Daniel Wirsta. (Tony Hawk's Skatepark Hero's website)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

P.A. man looking to meet Tony Hawk through skateboarding competition

Jun 6, 2023 | 11:54 AM

A Prince Albert man is looking at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet one of his idols.

Daniel Wirsta is currently competing in Tony Hawk’s Skatepark Hero with a chance to skate with the best to and win $10,000.

He told paNOW skateboarding has been a passion for as long as he can remember.

“When I was a little tyke, I got into skateboarding because a lot of my friends were into it,” he said. “At the time, we didn’t have a skatepark yet. We’d put things together, make rails, we’d make boxes.”

Wirsta added the group also started snowboarding to pass the time during the winter. Over the years, he and his friends grew apart, however, skateboarding helped them keep in touch.

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“We’d gone our separate ways, but we’d see each other at the skatepark once and a while and it was a cool experience,” he said.

Right now, 15 people are still in his group. It’ll be cut down to 10 on Thursday with people able to vote for who they want to win. As of 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Wirsta was sitting in sixth place.

People can also vote for Wirsta by donating to the Skatepark Project, a non-profit organization founded by Tony Hawk which helps underserved communities create safe and inclusive public skateparks for youth. In over 20 years, over $10 million has been donated to different communities.

Wirsta said this cause means a lot to him as it has helped many young people carve a more positive path in their lives and stay away from trouble.

“If it wasn’t for skateboarding, we could have been placed in some tough scenarios,” he said.

Meanwhile, depending on how far Wirsta goes in the competition, he may still have a chance at meeting Tony Hawk. The legend himself will pick a secondary winner from all the group winners as they’ll be required to send him a video showing their skills and what it would mean to them to meet up.

The winners will be announced on July 20, 2023.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow