Greg Lutzka (born April 20, 1985) is a "

goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...

-footed" (naturally places his right foot at the nose of the skateboard) professional skateboarder

Early life

Lutzka was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, United States (US). Lutzka explained in 2014 that he "grew up on skates," and first tried ice skating at the age of two before playing

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

in high school. Lutzka commenced skateboarding at the age of nine after discovering it through his peers in the ice hockey team. Skateboarding was initially an activity that he enjoyed as an aside to ice hockey, but three years later, Lutzka replaced ice hockey with skateboarding because he "loved it so much."

Professional skateboarding

Lutzka was first sponsored at the age of 15 and he explained in 2014 that, upon attaining sponsorship, he realized that professional skateboarding was a feasible option for him. Volcom and Oakley were two of the brands that supported Lutzka, while he was connected with established skateboarders like

Rodney Mullen John Rodney Mullen (born August 17, 1966) is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered one of the most influential skaters in the history of the sport, being credited fo ...

and

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

. Lutzka relocated to California, U.S., at the request of his sponsors. Lutzka was one of the original team members of the Almost skateboard deck brand that was cofounded by Mullen and Daewon Song. Luztka is a former team member of the Globe shoe company team and released one signature shoe model with the brand, named the "Culprit" (also released in a "high-top" model, whereby the length of the shoe is extended to cover the lower shin). A full-length Lutzka video part appears in the ''United By Fate'' series of short episodic films that were released by Globe between 2007 and 2009—Lutzka's part, edited to the

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

song "

D.A.N.C.E. "D.A.N.C.E." is the second single by Justice and the first from their album ''†''. It includes edited and extended versions of "D.A.N.C.E", a rougher mix in the style of their earlier releases, "B.E.A.T", and the track "Phantom" which was pre ...

", is the feature section of the fourth episode. Following the completion of his contract with Globe, Lutzka negotiated a

skate shoe Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

contract with tennis shoe company

K-Swiss K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles and currently owned by Xtep. History K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles by Swiss brothers, Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in tennis after emigra ...

in 2009 and, as of August 2012, continues to develop the company's skateboard area. In an August 2012 interview with the internet-based ''Jenkem'' publication, Lutzka explained:

They’re building up the program but the economy kind of took a hit right now so like every company is cutting back. Actually I don’t think they’re cutting back that much as they are just taking time to think about the decisions we make. My shoe is pretty much done it just comes down to when they want to release it.

In addition to changing shoe sponsors, Lutzka left Almost to join the Darkstar company (both brands are part of the same distribution house,

Dwindle Distribution Dwindle Distribution, based in El Segundo, California, is an American skateboard distributor. It is a component of Transom Capital Group Limited. The company was founded by Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen. Its formation is recognized as a key eve ...

). Lutzka explained his decision to change sponsors in an interview with ''Poweredge Magazine'':

Now it’s lmostjust a lot different than it was then; it’s just a different program now than when I was on there. When I was on there it was me
yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed inde ...
Sheckler and
Torey Pudwill Torey Jamieson Pudwill (born May 2, 1990), also known by his nickname "T-Puds", is an American professional street skateboarder. Early life Pudwill was born in Simi Valley, California, United States (US). In a February 2013 online interview, Pud ...
. Obviously none of us are there now but to me being on a skateboard company is about who you hang out with and who you vibe with and I vibe with those dudes really well, but I was skating with Ryan Decenzo a lot and we travel a lot together because of the Maloof Cup and the Dew Tour. We also skate street a lot together and film with the same dudes. It was a good fit for me with Darkstar because I hang out with Decenzo and I’ve known Chet
homas In the Vedic Hinduism, a homa (Sanskrit: होम) also known as havan, is a fire ritual performed on special occasions by a Hindu priest usually for a homeowner (" grihastha": one possessing a home). The grihasth keeps different kinds of fire ...
because he’s helped me with my career since the beginning, so it was a really good fit. Pierre LGwas always at all the events and I’m really good friends with Pierre so at the end of the day I hang out with those dudes more than anybody else in skateboarding, so it works.

An August 12, 2014, edition of ''Thrasher Magazines "Skateline" program announced that Lutzka had parted ways with K-Swiss and joined the

Osiris Shoes Osiris is a skateboard clothing brand founded in California by Swedish skater Tony Magnusson Tony Magnusson (born February 23, 1963) is a Swedish semi-retired professional skateboarder and part-owner of Osiris Shoes. Magnusson gained sign ...

company. While an official announcement from either Osiris or K-Swiss was not published, the Osiris blog first featured Lutzka on June 22, 2014. In a September 2014 interview, Lutzka offered advice to young skateboarders:

Skateboarding is all about having fun and having fun with your friends; it’s always been that way, and it’ll always be that way. I think that is number one. Some kids just want to get sponsored and become a pro skater, but most of the pros didn’t ever look at it that way. They just did it because they loved it, got really good at it and opportunities just came from that. Number one, to me, is just enjoying skateboarding because you love it.

