While the X Games remain the biggest event of the year, Perkins says that she looks forward to them with mixed emotions.
"It's more, 'Oh shoot, it's the X Games, that's crazy you know,' " she says. "I get excited for it because it's a huge contest, but that's probably the most nerve wracking contest, because if any of my friends want to come, they can be there."
Her sport has come a long ways over the years, and Perkins is proud of the fact that she has been along for the ride.
"Skateboarding in general is growing bigger and bigger," she says. "Women's skateboarding getting into the X Games is huge. There are more girls, and every year the bar gets pushed up another level with the tricks and the stuff the girls are trying. It's becoming quite the sport."
Her hopes, she says, is that skateboarding finds its way into the Olympics sometime in the near future.
"That would be awesome," says the 5-foot-5 skater. "I can't see why skateboarding couldn't be [in the Olympics.]"
When she's not training or competing, Perkins is hard at work fulfilling obligations for her sponsors, which include etnies Girl and World Industries to name a few. Currently, she is hard at work on a team video that World Industries is developing.
"It really proves the type of skater you are with the photos and video parts that you get out," she explains. "Contests are good, but it's not up to you. To get really good footage for this is one of my main goals."
Looking back on her beginnings, Perkins recalls how she felt when she first saw Elissa Steamer, one of the true pioneers of her sport. Today, Perkins (she was also influenced by Rodney Mullen & P.J. Ladd) is living in a surreal world as she often travels the world with her idol.
"I remember saying, 'Oh my God, she's amazing,' " Perkins says of Steamer. "She was who I looked up to. Now it's so weird — I'm traveling the world with her and doing photo shoots and stuff. Sometimes when we're sharing a room I'll say, 'This is actually really weird, I used to look up to you.' We're really good friends now. It's really cool."
Just as Steamer was a positive influence on her life, Perkins has hopes of doing the same for others.
Says Perkins: "Last year at the Australia contest, this girl came up to me and she says, 'You're my idol.' I was just flattered. I think an image is awesome. Some people are like, 'I don't care, grungy, don't really care,' and they're still hung over from the night before of partying. That's just not my thing.
"When I was younger, I looked up to girls skateboarding and I think everyone needs a role model. I hope that the younger girls can look at me and be like, 'She's out at the skate park, skating all the time, always having a smile on her face.' That's what I wanted and what I hope to bring.
"My mom is awesome, and so is my dad, and I think that they have really kept me grounded. I just look at is as I'm blessed to have everything that I have. I'm living my dream right now."
Living that dream includes riding her Yamaha YZ80 motorcycle, surfing, snowboarding and messing with the drums in her spare time.
While she has always lived dangerously for as long as she can remember, Perkins is also quick to realize that her dream could also end at any given moment.
"I just look at it as it can be taken away from me at any second with one injury," she says. "With one crazy injury, I could not be able to skate any longer. I take it day-by-day and look at it as, every day that I can skate, I'm stoked to be skating. When I am going to stop is probably when I can't skate."
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