Professional Dad: Mikey Taylor on Balancing Professional Skateboarding and Fatherhood

Mikey Taylor was once synonymous with professional skateboarding. He has since retired from skateboarding and is pursuing his own business endeavor to continue to provide for his family. Yet, balancing skating and fatherhood proved to be worthwhile for his personal growth, which has lasted beyond his days as a professional skateboarder.

Courtesy of Mikey Taylor

There’s a moment in any career — let alone a professional skating career — where you have to stare down the barrel of a gun that is retirement. For most people, this is a momentous occasion, full of celebration. But, for Mikey Taylor, it was troublesome as the choice was outside of his own volition.

“I tore a ligament in my leg […] so I ended up having surgery. Then, DC [Taylor’s shoe sponsor] let me go two months after I had surgery, so I still had four months to go until I was able to skate again. The question then became these are your two options: I could recover, start skating again, and try to get a sponsor or I could call it now.”