Billy Rohan Talks Living w/ Bipolar Disorder | Pro skater found himself sleeping on the street
Skateboarding has been covering some serious stories this week. First it was Brian Anderson coming out as a gay pro skateboarder and now we’re talking about Billy Rohan and his struggles with mental illness. Billy is one of those names that is synonymous with New York skateboarding. He helped build a community skatepark for young kids, create his own brand, as well as put out skate footage. But his battles with bipolar disorder made him a liability to his sponsors and himself sometimes. Everything would be going well and the next thing he knew he’d be drinking heavily again and sleeping in Washington Square Park.
Then Billy would find himself locked up again in a mental institution telling his story to the doctors. To them his talk of being a pro skateboarder who travelled the world sounded like a fictional reality. Crazy to think about. I guess the life of a pro compared to a regular person is pretty dreamy. Anyway, these days Billy is doing well again. Check out his mini-documentary above.
“Billy Rohan has the reached the highest of highs and the lowest of lowest during his career as a professional skateboarder.
He’s gone from placing in some of the world’s top contests & having coverage in every major skate publication to sleeping on the street, to being named the New Yorker of the week for his work getting skateparks opened, to back on the street again.
At the center of all of this has been Billy’s battle living with bipolar disorder, it has what has cause his career and life to be derailed multiple times. Billy is doing better these days and trying to get his life back together by starting at square one again. We spent a day with him skating around the LES with him to catch up and see how he’s been doing.”
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