Mark Appleyard

Early life

Appleyard was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and attended Lord Elgin High School in Burlington, Ontario.

Appleyard began skateboarding at the age of ten and grew up solely skating skate parks such as Hamilton, Ontario's "Beasley Bowl" (a park that Appleyard was so fond of, he recently had its name tattooed on his leg); he eventually skated the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Professional skateboarding

Appleyard's first major skateboard deck sponsor was Birdhouse, followed by Habitat, distributed by the DNA company that is also responsible for distributing Alien Workshop. While sponsored by this company that he filmed his inaugural video part for a major skateboard brand. The video is entitled Photosynthesis and was released in 2000; in the same year, Appleyard was featured in the Transworld Skatebaording video i.e. that Daewon Song also provided a video part for (both skateboarders were identified by the Transworld Skateboarding magazine as two of the most influential skateboarders of the decade spanning 2000 to 2010).

Appleyard is a senior team rider for the Globe skate shoe company that originated in Australia in 1994. Appleyard has released multiple signature shoe models for the brand, such as the "Vagrant" and "The Eaze". In February 2013, "The Mahalo" vulcanized model was launched and was described by the Globe promotional department as "easy like Sunday morning"—a short film was published as part of the shoe launch and features Appleyard skateboarding in a variety of street-based locations.

Following his departure from Habitat, Appleyard joined the Flip team and appeared in all three videos that comprise the "Apology" series—Sorry, Really Sorry, and Extremely Sorry. Appleyard's eventual departure from Flip, to join Element, generated a substantial amount of controversy, as members of the industry, including fellow Flip team riders, expressed disdain at Appleyard's decision; the move was viewed as a choice that was solely motivated by monetary factors. In an October 2010 interview, Appleyard explained his decision:

I was over it [laughs]. I feel like I grew out of it and the team changed so much over the years that I was just like, “this shit ain’t for me anymore,” and I just needed to feel more stoked on the company I ride for, so I had to change it up ... Yeah it was hard to leave, but it’s a business move. Ya know? If someone’s gonna be your friend, it shouldn’t depend on what company you ride for. I just had to make a power move to benefit myself. I’m really stoked on the choice I made. It was difficult but it had to be done ... I mean, I had a lot of options and I just figured that Element best suits my vibe. It’s just a nice company and kinda earthy and nature-y and stuff. I just felt like, “Damn that’s where I wana be.” And then I met up with the guys and they were really cool and we just clicked. I’m down–it’s sick.

In response to a question on whether he was disappointed by Appleyard's departure at the time, former Flip rider Rodrigo Teixeira explained after his own departure from the company, "Not really. Homie had to do what he had to do …" In an August 2013 interview for Tony Hawk's RIDE YouTube channel, Appleyard stated that he has not sensed any animosity from former Flip teammates since his departure.

Appleyard explained in an April 2013 interview that he joined Element as the company was completing the filming for a video that he was unable to appear in due to a lack of substantial footage. Appleyard later negotiated the release of a solo part with the company's management and, as of the time of the interview, Appleyard had been filming footage for approximately two years—the scheduled release date for the video is in June 2013 and the part will be published on the Berrics website. In regard to his position at Element, Appleyard revealed: "I’m happy to be able to continue to riding for Element. I wish I wasn’t getting older. I’m 30 now, but that’s not really that old. I want to skate as long as I possibly can."

Prior to the release of his June 2013 solo part, Appleyard conducted an interview for the Berrics "Interrogation" segment and explained that he continues to enjoy his time as an Element team rider, while also remaining on good terms with people in the "old camp." When asked about his most important friendships in skateboarding, Appleyard identified Adrian Lopez, Colt Cannon, Geoff Rowley, Josh Kalis, and Chad Muska. Appleyard also explained that his solo part will be released to public free-of-charge.

Sponsors

As of November 2011, Appleyard's sponsors are Element Skateboards, Thunder, Autobahn, Globe Shoes, Volcom, CCS, Arnette, and Vivo.

His previous sponsors were Flip, Circa Shoes, Habitat, and Ricta Wheels.

Awards

In 2003, Appleyard was named Thrasher "Skater of the Year".

Appleyard was the recipient of the Transworld "Readers’ Choice" award in 2004 and received the "Best Street Skater" award at the 2007 Transworld Awards.

Personal life

As of April 2013, Appleyard resides in Huntington Beach, California, United States (US), and wears a size "11" shoe. As of June 2013, Appleyard and his wife are the parents of a baby son, and Appleyard explained the experience of fatherhood following the birth: "Pretty eye opening. It's definitely a power move in life for sure. It's cool man. I'm happy I didn't do it earlier and that I did it when everything was in order in my own life. I'm feeling pretty good about it."

In 2013 Appleyard explained his mindset towards his health and skateboarding as a thirty-year-old:

As far as physically, I eat really healthy. Every morning I drink green vegetable juice. It also helps that I’ve never drank that much. I drink a lot of water and avoid twenty stair rails. [laughs] Avoiding injury at all costs is really important. When I do get injured I always make sure I seek the right attention. It’s really all about treating yourself well. Don’t party too much and always remember to stretch.

Videography