Jason Vanporppal is on the cross-country road trip of a lifetime. The 25-year-old is skateboarding about 3,000 miles from Los Angeles to New York City.
What started as a spur-of-the-moment trip to push across the United States with a friend has since turned into an effort to raise enough money to buy 1,000 skateboards for low-income children.
“We’re learning a lot about ourselves,” Vanporppal said in an interview with Cowboy State Daily. “It's kind of like you meditate every single day in a way and you learn about who you are and what's the next thing after (this).
“Me and my buddy want to just keep doing what we’re doing — whether that is pushing across the country or even just doing it a different way. I would love to make a nonprofit and raise money for skateboards for kids all around the world.”
Vanporppal, who has made vlogs for more than a decade, has documented the trip extensively on YouTube and other social media platforms.
Ever optimistic, Vanporppal’s commentary is often interjected with laughs, positivity and appreciation for whatever he happens to be skating by in the moment.
But that doesn’t mean Vanporppal and his travel buddy, Gregorio “Orio” Ramirez, haven’t had their share of difficult moments during the trip.
The duo has stayed positive through rough terrain, harsh weather, sore muscles, severe blistering and an injury.
They’ve donned orange vests to stand out while skating through hunting areas and even found a new route after Missouri police pulled them over to say it’s illegal to skate their original route through the state.
A Lot Of New Friends
By and large, though, Vanporppal said the trip has been filled with amazing people and experiences.
Vanporppal and Ramirez planned to camp in tents on the trip, but strangers have volunteered to host the friends, put them up at hotels and drive behind them to help block traffic and carry their bags.
“(It’s shown) how people really are outside of social media or all the negative things happening because you see all the good things as you’re doing something like this, Vanporppal said. “People are so supportive. We met a lot of good friends on the road and now we're just super connected to them.”
Although the friends’ route did not take them through Wyoming, Vanporppal said nearby Colorado’s scenery has topped anything else he’s seen so far.
Traversing Colorado on a skateboard is not for the weak of heart. Their route included 10,000 feet in elevation gain, snow and icy roads.
“Just being out there and seeing the snow, we were pushing the snow for a minute, and you just get to see all the mountains — it just was really, really beautiful,” he said. “We were skating in the snow for hours and hours, so our boards got like icicled and everything was just all iced up.
“People were looking at us like were crazy.”
Orio Ramirez, followed by Jason Vanporppal, skateboards over a snowy Colorado mountain pass. (Jay Films via YouTube) 
Jason Vanporppal, left, and Gregorio “Orio” Ramirez, center, pose for a photo after making it to the Colorado border. (Courtesy Jason Vanporppal) 
Hundreds of miles of skating and rocky, icy conditions take a toll on the wheels of Jason Vanporppal's skateboard. (Courtesy Jason Vanporppal) 
After reaching the top of Cumbres Pass in Colorado at more than 10,000 feet, Jason Vanporppal makes the outline of a skateboarder in the snow. (Jay Films via YouTube) 
A ground-level view of skateboarding over a snowy road in Colorado. (Jay Films via YouTube) 
Orio Ramirez, followed by Jason Vanporppal, skateboards over a snowy Colorado mountain pass. (Jay Films via YouTube)
The Back Way
The duo has avoided interstates, instead using a cycling route from the travel app Komoot that has led them down side streets, highways and backroads.
Rest days have been few and far between since the pair began their trip at the end of September. Instead, they’ve averaged seven to eight hours of skateboarding a day as they push to make it to New York before Dec. 12.
Once there, the two plan to give out 100 skateboards they’ve bought with donated money. They hope to give out another 100 when they return to Los Angeles, and then revisit some of the places they’ve traveled through during a trip to hand out the rest.
“We want to give it to kids who’ve actually been wanting to skateboard but just can't afford it,” Vanporppal said, adding that he hopes the kids who end up with the boards can “just have fun with it.”
Skateboarding ‘Changed My Life’
He also is an ambassador for skateboarding.
“There's no competition. It's not like basketball. It's not like soccer. This is something completely different from that,” he added. “It's about just being on the board and whatever way you want to express skateboarding, whether that be doing freestyle, like skating in the bowl or skating on your curb or something.”
The motivation to raise money for the boards is personal for Vanporppal, who began skating when he was 9 years old. Despite how difficult it is to make money off the sport, Vanporppal said he’s never had much interest in anything else.
“It's something that definitely changed my life. If I didn't find skateboarding, I could have been doing drugs or been in a gang or something like that,” he said. “It definitely keeps you out of trouble, and that's what it did for me for the past couple years.
“Every time I go through anything in my life, I just kind of lean toward my skateboard.”
Although Vanporppal has been collecting donations for the boards through apps like Venmo and PayPal, he said the trip has inspired him to look into creating an official nonprofit.
“I’m kind of sad this is coming to an end, but like I said there’s bigger and better things to happen,” he told followers in a recent video. “I just can’t believe the things I’ve done and achieved.
“I’m so happy. I’m so grateful for everything.”
