Shawn Mandoli
I first became aware of Shawn Mandoli in my seventh grade science class while I was thumbing through a copy of thrasher my friend Jay lent me. It was the issue where Salman Agah was named skater of the year. Shawn was in a few ads because he was on Real with Salman so the whole team got a lot of coverage. If you would have told 12 year old Jordan that, as an adult, he would be good friends with Shawn Mandoli, he would squeal with glee. But as it is, Adulthood tames some of that childhood fascination. Now Shawn is just my friend that skates better than most guys half his age. Above all else when I think of Shawn I think of Shawn the pastor. He has a wisdom about him that permeates every word he says. He spends many weekends speaking at churches and conferences and needed a short video testimony covering his life in a nutshell. He gave me a stack of magazines and video parts to pick through. One of which was the issue with Salman Agah’s skater of the year issue. The whole project was a walk down memory lane. Shawn is a national treasure.
