Pilots routinely adjust their flight paths for a closer look, which is as good a way as any to sum up the scale of the Mega Ramp. The wooden structure is longer than a football field, as tall as an eight-story building, with a creek bed running through a 70-foot breach.

On a recent sunny afternoon, the ramp’s owner, Bob Burnquist, a renowned 30-year-old professional skateboarder from Brazil, peered over the side to treetops below and said: “I’m not afraid of falling. I’m afraid I might jump.”

That mind-set helps on the Mega Ramp, where skaters reach speeds of up to 55 miles an hour and soar like stuntmen.

Approximately 360 feet long, the ramp is 75 feet high at its apex. That is where riders begin their run, speeding down a 180-foot-long roll-in to a ramp that launches them across a 70-foot gap with trapeze netting below. Landing on a 27-foot sloped section, they then boost up to 50 feet above the ground from a 30-foot quarterpipe. A shorter route begins with a 55-foot-tall platform leading to a 50-foot gap, and the 30-foot quarterpipe.

For Burnquist, who stands out in a crowd of iconoclasts, the ramp has become the latest step in a journey to create what he called an exponential progression in an otherwise street-bound, terrestrial sport.

Completed in September after more than a year of construction, Burnquist’s Mega Ramp cost $280,000, part of which was covered by his apparel sponsors Oakley and Hurley. Although not the first — the X Games builds one each year — it is the world’s only permanent Mega Ramp, and Burnquist said having it at his home allows him to explore all the possibilities of the sport’s most daring discipline.

“Bob has this ability that transcends traditional vert skating,” Tony Hawk, the sport’s biggest icon, said of ramp skateboarding. “He can spin like no one else spins. He’s comfortable upside down. He’s the only one that can actually start backwards on the Mega Ramp.”

A winner of 12 medals at the X Games, Burnquist performs moves no one else dares try: he has rolled upside down through a Hot Wheels-style loop — backward. And in March, he built a 40-foot-tall ramp on the rim of the Grand Canyon, from which he launched himself and his skateboard onto a makeshift metal rail, and then BASE jumped 1,600 feet to the canyon floor below. BASE is the acronym for using a parachute to jump from fixed objects of a building, antenna, span, earth.

“When I’m risk-taking, I feel like I’m alive,” said Burnquist, who is also a farmer, pilot, skydiver, musician and restaurateur.

“I trip out on how his mind works,” said his partner, Jen O’Brien, a professional skateboarder herself. “The wheels are always turning.”

Building a structure of the Mega Ramp’s size in an agricultural district required a creative twist typical of Burnquist.

“I’ve done some organic farming and I plan on doing some more,” he said, explaining how he skirted zoning restrictions. “In the conservation plan, the ramps are the agricultural buildings. I’ll put some plastic on the side and build a greenhouse underneath. That way it is proven it’s an ag building and I happen to skate on the roof.”

The only visitor to ride so far has been professional skater and Mega Ramp pioneer Danny Way, Burnquist’s lifelong muse.

Not wanting to risk injury, other elite skaters have been waiting for the end of the competition season. But beginning next month and continuing through the winter, many of them will descend on Burnquist’s backyard.

The Mega Ramp is the latest backyard creation, adding to an ensemble that includes a 13-foot-tall ramp with a clamshell shape appended to one end; a loop-the-loop with a removable top; a 12-foot-diameter metal pipe; and a corkscrew design that requires an inverted leap from one section to the other.

“It’s like a paradise for skaters,” said Sandro Dias, a professional who is also from Brazil. “It’s a playground for us.”

Burnquist lives among his creations in a spacious two-story stucco house with O’Brien and their 6-year-old daughter, Lotus. Their menagerie includes two goats, six chickens, two dogs, a cat, a rabbit and a turtle.

Last week the Burnquist homestead was a locus for family and friends from Brazil and industry filmmakers and photographers.

Born in Rio de Janeiro — reared in São Paolo — to an American father and Brazilian mother, Burnquist grew up speaking English and Portuguese.

He began skateboarding at 11 and developed a style by imitating the exploits of professionals featured in magazines and videos. He was particularly captivated by Way, then a teen prodigy from California.

Way had experimented with performing tricks switch-stance; standing the opposite way on the board, like switch hitting in baseball.

But Burnquist took switch-stance further, learning a full repertory of tricks. Still, he remained unknown in the United States until the skateboarding magazine Thrasher led a group of American professionals to Brazil in April 1994. Because he could speak English, Burnquist offered to act as translator and guide.

“He was a dirty skate rat dude with two different shoes on,” the Thrasher editor Jake Phelps said. “He just followed us around.”

But Burnquist, 17, impressed them with his skating.

