Stephen Berra
| Steve Berra | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 10, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Skateboarder, film director, screenwriter, actor |
| Spouse(s) | Juliette Lewis (m. 1999–2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | theberrics.com |
Steve Berra (born May 10, 1973) is an American professional skateboarder and director, and is also the cofounder/co-owner of the popular skateboarding website "The Berrics".
Berra grew up in both Nebraska and Missouri, United States (US), and he explained in 2007 that his family was poor: "I was considered poor when I was growing up. I didn't have a phone." Berra was bullied at school for skateboarding and struggled as a student, with Berra stating that he "was the kid who everybody assumed was a complete lost cause." It was at the age of 14 years that the isolated Berra, who had a small number of friends at the time, decided that a professional skateboarding career was his aspiration.
In pursuit of his skateboarding career, Berra relocated to southern California, US when he was 18 years old and lived with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Hawk provided guidance to Berra regarding the skateboarding industry and advised,"You have to look at skating as fun. But it's not a career," due to the subculture's marginal status at the time.
Berra's first sponsor was Blockhead, which led to his experience with the "Blockhead House", where he met fellow skateboarder Jason Dill. He then moved onto the 101 skateboard brand, owned by Natas Kaupas, and he has since stated that "I didn’t have a good time on 101". Before Kaupas could assign Berra the status of a "professional" team rider, Berra quit 101 and joined Tony Hawk's Birdhouse company. While with Birdhouse, the 23-year-old Hawk was a mentor figure to Berra, leading to Berra's initial forays into acting. In 1992, Berra left Birdhouse and since admitted that his departure was due to being "young, misunderstood, and silly." Several months later, Berra joined the Foundation team, skating in the company's 1993 video, Super Conductor Super Collider.
In 1998 Berra returned to Birdhouse to create the skateboarding video The End. In one of the notable scenes in the movie, Berra's death is simulated in a decapitation scene (filmed with the aid of a dummy).
Shortly after the release of The End Berra once again left Birdhouse and joined Alien Workshop, alongside Dill and professionals such as Josh Kalis and Rob Dyrdek.
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