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The 36-year-old Long Island resident, who grew up in Lindenhurst, didn’t listen when they told him not to drop out of high school as a teenager. Nor did he listen when friends, including a few girlfriends, told him that adults can’t skateboard.
So it came as no surprise to those around Caruso when he decided to press on with his plan to take his one true passion in life - skateboarding - and do the unthinkable: ride his board across the United States from coast to coast.
On Friday, March 24, Caruso set off from the Venice Beach Skatepark near Los Angeles, California for what he expects will be a two-month-long journey to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“So many people told me not to do it, ‘you’re going to die, it’s stupid, it’s crazy, why are you doing that?’” he said on his YouTube channel, where he posts videos documenting his arduous journey.
To those naysayers, he has a simple answer for why he's undertaking the formidable trek: Because skateboarding saved his life.
When he was in his late 20s, while attempting to skateboard down a stair railing, Caruso slammed into a light pole and tore his ACL and PCL. He turned to drinking to help numb the pain, he said in a YouTube video.
“I was drinking until like 4 a.m. every single night, just like blackout drunk,” he recalled. After his second DWI, he realized he needed help.
“It just started affecting the people around me and that’s when I was like, ‘I can’t keep doing this,’” he said.
Caruso decided to give up drinking for good and began focusing all his time and energy on skateboarding to clear his mind. He has been sober for six years.
“When I got sober, (skating) became more of like a necessity. I was just looking at it in a different way and I just kept learning new tricks,” he said.
His passion eventually led Caruso to his first cross-country trek, dubbed the “50 Tricks in 50 States” challenge, in which he learned a new skateboarding trick in every state in the US for 50 days in a row.
He documented the experience on YouTube, racking up plenty of views and followers along the way.
“I did all 50 states and then I was just like, “What’s next?'"
Caruso decided that he wanted to inspire others like himself to beat addiction and find their own passion in life, and a cross-country journey done all on a skateboard was just the catalyst to do so.
“I wouldn’t have been able to attempt this skate across the country without the energy and focus that sobriety has given me,” reads a GoFundMe campaign where followers can help support his endeavor.
Caruso said 25% of the money raised will be donated to “Natural High,” a drug prevention nonprofit organization that “inspires and empowers youth to find their natural high and develop the skills and courage to live life well,” according to its website.
The remaining funds will help cover his food, hotel, and other expenses.
He expects to reach Virginia by the end of May, but won’t be disappointed if it takes him a little longer.
“I’m not focused on that goal necessarily,” he said in a YouTube video. “It’s the process of chasing it that’s the great thing.”
Monday, April 17, marked Caruso’s 25th day on the road. He reached Anson, Texas after skating just over 60 miles in 10 hours and 45 minutes.
“Another long one," he wrote on Instagram. "Swallowed a bunch of dust for lunch."
Along his journey traversing the roads and desolate highways of Small Town America, generous strangers occasionally pull over and offer Caruso a ride, which he politely declines, or a bottle of water, which he gladly accepts.
“My favorite part of the Skate Across America so far is all of the experiences with the people I’m meeting along the way,” he told Daily Voice.
His evenings are spent doing laundry, grabbing a bite to eat, and getting a good night's rest at the various motels dotting his pre-planned route.
The most difficult part of the trip so far, he said, was the climb from Palm Springs to Joshua Tree National Park in California, where he battled dust storms, steep inclines, high temperatures, and a lack of resources.
"Super thankful for the really nice people at mile 40 who gave me water, otherwise I would have been toast," he said on Instagram. "Caught a second wind and was able to make it to Arizona after pushing a total of 75.92 miles, a new personal best."
But if past is prologue, nothing is going to stop Caruso from following his passion.
“I got one thing in this life that I love to do,” he said. “And I’m just going to use my body and everything I have to just share it with other people.”
As of Tuesday, April 18, Caruso’s GoFundMe had raised over $27,000 of its $30,000 goal. Those who wish to donate can do so here.
Follow Caruso’s journey on his YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
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