Tristan and Nic Puehse are fraternal twins blessed with a fearless attitude and a tough athleticism. This led naturally to them taking up skateboarding right after their 6th birthday, and they started entering competitions shortly thereafter. Nic and Tristan Puehse have been skateboarding competitively since, and have sponsors like Nike 6.0, Powell Skateboards, Bones Swiss, Sambazon, Utopia Optics, Autobahn Wheels, Sk8nuts and many many more. The Puehse twins have even been featured on the Ellen Degeneres show. I was able to talk with Nic and Tristan Puehse, the skateboarding twins, and their father recently.

First off, I asked about how Tristan and Nic first got into skateboarding, and what that was like. The Skateboarding Twins dad Mike said, "Tristan and Nic began skating when a local skatepark opened in December 2003.

They heard of the skatepark opening and asked us to take them there. So we purchased some Scooby Doo boards from Target and took them."

"The first thing they tried was rolling off a ledge about 1 1/2' high. Of course they fell and plenty of times.....probably 50 or more times which still did not deter them. We did not leave until both landed the trick about 4 hours later. From that moment, they were hooked. Before they began skating, they were wakeboarding which they started at age 5. I believe that wakeboarding definitely gave them an advantage with balancing."

"What’s their secret?" I asked. "I don't know if they have a secret," the boy's dad explained, "but they are fearless, have a high tolerance for pain, extremely persistent and able to focus and figure out what adjustments they need to make to land tricks. As far as being at the level they are at 8, I'd say it is a combination of lots of practice, a true passion for the sport combined with some natural ability."

Being twins, I wondered if they have troubles with the same tricks. "For the most part, they can do most of the same tricks, however, there are some tricks that one can do and the other can't. A couple of tricks that Tristan can do that Nic cannot are: Airwalk, Boardslide Handrails, Frontside Boardslides & Frontside Board Slides. Nic can do Inverts Varial Kickflips and Gay Twists."

I asked if Mike, their father, had any advice for skaters parents out there. He said, "My advice to parents would be for parents to get involved in their child's sports and hobbies. Spend as much time as possible watching them as they have fun and progress in whatever their passion is. I'm a little amazed at how few actually do so. A lot of the kids I know would be thrilled to have their parents watch them skate for just 15 minutes a day.

"When Tristan and Nic started skating, I knew nothing about the sport, but the more my wife and I watched them, the more we learned. Skateboarding has given Tristan and Nic a sport they love and an opportunity for our entire family to spend many hours together. Life is fast and before we know it, one day we will no longer be the center of our children's lives."

If Tristan and Nic could each give one piece of advice to other skaters out there, Tristan would say, "Practice a lot, have fun and never give up!" Nic added "Always try and learn new tricks. When you learn a trick, try and go bigger!" Nic also said, "Wear your helmet!"