“I knew he was doing stuff that was light years ahead of what people were doing then,” Phelps said. “With his switch riding, he had a go-for-it mentality — ‘Make it, or take me to the hospital.’ ”

The next year Burnquist won his first contest against top international competition, and his star rose quickly. Lanky at 6 foot 2, with trademark thick, black-framed glasses, he became an international skateboarding celebrity and a pitchman for the likes of Lego and the Got Milk? campaign. In Brazil, his popularity comes after that of soccer stars, Dias said.

All of which allowed him to buy a former horse ranch in Southern California in 1999 and indulge his restless imagination by building ramps.

He did not invent the Mega Ramp, however. Way conceived and built the first — a temporary structure — in 2002 in Aguanga, Calif.

The X Games added a Mega Ramp in 2004 for its Big Air discipline. Then, in 2005, Way used a Mega Ramp to launch over a 72-foot wide section of the Great Wall of China.

Only two dozen skaters in the world have the skill and guts to ride such a ramp. Way has been the leader, winning three consecutive gold medals at the X Games. At the last Games in August, Burnquist won the bronze medal.

“The amount of willing participants is always going to be a select few,” said Hawk, who has ridden the ramp. “It takes a certain person to want to do it. I know plenty of guys who did it once and said, ‘I’m done.’ Knowing you’ve done it is an accomplishment in and of itself.”

“If something goes bad it could be a tragedy,” Hawk said. “It’s not like you blow out your knee. You could fall 50 feet.”

The professional Brian Patch fractured several bones in his left foot when he fell 15 feet to the deck of the quarterpipe at the X Games.

“If you go down here you’re going to get broken,” Burnquist said.

He has fallen hard and rolled his ankle, but sustained no breaks. To protect himself, Burnquist wears pads on his hip, tailbone, ribs, elbows and knees. He also wears a helmet and knee braces. All skin, except for his face, is covered by neoprene to prevent severe friction burns. He can wear through a pair of sneakers and gloves each session from sliding on the ramp’s surface during wipeouts.

Although Burnquist said he felt scared riding his ramp, he did not appear so on a first run during a solo session last week.

Rolling in from the lower platform, he shot over the gap, spun a 360-degree mute grab, touched down and zipped toward the quarterpipe before floating into an elegant method air more than 40 feet up. Landing cleanly, he rolled away.

Afterward, he walked off the ramp, plopped into the passenger’s seat of a golf cart and was ferried 300 feet uphill. At the top, he climbed two sets of stairs to the platform and set up for another run.

Alone at the pinnacle of skateboarding’s newest discipline, the sky was the limit.

So, basically, don’t bother thinking about it. If you are just looking to get sponsored, you won’t. But if you have a good mental attitude and truly love and live skating, you might just get sponsored.

What Are The Different Levels Of Sponsorship?

There are four levels of sponsorship. The first, shop sponsorship, is basically when a shop sees a skateboarder with talent, and gives that skater products at a reduced price.

Next is flow sponsorship, from either a skate company or a distributor. The sponsored skater receives a small amount of products on a semi-regular basis.

After that, a promising skater might recieve amateur (Am) status, where they receive some promotion as a skater and some product to use. They often start to get incentives at this point, too; “Get a photo in a magazine and we will give you this”, for example.

A really good Am who proves his or herself can then become a Pro, receiving a paycheck, a “pro model” with their name on, funds to get to contests, and royalties for anything that is sold with their name on.

How Do I Advance To Pro?

The pro skateboarder used to be the elite of the elite, someone who had moved up through the contest rankings, dominated the contest circuit, was generally a good guy overall and able to promote the company in a good way as much as possible.

Nowadays it takes less and less to become a pro skater; since street skating came in during the late 80’s, for many companies it is now about who’s image is easier to sell and will make the most money. While there are many companies out there who still give their pro sponsorship to truly deserving skaters, I know there are many who will take you pro just if you are “the next big thing”, or fit in with the current trend. Those guys often become just another flash in the pan and disappear in time. It’s up to you how you want to go.

What Obligations Does A Sponsored Skater Have To His/Her Sponsor?

Of course, no matter how you are sponsored, as a skater you are expected to promote the company. This may mean appearances in magazines, at competitions, on television, or just in the skating scene as a whole. During all this, the skater must use and wear products provided by the company that sponsors them. If you are not promoting the company, they have no reason to give you products or help your career.

What Type Of Things Do Sponsored Skaters Do? How Will It Change Me?

This is a wide and sweeping question. During a skating “career”, you can do pretty much whatever you want to do. Enter competitions, do demos, tour, meet lots of cool people, and basically enjoy life. It is entirely down to how you want to live and how you act as a person. As such, it can change you or just let you do what you would have done anyways.

