The pivotal moments that define a person aren’t always visible to the outside world. Jed Fuller, founder of Sk8 2 LIV and professional skateboarder, has known this firsthand. From the outside, his life appeared to reflect the milestones many people work toward: a family, accomplishments, and a future that seemed secure. Privately, however, Fuller was carrying years of depression, stress, uncertainty, and a growing feeling that he had lost connection with himself.
His lowest point, he recalls, came after his divorce, when he drove into the Utah desert believing he had reached the end of his ability to continue. Alone in his car, overwhelmed by hopelessness, Fuller experienced a moment that changed the direction of his life. He notes seeing a vivid vision of his children, which reminded him of the love and connection that still existed around him. This became the moment that convinced him to return home, seek support, and begin rebuilding.
Today, Fuller looks back on that night as the beginning of a different chapter, where resilience and a desire to help others navigate difficult moments materialized. “The answer is always within. Everything you need is inside you. It comes from within and spreads out to the world,” he says.
Skateboarding gave that purpose its shape through Sk8 2 LIV, the organization Fuller launched in 2025 with a mission to use skateboarding as a tool for mental health awareness and personal growth. The organization offers community empowerment programs, including coaching, camps, and contests built around the sport he has spent decades passionate about.
The deeper purpose, however, is helping people understand their own strength and ability to keep getting back up.
Fuller sees skateboarding as a lesson in resilience. Every skateboarder, he notes, expects to fall. It is part of learning, part of improving. He believes that mindset carries directly into life, where setbacks are unavoidable, but the ability to rise again can be strengthened. He says, “You don’t become a skateboarder because you’re good at landing tricks. You become one because you refuse to stop getting back up. You learn to embrace falling, and then the tricks are not as difficult because you’ve accepted the process.”
Every conversation surrounding mental health, addiction, anxiety, and grief carries the same pattern in Fuller’s view, something he discovered in his own recovery journey. After seeking help and reconnecting with skateboarding, he began rebuilding his confidence and rediscovering an identity that had been buried beneath years of struggle.
The sport had played a similar role during his childhood. Growing up in a working-class family, Fuller often felt out of place and struggled with confidence. The local skate spot, he recalls, where it all started, became a space where he felt a sense of belonging and true happiness. He later found himself surrounded by people who understood the challenges of learning, failing, and trying again.
“Skateboarding removed all of my self-limiting beliefs,” Fuller says. “There were no labels. There were just other skateboarders.” That sense of belonging plays a vital role in his vision for Sk8 2 LIV. Fuller believes fostering community is essential in mental health because people often find strength through connection with others who understand their experiences.
“The skateboarding community is a family. It’s a massive industry, but it’s a close-knit family. I can go anywhere in the world, make a couple of phone calls to another skater, and immediately have a place to stay. That’s a true connection,” Fuller says.
Fuller’s personal journey also challenged his own understanding of what was possible. At 36, he decided to pursue a childhood dream of becoming a professional skateboarder, a goal many would have considered unrealistic later in life. Within several years, he notes that he earned sponsorships, received his own board, and competed professionally, placing third in a professional competition. He saw that achievement as proof that personal reinvention does not have an expiration date.
“If I can do it, anybody can do it. Whatever you’re going through, whatever is happening, you can get back up and keep going. I am living proof,” he says, highlighting the message that drives the direction of SK8 2 LIV.
The organization focuses on creating environments where people can build confidence and recognize their own capacity to overcome challenges. Skateboarding serves as the medium, but Fuller believes the larger mission is helping people discover their own abilities.
According to Fuller, SK8 2 LIV is now focused on expanding its reach through partnerships with sponsors, donors, schools, and community organizations that share an interest in mental health advocacy. Fuller believes greater awareness and earlier support can help people find hope before they reach their most difficult moments.
Through the organization, Fuller seeks to remind others that a setback doesn’t get to dictate their entire story. “We don’t have a lot of time on this earth,” he says. “With the time that we do have, we make mistakes, learn from them, and discover what we truly want to do with our lives.”
After spending years learning how to get back up, Fuller is now using the lessons of skateboarding to help others do the same. Every fall on a skateboard is a reminder that failure is never the end, it’s an invitation to try again. Fuller believes life works the same way; progress begins with the decision to stand back up.
He remarks, “I want to change the world, make a difference, bring hope to the hopeless, love to the loveless, help people find their passion and live it, and I’m going to do it all from a skateboard.”
