Jeremiah Arias
3Qs
Albuquerque’s Mariah Duran is the No. 1 ranked female skateboarder in the US, according to the Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking, which earned her a spot on the first-ever US Olympic Women’s Street Skateboarding team. Duran will compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics on July 25 at 6 pm—tune in to NBC to watch; read on to catch our brief interview.
You’ve been skateboarding for 14 years now. What is your end goal?
I don’t have an end goal. I feel like I’m just beginning. It’s always the beginning of skateboarding because you can’t master it, there’s always new stuff. I don’t see an end game, I see myself in the game, hopefully forever, but who knows how long forever is anymore. I’m just taking it day by day.
How do you think that skating, known for being rebellious, counterculture and cool, will be impacted by being in the Olympics?
It’s gonna get a light shined on it. People are gonna see it on the highest platform of sport. I consider it a sport because we put our bodies through so much. I’ve done other sports, and this is different in that you go as far as you want to go. Skating is like a tree—the core and the root and the culture is always going to be the same, and you can branch off as far as you want to go, however far that might be. You find your place in that.
People are going to take it more seriously. Skaters are going to do everything they can to make sure their bodies are elite.
It’s going to grow the sport, especially for women. More are going to step on the board. The conversation is gonna be a lot easier. Back when I started, it was considered a hobby. Now it’s in the Olympics, so that conversation with your daughter or your son, when they step on a board, now includes something to strive for.
What lessons have you learned from skating?
Get the small wins. I’ve been disciplining myself more in meditation, not just to use it when I absolutely need it, but to use it every day—not as a Band-Aid but as a vitamin. Having a clear mind is definitely key. Everyone’s fallen victim to waking up and getting on Instagram. Your brain is fried and then you’re like, “What the heck?” Whereas you could take the extra step for the first hour of the day and do some new routine. I use the app Headspace and some breathing techniques. It helps me come to the present moment. I love going on Instagram, but I set a limit on my phone for 20 minutes a day to give me enough time to post whatever I need, but I don’t get vortexed in. It’s important to monitor the themes throughout the day.
Confidence. You find a different type of confidence when you’re the one who’s skating, who’s pushing yourself, who’s getting up after falling. It’s self-confidence trusting yourself to try tricks that seem crazy to people who think, “I don’t want to break my neck.” I’ve thought about the worst lands ever, everybody’s thought of them, but then you do it and you’re OK the majority of the time.
There’s not any limits. You can take that into everyday life. If you believe you can do something, then you’re probably right.
Hard work, because you’re introduced to failure right away. When you step on a board for the first time, you fall, and you have to make a decision: Do you get back up and keep going, or wrap it up? The majority of the skaters and the people who are at the top have taken the hardest slams and kept going. You learn about trial and error, right off the bat.
And ultimately, I’m not scared to fail. If anything, failure means you’re closer to something.
