Shane Borland is a 27-year-old professional surfer and skateboarder from Los Angeles. The distinction makes him part of a small and historic group that have excelled in both arenas. Beyond the realm of boards, how many athletes in history can truly claim professional status in two sports?

The mental agility and inborn athletic ability required makes this an accomplishment for the truly freakish. Within the context of surfing, I can think of one other true and current comparison, 17-year-old British Olympian skateboarder and ripping professional surfer, Sky Brown. The prime un-boarded example being Bo Jackson, the only athlete named an all-star in both the NFL and MLB. And while surfing and skating most certainly have more in common than football and baseball, anyone who has tried their hand on both boards knows that while there are many similarities, there are infinitely more differences.

For Shane, it was only natural. With the 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys playing on repeat in the family minivan, three-year-old Shane would skate in the Malibu parking lot while mum looked on and dad and brother surfed. He would start surfing in earnest a few short years later. The pairing has not always been well received. Sponsored by Volcom Skateboarding as a youth; when he started spending more time with the surf team the skate overlords balked. One or the other kid. Young Shane shrugged, was subsequently dropped, and picked up by RVCA a year later. No sweat.

Shane stands alongside the current trajectory of his career as a strong argument against specialisation. He is where he is today because of his commitment to both. And growing up where he did in Topanga Canyon a stone’s throw away from Malibu and a short ride from California’s rolling concrete metropolis, the two practices fold together fairly well.