Aaron
Feinberg
There's almost
no point in holding a competition when Aaron shows up, so predictable
is his victory schedule. Aaron is more than just consistently good;
he consistently redefines street skating. At the competition level,
he is virtually untouchable, giving the audience a 65 second preview
of skating's coming attractions. On real street, he adapts the environment
to his whims, willing the inconceivable to become natural. The streetcourse
is his Matrix, where he is capable of performing outside the understood
realm of possibility.
At nineteen years
of age, Feinberg has developed an intimacy with skating that is almost
indecent in nature. He has been described as everything from "robot"
to "artist" but, in reality, he is simply a guy who loves what he
does so much that he has become the best in the world. Reticent in
interviews but gregarious in nature, Aaron talks about his love of
the game: "I don't remember when it happened, but it didn't take long
for me to realize that I wanted to become a full-time skater. I try
to skate every day, but even on the days when I don't, I know that
I am still a skater from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.
Skating is my life."
This
love and dedication to his art has made Aaron one of the most respected
athletes in skating. He has managed to rise above the cliquey nature
of this teen dominated sport. Feinberg wins contests not because he
is a "competition skater", but rather because his realm of possibility
is greater that the others. His choices are virtually limitless on
a course, because few things are beyond his capabilities. Whether
his peers admire him for his incredible sections in videos, his competition
performances, or just the crazy stunts he pulls while on tour, Aaron
Feinberg is on just about everyone's short list of favorite skaters.
In
a sport where street's champions have regularly disappeared faster
than a one hit wonder, Aaron has been the exception. Since turning
pro in 1997, he has amassed more street victories than any skater
in the history of aggressive skating. That rookie season he took X
Games gold on his 16th birthday and the following two seasons he dominated
as if each event were his to win or lose. Aaron has been ranked #1
for over two years with no sign of slowing down. In October at the
ASA World Championships he became the World Champion skating only
one run in the final. It was so spectacular that it was one of the
highest scoring street runs since the birth of skate competitions.
This season he won the first stop on the Pro Tour against a strong
field while not even skating his best. But don't ask him about his
achievements. He doesn't like to look back. Likewise, don't ask him
about goals. Aaron doesn't set goals for himself so much as he surpasses
old goals every time he skates. When you watch Aaron roll, raise your
expectations. He'll still transcend them.