Glendale Hts. engineer competes defies nerdy stereotype with extreme skating
Matt Kawahara says there's a stereotype that engineering and athletics don't mix.
“You don't think sports when you hear 'engineer' — you think pocket protector and glasses,” Kawahara said. “And I think that's changing for the better these days. There's a lot of engineers that play sports as well.”
Kawahara, a structural engineer from Glendale Heights, breaks out of the pocket-protector mold this week when he straps on a pair of ice skates to compete in an international daredevil race in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In it, skaters take on a downhill, winding, 1,410-foot track filled with sharp turns, bumps and jumps.
“It's basically like a combination of hockey, downhill skiing, and NASCAR driving all put together into one,” Kawahara said.
He is competing in the Red Bull Crashed Ice: Ice Cross Downhill World Championship Tour. St. Paul is the first of four international stops; the others are in Helsinki, Belfast and Edmonton.
Elimination rounds start today to determine which skaters will compete in the Saturday finals. Only 64 men and 16 women can compete in the final event in St. Paul. Skaters take on the downhill course in groups of four.
Contestants are given points depending on where they placed in each race, and the skater with the most points after the world tour is completed is crowned overall champion.
Kawahara, who attended Glenbard West High School, first strapped on a pair of skates at age 4, and joined a hockey team at 5. Although he played other sports, nothing quite hooked him like hockey. He said growing up, skating and speed has always been his strength.
“I liked hockey the best, so I stuck with that pretty much my whole life,” he said.
Kawahara, 27, has always been into sports, but would not call himself a thrill seeker, even though his participation in the Red Bull competition might say otherwise.
“I certainly do like fast-paced things,” he said, but added, “I don't actively go out looking to jump off cliffs or anything like that.”
Kawahara got a spot in the world championship tour after trying out for a third time. The first time, he did not train but missed qualifying by five hundredths of a second.
“You know, it's like five hundredths of a second,” Kawahara said. “Do a couple of extra sets of squats and I think I could pick that up,” he laughed. “That was without training and after a 70-hour workweek too.”
To train for this week's competition, Kawahara played with his three hockey leagues, ran outdoors to get accustomed to the cold air and hit his downtown Chicago gym.
Although there's a long road ahead before the Saturday finals, Kawahara is just excited for the opportunity to compete.
“I'm just excited to be there and try it out for the first time,” he said. “Should be a cool experience. It's really nothing that I've ever done before.”