Bio

Darren Harper (born December 4, 1981 in Southeast, Washington D.C.) is a professional street boarder and began skateboarding at the age of 9. Growing up with very little money, he was not fortunate enough to purchase a skateboard like other children. Harper found his very first skate board at the age of 9, in a pile of belongings from a family who was evicted from the Savannah Terrace neighborhood. Before he learned any tricks or could ride well, he sat on the board and road the mini hills of the projects. When Harper was an adolescent he was taunted about his newfound sport by other children in his community, that skateboarding was for white boys.

Growing up in a low in-come neighborhood of D.C. was not an easy task for him. There were no positive role models and left him with very little hope, so the odds were against him. Harper had to fight a battle by himself, which made him a solider in the struggle. Harper was headed down the wrong road and hanging around the wrong crowd which influence him to sale drugs, which would have landed him, dead or in jail. But his passion and drive for skating helped him make a 360-degree turn. Instead he prevailed and did not become a product of his environment.

It was that point and time that Harper made the decision to follow his heart to pursue his desire inside to be a pro-skater. He made his own lane on four wheels and skated out of drugs, poverty, crime and the public school system of D.C. to become one of the few African-American premiere skaters. With the lack of African-American skaters, Harper encourages other inner city youth to take a whirl on the rails. Not only as an athletic outlet but and artistic one too.

He has taken his aspirations of being a role model a step further and has created a new outlet for inner city youth around the country. Harper continues to do volunteer and charity work with the” Make-A-Wish” Foundation to ensure the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting network program. Darren is also involved with ROOT (Reaching Out to Others Together) a non-profit organization that launched “Guns Aside” a campaign to reduce gun violence and homicides in the District of Columbia.

Harper has been skating over 15 years and has proven that he is not your average skater. Beyond the manicured, stiff and cookie cutter styles of skating, Harper has a free form with a raw, edgy, gritty and “Trendsetting” style, which sets him far apart from other skaters. His style is something rarely seen in the world of ramps, which has helped Harper create a dominate fan base and a strong youth following.

Darren has crossed over to the skate, pop, rock and hip-hop culture. This attracted a large growing numbers of sponsors and endorsements. Including; Diamond’s Supply CO., KMC Wheels, Venture Truck CO., Fully Loaded Automotive, Kicker Car Audio, Pit Crew Skate Shop, DC Shoe CO., Gold Wheels and DGK (Dirty Ghetto Kids) Skateboards. In addition to the high profile endorsements his style and skills have landed him a permanent position on famed skate team of Travis Barker’s (former member of Rock/ Pop band Blink-182) Famous Stars and Straps.