Media appearances

Commercials

*Ryan Sheckler AXE Commercial - Double Pits to Chesty

Music videos

*Far East Movement - Rocketeer ft. Ryan Tedder (views - 33,815,642) *Shwayze & Cisco - Drunk Off Your Love ft. Sky Blu from LMFAO (views - 626,300) *Snoop Dogg Ft. The Dream - "Gangsta Luv" (views - 1,487,892)

Television

*''The X-Life'' *''Life of Ryan'' *''Discovery Channel Time Warp!'': Episode 4 – "Fuel Girls" *The Price is Right Season 45 Episode 148* *''Wipeout''

Film

*'' Accepted'' (2006)

Entrepreneur

Following his move to Osiris Shoes, Lutzka said that he would like to be a sales representative for skateboard brands that he believes in after his skateboarding career ends. Lutzka then revealed in September 2014 that he had started a yet-unnamed clothing company, following advice from sponsors, and was also interested in real estate.

Personal life

Lutzka resides in

Mission Viejo Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, US. He moved there in 2004, after living in

with his mother Lori, father, Jeff, and brother Andy. He explained in 2014 that he enjoys

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

and playing guitar when he is not skateboarding. Lutzka concluded his 2014 interview with the statement: "I want to continue to be a good role model. Finally, just enjoy life— people don’t realize how important that is."

Contest results

Following his selection in the initial round of contracts that were offered by the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) skateboard contest company, Lutzka later negotiated a release from SLS as the contract required participants to compete exclusively in SLS events. Following Lutzka's departure, SLS founder Rob Dyrdek stated: "Despite being signed to a three-year agreement we understood that the companies that are willing to pay Greg expect him to win contests. It was clear after the first year that would never happen in Street League, so when Greg asked us to release him we decided it was the right thing to do." * 2023 - Thrasher Magazine Gangsta of Da Year award - 1st Place * 2011 - Maloof Money Cup - 1st * 2008 - Mexico City X Games - 1st / Gold * 2008 - AST Dew Tour, Portland, OR - 3rd * 2008 - X Games 14, Los Angeles, CA - Bronze * 2008 -

Tampa Pro Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

, Tampa, FL - Street - 1st * 2008 - Slaughter at the Opera, Sydney, Australia - Street - 1st * 2007 - LG Action Sports World Championships, Dallas, TX - Street - Bronze * 2007 - AST Dew Tour Overall Standing - 2nd * 2007 - AST Dew Tour, Orlando, FL - Park - 1st * 2007 - X-Games Mexico, Mexico City - Street - 1st / Gold * 2007 - AST Dew Tour, Portland, OR - Park - 1st * 2007 - X Games, Los Angeles, CA - Street - Silver * 2007 - AST Dew Tour, Baltimore, MD - Park - 2nd * 2007 - Rockstar MASA Pro, Fayetteville, NC - 1st * 2006 - AST Dew Tour, San Jose, CA - Street - 2nd * 2006 - Tampa Pro, Tampa, FL- Street - 1st * 2005 - AST Dew Action Sports Tour Standing - 3rd * 2005 - West 49 Canadian Open - 1st * 2005 - X Games XI - Street - Silver * 2004 - Street Year-End Ranking (World) - 3rd * 2004 - Vans Triple Crown Ranking (Street) - 2nd * 2004 - Gravity Games Street - Silver * 2004 - Slam City Jam Street - 1st * 2003 - West 49 Canadian Open Street - 1st * 2003 - Globe World Championships - Gold

Videography

*''411VM'': Issue 49 (2001) *Digital: ''Invasion'' (2002) *Digital: ''All Stars'' (2003) *''Thrasher'': ''King Of The Road 2004'' (2004) *Almost: ''Round Three'' (2004) *Globe: ''World Cup Skateboarding 2005'' (2005) *''Vicious Cycle'' (2005) *''Streets: Melbourne'' (2005) *FKD: ''FKD Video'' (2005) *Red Bull: ''Seek & Destroy II'' (2005) *Oakley: ''Our Life'' (2006) *Globe: ''The Global Assault'' (2006) *''411VM'': Volume 14, Issue 1 (2006) *Strange Notes: ''The Deuce'' (2007) *''Thrasher'': ''Money For Blood'' (2007) *Globe: ''United By Fate'' (2007–2009) *''Streets: LA'' (2007) *''Transworld'': ''Skate & Create'' (2008) *FKD: ''Park Project Finale'' (2010) *Darkstar: ''Forward Slash'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutzka, Greg Sportspeople from Milwaukee 1984 births Living people American skateboarders