An amateur Orillia skateboarder is beominng an accomplished pro as a social media influencer.
Earlier this month, Orillia Secondary School graduate Max Nogy started using his TikTok account to showcase skateboarding content. He posts videos on a daily basis that depict him trying to perfect tricks. Nogy has also been showcasing different skate parks around North America that he has visited on his travels.
In just 13 days of being active, Nogy has gained nearly 1,000 followers. Some of his best videos have been liked by 2,000 fans and viewed by 15,000. Nogy’s early success, he explains, has been built off authenticity and his passion for skateboarding.
Nogy, 25, was raised in the Mount St. Louis area and didn’t consistently skate until he was 18 years old. He picked up the sport when he travelled to Switzerland and Bosnia.
“I bought a board and went over there without really knowing how to skate,” he said. “I started to really love it and began skating all of the time. I really haven’t stopped since then.”
This past winter, Nogy moved to Banff, Alberta, where he got involved with the local skateboard community.
“I’ve seen some really cool skate parks during my travels,” he said. “That is what gave me the idea to show people from back home or people who don’t get to travel much what other skate parks look like around the world.”
Nogy continued his journey in California last month where the skate scene is perhaps more popular than anywhere in the world. His girlfriend, Arielle Ackford, who initially gave him the idea to start making TikToks, runs social media accounts for notable bands and brands. Ackford helps Nogy polish his videos.
“The videos are almost a little comical because I’m terrible at skateboarding,” he chuckled. “I edit it enough so it doesn’t look as bad as I really am. It’s a lot of fun.”
Nogy has rapidly gained a loyal following by posting a new video every day of himself trying to learn a new trick.
“The comments just get flooded with beginner skaters asking questions about the beginning steps that I’ve figured out," he explained. "Or by people on the professional level who give me tips and pointers.”
Nogy enjoys sharing a special bond with the skateboarding community through his videos.
“Everybody is helping each other out,” he said. “It’s exciting, and it’s cool to see how fast it’s grown.”
While he is ambitious about where his social media page is headed, Nogy doesn’t want to lose his authenticity.
“I don’t want to try to sell out and monetize off of this right away,” he said. “Right now, this is just something I’m having fun with and it’s something I can do as I travel, see other skate parks, and meet other people.”
Nogy’s current goal is to keep uniting the skateboard community with his videos and eventually turn it into a brand that can continue conversations between beginner skaters and professionals.
“There is a lot of intimidation for a beginner skater going to a new park,” Nogy explained. “The guys who are really good, for the most part, are super nice and want to help you out. It would be cool to build some kind of engaging community around that.”
While he has played most of the various common North American sports throughout his life, Nogy finds skateboarding to be the most enjoyable because it’s an activity that can be engaged with individually or with others.
“It’s a healthy thing to do,” he said. “It gets you outside, doing a physical activity, and it’s encouraging when you start to learn new things.”
Nogy describes skateboarding as a constant internal battle.
“You have to try a trick 1,000 times before you get it once,” he said. “It’s almost a metaphor for life. If you give up, you will never be able to do it. If you keep going, you can achieve a lot of things.”
Nogy encourages beginners who are interested in skateboarding to take a leap of faith and give it a shot. He says Orillia is the perfect place to get started.
“I’d recommend going to Kahuna Surf Shop or Pocket Skate & Vintage and ask the girls and guys in there to help you out with your first setup,” he said. “Just get started, it doesn’t matter how old or young you are. I’m just starting to learn the basic tricks at 25 that I should have learned when I started."
