DES MOINES, Iowa — Brandon White, a professional skateboarder, was about to call it a career, but after participating in a few skate competitions during the pandemic, he finally caught his break.
"I was planning on retiring honestly,” White said. “I was getting pretty frustrated because no one was noticing me.”
For the first time, the 2021 Dew Tour has an adaptive skateboarding division.
That’s where White, who is deaf, is competing.
"I did like eight or nine skate contests since the fall for adaptive and that's how I met the USA Skateboarding team,” White said.
Two weeks before the event, White got an email inviting him to participate.
“This is one of the biggest opportunities,” White said. “It’s so amazing and is so exciting.
White says there were times during his skating career that people made comments on his deafness.
But he didn't let that stop him.
"I'm just grateful to be here to show the deaf community anything is possible. Never doubt yourself."
Never expecting to make it this far and to compete in the Dew Tour, White said it’s now time to move the goal post.
"My goal is to set up a deaf division in the near future,” White said. “It would be amazing."
White is set to compete on Sunday.