Joey Brezinski: From Pro Skater to Mailman — The Hidden Side of Pro Skateboarding
He invented Red Bull Manny Mania. Rode for Cliché alongside Lucas Puig. Signed with etnies, Red Bull, Diamond. Then one day, the phone stopped ringing. Today, Joey Brezinski walks 30 kilometers a day delivering mail in Los Angeles. This is the story no one tells in skateboarding.
⏱ Reading time: 5 min
The Manual King Who Had It All
Some skaters’ names evoke an era. Joey Brezinski is one of them. Hailing from Venice, California, this kid with surgical style transformed the manual into an art form. Not just a linking trick between two moves. A complete language, with its variations, subtleties, and impossibilities made real under his wheels.
In 2003, he turned pro. Cliché Skateboards signed him, the French brand bringing together the European elite and a few hand-picked Americans. His introduction to the world: Hello JoJo, a video part that laid the groundwork. Then came Bon Voyage in 2013, where his section pushed the limits of switch and creativity. He rode alongside Lucas Puig, JB Gillet, Flo Mirtain. The absolute cream of the crop.
In 2007, he created what would become his trademark beyond the board: Red Bull Manny Mania. A global competition dedicated exclusively to manuals. He won it four times. Four. No one has ever done that. He also co-founded Andale Bearings with Paul Rodriguez. Sponsors piled up: etnies, Red Bull, Diamond, Tensor, Grizzly Grip.
When Everything Stops
Pro skateboarding doesn’t work like football or basketball. No five-year contracts. No retirement at 35 with a pension. One day, the brand flows you boards. The next, your name disappears from the team page. No one calls to warn you. You find out on your own.
Joey Brezinski lived it. After years of tours, demos, and filming all over the world, the machine slowed down. Calls became less frequent. So did the checks. Skateboarding doesn’t warn you when it’s done with you.
And that’s where the hardest part begins. Not a downhill nollie heel. Not a 15-stair gap. No. The hardest part is looking yourself in the mirror and saying: now what do I do?
Mailman in Los Angeles
Joey Brezinski became a mailman. USPS. The American postal service. For two years, he’s been walking the streets of Los Angeles with his mailbag on his shoulder. 30 kilometers on foot every day, except Sunday. No filming, no demo, no first class for a competition in Barcelona. Just the asphalt, the sun, and letters to deliver.
At first, he felt ashamed. The word is strong, but it’s his. In an interview for Jenkem Magazine published on April 6, 2026, he dropped this phrase that hits like a punch: « I shouldn’t be ashamed of what I do for a living. » He recounts that precise moment when someone asked him what he did for a living, and he felt he had « downgraded » his existence. Demoted. As if going from pro skater to mailman was dropping a floor on the human ladder.
Except, no. Joey says today that he is genuinely stoked. Truly happy. His Instagram bio sums it all up: « Letter carrier walking 18+ miles every day except Sundays. In my free time, a professional skateboarder. » The order of the words is no accident. Mail first. Skateboarding second.
The Lesson Skateboarding Refuses to Hear
Joey Brezinski is not an isolated case. He is the rule. For every Nyjah Huston driving a Lamborghini, there are fifty pros who end up without a safety net. Lucas Puig, his former teammate at Cliché — the most respected French street skater worldwide — recently made similar remarks: « Skateboarding is good, but it doesn’t last forever. Afterwards, you have to find a job. »
Puig added this thought that should be printed on every board sold: « When you put all your goals on your passion, it’s hard when you stop. » Two Cliché alumni, two continents, the same observation. Pro skateboarding is a magnificent dream. But it’s also a system that crushes those it no longer needs to feed.
The skateboarding industry offers no retirement, no health insurance, no career change plan. When you’re hot, everyone wants you. When you cool down, no one answers. That’s always been the unspoken deal. And no one talks about it, because talking about precarity in a world that sells dreams and $100 shoes, that kills the vibe.
But Joey Brezinski, he talks about it. And that’s why he deserves more than a shrug. This guy created a global competition format, rode in the best videos of his generation, co-founded a bearing brand. And today he delivers your mail with pride. If that’s not skateboarding in the soul, nothing is.
