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 on December 17, 1981, is a famous Taiwanese-American skateboarder. He is also a talented photographer. Jerry owns his own skateboarding company called "Sci-Fi Fantasy".
Contents
Jerry Hsu's Early Life and Skateboarding Start
Jerry Hsu grew up in San Jose, California, United States. His family is 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 the cool look of other skaters. He saw kids with green hair and big pants. He wanted to look like them too. His mom even brought home a concrete parking block for him to practice on. He thought this was a very kind gesture.
Jerry Hsu's Professional Skateboarding Career
Becoming a Pro Skateboarder: 1996–2001
Jerry's first sponsor for skateboard decks was Maple. He joined the team with friends like Marc Johnson (skateboarder). In 1996, Jerry appeared in a video called Montage. This video showed off clothing from a store called NC Board Shop.
In 1999, when Jerry was 17, Maple officially made him a professional. An ad for him said, "Not another brick in the wall." He was also in the 1999 Maple video Black Cat. Around this time, Osiris Shoes also started sponsoring him.
Jerry was featured in the 1999 Osiris video The Storm. He became famous for a new trick called the "Storm flip". This trick involves a "nollie backside 180 kickflip" with an extra "late front-foot kickflip" in the air. A nollie trick starts from the front of the board. People still ask him to do the Storm flip today, but he finds it a bit embarrassing. Jerry loved traveling the world with Osiris.
In 2000, Jerry joined the Tilt Mode Army (TMA). This was a group of skateboarder friends from San Jose. Other members included Marc Johnson and Steve Caballero. Their first video was called Tilt Mode!.
Joining enjoi and Bag Of Suck: 2002–2006
Before Maple closed down, Jerry joined the enjoi company. His friend Marc Johnson started enjoi. Marc wanted Jerry and Louie Barletta to join because they were close friends. Jerry said he was part of a "package deal".
Work on enjoi's first full-length video, Bag Of Suck, began in 2003. The video came out in 2006. Jerry had the final part in the video, which was almost eight minutes long. His part featured music by Cass McCombs and Sonic Youth. Jerry also joined the Ricta skateboard wheel team that year.
Emerica and Stay Gold: 2007–2012
After the success of Bag Of Suck, Jerry got new sponsors. In 2007, he left WeSC clothing and Osiris. He joined Emerica, which offered him shoes and clothes. Their ads for him said "GuessHsu?".
In May 2007, the Vice web series "Epicly Later'd" featured Jerry. His friend Patrick O'dell hosted the show. In the episode, Jerry showed his family home and old videos of him skating at 13. Patrick called him a "child prodigy".
Jerry released his first signature shoe with Emerica in 2008. It was simply called the "Hsu". Later, a low-top version, the "Hsu Low", came out. In 2010, he was sponsored by MOB griptape.
In 2011, Jerry released the "Hsu 2 Fusion" shoe. This was a mid-top design with special ankle protection. He explained in a video that he liked the mid-top for safety.
Jerry also 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 switch stance for this video, even though he was dealing with injuries.
New Teams: Chocolate and Sci-Fi Fantasy: 2013–Present
In September 2013, Jerry left the enjoi brand. He explained that the brand manager, Matt Eversole, had left. Jerry felt that Matt protected the brand from people who only cared about making money. Louie Barletta took over as enjoi's brand manager. Jerry wished them well.
On November 12, 2013, a video on the Crailtap YouTube channel announced Jerry's new team. He officially joined Chocolate Skateboards. This company is part of the Girl Distribution Company. Jerry said he wanted to join Chocolate because it felt like a "family".
In 2014, Patrick O'dell filmed a four-part series for "Epicly Later'd". Jerry co-hosted this series to celebrate Chocolate's 20th anniversary.
In the summer of 2017, Jerry started his own clothing company, "Sci-Fi Fantasy". His limited clothing releases often sold out very quickly. He said this company is now his main source of income. By October 2018, Jerry had stopped having traditional skateboarding sponsors.
Jerry left Chocolate Skateboards in September 2017. In March 2018, his shoe sponsor, Emerica, also ended their partnership with him.
Jerry Hsu in 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 filmed his own introduction for the first game. He was also in the trailers for all three games.
Jerry Hsu's Photography Work
Jerry Hsu's photography career has grown alongside his skateboarding. He shares his photos with 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 released a photo project called "Table For One". It was a small book (zine) about people who eat alone. He also had a Tumblr blog with the same name. Grape Magazine called it Jerry's "ode to being alone".
His first photography book, The Killing Season, came out in March 2013. Only 150 copies were made. The book showed photos from a skateboarding trip to Vietnam. A group traveled across Vietnam on mopeds. A video of this trip was released in 2012.
Jerry had a solo photo exhibition called "The Observable Universe" in Los Angeles, California. It opened on July 2, 2013. The show featured eleven of his chosen photographs.
Emerica asked Jerry to put together a photography book for their 2013 video Made. The 80-page book came out in September 2013. It included Jerry's own photos and pictures from other photographers. In October 2013, Jerry released another zine. It had photos of people who photograph him as a skateboarder. It was called "Our Moment Together".
Leica Camera Series: "Rolling Through the Shadows"
Leica Camera AG, a German camera company, started an interview series in 2013. It was called "Rolling Through the Shadows". The series planned to interview skateboarders who use Leica cameras. Jerry Hsu was one of the skateboarders they wanted to interview.
Awards and Achievements
Jerry Hsu won two awards at the 2007 Transworld Skateboarding awards. He won "Best Video Part" and "Readers' Choice" for his part in Bag Of Suck. A writer from Transworld said Jerry's skating was very powerful and skillful.
Professional skateboarder Jimmy Cao chose Jerry's Black Cat video part for Thrasher Magazine's "Classics" series. Jimmy said he picked Jerry's part because of his great style and trick choices. He found Jerry fun to watch. Thrasher magazine called the part "gnarly".
Jerry Hsu's Personal Life
Skateboarding takes a big toll on Jerry's body. He has said his body is "constantly thrashed" and "broken". Because of this, he sees photography as a career he can move into later. In 2011, on "Epicly Later'd", Jerry's mother shared her thoughts. She said she was happy for him. She believes it's his job and his life, not hers.
