ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque is one of American’s great cities, known for 330 days of bright sunshine a year, spicy-delicious red and green chilis and its annual International Balloon Fiesta, the largest air-balloon festival on the planet. “The Duke City” is not, however, known as a mecca of skateboarding.

Not yet anyway. Mariah Duran is certainly doing all she can to change that.

The 24-year-old Albuquerquean is widely regarded as America’s top competitive street skateboarder. Riding “goofy” stance with her right foot positioned at the front of her board while pushing with the left, Duran has captured two gold and two bronze medals apiece, plus a silver at the prestigious Summer X Games. Mega-corporations such as Adidas and Mountain Dew are among the growing list of deep-pocket sponsors with which she has secured lucrative endorsement deals. This past summer, Duran competed for Team USA as skateboarding made its debut as an Olympic event in Tokyo.

Even as such heady success continues to steamroll forward, it is imperative for Duran that she stay true to the roots of the sport she loves so dearly, to always “keep it real.” Duran made this deeply-held conviction copiously clear on Olympics.com before making history riding in Japan.

“I want to be taken seriously as an athlete at the Olympics, sure, but I want people who are maybe new to skating to see what real street skating is all about,” she said. “I was all about this even before the Olympics was an option. When I first started, I didn’t skate to get sponsored or to get paid. I skated to skate. Getting to go to the Olympics for skateboarding is insane. But there’s a reason why I’m in this position.”

It was also of vital importance for Duran that a world-wide audience see and come to know the enormously close-knit camaraderie that permeates the global skating community, no matter the level of expertise. And to recognize that it is not put on simply for show.

“That rawness, that style, you just can’t teach that stuff. And you can’t fake it,” she said. “With skateboarding, everybody has their own style and you can see it if someone’s out there in the street putting it in for real. I want to make sure that part of things is there to be seen.”

As a youngster just embarking upon her remarkable skating journey, it wasn’t easy for Duran. Boys at the local Los Altos skate park weren’t readily accepting of a girl in their midst, including a couple of guys named Elijah and Zeke, her brothers. Her mother, Deanna, was in stern opposition to her daughter ghosting basketball, softball and track, prospective paths to a college athletic scholarship, in favor of boarding. But Duran stood and rolled firm in her pursuit. Now her family are her biggest fans.

Duran wants other young girls to know the joy and potential for success she does. And once again, her support isn’t all talk. It’s genuine.

Duran is active in two initiatives, Always’ #KeepHerPlaying and P&G Athletes’ Skate Like a Girl, campaigns created to inspire young women to stick with sports. It’s worked out pretty well for Duran so far. She is confident that it can help others as well, and not solely in terms of finishing first, as she shared with Shape.com.

“I just really want to start the conversation, inspiring young girls and young women to continue in sports because I want them to understand that it’s not just about winning or losing, but it’s about finding who you are in those moments when you really need it,” she said.

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