Jerry Hsu facts for kids
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Asian Elvis |
| Born | December 17, 1981 San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Residence | San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in |
| Sport | |
| Country | U.S. |
Jerry Hsu (born December 17, 1981) is a famous Taiwanese-American skateboarder. He is also a talented photographer and runs his own skateboarding company called "Sci-Fi Fantasy".
Contents
Early Life and Starting Skateboarding
Jerry Hsu grew up in San Jose, California, United States. His family came from Taiwan. His parents speak both English and Mandarin Chinese. Jerry once said his Chinese was like a "third grader's."
He started skateboarding in the early 1990s. Jerry was drawn to skateboarding by kids who looked "stupid" with green hair and big pants. He wanted to be like them. His mom even brought home a concrete block for him to practice on. He thought this was a very kind gesture.
Jerry Hsu's Skateboarding Journey
Jerry Hsu became a professional skateboarder. He rode for many different companies.
Early Years: Maple and Osiris
Jerry's first sponsor for skateboard decks was Maple. He joined the team with friends like Marc Johnson (skateboarder). In 1996, he appeared in a video called Montage. This video showed he was also sponsored by a brand called "Sutters."
In 1999, when Jerry was 17, Maple officially announced he was a professional. He was featured in their video Black Cat. Around this time, he also got sponsored by Osiris Shoes.
Jerry appeared in the 1999 Osiris video The Storm. His part in this video became famous for a new trick. It was called a "Storm flip." This trick involves a special kind of flip and spin in the air. People still ask him to do it, but he finds it a bit embarrassing now. He enjoyed traveling the world with Osiris.
In 2000, Jerry joined a group of skateboarder friends called the Tilt Mode Army (TMA). They were from San Jose, California. Other members included Marc Johnson and Steve Caballero.
Joining enjoi and Bag Of Suck
Before Maple closed down, Jerry joined the enjoi company. His friend Marc Johnson started enjoi. Marc wanted Jerry and Louie Barletta to join. Jerry said he was part of a "package deal." Marc Johnson joked that they "stole" Jerry.
Enjoi started making their first full-length video after Marc Johnson left in 2003. The video was called Bag Of Suck and came out in 2006. Jerry had the final part, which lasted almost eight minutes. He also joined the Ricta skateboard wheel team that year.
Emerica and Stay Gold
After the success of Bag Of Suck, Jerry changed sponsors. He left WeSC clothing and Osiris. In 2007, he joined Emerica for both shoes and clothes. Nike also offered him a deal, but Jerry chose Emerica. He felt Nike's offer was too impersonal.
In May 2007, the "Epicly Later'd" web series featured Jerry. His friend Patrick O'dell hosted the show. Jerry showed his family home and old videos of him skateboarding at 13. Patrick called him a "child prodigy." Marc Johnson also spoke highly of Jerry. He said Jerry lives life on his "own terms."
Jerry released his first special shoe with Emerica in 2008. It was simply called the "Hsu." He later released a low-top version. In 2010, he was sponsored by MOB griptape.
In 2011, Jerry released another Emerica shoe, the "Hsu 2 Fusion." It was a mid-top design. He liked it because it protected his ankles.
Jerry appeared in the fourth TMA video, Bonus Round, in 2009. In 2010, he was in his first Emerica video, Stay Gold. He skated only in a "switch stance" for this video. This was because he had many injuries. The video's filmer, Jon Miner, said Jerry went through a lot to film his part. Jerry had ankle and knee surgeries. He skated "switch" because his knee was too weak to skate normally. This shows how skilled Jerry is.
Moving to Chocolate Skateboards
In September 2013, Jerry announced he was leaving the enjoi brand. He said his decision was because the brand manager, Matt Eversole, left. Jerry felt Matt protected the brand from people who only cared about money. Louie Barletta took over as enjoi's manager. Jerry wished them the best. He said his decision was hard and emotional.
On November 12, 2013, a video on the Crailtap YouTube channel announced Jerry was joining Chocolate Skateboards. Chocolate is part of the Girl Distribution Company. Jerry said he wanted to join Chocolate because it felt like a "family." He saw the owners picking graphics by hand. He felt it was where he wanted to be. He was excited to have his name next to his heroes like Marc Johnson.
Starting Sci-Fi Fantasy
In the summer of 2017, Jerry started his own clothing company called "Sci-Fi Fantasy." His limited releases sold out very quickly in early 2018. This company is now his main source of income.
Jerry left Chocolate Skateboards in September 2017. In March 2018, his long-time shoe sponsor Emerica also ended their partnership with him. Since October 2018, Jerry has not had traditional skateboarding sponsors.
Video Games
Jerry Hsu is a character you can play in the Skate video game series. He appeared in Skate (2007), Skate 2 (2008), and Skate 3 (2010). These games were made by Electronic Arts (EA) and Black Box. Jerry even filmed his own introduction for the first game. He was also in the trailers for all three games.
Photography Work
Jerry Hsu's photography career has grown alongside his skateboarding. He takes photos for Vice magazine. In September 2010, he showed his photos at a gallery in Stockholm, Sweden. The show was called "Vatican Gold." Other photographers like Ed Templeton also showed their work.
In January 2013, Jerry published a photo book called "Table For One." It showed his interest in people who eat alone. He also had a Tumblr blog with the same name.
His first photography book, The Killing Season, came out in March 2013. Only 150 copies were made. The book was about a skateboarding trip to Vietnam. A video of this trip was released in mid-2012.
Jerry had his own photo show called "The Observable Universe" in Los Angeles, California, in July 2013. It featured eleven of his chosen photographs.
Emerica asked Jerry to help create a photography book for their 2013 video Made. The 80-page book came out in September 2013. It included Jerry's photos and pictures from other photographers. In October 2013, Jerry released another photo book. It was called "Our Moment Together." It showed photos of the people who photograph him as a skateboarder.
Awards and Recognition
Jerry Hsu won two awards at the 2007 Transworld Skateboarding awards. He won "Best Video Part" for his role in Bag Of Suck. He also won the "Readers' Choice" award. A writer from Transworld said Jerry's part showed his amazing skill.
Professional skateboarder Jimmy Cao chose Jerry's Black Cat video part for Thrasher Magazine's "Classics" series. Jimmy said he picked it because Jerry has great style and trick choices. He also said Jerry is "fun to watch."
Personal Life
Skateboarding can be tough on the body. Jerry has said his body is "constantly thrashed" and "broken." Because of this, he sees photography as something he can do in the future. In 2011, on "Epicly Later'd," Jerry's mother said she was happy for him. She said skateboarding was his job and his life.
