Tyson Speaks

By Cynthia Furey, photograph by Challenge Roddie

There’s an inevitability to the pedigree.

Tyson, the world’s most famous skateboarding English bulldog, hails from Huntington Beach, the nation’s surf-and-skate epicenter. He’s spent most of his life turning heads near the pier and downtown, hurtling along on his Tracker Trucks- or Bulldog Skates-brand board, wrinkled face and enormous pink tongue flapping in the wind as he steered through crowds and around corners, keeping the board moving with one paw.

Since the first Internet video of Tyson surfaced four years ago, he has become a Web-hit wonder. A quick Google search produces not only Tyson’s own slick Web site (www.skateboardingbulldog.com), but hundreds of unofficial video clips and photos—all of which helped launch his career in film and television projects.
But Tyson, who moved to Big Bear Lake at the end of last year, isn’t fazed by fame, aging (he’ll turn 7 in October), or the waning of his athleticism. The dog’s still gotta ride.
It’s that joie de vivre we found most striking—and the reason we asked Tyson’s owner, semi-retired businessman Jim Blauvelt, what we all might learn from Orange County’s fabled mutt on the move.

1. Embrace your individuality.
Tyson began chasing after kids on skateboards when he was just a few months old. “We would walk him downtown and hang out by the pier, where there are a lot of skateboarders. He would attack and chase them,” Blauvelt says. “We thought he hated them.” As it turned out, Tyson was trying to tell Blauvelt who he was. Blauvelt eventually let Tyson play with a skateboard in the backyard, and noticed right away that the dog was not just playing with it, but stepping onto the board and pushing himself along. Blauvelt bought a bigger, more stable skateboard for Tyson the very next day. “Then I put him on a retractable leash and let him go,” he says. “He just started doing it on his own. It was weird.” Now, Blauvelt says, “when we go on a walk, he leads the way. We go where he wants to go. He’s very laid-back and mellow until you get the board out. And then he’s a maniac.”

2. Do what you love.
Picking the right career is the key to a fulfilling, happy life. We can all take a cue from Tyson. “Skateboarding is the most important thing in the world to him,” Blauvelt says. “I suppose you could train an animal to do it, but because he wants to do it, it’s unusual. It’s not a trick, it’s a lifestyle.” So how important is skating to Tyson? To gauge this, a Japanese television show decided to put him to the test. Tyson was presented with his beloved skateboard, but was given some tantalizing distractions as well: a mouth-watering steak, and a lovely female bulldog. “They put the steak on his skateboard, he jumped on the board and it just went flying off of it,” Blauvelt says. “And then they laid the female bulldog out in front of him, and he didn’t pay any attention to her. He actually ran the board into her leg.”

3. Fame is fleeting.
Tyson rose to fame after Blauvelt posted a home video on Tyson’s Web site. It found its way onto MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” in 2004. Blauvelt’s father happened to be watching when “The Mystery of the Skateboarding Dog” segment came on, and he called the show to identify Tyson. The next day Olbermann named Tyson on the air, prompting viewers to flood his Web site for more video clips and information. “There was a week in there when he got a million hits,” Blauvelt says. “He was very active, but it’s been tapering off since then.” At one point Tyson even had a talent agent who represents A-list celebrities. “They were too big a company for Tyson, and they just forgot about him. So as far as management and publicity, Tyson really hasn’t had much help.” He has had bit parts in movies such as “Lords of Dogtown” and “Undiscovered,” as well as appearances scooting across the talk-show stages of Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey. But even those have begun to taper off. “It’s pretty quiet right now,” Blauvelt says. Tyson also had to remove himself from the application process to appear on a reality TV show called “Greatest American Dog” due to a scheduling conflict (he was appearing at the Stockton Asparagus Festival right around the same time). The show eventually featured another bulldog, Tillman the Skateboarding Dog, a 3-year-old from Ventura County.

4. Live by the Golden Rule.
Cats and dogs rarely get along, but Blauvelt says Tyson treats his five feline housemates as he would like to be treated. “When they were kittens, Tyson would lick them,” Blauvelt says, “and now that they’re older, they lick him. They seem to love each other.” The approachable dog never shies away from attention—from people or other animals—and is rarely aggressive. He’s also considerate of the other human in the household, Lana, Blauvelt’s wife. “If the skateboard is in the house, Tyson won’t touch it. Only when he’s outside does he skate.”

5. Never forget your roots.
Despite his success, Tyson hasn’t forgotten where he comes from. On walks with Blauvelt, he will of course lead the way, and the two often end up in some of their old haunts, including his very first home in a condo complex across the street from the Huntington Beach Pier. “He’ll take me to the back door [of the condo],” Blauvelt says. “He remembers that he used to be a puppy there.”

6. Take risks.
Everyone wipes out from time to time, in life and in love. Tyson is no different, especially when he gets up too much speed and steps off the board. But he gets right back on. Taking a cue from his dog, Blauvelt recently took a business risk, launching an online store on Tyson’s Web site where fans can buy T-shirts and accessories emblazoned with the dog’s image. “I’m just crossing my fingers and going for it,” Blauvelt says. And, since Tyson has all of his original equipment, if you know what we mean, Blauvelt has been thinking about a future generation of Tysons. “I think that would be a pretty fulfilling thing for a dog.”

7. Avoid jealousy.
Blauvelt says Tyson is the original skateboarding dog, but being first means imitators are bound to follow. Tyson opened the door for others, including Tillman and Extreme Pete, a Jack Russell terrier mix that has conquered the vert ramp. Blauvelt once met Tillman, and feels Tillman and Tyson would be skate buds rather than rivals. “I guess you can say we’re adversaries, but not really,” he says. “At some point, we’re going to have to get the two of them together to have a session.”

8. Know your limits.
Dogs age faster than humans. “They feel their aches and pains a lot sooner than we do,” Blauvelt says. Tyson, who used to skate for hours every day—even after a one- to two-hour walk—now is limited to a half-hour or hour-long skate session once or twice a week. He also suffers from arthritis. “You bring out that skateboard, and he’s like a puppy again,” Blauvelt says. “But he’ll be a little stiff afterward.”

Cynthia Furey is an Orange Coast contributing writer.