On the Edge and in the Moment

David Hackett’s life reads like a Hollywood script. A surfer turned skateboarder, he became a pioneer and an icon.

He was a world champion at 15, but his life fell apart at 20 when his brother, suffering from bipolar disorder, murdered their mother.

For the next two decades David’s life spiraled into alcohol and drug addiction. “I tried to get sober for 20 years,” Hackett remembers.

“But I was young and dumb and that’s what we were all doing back in the ‘70s.”

He finally managed to get clean in his mid 30s, and to pay it forward he became a counselor himself.

“I’ve taken guys who were suicidal, strung out on heroin and got them sober, and they all still are, which is really cool.”

But personal challenges kept coming. At 49, he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He refused chemo and radiation, battling the disease with lifestyle modification.

“I ate vegetables, worked out everyday and kept a positive attitude,” he explains. “And in over six years it’s never come back.”

But the experience did change him. Hackett says it reminded him of his mortality, and has left him with an even greater desire to live to the fullest, and not waste a single day.

“It gave me an appreciation for life that I’ve never had before,” he says.

“And if I die tomorrow, I’ve had the most incredibly amazing, exciting, ground breaking, radical life. And it would be okay, I’d be at peace.”

But until then, Hackett is drug free, cancer free and carefree. He continues to charge ahead, riding whatever wave life throws at him, and enjoying the risks he believes make life worth living.

“Lets face it, skateboarding is an extremely dangerous thing to do,” he admits. “But it’s incredibly fun and exhilarating. Why would I ever give that up?”

In his 50s, David Hackett plans to keep on taking risks, helping others, and seeking new adventures.

To watch David’s story in his own words head to http://bit.ly/2RtbDzB​