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Whitestone teen skater lands local sponsor, dreams of making it big

Whitestone skater
Photo courtesy Stephen Teodoru


Eddie Woychowski’s daily requirements include breathing, eating, sleeping and skateboarding.

And besides his beloved hobby, “I don’t do anything else really,” said Woychowski, who dreams of being a professional skateboarder.

The 14-year-old Whitestone native picked up a local sponsor in Logan’s Café on June 22, adding to his expanding list of supporters. The eatery donated a new board and a hat, and it plans to name a sandwich after the young skater.

Photo courtesy Logan O’Connor 

“The reason we decided to sponsor him is that he’s a good kid, but he’s an amazing skateboarder,” said Logan O’Connor, owner of the café. “He skates in all types of weather and wherever he can. There are no signs of him slowing down.”

During the school year, after the bell rings, Woychowski heads directly to local parks where he usually practices tricks until it gets dark. Another testament to his love of the sport is the 30 or 40 worn boards (there hasn’t been an official count yet) that can be found in his room.

His obsession with skateboarding started about four and a half years ago. After he touched a board, he couldn’t put it down, and now what keeps him going is learning new tricks.

“When I learn a new trick, it’s the best feeling,” he said.

Woychowski, who attends the World Journalism Preparatory School in Flushing, has won four skating tournaments and has several other sponsors that provide equipment and promote his name, including Blind Skateboards, DVS shoe company, Mass Exodus and LICKNYC, a clothing store and skate shop in Long Island City.

Although it’ll be some time before Woychowski will appear in the X Games, he is undoubtedly excited about the thought of skating as a career.

“To get paid money and stuff just for skateboarding like it’s a regular day job,” he said, “that would be the craziest thing, when it finally happens.”

 

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