JOCKS RULE
CHRIS SHARMA
Sport: Professional rock climber
Age: 25
Lives in: Based in Santa Cruz
Bragging rights: One of the best-known and respected climbers in the world.
Starting point: “My mom took me to the climbing gym when I was 13. I was always climbing trees; she thought I’d like it.”
Afraid of heights?: “Sometimes. If you start from the bottom and you go up slowly, you adjust. If you go from the top, it’s shocking.”
When he’ll quit: “It’s something you can do your whole life.”
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JOHN POUCHER
Sport: Aspiring pro golfer. Has played mini-tours--”kind of like minor league baseball”--since graduating from UCLA in 2006.
Age: 24
Lives in: Santa Barbara
Bragging rights: Winning the 2003 Fall Preview at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.
Weirdest course: “Stevenson, Calif. It’s a nice course in the middle of farms. The closest hotel is 30 miles away and the population is like 700.”
Zen: “I’m kind of an introvert. It’s just you. You’ve got to play the course.”
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MIKE ROSA
Sport: Professional skateboarder
Age: 27
Lives in: Hollywood
Bragging rights: Has appeared in skateboard movies “Minority Report” and “High Grade Blend.”
L.A. moment: “Skating the Department of Water and Power building downtown. It’s full stealth army-style to get in there.”
Craziest stunt: “Two years ago I broke my arm and I didn’t want to go to the hospital because I didn’t want to pay the bills, so my friend made me a cast out of shoe boxes and duct tape. I wore it till my arm got better.”
Age he’ll quit: “When I can’t walk.”
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KEVIN BORZENSKI
Sport: Tennis
Age: 23
Lives in: Calabasas
Bragging rights: Member of the 2006 NCAA championship team at Pepperdine.
Favorite L.A. moment: “When we beat UCLA at their place, and they were the defending national champions.”
Craziest stunt: “My freshman year I played a match at Duke. I ended up winning, but in the course of it the soles of my shoes came apart at the threading. My coach had the same size and took his shoes off and threw them at me --I played with his shoes.”
Age he’ll quit: “There is no way I can stop--plus it’s fun.”
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RORY SUTHERLAND
Sport: Professional cyclist for Health Net Maxxis, the No. 1 U.S. team in 2006.
Age: 25
Lives in: Redlands
Bragging rights: Moved from Australia to Belgium to race for the Rabobank team. Competed in the 2005 Tour of Italy.
Starting line: Before the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, “there was a program to find athletes who were genetically suited for certain sports. They said I should do rowing or cycling.”
Zen: “In choosing to come to the U.S. to race instead of Europe, I believe I have chosen quality of life, as opposed to just chasing money.”