After Her Stepfather's Death, She Set Out to Skateboard Across America in His Honor (Exclusive)

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A few years ago, Brooke Johnson set out on a personal mission: skateboarding 178 miles from Los Angeles to Mexico
The trek sparked a bigger idea: what if she skated across the entire country?
For a while, it remained just a dream — until her stepfather, Roger, suffered a devastating fall, breaking his C5 vertebra and becoming a quadriplegic. Inspired by his strength, Brooke decided to skateboard across America in his honorA few years ago, Brooke Johnson set out on a personal adventure: skateboarding from Los Angeles to Mexico. The 178-mile trek sparked a realization — if she could go that far, why not farther? As her confidence and skills grew, the idea of skating across the entire country began to take shape. It felt like a natural next step.
For a while, though, it remained just that: an idea, tucked away in the back of her mind without a clear purpose. Then everything changed. Her stepfather, Roger, suffered a devastating fall, breaking his C5 vertebra and becoming a quadriplegic.
'Suddenly, I had a reason,' says Johnson, who began skateboarding at age 13. 'I told him, 'I'll skate across the country and raise money for your recovery.' '
The original plan was simple but powerful: she would skate across the United States and, at the end, push Roger in his wheelchair across the finish line. At the time, she had relocated from New York City back to her hometown of Seattle to help support her family.
But before the journey could begin, Roger died while recovering from surgery. It was devastating, but Johnson had made him a promise, and she was determined to keep it. She began reaching out to sponsors, eventually partnering with Playtex to bring her vision to life, all while setting her sights on a history-making goal.
This summer, she officially hit the road, aiming to become the first woman to skateboard across America — a 3,000-mile journey from Santa Monica to New York City.
She's accompanied by a small crew in a support van, which doubles as their mobile home. The team usually sleeps in the van, but every four or five days they splurge on a budget hotel — a Days Inn or Super 8 — to shower, reset and rest before heading back out the next morning.
'I just told myself, I'll keep going until my body gives out, and I'll find out what my limits are,' she says.
'We've had angels show up in the craziest parts of the desert," she adds. "You think, 'There's no way anyone's going to help us out here.' But then someone always shows up. And I don't think that's a coincidence — that's Roger.'
Leading up to the journey, Johnson purchased a skateboard specifically for the adventure. It has a lower drop-through deck that sits closer to the ground, so it doesn't hurt her thighs as much when she's pushing.
But along the way, she says the skateboard has developed its own personality.
'It's my chariot," she says. "She takes me where I need to go, and oftentimes it's just her and me skating through. I've put stickers on it. The meaning is it's just the thing that gets me where I'm going. She's my seat when I need to cry. She's my transportation when I need to move. She's just a part of me now.'
'We did leave her once by accident at a stopping spot, and I freaked out," Johnson adds. "I was like, 'Oh no!' But the thing is, to get a world record, I have to finish the entire trip on the same board — so I can't get another one. She's very important.'
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One of Johnson's favorite questions from people she meets is whether they can see her route. She laughs every time.
'I wish I could see it too,' she says. 'It's constantly changing.'
Before she set off, she mapped out a route on Google Maps that seemed manageable. Surprisingly, she and her crew have stuck fairly close to it, reassessing the plan every 100 miles — the rough segments they use to break down the trip. She mostly sticks to car-accessible roads, always steering clear of highways when possible.
Each stretch brings new challenges, but Johnson keeps pushing forward — one mile, one promise, one purpose at a time. Some of the toughest moments aren't physical. While long uphills and rough roads take their toll, she says the biggest challenge is mental.
'It's not even the road conditions — it's the act of starting,' she says. 'Every motivational speaker says it, but it's true: starting is the hardest part. And I have to do it every single day. Getting out of bed when all you want to do is sleep ... that's the hardest part for me.'
In desert regions, where the daytime heat is brutal, Johnson often chooses to skate at night — something she's grown to love.
'I really like night skating. It's colder, quieter. Honestly, it feels like you're in a simulation,' she says. 'The van follows behind me, and because you can't see very far ahead, you lose your sense of distance. You just keep going. It's peaceful.'
'During the day, you're dodging cars constantly, and that's exhausting — not physically, but mentally. Making sure I don't get hit wears me down more than the skating itself,' she adds. 'I'm constantly jumping off the road for semis, waiting, then starting again. It breaks your rhythm.'
Her routine has become a dance with the desert: skating at night, resting during the day. On a typical afternoon in New Mexico, for example, she'd rest when the heat peaked around 5 p.m. She'd sleep for about two-and-a-half hours, then take a 5-Hour Energy, pop three ibuprofen and skate as far into the night as she could.
It's a physically brutal journey but more than anything, it's a test of will. And so far, she's meeting that test one determined push at a time, fueled by cheers from the community on social media, where she's amassed more than 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.
'The people in my comment section are so kind,' she says. 'They're hyping me up. They're like, 'Keep going, girl.' '
'I'm doing this to inspire a generation of women to know that they are capable, that they can do anything they put their minds to, even if it's hard,' she adds. 'We're constantly in this space of social media that's really tough — showcasing only the best of people, and comparison is a problem. But here I am, in a helmet and a highlighter vest. I want girls to know you can do this and still look pretty on days like this. I am who I am, but then I have to go on a date with my boyfriend and want to feel pretty. You can get dirty and still be pretty.'
Along the way, Johnson and her team have met countless people in every town — people who feel nothing short of magical.
Just a few days before her PEOPLE interview, while skating up a highway, Johnson stopped at a small honey farm that looked a bit run-down at first glance. But it turned out to be part of an Earthship community — homes built sustainably from natural and recycled materials, completely off the grid.
There, Johnson met a woman who shared her life story: how she runs a shelter for the unhoused and dedicates herself to helping others. The woman could tell Johnson was feeling low, and before she left, she gifted the crew jars of honey, muscle rub and other thoughtful supplies.
'She asked if she could donate or help in any way,' Johnson recalls. 'I told her I was fine, but she insisted on leaving us with those gifts.'
'We also went through this town called Pi Town, and they gave me free pie," she adds. "I showed up at the top of Pi Town, which is at the top of a hill, and I was so tired — crying, exhausted. They just gave me pie, and I was like, 'All I want is a strawberry rhubarb pie right now.' And they happened to have that. People are just kind.'
Most recently, Johnson has found herself in Hereford, Texas, steadily closing in on her goal.
She hopes to finish the journey in July. What started as a race against the clock has transformed into a lesson in presence: learning to live fully in each moment, mile by mile. But when she finally crosses that finish line, she has one simple but powerful request.
'I've decided the theme of the rest of my life is going to be buoyancy,' she says. 'After pushing so hard against gravity, wind and heat, I want to feel weightless. I want to be in the water — free, floating and light. My celebration? Swimming with dolphins and snorkeling, letting the ocean carry me instead of fighting against it. It sounds kind of wild, but to me, it's the perfect way to mark this journey.'
Read the original article on People