Brandon Westgate

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Brandon Westgate
Zoo York Skater Brandon Westgate doing a Frontside Flip in Queens, NY (cropped).jpg
Westgate doing a flip in 2013
Born
Brandon Westgate

(1989-02-15) February 15, 1989 (age 35)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationProfessional skateboarder

Brandon Westgate (born February 15, 1989) is a professional skateboarder. [1]

Contents

Early life

Westgate was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, United States (US). [2] When he was young, Westgate skated in his hometown and at Skater Island skate park in Rhode Island, US. [3]

Professional skateboarding

In 2003 Westgate started his skateboarding career as a "flow" (a skateboarder's status prior to becoming an amateur where equipment and goods are 'flowed' to them) team rider for 5boro Skateboards. He gained some attention for his Word of Mouth part in 2004 (it was later identified in the "Classics" segment of Thrasher magazine), [2] but left 5Boro to join Birdhouse Skateboards in October 2005, a company founded and owned by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. [4]

In 2007 Westgate joined Zoo York Skateboards, [5] followed by Emerica footwear in 2008—he would later attain professional status with Zoo York in May 2009 [6] and released his first professional model Emerica shoe in early 2011. [7]

In a September 2013 interview, Westgate explained the best thing in skateboarding at that time for him: "I’m just into simple and fast, and good style." [8] Alongside other professional skateboarders such as Ishod Wair and Nyjah Huston, Westgate was nominated for Thrasher Magazine's 2013 "Skater Of The Year" (SOTY) award in December 2013. The publication summarized Westgate's 2013 performance in the following manner: "Emerica's Made saw Westgate returning to the streets of SF [San Francisco] to put the final nail in the coffin at that old lady's house before cruising the U.S. - ollieing and flipping his way up, over and onto ever more gigantic obstacles including a neck-high natty euro gap and that hellacious three flip flyover. " [9]

Sponsors

As of March 2021, Westgate is sponsored by Element, [10] Ricta, [11] Venture, [12] Bones Bearings, [13] Mob Grip, [14] CCS, [15] and New Balance.

He has two pro model shoes on New Balance Numeric, the Brandon Westgate NM913 released in 2020 and his current model, the 508.

Personal life

As of September 2013, Westgate, together with his girlfriend, is a vegetarian. The pair reside together, grow a garden, and raise chickens—Westgate has built a chicken coop and, as of September 2013, is in the process of constructing a greenhouse for his mother. When asked about his vegetarianism in 2013, Westgate explained:

Green apple, carrot, celery, parsley, ginger, kale, maybe a little bit of lemon or something, but that’s a standard juice we make ... I think the best thing to do, even if you’re not vegetarian, is to juice vegetables. There’s no possible way to eat all that—you can’t consume it all. So you drink it and get all the nutrients, and also it gets in your body faster because your body doesn’t have to break it down or anything. Juicing is one of the best things to do to heal or replenish your body and get rid of all the toxins ... When I’d go on trips I’d just feel like shit and eat like shit ... I think I just feel healthier in general. [8]

Westgate further explained that his girlfriend influenced him to become a vegetarian. [8]

Videography

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References

  1. Nieratko, Chris (July 25, 2011). "Real Street speaks: Brandon Westgate". ESPN Action Sports. ESPN. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  2. 1 2 ThrasherMagazine (February 21, 2012). "Classics: Brandon Westgate, "Word of Mouth"" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  3. "Brandon Westgate". ESPN.com. May 20, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  4. "BRANDON WESTGATE ON BIRDHOUSE, NIXON LTD COLLECTION". TransWorld Skateboarding. GrindMedia. October 5, 2005. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  5. "Welcome to Zoo York Promo". Emerica. Sole Technology. December 31, 2007. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  6. Crossfire (May 19, 2009). "Brandon Westgate Pro for Zoo York". Caught in the Crossfire. Division Media. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  7. "Along with Brandon Westgate's first Emerica pro model shoe, Venture Trucks is dropping his first pro truck. And Hubba Wheels and THE ZOO YORK INSTITUTE are dropping Westgate product too. January 15th: New shoe, new part, new truck, new wheels and a new board. Get ready for Westgate". Emerica on Facebook. Facebook. January 5, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Kevin Duffel (September 11, 2013). "Brandon Westgate Interrogated". The Berrics. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  9. "The Top 5 SOTY Finalists - VOTE!". Thrasher Magazine. High Speed Productions. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  10. "Brandon Westgate". Element Brand. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  11. Templeton Elliot (August 7, 2013). "Westgate On Ricta". The Skateboard Mag. Strictly Skateboarding. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  12. "Fall '13 Drop 1". Venture. Deluxe Distribution. September 2013. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  13. "BONES® BEARINGS TEAM". Bones Bearings. Skate One. September 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  14. "Mob Grip". Strange Notes. NHS, Inc. September 2013. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  15. "Team - Brandon Westgate". CCS. September 2013. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  16. "Brandon Westgate skate videos". Skatevideosite.com. 2005–2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  17. ThrasherMagazine (February 22, 2019), Brandon Westgate: WAR and PEACE , retrieved March 8, 2019