The Boonies professional skateboarder Richie Jackson has come out as gay.
The announcement was casual, sharp-witted, and totally Richie. It happened online, where most things tend to happen these days.
As we previously reported, Tim Pool shared a Pride Month skateboard with the words “Don’t Be Gay” printed across the graphic.
Richie replied with: “As a gay man I endorse this massage.”
With just a few words, Richie flipped the moment on its head with humor, clarity, and confidence. That dry, weird, magical tone we’ve always loved from him was right there in full effect.
The 39-year-old has never exactly fit the mold of a “typical” skater. His approach to skating is strange in the best way, mixing fantasy, style, and street skating into something that feels more like performance art than a standard video part.
He’s been wearing bell-bottoms and skating to classic rock since way before it was cool to be weird again.
His parts feel like something from another time and place, and now his voice is adding something more human to that already rich image.
This isn’t the first time Richie has challenged the traditional ideas that have shaped skate culture.
During an old episode of The Weekend Buzz, years before rainbow flags became part of every major brand’s summer rollout, Richie kissed host Robert Brink on camera.
It was funny, playful, and very much Richie but in hindsight, it also showed how comfortable he was with his identity, even before Pride became widely embraced in mainstream skateboarding.
Coming out is personal. Richie didn’t write a huge post, make a video, or drop some serious-sounding caption.
Instead, he chose to speak like himself. Funny. Sharp. Brave without being dramatic. He didn’t bend who he was to make a statement. He just was.
The skating world hasn’t always been the most open space for LGBTQ+ skaters. While it’s slowly gotten better, there’s still a long way to go. Richie’s comment cuts through all that with calm confidence.
And for anyone out there who might be skating alone, unsure if there’s room for them in this culture, Richie just quietly opened another door.
Love wins. Every time.
Oh, and also during Pride Month, The Boonies dropped the "Be Gay" skateboard deck, which shows they’ve finally embraced Richie and the LGBTQIA+ skateboarding community. Buy the board here.
