Cordano Russell: The 6-foot-3, 230 pound skateboarder defying expectations

In the eclectic skateboarding world, Cordano Russell is impossible to ignore.

Among loosely dressed, lithe frames casually sprawled across the park, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound teen immediately stands out.

Where his peers have joints covered in fabric as an extra layer of protection from the ever-unforgiving concrete floor, Russell wears a tank top and shorts. Where they wear caps, he chooses a sweatband. And where they skate on decks often designed as an extension of their own brand, his is custom developed simply to be able to withstand him.

Powerful, athletic, dominant: the mountain of muscle stapled onto his physique has propelled Russell into an unorthodoxy never really seen in skate circles. It’s why in the last six months the 19-year-old Canadian has exploded out of nowhere and squarely into the Olympic conversation for Paris 2024.

It seems somewhat fitting that before committing fully to the skateboarding path a young Russell was also on track for a future in American Football.

“I played football at Carlsbad High for two years, a D1 high school, and then I played one year at Horizon Prep, getting a couple of Defensive Player of the Year awards,” Russell explains. “Middle linebacker, ‘D-end’, tight end, left tackle, backup quarterback, a bunch of things.”

But the Canadian’s preference for hitting the floor over taking tackles eventually won out.

“When I was weighing, should I pursue football or pursue skateboarding, I was like, skateboarding is my life. That's my passion, I love this. During that time, I felt like I was really building up my fire for skateboarding again. Because there are people on the football field who've been doing it just as long as I've been skateboarding, and I was like, I'd rather take a fall on a skateboard than be running for 200 plays and battling it out.”

"It was truly divine"

This steady, enduring belief that skateboarding is his essential purpose in this world is closely linked to Russell’s faith. It’s another thing that quietly sets the skateboarder apart.

Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Russell’s family moved to St. Louis, Missouri – his father’s hometown – at the age of four. And it was shortly after, against improbable odds, that the young boy first discovered skateboarding.

“It was kind of like a pinnacle moment for me,” Russell explains. “I found my first board inside of a bush. And I stepped on it. It was beat up. And I stepped on it, hit my head, and I was like, ‘Let's go!’ Like, that's what I want to do.”

When asked if it was fate that, of all things he could have uncovered that day, a board was what lay there Russell swaps his usual magnetic smile for a tone of certainty so unwavering it feels unconquerable.

“Honestly, I feel like it was truly divine. Like, out of all of the things that I could have found a skateboard in the Midwest. In Saint Louis, Missouri. It's not a big skate scene out there like in Chicago or New York, you know? I'm like on the East Coast side in Saint Louis, Missouri. I feel like it was truly destined for me to be a skateboarder.”

"How do we do this skateboarding thing?"

With all the gusto of a frenetic child discovering the limits of their freedom, a young Russell launched himself into his new passion.

“I was always skating a mini ramp under this bridge called Kings Highway Bridge where there was a DIY skate park. That’s where I really learned how to heel flip, kickflip, ollie and boardslide,” the skater recalls.

“I definitely found a community of skateboarders there. A community of skateboarders that actually helped show me the ropes of skateboarding because at that time, it was just me and my dad trying to figure out like, okay, how do we do this skateboarding thing?”

Between the hours spent working on his foundation tricks, Russell studied hours of video parts online. It was from there, he understood what he had to do next.

“Everyone kind of seemed to be in a general area and that was Southern California. So, at about eight years old, I asked my parents to move to San Diego,” Russell says. “And we all got up and left. And that’s when we all really knew we’re taking this skateboarding thing seriously.”

"It creates in yourself this determination"

After moving to the Mecca of world skateboarding, Russell began to encounter success in local competitions: “I was the 12-year-old going against 17 and 20-year-olds and beating them.”

Each win reassured the Canadian his pursuit was not in vain and the values he was drawing from the sport were also having positive effects elsewhere.

With ambition beyond just the skateparks, Russell began to channel his remaining energy into other areas of his life, and with impressive results.

On top of his football, the skater excelled throughout high school, graduating with a 4.2 GPA and earning a presidential scholarship to study at the University of San Diego following the end of the Olympic cycle. When he can, he also still mentors younger students in flag football and basketball.

It’s a little wonder there is any time left to skate at all.

“I'm a very outgoing person,” Russell says laughing at the mention of his work ethic. “I like to be doing stuff. If you are a skateboarder, you're most likely a thrill seeker because what we do is crazy sometimes, going down 20-plus stair rails and stuff like that.

“We can only spend so much time going as hard as we can. You know? For me, my skate day could look like maybe at most four hours spread around two-hour periods, and that leaves about 16 to 12 more hours in the day to be doing stuff. Having the school balance and also the skate balance, I feel like that has really helped me elevate my skateboarding.”

In devoting himself to all his passions there is also a sense in which Russell is fulfilling another part of himself: his faith. And with that soothed, the skater feels unassailable.

“Honestly, it empowers me,” he shares candidly. “I know where my true identity is, and that is in the Lord. So, I wanted to use my time, talents and treasures and ultimately be able to inspire others through that, through my faith, through who I am.”

If sometimes, that means failure, Russell admits he is also comfortable with that thanks to what skateboarding has taught him.

“Paul Rodriguez put it this way: he said, you're going to fall way more than you will land a trick. And that's literal in skateboarding. You're going to fall on that ground so much. But honestly, it creates in yourself this determination, this grittiness, this ability to withstand failure while still trying to go through and accomplish your goal.

“I find that getting back up from failure, getting back up in school, especially school, and then it’s just evident in every area of my life.

"I definitely thank the Lord for skateboarding because it's truly amazing.”

"I want to be in the Paris Olympics"

Next on the horizon for Russell will be the final World Skate Tour stop before the end of phase one of Olympic qualification for Paris 2024. A cull will then follow before the second elimination phase begins.

Russell, though joining the road to Paris late, is currently the top-ranked male from Canada and looks to be a shoo-in for the second part of qualification.

His has been a remarkable rise and one those in the skateboarding elite have been studying carefully. For the skater, it’s one he also can’t quite still believe.

“If you were to tell that four-year-old boy who found that skateboard out of the bush, ‘Hey, you're going to be competing for Team Canada in the Olympics in Paris’, I would be like, 'No way',” Russell says, laughing once again.

Though sincere, Russell’s charming nature can belie the competitor that burns inside. And while he might not have anticipated his Olympic dreams would present themselves so soon, now that they have come into view, he is determined not to miss his shot.

“When I was a kid, I wanted a $400 RC (remote controlled) car. Right? And I was like, ‘Dad, can I have the money to get this $400 RC car? He’s like, ‘No’, and then my mom said, ‘No, make money to find your way to get it’ So, I was looking through ways for how I can collect money and, this is all a 10-year-old self-ambition. I chose to collect bottles and cans. I collected bottles and cans for six months. In that time, I'm making business deals with the shops to give me their cans for a surcharge. And then I have like 10 or 15 different shops. I'm getting bottles and cans and in three months I'm able to go buy an RC car.

"So truly, when I get a goal that I am passionate about, that I want truly deep inside me with every bit of me, like this RC car, I’m able to get it.

“In that same way, I want to be in the Paris Olympics. I want to be in the LA Olympics, and I want to win. I want to win these events.

"Truly, deep inside of me.”