Professional skateboarder Danny Mayer may be used to endlessly grinding it out on his board, but even that didn’t prepare him for a private Muay Thai lesson from Tiger Muay Thai trainer and sixteen time stadium champ, Nazee.

“I’ve never done any type of martial arts or boxing before,” explains Mayer, who turned pro in 1991 and was the first skater to pull a kickflip varial McTwist (View him discussing it here). “It wasn’t anything I could have expected, but it was a good workout and lots of fun!”

In Thailand to celebrate his ten year anniversary with wife Olga, the X Games competitor couldn’t resist stopping by TMT after rave reviews from fellow pro skater Pierre-Luc Gagnon (PLG). Mayer says skateboarding and Muay Thai may seem like very different sports but they have a few things in common.

“The dedication and work ethic is the same in both,” says the San Diego resident. “You’ve got to love it. You have to understand that you’re going to get hurt it both – it comes with the territory – but you still love it.”

When it comes to offering advice for those skaters looking to come up in the sport, the vintage record collector speaks from the heart.

“I would tell anyone to just do it. Have fun. Don’t worry about becoming a pro. Do it for the love of it first. Always be dedicated. That’s when it will happen.”