GLIFBERG Rune

Preferred stance
Regular (dewtour.com, 12 Jun 2019)

General
SKATEBOARDING LEGEND
Born and raised in Denmark, he describes Danish skateboarder Nicky Guerrero as his biggest influence growing up. He earned his first sponsorship at a Scandinavian Open contest in Copenhagen in 1990, and took part in his first pro contest in France in 1990, earning a pro model board with then-UK based Flip Skateboards. After several years of touring Europe with the team, in 1995 he moved to Costa Mesa, CA, United States of America after finishing high school to help establish Flip Skateboards in the US. "It was a brand-new beginning. Leaving your family behind and everyone. I had never been to America before so for me it was kind of like an expedition or exploration of the world." He became part of the most influential group of vert skaters in the 1990s, and became a household name after featuring in the very first Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game in 1999 as well as subsequent sequels of the game. He also competed in the very first X Games in 1995, against riders including Tony Hawk, where he earned the nickname 'the Danish Destroyer' for his vert style. He returned to live in Europe in 2012. (monsterenergy.com, 12 Jun 2021; finance.yahoo.com, 13 Jun 2021; glifberglykke.com, 13 Dec 2018)

SKATE PARK DESIGNER
He designs public skate parks as a partner and co-founder of Glifberg-Lykke, a skate park architecture and design office in Copenhagen, Denmark. "One thing that's important for us is that we create projects that are unique. We try to create a good balance between aesthetics and function." (finance.yahoo.com, 13 Jun 2021; pocketskatemag.com, 07 Jan 2021)

OLYMPIC INCLUSION
He believes the inclusion of skateboarding at the Olympic Games is an important step. "I think skateboarding is really important to the Olympics. I think it's good for the masses to see skateboarding. I feel like skateboarding has a lot of unseen potential of what we can do with skateboarding and how skateboarding can help personal growth and help you inspire. Qualifying for the Olympics is not only about sports, but also about showing skateboarding in a dignified way. I want to show the culture and I look forward to it. For me to represent Denmark at the Olympics would be huge. I feel like we are a great skateboard nation. As a skateboard community, we have something unique here. So for me it's just important for Denmark to be on the skateboarding map." (finance.yahoo.com, 13 Jun 2021; via.ritzau.dk, 18 Jun 2021)