Rob Dyrdek

 At 11 years old, Dyrdek earned a sponsorship to represent Surf Ohio, a local skate shop in Dayton, Ohio. He began competing at age 12. Gordon and Smith Skateboard Company (G&S), a national brand, started sponsoring him at this time. In July 1989 at age 15 Dyrdek won first place at an National Skateboard Association North Central District competition. [2][6] He moved to Southern California at the age 16 to pursue his professional skating career. In 1991, he became an elite skateboarder when he competed at the Skateboard World Cup in Germany. He finished 5th. [2] He was also included in Alien Workshop's Memory Screen skate video that year. At the time, Dyrdek was sponsored by Alien Workshop, a Dayton-based skateboarding firm. 10 years later, the company began producing exclusive Dyrdek skateboards right following the endorsement. 11. Dyrdek also started his own skateboard accessories company, Orion Trucks, at age 17.By 1995, Dyrdek was competing at events and performing at exhibitions across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. At the time, Droors Clothing, which was later renamed DC Shoes, began sponsoring Dyrdek. During 1995, he launched his first signature shoe (the RD 1) with DC,[2][13] beginning the 20-year relationship that featured 29 signature shoes. In 1999, Dyrdek expanded into the business world when he founded Dyrdek Enterprises.In 2000, Dyrdek placed sixth in park skating in the X Games in San Francisco. [16] In 2003, he founded Silver Trucks, a skateboarding accessories firm. In 2005, he drafted, designed, developed, and raised funding for the world's first skate plaza, called the Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza, in his hometown of Kettering. The park was a celebration of street skateboarding and also included urban artifacts such as railings, plants, stairs, and ledges. It was the very first project to receive funding from the Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundatio