Skate4Cancer Skateboard Marathon

By Helge Zirkl | September 12th, 2011 | Discuss

Skate4Cancer founder Rob Dyer has officially completed his fifth country-wide skateboard marathon. Rob skateboarded from one side of France to the other, promoting youth interest in cancer prevention. It was a gruelling but relatively short endeavor. Rob has performed similar physically exhausting feats across the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
It just takes one step, by one person, in the right direction to initiate change.
It just takes one person to stand up for what they believe in.
One person speaking out.
One person refusing to give up.
It just takes one person to start something.
In 2004 Rob Dyer founded Skate4Cancer, by skateboarding from Los Angeles to Toronto. Skate4Cancer is a non-profit organization with a mission to cure cancer by encouraging people to lead healthy lives and prevent cancer from interrupting or even ending their own lives.

Since this first step, a lot has changed. Rob has skated over 25,000 km, in four different countries, and Skate4Cancer has reached out to millions of young people worldwide. I have been lucky enough to document Skate4Cancer from its very beginning and, this summer was no different. Rob skateboarded over 1,000km across a France.

This is no easy task: there is no manual, nothing is predictable, anything can happen, and everything could go wrong. But through all of this one thing is certain, giving up was not an option. In just 4 weeks Rob made it across a foreign country all to further the Skate4Cancer mission…
Skate4Cancer was founded by Dyer in 2003 after he lost his mother, both grandmothers and a best friend to the disease. Given a chance to grow, the organization has become a support system for youth affected by cancer directly and indirectly. Focused on fostering a supportive and educational environment, Dyer encourages a positive approach to healthy living. This skate across France will serve as a celebration of many accomplishments, but also as the first community building event in Europe.