London skateboarder competing at world championships

Local skateboarder heads to world champs London skateboarder Richie Bullbrook is representing Canada at the upcoming World Championships in Dubai. CTV’s Marek Sutherland reports.

He caught the feeling when he was just 4 years old, and Richie Bullbrook has been catching air ever since.

"I've been skating for 16 years and seriously competing for like probably eight [years]. My whole life, I've always traveled for skating. It's just been like my sport my whole life like that," said Bullbrook.

Bullbrook learned to skate in London, Ont., but travels to Michigan and California to train for park skateboarding.

“It takes place in a bowl that's been standardized for own picks, and it contains all the elements of things like vert (vertical) skateboarding, which is a different discipline that takes place on a half pipe. So that's similar to the deep end,” he said.

The sport was introduced to the Olympics in Tokyo, and next week Bullbrook will travel to the Skate Park World Championships in Dubai.

“My goal in in Dubai, top 60, top 50. If I get that, [I’ll] feel really good because then in two years in 2026 when they start coming up again, these championships, I'll be able to push myself to make that first cut,” said Bullbrook.

Bullbrook said making the first cut of the world championships would put him in a position to go to the Olympics, and he hopes kids in London know there is a path for them in the sport.

“Now with skateboarding being in the Olympics, there is the support system there for kids like myself to be able to pursue this professionally and potentially go to the Olympics. And I think it's an opportunity to not many people take,” he said.

Bullbrook is looking at the Dubai world championship as a growth experience with a dream of making it to the Olympics for the Los Angeles games in 4 years.