Deaf Professional Skateboarder Aims to Inspire Others

For Brandon White, skateboarding feels like "an earthquake going through my board"

Brandon White is a rising professional skater, but when he lands his biggest tricks in front of a crowd, he can't hear the cheering.

White has been deaf since a young age, but that hasn't affected his ability to skate, or his positive outlook.

"I'm a good skateboarder, I have two good eyes," White said. "I love my life."

Despite being unable to hear, White said that skating is still a unique sensory experience.

"I love to feel the vibration," White said. "Like an earthquake going through my board and I can do tricks."

White's skills, and story, caught the attention of Dom DeLuca, who owns the professional skateboarding team Brooklyn Projects in Los Angeles.

"People are starting to notice him," DeLuca said. "They look beyond him being impaired to like, 'Wow, this guy's an insane skater.'"

Though White is an inspiration to many people now, he said that wasn't always the case.

"When I was a kid, I got bullied and other kids made fun of me," White said.

Now, with plans to brand his own line of boards and form a team of skateboarders who share his experience, White said he wants to inspire other deaf skaters to find their place in the world.

"Deaf people can do anything," he said. "Anything is possible."

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