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What did Matthew Pritchard, Welsh pro skateboarder and all-round daredevil do next after leaving the Dirty Sanchez crew? We find out in the first profile in our Huck x HOKA series, looking at mavericks who found a new perspective through running.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Matt Pritchard was used to seeing himself look wrecked on TV. As a creator and co-star of Dirty Sanchez, MTV\u2019s notorious noughties prank show, being filmed doing stupid stuff while drunk and high was essentially his job description.<\/span><\/p>\n Nostrils were super-glued together, tongues were stapled. One week he was whacked with a meat tenderiser until his skin bled, another he was slapped in the face with a cactus. He always felt fine about it. Found it funny even. Until one day he didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI saw some footage of myself on TV and I thought, \u2018Christ what\u2019s happened to me? I looked an absolute wreck and I thought that\u2019s not the person I used to be,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cI have wicked memories of those Dirty Sanchez days, but I wanted to change. So I thought, \u2018I wonder if I can do the Cardiff Half Marathon?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This was in 2007. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time Pritchard had entered the event. He\u2019d also done it at 15, when his Mum bribed him with the promise of a pair of Hi-Tec Silver Shadows if he completed the course, which he did. But it would be the first time in almost 20 years, with zero running and an insane amount of partying, or as he puts it \u201call out carnage\u201d in between.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have wicked memories of those Dirty Sanchez days, but I wanted to change. So I thought, \u2018I wonder if I can do the Cardiff Half Marathon?\u2019” Matthew Pritchard<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n How did it go? \u201cIt was amazing. I got such a big buzz off it. So then I did a full marathon and then a half Ironman [a swimming, cycling and running race that ends with a half marathon], then a full Ironman \u2026\u201d He\u2019s since become a full-time endurance athlete, albeit one with an incongruous amount of tattoos, who doesn\u2019t take himself too seriously. He once ran the London Marathon in a mankini.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, Pritchard did a triple Ironman, that\u2019s 54 hours of continuous and mega-intense exercise. This year, he did another double Ironman, though he\u2019s had to temporarily shelve his other running plans for 2017 while he recovers from a foot injury, much to his annoyance.<\/span><\/p>\n It seems an unlikely passion shift for a former pro skateboarder. But Pritchard sees a lot of parallels between hardcore running and skateboarding. \u201cSkateboarding takes a lot of patience,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you learn a new trick, it doesn\u2019t take a day, it takes week or months. But if you focus and keep going, eventually it clicks. That\u2019s similar to training month in, month out, for a race. You have to put the hard work in to get to that point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSkateboarding takes a lot of patience. When you learn a new trick, it doesn\u2019t take a day, it takes week or months. But if you focus and keep going, eventually it clicks. That\u2019s similar to training month in, month out, for a race. You have to put the hard work in to get to that point.\u201d Matthew Pritchard<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n He also credits skateboarding with stoking his interest in endurance challenges. In 2006, he skateboarded the 192 miles from Cardiff to Newquay with his friend and Dirty Sanchez show-nemesis Dainton. \u201cLooking back, I think it did spark a lot of other future stuff in my head. Like running from John O\u2019Groats to Land\u2019s End.\u201d Which he did in 2010 \u2014 in just 30 days.<\/span><\/p>\n Why does Pritchard think he got so extreme about running, rather than just say hitting the park a couple of times a week? \u201cWhenever I get into something, I go all out. It was the same with partying and skateboarding. When I found this fitness buzz, I thought, \u2018Where can I take this?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe longer races are a massive fight [with myself], but when it gets to the pain part that\u2019s when it gets interesting. Of course, you say to yourself, \u2018What the fuck am I doing?\u2019 But once you cross that line you\u2019re like, \u2018I\u2019ve just been through hell, but I\u2019ve done it and I\u2019m fucking buzzing\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n On a day-to-day basis, Pritchard admits he also uses running to keep his head together and regulate his mood. \u201cI do get quite down and running gives me a high,\u201d he says. \u201cI get such happiness from it. If I\u2019m feeling depressed and go for run, I come back a different person. With this injury I hadn\u2019t trained for four weeks. I\u2019d been partying in Ibiza and I went to a pretty dark place. I\u2019m dangerous in my own head. But then I went out on my bike and I feel like I\u2019m back on track again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI do a lot of training and partying used to be a reward for that, but now I\u2019ve got to the stage where I don\u2019t even want the partying stuff. I\u2019ve got to the point in my life that I\u2019m having words with myself and the next step is to become teetotal.”<\/span><\/p>\n What do Pritchard\u2019s old skate buddies make of this new sporty him? \u201cMy mates think it\u2019s great. They can see I\u2019m doing something positive. You can\u2019t have a problem with that without being a dickhead. And in terms of giving up the booze, the ones who\u2019ve seen me partying over the years probably think it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d he laughs.<\/span><\/p>\n But the most pleasing part for Pritchard has been the number of Dirty Sanchez fans who\u2019ve gotten in touch with him through email or Facebook to say they\u2019re inspired by what he\u2019s doing. \u201cThey message me saying, \u2018I\u2019ve followed you since I was a youngster and to see you doing Ironmans is mental. I\u2019m going to start running too.\u2019 It\u2019s such a simple thing. Go buy yourself some trainers, open the front door and go for a run.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Huck is a youth culture channel. It celebrates and explores independent culture \u2014 people and movements that paddle against the flow.\u00a0Find out more about Huck<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nFrom carnage to Cardiff<\/h3>\n
Shifting passions<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nKeeping\u00a0things together<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nPositive change<\/h3>\n