About USSEA
The United States Skateboard Education Association (USSEA) launched in 2017 to empower people through life-changing skateboard experiences.
Led by a team of passionate lifelong skateboarders, USSEA quickly established itself as one of the leading membership-based resources in the country for skateboarders, educators, and enthusiasts.
Making it easier for people to learn to skateboard.
The Leader in Skateboard Education
USSEA is the leading organization for skateboard coaches seeking educator certification. The USSEA Certification provides skateboarders with a legitimate path from teaching as a hobby, to a professional skateboard educator.
USSEA is also the founder of S.K.A.T.E. Safe, an initiative designed to promote safety and respect when skateboarding in public, specifically concerning skatepark etiquette.
With your support, we can promote all champions of skateboarding by growing their voice and shifting the archetype of thought for how people learn and the facilities they learn to skateboard in.
By supporting USSEA, you are promoting safety not just as an idea, but as a mission that changes the way people approach and view skateboarding altogether.
Our founders have been at the forefront of skateboard education and have a passion for helping the growth of skateboarding.
Joe Eberling
Founder
Read More About Joe
Chris Hargrave
Founder
Read More About Chris
Joe and Chris have both been involved heavily in the growth of skateboarding. They are dedicated to making skateboarding more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Further, they have devoted their time and resources to ensuring skateboarding is safer for those who want to try it out. Through many different initiatives, most notably, S.K.A.T.E. Safe, they have been able to help skateparks across the country be more accessible and safer for skateboarders.
Education, safety and fun for skateboarders has been their mission.
Joe Eberling, Founder
Since building his first skateboard in 1976 from repurposed roller skates and a splintery piece of cast-off ¾ inch plywood, Joe has had a passion for skateboarding.
When Joe moved from Tacoma, WA to Beijing, China in 1986, his trusty skateboard went with him. As one of the first skateboarders in the populous county, the tall, blond skateboarder attracted a lot of attention on the streets of Beijing. It seemed almost everybody he met wanted to learn to skateboard. He had the opportunity to teach hundreds if not thousands of curious people to skateboard.
To meet the needs of cautious, risk-averse parents, Joe developed a precise methodology to quickly get people skateboarding, minimizing injury that often comes with the process. Eventually, he established several skateboard schools in Shanghai that attract hundreds of children each year.
When Joe moved his family back to the US in 2013, he discovered most people he spoke with who wanted to skateboard didn’t do so, either because they didn’t know where to begin or they had a bad first experience. Joe thought this was sad because he wanted people to experience the soaring feeling and sense of freedom he experiences when skateboarding.
Joe established USSEA to help aspiring skateboarders and their parents have a great first experience. Today, more skateboarders can experience the joys of skateboarding that he’s enjoyed most of his life.
Chris Hargrave, Founder
Chris is a passionate action sports coach who has spent over 25 years developing innovative ways to empower people to achieve their goals. He has had the opportunity to work with, develop, and push skateboarding and snowboarding methodology and tactics to the highest levels, all the way through to the Olympics and X-games.
Chris’s experience designing programs to help trainers is fundamental in the development of USSEA. Our commitment to supporting parents as they guide their children through skateboarding is critical to the future of the activity. By empowering skateboard educators to pursue professional certification, we strengthen confidence in the industry that skateboarding is a viable activity for all people.
USSEA exists to bring amazing ideas and people together to push skateboarding forward through education. Chris plays an intricate role within USSEA to empower skateboarders, parents, and industry professionals.
“Seeing people experience true empowerment on a skateboard created some of the most inspiring moments for me over the years. The greatest gift we are given is the ability to make others stronger through our strengths.” – Chris Hargrave
Kristen Rizzera
Mother of 2 boys aged 9 and 12
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