For those with the skills and desire, there are multiple ways to try and get sponsored. Sending videos out, getting hooked up through shops, local company reps, or by being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. For Lee it was the latter. Already getting boards from Stereo and shoes from Osiris, it was during his Californian wanderings and relocation to San Francisco that he caught the eyes of Think. In their van, skating with the guys, he managed to fit in with their vibe and energy, and soon after was asked to join their regular squad. Always polite and respectful, he’s probably one of the most humble and down to earth people I’ve met. Not one to pound his chest about his accomplishments, getting him to talk about himself took a little prodding. He knows he has an ability to skate like few others, but you’d never know it by talking to him. But once the nice-guy stuff is absorbed, and you see him skate, then you’ll bear witness the other side to Mr. Yankou—the Hyde to his Jekyll. He skates a spot with such ferocity, it’s like the place insulted his mother and raped his dog. Highlighted in the recent Think teaser, Lee is one of the few skaters out there pushing the vertical leaping limits. His small stature belies the power of his pop, and he boasts a deep bag of tricks that he can rifle off in a matter of moments; eight trick lines are not out of the norm. He skates his gear until the bitter end, chipped boards, worn down wheels and tattered pants that might qualify him for some type of government aid. He uses things until they are near death, and doesn’t give into temptation that his easy access to product accords him. All this points to the gratefulness that he feels towards his sponsors and depth of character that he possesses. Qualities that will serve him well both in life and in skating.
