MTV

Skateboarder Ryan Sheckler Was ‘Borderline Traumatized' in Aftermath of MTV Series

Ryan Sheckler recalls feeling “traumatized" after filming the reality show "Life of Ryan," claiming he was forced to "hurt people's feelings" for ratings

In this Jan. 16, 2015, file photo, Ryan Sheckler attends the MONSTER JAM Event held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
John Salangsang/Invision/AP

Ryan Sheckler wasn't exactly living his best life on the set of "Life of Ryan," his MTV reality show that aired from 2007 to 2008.

More than 10 years later, the pro skateboarder is accusing the production team of name-calling and manipulating his romantic relationships for ratings. On Wednesday, Sheckler opened up on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" about why the TV series "rocked" him to his core.

He said the interference in his relationships was "the last straw" for him.

"That's already a very intimate piece of your life that you don't want people to know about or see," he said. "So, we break up once and then cameras are on, we break up again, cut. Now, the mood's really awkward. And then, you know, they come over to me and they're like, 'Hey, that wasn't enough. We need to do it again.'"

Sheckler, now 31, went on, "And so that's where the show became acting and it became like this thing where it was like, 'This is not what we signed up for and this is not what it started out as.'"

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He added that "Life of Ryan" "broke my heart" and "borderline traumatized me."

"I didn't get into a relationship after the show until I was 25 years old," Sheckler said.

"I didn't want to have to go through a breakup again. I have a heart, man, and I have very strong emotions and I do not like hurting people's feelings... To blatantly have to hurt people's feelings over and over again for the sake of television – for ratings literally – no, it rocked me."

The X Games gold medalist also alleged that his nickname on set became "cryin' Ryan," which he thought was funny at first but not for long.

"They were making fun of me for crying about hearing that my parents were gonna get divorced, and I heard about it on camera," he said. "That was the first time I heard about it. So I cried."

Sheckler didn't identify any crew members by name. E! News has reached out to MTV for comment and hasn't heard back.

Not surprisingly, Sheckler is glad the show ended with three seasons.

"It served its purpose," he said. "I learned the lessons I was supposed to learn from doing it, yeah, I wouldn't take it back either. Bro, I was 17 years old. I was a kid. I was a kid that got an incredible opportunity, was in a very interesting part of my career, where it just seemed to be going up and up and up, and I figured this was the next best step."

In a resurfaced trailer for show, a teenaged Sheckler reflected on how his "love life has crashed."

"Tina's parent don't feel comfortable with my lifestyle... Super frustrating, because all I wanna do is have fun and have a chill girl," he said.

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