In Chattanooga's relatively small, but growing skateboard scene, Herbert Brown has accomplished something he said nobody else has in the city's history: becoming a professional skateboarder.
Brown, 29, who lives in Brainerd, began skating at the age of 7. But it wasn't until he was 11, shortly after the crew from the famed California-based Baker Skateboards team came to the city, that his passion for skateboarding ignited. It's a passion that also led to a desire to show youths how skating can be a cathartic release.
After years of hard work, New York-based Dead on Arrival Skateboards late last year gave him the news that they'd be making a deal with him and he'd be going pro. The deal includes creating customized boards for Brown, paying for skate trips and helping him be featured in magazines.
"I still feel the same right now as I did when it happened, which is that it doesn't feel real," Brown said at Chattanooga's Comfort Skateshop, where he works. "It feels like it hasn't really set in still."
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Brown, a graduate of Boyd Buchanan School in Chattanooga, said his inspirations include Tony Hawk and Andrew Reynolds, who founded Baker Skateboards in 2000.
He specifically recalled Hawk in 1999 landing the first-ever 900, a trick that requires a skateboarder to perform two-and-a-half full rotations in mid-air. That took place just one year before he first picked up a board.
Soft spoken yet passionate, Brown said that skateboarding was an outlet for him after traumatic events he experienced when he was younger.
"When I was around 5 or 6, I had gone through some pretty traumatic sexual abuse," he said. "I felt super alienated and didn't know how to articulate any of those feelings. It was a super positive outlet."
Brown also pointed to how support from his parents and friends aided his ability to cope with the abuse he previously struggled to push through.
His mother, Jacqueline Brown, in a phone interview, recalled her reaction upon finding out he'd made the deal to go pro.
"I freaked out," she said. "I was screaming. I was jumping up and down and hugging on him. He's just the sweetest kid. He's always going to be my baby."
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Whether it's launching himself off stairsets or skating through the streets of Chattanooga, Herbert Brown said his favorite trick is the wallride, which requires a skateboarder to briefly skate along a vertical surface with all four wheels planted before continuing to skate away.
His tricks, featured in a variety of skate videos, are documented by fellow skateboarders and filmers such as Alex Rose and Josh Shupe, both of Chattanooga.
But after all these years, he has never broken a bone - an accomplishment in itself for a well-seasoned skateboarder.
"I didn't think it was possible either," he said.
Brown in 2018 won the Battle at the Bend competition, which is held annually at Chattown Skatepark. But winning competitions isn't what keeps him coming back to the sport. He's more focused on enjoying his passion, working to spread awareness about abuse and creating video content.
Currently, he is working on a new skate video that is expected to be released in mid-2022.
Despite his accomplishments, Herbert Brown also made it clear that he doesn't just skate for himself.
He has been in talks with Comfort Skateshop and Dead on Arrival about setting up a youth program for those interested in skateboarding, although how such a program would work is not yet clear, he said.
Ideally, he said, he'd like to raise funds to bring awareness to those who have been victims of sexual abuse and potentially create a program to help young people use skating to help cope with trauma.
Either way, he said, skateboarding is a rewarding and cathartic sport that could provide youths with the same relief he experienced.
"My advice would be to try and find pleasure in the process," he said, noting that getting comfortable on a skateboard and learning tricks takes years. "Those dull moments where it doesn't seem glamorous, like you're trying 1,000 times for a split second worth of landing a trick, I feel like that's supercritical."
Although the local skateboarding scene is growing, he said, what the city needs is a full-size concrete skatepark to help bolster the skate community - something that's in the works.
A grassroots group of skaters and the city are working out details for the Chattanooga Skatepark Project. The parties are now working out where to build the park and create an official design.
Those who wish to watch more videos of Herbert Brown's skateboarding can do so on YouTube by searching for Herbert Brown.
Contact Logan Hullinger at lhullinger@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LoganHullinger.