Michael Rotondella (21) was named WA’s 2013 YMCA Drug Aware Skate Series champion, just weeks after finishing third at Volcom’s Wild in the Park tournament.
‘I had a very good skate, but I didn’t expect to win,’ he said. ‘I had to pull off moves I hadn’t even thought about trying. It was the perfect routine, it all just fell into place.’
Rotondella said he gathered momentum with some easier tricks early in the heat, before unleashing a varial heelflip, bigspin flip and frontside noseblunt slide to put him pole position for the title.
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READ NOW‘During the start of the final, I was basically just doing tricks I knew I could do,’ he said.
‘I did all my standard tricks to get some tricks on the board and some consistency into the routine.
‘I was very happy to pull the bigger tricks off in front of everyone.’
Rotondella will head to Canberra in November for Volcom’s Wild in the Park national final, but a career in the sport isn’t on the cards just yet.
‘I’d love to do it as a career, but it’s a hard sport to make money from,’ he said.
‘But there’s nothing like it. It’s a great escape from the stresses of life.’