When describing his sponsorship, I think it was Tony Alva that said something like “We were on summer vacation for 10 years”. However, this can be good or bad. Look at some of the old pros; Hosoi and Jay Adams both went to jail for drug offenses, and Gator ended up going to jail on a murder charge. Meanwhile, Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen both started companies and basically lead good lives.

I’m Still At School - What About My Education?

Some sponsors will allow time for your education, some won’t. You get good sponsors and bad ones. The good ones will nurture you and support you as a person, and have a close-knit team that has good communication with the owners. In some cases, usually if you become a very successful pro, a personal tutor is a good idea. Again, good sponsors will help you sort this out.

Do I Have To Live Near My Sponsor?

No. My truck sponsor, Seismic, is based in Colorado, and I live in England.

Summary

Sponsorship can be summarised in one quick paragraph; it is not the be-all end-all, and it is not for everyone. Not everyone deserves it, and no one should feel they are owed it. Skating is a great thing, and if you approach it with a good attitude and are willing to put in the effort to advance your skating and the skating scene as a whole, you will reap the rewards. This won’t always be sponsorship, and if it isn’t, don’t worry about it. Skating can give you a whole lot more than just free gear; it can make you a better person, show you all different walks of life, and give you endless nights of joy. Don’t throw that away just because you’re still paying for product; it’s more than worth it.

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A Queens native who now lives and works in Manhattan, Greg Lamarche (SP.ONE) is widely recognized as one of the key players in NYC’s revolutionary ‘80s-era graffiti movement. Known for his flawless letter constructions and vibrant mixed-media collage work, in 1992 Greg founded the highly-influential graffiti ‘zine, Skills. Over the past decade, Greg’s work has been prominently featured in numerous print publications and art galleries spanning the globe. A regular Zoo York contributor, he has lent his sublime artistic abilities to commercial projects for Nike, Roxy, Carhartt, Helio, Swindle, Mass Appeal, and others. www.greglamarche.com

Steve Nishimoto (Nish) is a respected member of NYC’s downtown art scene whose intricate letter forms, collage imagery, and logo designs have touched a global audience of skateboarders, tastemakers, and art connoisseurs. Born and raised in Chicago, where the rugged urban landscape nurtured his interest in design, Nish moved to New York in the late ‘90s to pursue a career in art. Working closely with Associates in Science and the founders of Zoo York, Nish quickly made a name for himself in NYC and beyond. His work has been featured in magazines and art exhibits around the world, and he has been commissioned by a range of top brands including Uniqlo, Viacom, Burton, Nike, Converse, FTC, and 2K by Gingham. www.nish.net
Accomplished print and web designer Kyle Talbott (Mesk One) is the co-founder of Handselecta – a font foundry based in New York that develops new handstyles while preserving the wealth of urban calligraphy that has evolved over the past thirty years. Kyle’s involvement in graffiti culture dates back to 1985 when, after watching “Style Wars” on PBS one fateful night, he embarked on a personal exploration of graffiti that has steadily grown into a lifelong journey. Currently serving as an adjunct professor at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts, Kyle also runs FELT Creative – a boutique web design firm in Brooklyn that boasts a healthy roster of underground and mainstream clients. www.handselecta.com | www.thinkfelt.com

A valued member of Zoo York’s in-house design squad, Brooklynite Stephen Halker is a Southern California native who relocated to NYC in 1997 to attend the School of Visual Arts (SVA). The son of acclaimed scientists, throughout his scholastic years Stephen often wrestled with his inborn scientific curiosity versus strong desire to express himself artistically. Upon graduation from college, Stephen combined his blood lust and creative desires by taking a job as a scientific illustrator. After drawing cadavers for three years, he fled the lab for a position at McGraw-Hill where he illustrated college-level biology textbooks. From there, in an attempt to broaden his horizons into more emotive forms of illustration, Stephen freelanced for record labels, lifestyle brands, and magazines, before landing his current gig at Zoo York last year. www.stephenhalker.com
Established in 2004 by designer Jules Kim, Bijules NYC is an internationally celebrated collection of jewelry and accessories that speaks to worldly trend-setters who embrace a deep sense of individual style and attitude. Located in Chinatown, Jules places strong emphasis on the importance of self-expression, and her provocative designs reflect American propaganda surrounding the empowerment of women, the innocence of youth, and the dark humor of adulthood. Regularly featured in leading print and broadcast media outlets, Bijules pieces are worn by some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry including MF Doom, Santogold, Spank Rock, MIA, Eve, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, and many others. www.bijulesnyc.com