Zero Skateboards head honcho Jamie "The Chief" Thomas made it clear that Fay DeFazio Ebert is not a professional skateboarder for the company.
Although Ebert competed in the Olympics, The Chief still gave her props, despite the Olympics not traditionally being a skateboarding event.
A user named @chiharu_law said, "She is pro," but The Chief responded, "No, not pro. It’s a logo board made to celebrate and support her journey!"
This shows that just because you have a name on a board doesn’t mean you are a professional skateboarder.
Historically, you had to earn your way into the pro rankings, but nowadays, anyone can start their own company and call themselves pro.
Out of goodwill, The Chief simply wants to support his rider.
These days, it’s challenging to distinguish who is truly pro for newcomers to the industry, as board companies are saturated with YouTube skaters and influencers.
But Ebert will surely become pro one day since she’s got talent and can hone her skills in the streets and contests.
Zero Skateboards posted:
To celebrate, @fayskate’s Olympic journey we made a limited run of red ‘Canadian Single Skull’ decks!
This is a production version the graphic @jamiethomas hand-sprayed & she rode in Paris! The board is available in Canadian skate shops & on the Zero site. 🇨🇦💀
A portion of the proceeds will go to support Fay’s skate travel.
Frontside air photo: @lapir0
Video: @jamiethomas