I’m ‘Rad Dad’, 50, who skateboarded in White House… now I’ve switched nationality to Team GB for Paris 2024 Olympics
ANDY MACDONALD had the Secret Service scrambling when he became the first person to skateboard in the White House.
Now 25 years later, he is still pulling tricks… and has got one last chance to qualify for the Olympics.
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Close pals with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, Macdonald is an icon in the sport in his own right with his world-record haul of 15 X Games medals and eight World Cup Skateboarding golds.
And that status prompted Macdonald to do a hugely successful public service announcement – ultimately leading to his White House moment.
Macdonald, who turns 51 during Paris 2024, told SunSport: “I was the first athlete they used and it was a 30-second TV spot of me talking, ‘Hey I’m a skateboarder, skateboarding is hard, you fall down a lot, oh yeah by the way I don’t do drugs, this is my idea of getting high,’ and just blasting a big air on a skateboard.
“It was the most successful PSA they had done and the culmination was an invitation to the White House for a five-minute speech to introduce then-President Bill Clinton.
“I remember rolling up to the security, putting my skateboard on the x-ray machine and coming out on the other side at the White House.
“There’s this big long marble hallway leading to the West Wing and I’m just like, ‘Gotta have a little roll, gotta be the first one to skateboard in the White House.’
“The Secret Service agents weren’t nearly as excited about it as I was, but I had to check that one off the list.”
Massachusetts-born Macdonald rose to fame in vert skating – on 14-foot U-shaped ramps – but has had to switch nationality and discipline for his crack at the Olympics.
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Paris 2024 features two types of skateboarding: street skating on stairs and handrails and park skating around concrete bowls and bends.
Macdonald is trying to qualify for the park event – but ramps max out at nine feet rather than 14, making his tricks much harder with less airtime.
And he is now flying under the Team GB flag, despite his thick American accent.
Speaking from his California home, Macdonald explained: “After watching Tokyo, I talked to colleagues about heritage and they said, ‘Absolutely if you’re British get your British passport and you can totally be on the British team, that’s a lot more realistic than making the US team.’
“I jumped through all the hoops, submitted a video of tricks, didn’t get special treatment because I’m a vert legend or whatever.
“I got my British passport, my dad was born in London, my grandfather Scotland.
“It’s really, really terrible I’ve never been to Scotland.
“A pro snowboarder has invited me there. I keep telling him I will get to the Scottish Highlands and see Edinburgh.
“I’ll get there for sure it’s on the list but it hasn’t happened just yet.”
With Macdonald’s vast experience comes his age, celebrating the big 50 last July.
How does skateboarding at the Olympics work?
SKATEBOARDING debuted at the Olympics in Tokyo – and returns for Paris 2024, taking place at the famous Place de La Concorde in the heart of the French capital.
The world’s greatest male and female skateboarders will face off in two disciplines: park and street. Athletes must carry out their most impressive tricks, getting judged on the degree of difficulty, speed and range of moves.
The events consist of two rounds: prelims and finals.
The park discipline is on a varied course combining bowls and bends, with the skateboarders scored on the height and speed of the tricks during jumps, as well as their capacity to use the entire surface and all obstacles. They perform three 45‑second runs, with the best of three counting as their final round score.
Street events are on a straight ‘street-like’ course with stairs and rails set up to resemble the urban environments where skateboarding started out in the 1980s.
Athletes get points for tricks and how they control their board during the two 45‑second runs and the five tricks they carry out.
Source: olympics.com
That means his Team GB team-mates and potential Olympic rivals are the same age as his teenage kids, including 15-year-old Sky Brown.
But the veteran ‘rad dad’ has no qualms competing alongside and against youngsters, telling them: I was here first!
And he has no plans to retire anytime soon, either.
Macdonald – who admitted he needs a “miracle” at this weekend’s final qualifying stage in Budapest to qualify for the final 22 in Paris – said: “I just think it’s neat because in what other sport does that happen?
“You don’t see Andre Agassi playing tennis against 14-year-olds. I can be 50 and still compete.
“We do the same thing. It’s not like I’m this weird 50-year-old showing up at the skate park.
“I’ve been professional for 30 years and they’re joining me. I was there when they came for the first time. I was there when they learned their first Ollie trick.
“They all think I’m a nerd and they’re absolutely right. If they make fun of me and call me ‘Uncle Andy’ I’ll give it right back. We all joke around and have a good time.
“Every time I share my American candy and make sure they bring me Lion bars.
“Yes it hurts more now, it takes longer to heal as you get older.
“But guys ten years my senior are still doing it, so I’ll keep going. We’re really still learning what the limits are as far as skating into your 60s or 70s.”
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