I hear Mike V is a professional skateboarder, a musician, an actor, a stuntman and a long list of other things. All true–no doubts, but the main point is missing. Mike V is a samurai. Even though it may be true that the man has traded a katana for a skateboard, only the tools have changed. The warrior spirit has not. Mike is a man on fire, burning with intensity in everything he does. He skates with intensity. He plays music with intensity. He sleeps with intensity. He eats with intensity.

In an age when most human beings are busy hiding and looking for excuses, Mike is an anomaly. People who are unwilling to risk an inch of security to follow their visions can’t help but sneer at Mike’s crazy, diehard commitment to live life on his own terms. In true samurai fashion, Mike is willing to pay any price to remain loyal to his vision. His oversized willpower drives him along no matter how many doors get shut in his face. Hell… if you ever want to understand the best parts of Nietzsche’s philosophy, forget about listening to some dusty scholar in a college classroom. Just watch Mike V skate, and you’ll know everything there is to know.

Some could say that many choices Mike has made in his life were a form of career-suicide. Possible. But Mike simply is one to always act on his principles without too much concern for where the chips may fall. Skateboarding to him had always been an art, a way to express the deepest emotions trapped in his soul, a vessel that enabled him to be 100% himself. It had never been nor would he ever let it become a way to get ahead. No regrets, no looking back.

Mike V is a warrior–plain and simple. All the other labels are just extras.

- Daniele Bolelli