Reading native Maurio McCoy makes his way to Olympics in skateboarding

Jul. 23—When his brother handed him a skateboard when he was 4 years old, Maurio McCoy had no idea where that would take him.

From those humble beginnings on the streets and skateparks in Reading, McCoy has made it to Tokyo to compete in skateboarding's inaugural Games as a medal sport.

McCoy, a Berks Catholic grad who moved to California nearly 18 months ago to pursue a career as a professional skateboarder, will compete Saturday in Tokyo.

"It's still mind blowing that skating is in the Olympics," McCoy said in an interview on the "Dying to Ask" podcast with Deirdre Fitzpatrick that was posted June 7.

Skateboarding — street and park — were added to the coronavirus-delayed Olympics along with 3x3 basketball, sport climbing, surfing and karate. McCoy will compete in street skateboarding, where competitors skate on a course that includes stairs, rails, benches and other obstacles skaters face in a normal setting.

It's something McCoy, 25, has been doing for 21 years since he joined his older brother, Dante, and friends.

"I got into skating through my brother," McCoy said in an interview with Phil Spinner on Transworld Skateboarding's YouTube channel that was posted June 21. "We didn't have that weird brother beef where he hates on me and I hate on him. We were always homies. Me and my brother did everything together. I got to spend time with him, I made a bunch of friends and it was super fun."

That enjoyment has only grown over the past two decades as McCoy has risen to the top of the sport. Although he has been living and training in California for the past 18 months, McCoy said he will carry an East Coast attitude with him to Tokyo.

"In Reading, even in a place like Philly, the East Coast in general, nothing is handed to you," McCoy told Spinner. "We didn't get some of the sponsors like some of the dudes who grew up over here were getting. We had to work.

"I'm still from the East Coast. I'm not falling into the ways people do things in California. I still skate like I'm on the East Coast. I still find the high ledges, I still find the crusty spots. I need a little grit."

Like most other professional athletes, McCoy — whose first name is pronounced Mah-Dee-Oh — said in order to make money in his sport he had to go where the sponsors are.

McCoy entered the Dew Tour in 2018. His sponsors include Santa Cruz, adidas, Bronson Speed Co., Independent Trucks, Mob Grip, Ricta Wheels, Got Milk and Kingswell. He said the key to landing those sponsors was moving to Los Angeles.

"I came out here to pursue skating," McCoy said on the "Dying to Ask" podcast. "Most of the industry is here. You're just able to do it year-round. The weather is perfect as everyone knows in California. I can skate 12 months out of the year. Here I could just get more done.

"It's crazy that I can monetize something that I am so passionate about that I fell in love with when I was 4 years old."

It may seem strange to many fans that skateboarding is an Olympic sport. McCoy said he hopes skateboarding's inclusion at the Games will change the stereotype some people have of the sport and its athletes.

"It's always gotten this bad reputation of the rebellious culture, only to give people a hard time," McCoy said on "Dying to Ask." "They don't really appreciate it for the positive things a traditional sport would give. Skateboarding has kept me out of trouble, it's kept a lot of people out of trouble because it's given us something to focus on that's positive.

"I guess people get a little upset because they see it as vandalism or property damage but it's the complete opposite of that. To us we're actually appreciating life more than the typical person. ... Every day is a Saturday to us."

McCoy admitted the mindset of a skateboarder often is different from that of other professional athletes. The skaters are much more individualistic and free wheeling while other athletes are part of a team and more regimented.

That played out to the advantage of McCoy and other skateboarders during the pandemic. When other athletes were unable to practice as a team or even go to the gym to work out, the streets were open.

"Our world stage is every day," McCoy said to Fitzpatrick on "Dying to Ask." "When the pandemic hit, we were still skating. After the pandemic, we're still skating. It's kind of cool. We were just able to do our thing."

McCoy, according to his Dew Tour profile, is known for a bottomless bag of tricks and bolts-only style.

"If I can find a spot and do a trick over something that just shouldn't be done, just shouldn't be possible, those are the tricks I go for," McCoy told Spinner. "I want people to get stoked when I do a trick."

McCoy, who was all-division volleyball selection as a senior at Berks Catholic, acknowledges that skateboarders view the world a little differently than most other athletes.

"It's like a whole secret society," McCoy said on "Dying to Ask." "We have our own way with how we look at stuff.

"You can just make anything out of nothing. That's the best part. You don't really need anybody to make it fun. It is a lot more fun if you have others, but you can just go outside and create anything. It's like the whole world is your canvass and you're alive. That's the best part of skating. You can be who you want to be, do whatever you want to do and just enjoy your life."

However, the reality of how other athletes succeed is creeping into the minds of skateboarders. Now that professional contracts and Olympic medals are at stake, trips to the gym, other workouts and nutrition are starting to become important.

"The old generation did not care about that at all," McCoy said on "Dying to Ask." "We're starting to come around to that. Skateboarding requires a lot of athleticism so we have to treat our bodies that same way, otherwise our careers would be really short. It's such a high-impact sport that we've gotta take care of ourselves.

"We're still very stubborn but we're starting to finally like, all right, there's some benefits to doing normal-people things."

McCoy said he is looking forward to competing on the biggest stage yet for skateboarders. Although he is ranked 25th in the world, McCoy said Saturday's competition will be wide-open and unpredictable.

"In these caliber of contests anyone in the contest can win," McCoy said on "Dying to Ask." "Everyone's super good. It's just like who has the best day."