Chad Caruso, a skateboarder from Farmingdale, is attempting to skate across America in just 30 days.
He will begin his journey in Venice Beach, California. From there he’ll skate across the southern United States before he finishes 2,800 miles away in Jacksonville, Florida.
It’s not the first time he’s skated across the country.
“After I finished the first trip, I kind of said to myself, ‘yeah, I'm never doing that again,’” Caruso said. “As the time passed, my body healed and it just kind of changed my perspective on it. And I just enjoy pushing my limits, and kept thinking, ‘I bet I could do that faster.’”
He completed the first cross-country trip in 2023 in 57 days to become the Guiness world record holder. Now he wants to cut his time nearly in half.
Caruso says he’s been skateboarding since he was 12.
Injuries eventually led him to alcohol. Now he’s been sober for 10 years and he does this journey to raise awareness for addiction and mental health.
“That's kind of the lesson in sobriety too,” Caruso said. “Just worry about yourself, focus on yourself, and just keep getting better than you were yesterday.”
Caruso will attempt to travel 100 miles per day on his skateboard.
“Since I've done it now, I don't really have the same worries,” Caruso said. “The ground and going uphill is obviously exhausting, but really, it's just a matter of my body holding up. Because that's when you're starting to get to the limit of how far you could physically push your body.”
Caruso will livestream his entire journey. He will begin his journey from Venice Beach on May 1, just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month.