Robert Stanley Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an entrepreneur, former American professional skateboarder, actor, producer, and reality TV star. He is best known for his roles in the reality shows Rob & Big, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and Ridiculousness. He also is the creator of the animated series Wild Grinders, in which he voices the series' main character, Lil Rob. In 2014, Dyrdek was labeled as one of the "Most influential skateboarders of all-time" by FoxWeekly.
Early years
Dyrdek was born on June 28, 1974 in Kettering, Ohio to Gene and Patty Dyrdek. Dyrdek was involved in sports as a child and began skateboarding at the age of eleven, when he received his first skateboard from professional skateboarder Neil Blender.Of his early interest in the sport, Dyrdek has stated, "I was so focused on becoming a pro skateboarder. I would sit in school and think about all the tricks I was going to do, then I’d get out of school and skate until they made me come inside."
Professional skateboarding
Alien Workshop
At the age of twelve, Dyrdek acquired sponsorship from the same company that Blender was a team member of and began his skateboarding career. A few years later, Dyrdek and Blender quit their board sponsor and created Alien Workshop. At the age of sixteen, Dyrdek decided to forgo his senior year of high school and instead moved to Southern California to continue with his professional skate career. He would later acquire the company himself during his post-riding career as an entrepreneur.
DC Shoes
Soon after moving to California, Dyrdek began to ride for Droors Clothing, a company that was then transformed into DC Shoes. which sponsored Dyrdek until 2016. Both Droors and DC were founded with the involvement of highly regarded skateboarder Danny Way and, in the lead-up period for the release of the 2012 Way documentary Waiting For Lightning. He was sponsored and worked with DC Shoes from 1995 until January 2016
Other sponsors
Dyrdek has been sponsored Silver Trucks (a company that he helped establish in 2003), EA Skate, and Monster Energy.
Street League Skateboarding (SLS)
Dyrdek is the founder of the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) skateboard competition enterprise and the series has grown from a domestic to international event. The league offered the highest overall purse in the history of the sport, at $1.6 million for its championship event broadcast on ESPN in 198 countries. The league also partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of America to develop new skate parks in California. The organization was also the focus of Dyrdek’s documentary film “The Motivationâ€, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Film and television
Dyrdek first starred in the MTV reality series, Rob & Big (aired November 2006 to April 2008), with his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, as well as his cousin, Chris "Drama" Pfaff and friend Rashawn "Bam Bam" Davis.
In February 2009 Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, featuring Dyrdek, Pfaff, and his Dyrdek Enterprise staff, was first broadcast. It covered Dyrdek’s "Fantasy Factory", a converted warehouse where Dyrdek runs his businesses. He also built a music studio for his cousin Pfaff inside the factory. During the course of the first season, he also opened his first SafeSpot SkateSpot. At the grand-opening, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode with Dyrdek on the world's largest skateboard. Fantasy Factory aired a total of seven seasons, with the season finale airing on March 13, 2014. The show mainly featured a cast of Dyrdek, Chris Pfaff, Boykin, Scott Pfaff, Chanel West Coast, and Sterling Brim. Episodes included seeing Dyrdek bitten by a shark, and being attacked by a trained tiger. Other stunts that Dyrdek filmed included performing the first kick flip with an automobile, filmed as a part of a television advertisement for Chevrolet. As a part of the show, Dyrdek also co-invented the first “skateboard carâ€, and exhibited the Mustang built vehicle on an episode of the series.
Dyrdek was also featured in the video games skate., and Skate 2 (which also featured Boykin). In Skate 2, the player is able to purchase an early version of the Fantasy Factory as an add-on, allowing the player to skate within the factory premises. In 2008 Dyrdek appeared in the film Righteous Kill, playing the character of Rambo alongside Robert de Niro and Al Pacino.
Dyrdek made a movie entitled ‘’Street Dreams’’ in 2009. The idea was developed by Rob and Nino Scalia in response their belief that modern films focused on skateboarding were not realistic enough. Dyrdek and then Scalia completed the script over the span of six months. While pitching the script he decided to fund the film with his own money. He also appeared in the film as one of the main characters.
