they have different values?