CLEVELAND — You might remember the name Ryan Sheckler from the early 2000s as a rising star pro skateboarder or a reality TV icon for his MTV show "Life of Ryan." Sheckler has continued his skateboarding career and has been supported by a good friend right here in Cleveland, marking a full circle moment as he competes in the Street League Skateboarding Cleveland Takeover competition in the city this weekend.
Sheckler's friend, who is more like family, is none other than Cleveland's own Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly or MGK.
"That's my brother. Colson and I have been hanging out, making bad decisions since we were 17 years old," Sheckler said, smiling. "Everybody knows who MGK is now. It used to be funny, we used to walk around and nobody knew who he was. They were always trying to get to me and he would always make jokes, and now it's reversed...we've never forgot where our relationship started."
The friendship between Sheckler and MGK is still strong as ever, but while the two used to spend a lot of time out in MGK's hometown of Cleveland, it's been some time since the two have been able to connect in the 216. That is, until this weekend.
"I'm always out of town when MGK's weekend comes around. I'm always out of town and I get bummed out and FOMO every single time and so this one kind of worked out perfectly," Sheckler said.
Sheckler is a Wild Card participant in the Street League Skateboarding Cleveland Takeover on Aug. 9 at North Coast Yard along the shores of Lake Erie. The competition is a festival-style experience, with live music, food and more surrounding a street skate-style competition pitting some of the best skaters in the world against each other.
It's just the third event of its kind and is hosted in Cleveland for the first time ever.
"With these takeovers, it's just nonstop. It's nonstop tricks, it's nonstop action, and it'll be the best skateboarding tricks from the best skateboarders on the planet, right in front of your face," Sheckler said.
Sheckler appreciates the skate scene in Cleveland and is thrilled that Northeast Ohio gets to host the latest SLS Takeover event. He's even more thrilled that it coincides with MGK Day, which has now become a weekend-long event from Aug. 8-10. MGK will be a major part of the skateboarding competition as the city celebrates him, and Sheckler is looking forward to taking that all in.
"I haven't been out to Cleveland with Kells in years, probably 10+ years. So it'll be cool to see him getting the flowers he deserves," he said.
And while MGK gets his flowers on his namesake weekend, Sheckler aims to get his own as he throws down his best tricks on the custom course featuring ramps, rails and stairs, looking to move into the finals and take the Takeover win.
"The fact that I'm 35 years old, I've been pro for 22 years, been skating my whole life, and the fact that I can still go to these events and actually, in my mind know that I could get top three if I really put on a show, it's wild," Sheckler said. "I know Kells and a bunch of the guys have some surprises lined up, so you can expect the unexpected for sure, but what you are going to see is some of the gnarliest skateboarding going down and I'll be there, a lot of people are going to be there. So if you got nothing going on, or even if you have something going on, cancel it and come out and come support, come hang out."
The Street League Skateboarding Cleveland Takeover will take place at North Coast Yard located at 515 Erieside Ave. from 1:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and are on sale now. To learn more, click here.
