How this professional skateboarder, Rob Dyrdek, turned reality stardom into entrepreneurial success.
Robert Stanley Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder, actor, entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, and reality TV star. Dyrdek first starred in a MTV reality series, entitled Rob & Big (aired November 2006 to April 2008), with his best friend and bodyguard Christopher “Big Black” Boykin as well as his cousin, Chris “Drama” Pfaff. After three seasons, Boykin’s long time girlfriend had a baby and caused him to leave the show. In February 2009 Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, featuring Dyrdek, Pfaff, and his Dyrdek Enterprise staff, was first aired. The “Fantasy Factory” is a converted warehouse where Dyrdek runs his many entrepreneurial ventures. It also features a large indoor skate plaza, Rob’s personal office with “bat cave” parking garage, a foam pit, and numerous basketball hoops in various places around the inside of the factory. He also built a “hands of God” music studio for his cousin “Drama” Pfaff inside the factory. During the course of the first season, he also opened his first SafeSpot SkateSpot with the sponsorship of Carl’s Jr. During the grand-opening, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode with Dyrdek on the world’s largest skateboard. Dyrdek was also featured in the video games skate. and Skate 2, along with “Big Black”. During the days of Rob & Big, they featured an episode of Rob and Big Black actually going to the EA building to shoot for the game. In Skate 2, the player is able to purchase an early version of the Fantasy Factory on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store as an add-on, allowing the player to skate within the factory premises. He made a movie Entitled “Street Dreams” in 2009