By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange
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Not many folks in the area look at a skateboard and see potential, but like any sport, it can be a lucrative business and full time opportunity with enough patience, practice and good timing. That part of the dream is coming true for one local kid. But beyond the cameras, new boards and sponsorship is a person, who just likes to skate.

CJ Titus has had a board under his feet for most of his life, which at 9, doesn’t seem that long; but watch him catch air off the ramps at the Manchester YMCA, turn in midair, switch boards and continue down the next ramp as if he never left the original skateboard; and it appears he’s been doing this forever. That smooth style and fearless attitude landed him a sponsorship with Never Again Board and Clothing Co., and will soon have him entering competitions in the state and beyond.

“He’s really good for his age, and the main thing that impressed me when I saw him skate was that he doesn’t play,” Henry Fauerbach, co-owners of Never Again Board and Clothing Co., said. “He’s super smooth and just an all around pretty good skater, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get somebody younger.”

Though 31 years separates Titus from the oldest skater on the Never Again roster, he is by no means the youngest skater to get a sponsor, particularly with the larger competitive skateboarding scene in the west, according to Fauerbach. The sponsorship means that Titus gets some new boards and travel and entry to competitions. There is no doubt, that he is ready to compete.

“It’s up to the judges, what they’re looking for, but if I was judging, there’s definitely a technical aspect that they look for and how big the kid goes and if he does some errors,” Fauerbach said. “What I like with CJ is that he kind of has a variety of tricks, but it’s more about style and how comfortable they are. To me, I’ve always thought it was cooler to see someone that could ride with some attitude and some style versus just doing every trick perfect each time.”

CJ Titus sports his new board courtesy of Never Again Board and Clothing Company. - Photo by Sara Page

That is not to say that Titus can’t hit the tricks perfectly. Most recently, he perfected the Switch-A-Roo. He gains momentum skating down one side of a half pipe. By the time he crests the other side, he has leapt off the first board, lands on a second, stationary board and continues down the ramp on the other side. He can also do an early grab 180 where he skates down a ramp to gain speed, bends down to grab his board, then goes up the half pipe where he jumps at the top and spins around 180-degrees. He spans gaps between ramps with ease and is already catching some pretty big air.

His main practice venue is the Manchester YMCA and other skate parks in the Richmond area, and when he’s on vacation with his family, you better believe the board is just an arm’s length away.

The sport keeps him in great shape, too, between developing the leg muscles that control the board to the abdominal muscles that keep him balanced in a semi-crouched position.
“The better shape you’re in, the better you’ll be,” Fauerbach said. “It’s a lot of cardio. I think a lot of it’s mental too. You’ve just got to have the guts to do some of this stuff.”

Titus, himself, doesn’t have much to say, and one gets the distinct impression from the one foot still rocking the skateboard back and forth that he’s already thinking about the next trick.

“I just like to practice,” he shrugs.