Kevin "Spanky" Long
| Kevin Long | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Kevin Long August 6, 1984 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Spanky |
| Occupation | Professional skateboarder |
Kevin 'Spanky' Long (born August 6, 1984) is an American professional skateboarder. Long's skateboarding stance is goofy (standing with his right foot at the front, or on the nose, of the skateboard).
Long was born in Oak Park, California, United States (U.S.). Long grew up skateboarding in California's Agoura Hills, which is just north of the Valley area and the nickname "Spanky" was created by a friend of Long's older brother. Long was a homeschool student but advised against it in a 2003 interview: "Basically I’d say homeschool is a bad idea for anybody—it’s just one step closer to dropping out. Because you have to teach it to yourself and it’s harder than it is at an actual school."
Long was first sponsored by the Sixteen Skateboards company after being noticed by Neal Mims and Rodney Johnson (team manager) at a "Skate Street" contest in Ventura, California. Alongside professional skateboarders such as Paul Rodriguez, Javier Nunez, Mikey Taylor, and Devine Calloway, Long was then recruited onto Kareem Campbell's City Stars skateboard team. Prior to becoming a professional with Baker, Long explained this period of his life in an interview:
At that point I was still skating, living at home, and going to school. I didn’t really have anyone to skate with, I was just getting flowed from World [Industries]. But thankfully, I started skating with Mike Taylor and Paul Rodriguez. And Mike was on City Stars, so he helped me make a little tape and gave it to Kareem. Then Kareem started hooking me up with boards.
In 2003 Long won the Tampa Am contest in Tampa, Florida, U.S., and received contract offers from both Toy Machine and Baker Skateboards later that year. Long eventually selected Baker because he "felt too comfortable with all the guys" and, in the same year, he attained professional status with Baker, a company that is owned by Long's childhood hero Andrew Reynolds. Long later revealed what it was like for him skateboarding alongside Reynolds: "With Drew [Reynolds], all I have to hear him say is that he wants to do a trick and it’s done. As soon as he wants to do it, it’s almost too easy once he tries it. I can’t believe it."
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