In 2011, Dyrdek appeared in Jackass 3.5, in a scene with Johnny Knoxville. Later that year, on August 29, 2011, Dyrdek started another show with the MTV network, called Ridiculousness, where he comments on internet videos that are mainly mishaps. Dyrdek hosts this show alongside two friends, Chanel West Coast and Sterling Brim.
In 2012, Dyrdek was on the TV show Punk'dâ€"Justin Bieber tried to execute a prank on Dyrdek and failed. Dyrdek was also featured in the 2012 documentary, Waiting for Lightning, about his friend and fellow skater Danny Way.
Through his production company Superjacket Productions he has produced Ridiculousness; as well as the CMT series The Dude Perfect Show, based upon the work of the eponymous Internet video comedy troupe; Crashletes and Jagger Eaton’s Mega Life on Nickelodeon; and Snack-Off.
World records
Dyrdek set twenty-one separate Guinness World Records for skateboarding as part of his former show Rob & Big. Big Black also set two eating records on the show: most bananas eaten in one minute and the most number of powdered donuts eaten in three minutes.
As part of the Fantasy Factory series, Dyrdek set the record for the largest skateboard (according to the Guinness World Records website, it is listed as the "Longest Skateboard in the World"), but, according to the "World Records Academy" website, this was broken in 2010.
Dyrdek's personal bestsâ€"some of which have since been surpassedâ€"include:
- Longest 50-50 rail grind: 100 feet 5.75Â inches (30.62 m) (2007, WR)
- Longest board slide: 100 feet 5.75Â inches (30.62 m) (2007, WR)
- Highest skateboard ramp jump into water: 10 feet 8Â inches (3.29 m) (2007, WR)
- Farthest reverse ramp jump by a car: 89 feet 3.25Â inches (27.21 m) (2014, WR)
Business career
Dyrdek’s first business was Orion Trucks. During his time with DC, Dyrdek began his exploration of entrepreneurship through shoe design and this led Dyrdek to launch various short-lived companies, including a hip hop record label and a skate shop. Dyrdek's properties have included Wild Grinders (an animated series on the Nickelodeon network), and Street League Skateboarding (SLS). In addition, Dyrdek has partnerships with various brands, Rogue Status (with musician Travis Barker).
Wild Grinders, a fictional cartoon skate crew, is Dyrdek's venture into toys based on him and his group of childhood skateboarding friends. Dyrdek is also the founder of the business incubator Dyrdek Machine, and acquired DNA Distribution, the holding company of Alien Workshop, before returning the company back to its founders. Dyrdek is also an investor in the UFC, Beach Whiskey (where he also serves on the Advisory Board), Beatbox Beverages, and Stance.
Race horse owner
In an episode of Fantasy Factory, Dyrdek jockeyed a race horse for his friend Joe Ciaglia Jr. This led to his own run as a race horse owner, owning up to thirteen horses at a time during his career. His horses have raced in stakes including the Breeder’s Cup.
Rob Dyrdek Foundation
Dyrdek founded this foundation in 2003, and it has merged with the SLS Foundation. This foundation builds legal skate parks for skateboarders in their communities. This cause is close to Dyrdek because of the ties he has with being a professional skateboarder. Practicing this sport is hard for most people because street skating is illegal in most communities and these communities often do not have legal skate parks available. Dyrdek believes that "the skate plaza is essential to the future of skateboarding."
Personal life
Dyrdek has one sister, Denise. His cousins Christopher "Drama" Pfaff and Scott "Big Cat" Pfaff are featured in Rob and Big and Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. He also has two bulldogs named Meaty and Beefy, and Pomeranian dog named Gretchen Weiner.
Dyrdek became an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church in order to perform his sister's wedding in December 2011. The ceremony, which was featured in an episode of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, took place at the Fantasy Factory in Los Angeles. He became engaged to his girlfriend Bryiana Noelle Flores after proposing to her at Disneyland. They married, and had their first child in 2016.
References
External links
- Official website
- Rob Dyrdek on IMDb