In a rumpled T-shirt and scuffed sneakers, the 18-year-old skateboarder seems on the surface like any other local kid hanging out at the skatepark. His demeanor is cool and detached and his board -- a low-end generic model -- is splintered and cracked from long hours of use.

But as soon as he jumps on his old board, Tanori commands attention.

Photo by Aaron Selbig Jorge Tanori ollies down a flight of stairs during a July 10 skate session at the Homer skatepark.

"He's awesome. He knows all the cool moves," said 9-year-old Dawson Felde on a recent Friday afternoon at the skatepark, as he backed his bicycle up to give Tanori a wide berth.

As Tanori takes on his first obstacle -- a 6-foot metal rail down a set of stairs -- his easy, friendly smile gives way to an intense concentration, the product of many hours of perfecting dozens of flip and grind tricks.

"I remember when I was 13, I begged my mom for a skateboard. She kept saying I was going to break my head but she eventually got me one," said Tanori.

Tanori began honing his skills right away, mastering the array of obstacles at the skatepark and even getting in some skate time in the winter wherever he could, including his native Mexico, where he often visits with his parents.

An all-around athlete who enjoys mountain biking and snowboarding, Tanori got into skating soon after moving to Homer when he was 11.

"I was into soccer and baseball but I got tired of doing the same thing over and over. I tried skating and it got to me. I could do different things every day and develop my own style. I have fun with it every day," he said.

Five years after getting his first board, Tanori is a master of the Nosegrind, the Backside Kickflip and the Frontside Pop Shove-it, among many other tricks.

It was with the Nollie Big Heel -- an extremely difficult trick where the rider's body does a 180-degree rotation while his airborne board spins 360 degrees around the back heel -- that Tanori cemented his place as the undisputed king of the Homer skatepark on July 4 by besting one of his heroes, professional skateboarder Silas Baxter Neal.

Neal is a big time skater. He was Thrasher Magazine's Skater of the Year last year and has a slew of sponsorships from equipment and clothing companies like Spitfire Wheels, Bones Swiss Bearings and Adidas. Habitat Skateboards even produces a line of signature skateboards named for Neal, whose nickname is "Slice."

Neal was in Homer to visit his aunt, Susie Baxter, and graciously agreed to put on an unadvertised, low key "skate jam" for local kids at the skatepark. When Tanori saw a flyer heralding Neal's appearance, he knew he had to show up.

"I have respect for him so I wasn't going to miss it. There were tons of people there, a lot more than usual. It was just a skate session at first but then we played a game of 'skate' against each other, just me and him," said Tanori.

"Skate" is a skateboarding version of basketball's "Horse," where riders try to mimic each other's tricks to avoid picking up a letter "S," a letter "K" and so on.

After trading grinds and flips for a while before an increasingly mesmerized crowd, the game ended up tied at four letters apiece.

That's when Tanori busted out with the Nollie Big Heel.

"I've practiced it by myself a million times. Even in the winter, all I do is flip tricks behind the high school. I knew he wasn't going to be able to do it and as soon as I did it, I told my girlfriend, 'I won,'" said Tanori.

Although Tanori may well have the talent to follow in Neal's footsteps and go pro, he likely would have to leave Homer to do it and that's not something he's prepared to do right now, he said.

"I think I could do it if I wanted to but I really like it here. I just plan to keep skating and learning. To me, it's not about the money. It's about doing what you love to do," said Tanori.

Aaron Selbig can be reached at aaron.selbig.@homernews.com.