Heath Harleys off into the Sunset of Skate Retirement
At the age of 32, Heath Kirchart has retired from professional skateboarding.
It’s nice to see a guy walk away from skateboarding at the top of his game (which I argued that Jereme Rogers did) and with his dignity firmly intact (which was not the case with Rogers, unless your definition of dignity is praising Jesus Christ nude on your rooftop at 3:00AM and then resisting arrest from Redondo Beach’s finest).
Everything Heath skated was bigger, longer, sketchier than what people were skating at the time. And he made it look great. Check his ride away from the back noseblunt in Sight Unseen- classic Heath.
Go and visit UC Irvine one day, then you’ll see.
It’s also nice that dude seems to be leaving the skate industry entirely. No hanging on, no sad fall from revered pro to fat TM, or to crouched and aching videographer.
Instead, Heath has ambitions and investments outside of the skate industry, and according to him, he already has enough money to never have to work another day of his life if he chooses not to.
Skateboarding can be sickening insular culture, and it needs Heath a lot more than Heath needs it. Here you can keep up with Heath’s current project of riding a bicycle from California to NYC.
Here’s Heath, back when it all began:
