It is not every day that you find a coach who has a passion for riding a longboard, let alone the drive to turn his passion into a world record. In the summer of 2013, head FC track coach, Myster Holliman, plans to set a world record for the longest distance traveled on a longboard by riding from Seattle to the South-East US.
On his journey, there are minimal rules that Holliman must follow to set the record. He will be allowed to rest whenever he needs to and he does not need to finish in any specific amount of time. As long as he puts in time on his longboard everyday and travels at least 3,616 miles, which is the current record, he will be the new world record holder.
Holliman has enjoyed riding his long-board since his freshman year of college. Growing up, he used to ride skateboards, but was never good enough to do tricks.
Holliman found out about long-boards when he began seeing students using them as an alternate form of transportation around college campuses. Holliman thought that it looked like the perfect hobby to take up, which he could also enjoy.
“I saw people traveling around campus so casually on their boards and I thought to myself, ‘A long-board will equal a lazy athlete’s paradise,'” Holliman said. “My best friend at the time, to this day, Michael Barragan, let me borrow one of his long-boards for a couple of days and I made my own within weeks. I’ve never gone more than a week without boarding since.”
Holliman started avidly riding his longboard later on in his college career. It became an alternate workout routine for him and the other athletes on the track team, he said.
“I really started riding my longboard everyday when I was living with some good friends who all loved long-boarding as much as I did,” Holliman said. “As a track athlete, it is hard to stay motivated enough to do workouts every summer, but my friends and I would board everyday, miles upon miles of just kick, push, kick, push. There came that point where we just loved it, loved it together and it helped us grow.”
Holliman decided to set the record when he heard about skateboarding world records that had already been set. Due to his passion for the sport, he wanted to do something big with it.
“I want to set the record pretty much because I have high aspirations, and I love riding my longboard,” Holliman said. “Why not track it? Why not try to accomplish something great? Why not put my body to use and hopefully inspire others to take what they love, and make something big out of it?”
Holliman has been discussing the idea of setting the record with his track team that he coaches on campus. Junior Zach Jakush shared why he thinks it is good what Holliman is doing.
“It’s going to be cool to be able to say that our coach holds a world record,” Jakush said. “It’s really cool that Holliman is doing this because he chose something he was good at and decided to try to be the best at it. Hopefully, it will show how competitive and hardworking he is to the world.”
Holliman plans on starting his trip in Seattle and ending it somewhere in the South-East United States. He said that he still has some planning to do, but he will definitely set the record.
“I am going to start my trip in Seattle,” Holliman said. “From there I will head down the West Coast, because it is the best coast, then head East across the South. I hopefully will end the trip in an awesome city like New Orleans. I still have some mapping to do, it takes hours just to complete a small amount, but I will hopefully have it all planned out by the end of January.”
Other than just being able to say he holds a world record, Holliman hopes it will display his hard work ethic. Holliman said that he hopes it might open up some job opportunities.
“It will be cool just to say I hold the record,” Holliman said. “I guess I am hoping it will open up some job opportunities, hopefully at Fresno Christian as a full-time teacher. Like I’ve told all the students here at FC, I plan on coming right back in the fall semester. I would love to come back and just be known as a teacher that affected the students in a positive way.”
Holliman has already started to motivate his friends and students here at FC. Freshman Jon Anguiano shared his thoughts on Holliman’s plans to set the record.
“I’m pumped for Holliman to set the record,” Anguiano said. “I know that he is planning to use an unnamed brand board so that the owner of the board might be able to open a skate-shop when the record is set. I think he will get a lot of opportunities to get sponsored once he is done.”
Elora Hargis, ’14, appreciates Holliman’s dedication to long-boarding. For Hargis seeing a teacher try to achieve his goal is a great motivation for the students of FC.
“I think what Holliman is doing is amazing,” Hargis said. “It’s great that he’s actually turning his passion into a reality by trying to set the world record. I think it sets a great example for students to go after their dreams.”
For more features, read the Jan. 18 article, Climbing into a redwood coral reef (VIDEO).
