Marisa Dal Santo kickflip front boarded her way to skateboarding fame in Zero's 2009 video, "Strange World." But after about five years of getting boards from one of the most notoriously gnarly brands in skateboarding, Dal Santo has called it quits and moved back to LaGrange, ILL. Now skating for only Emerica, ERGO and Yeah Board Shop, she is getting ready for one of the most important days of her fiscal year, X-Games.
ESPN.com: Are you getting nervous for X-games?
Dal Santo: Kind of since my entire year depends on this one day.
You mean financially?
Yeah, that's pretty much my income for the year.
Do you have a routine to get ready for the contest? Do you wake up and do sit ups? Eat healthy?
I like a cup of coffee in the morning, maybe a nice lunch and perhaps meet up with some friends. I like living in the now not really thinking too much about the future [Laughs].
How many times have you won X-Games now?
Three times.
Who is your biggest competition in the contest?
Probably Alexis [Sablone], Leticia [Bufoni], Lacey [Baker] or Elissa [Steamer]. All those girls are super good. They are all pretty much in the same boat as I am with the money. There is a lot on the line here.
Is this the only girls contest of the year?
Pretty much. I would skate the Maloof Money Cup but it doesn't happen anymore. So I guess the X-Games is it.
Have you ever been recognized because of X-Games and being on television?
No, not really. Random kids who's older brothers skate will say stuff to me but that's it.
Why did you move back to Illinois?
I was living in Vista [Calif.] and I hated it. I wasn't doing anything and I wasn't motivated to do anything. I knew if I moved back home then skating would be fun again and that's what I wanted. I just spent too much time out there.
Did it feel like too much of a job out there?
Kind of. I would have to force myself to go skate out there and I was embarrassed to go to the skatepark. I kind of don't like that people know who I am. I just want to go skating.
What have you been doing since you have been back in Illinois?
Skating, working on the Destruction Squirrel 6 video with my friend and collecting things from thrift stores.
Any thrift store gems?
Not really, I just collect a lot of things. I like having cool stuff.
What is the coolest "stuff" you have gotten so far?
I can't think of one thing but I have a really random assortment of VHS tapes and records. I'm obsessed with those things.
Do you actually watch VHS tapes still?
Oh yeah, I watch them all.
Do you have a favorite?
I mainly collect weird ones, the kind that you don't see at every thrift store. I have a movie called, "Mother's Day". It's pretty ridiculous. The guy does a ton of really bad B-horror movies that turn out to be hilarious. So that's the most recent one that I'm really into.
What is your board situation these days?
I don't care to get on a board company. If I could get boards from a homie I would be stoked, but I don't even mind buying boards. I go through boards so slowly that it doesn't even really matter. I like it this way -- I don't want to have the commitment.
