LAKE ELSINORE -- Robert Prado has yet to advance to the professional level in the skateboarding world, but he has one achievement he can claim all to himself.

The 21-year-old received a certificate last week from Guinness World Records that proclaims, "The most skateboard varial heel flips in one minute is 14 and was achieved by Robert Prado (United States) at Lake Elsinore High School, Lake Elsinore, United States, on 8 April 2008."

Just about any achievement imaginable has a record attached to it recognized by Guinness. The organization's Web site features a page with photos of an array of recordholders, including a skateboarder with the most consecutive "frontside ollies." An ollie is the trick of propelling the board forward through the air while keeping the feet on the board.

Yet Prado's record is unique: No one else has a record for varial heel flips.

"There was some (records) for other tricks, but not that," he said. "People will say, 'Oh, you broke a record,' and I say, 'No, I set it.' It's kind of cool to be the first person in the world to do that. Of all people, I never thought it would be me."

While an ollie is a feat in its own right, a varial heel flip takes the art of midair skateboard maneuvers to another level. Prado says it combines a heel flip, which causes the board to completely flip over, with a pop-shove, which spins the board around 180 degrees in midair. Of course, the trick is not complete unless both feet land on the board with the bodyweight balanced to avoid falling off.

"They're two basic tricks," he said. "If you combine them together, it's an advanced trick. … A lot of skaters can't do it, but for some reason, I don't find it difficult."

Prado does numerous tricks, including "jumping stairs" and "grinding handrails" as demonstrated by several videos on YouTube. See his videos at youtube.com/mrrobertprado. Several tricks caught on video are spectacular, including a 16-stair jump. Yet the varial heel flip is his calling card.

"That's like his go-to trick, his trademark trick," said Elliott Mittry, the skate team manager at Jays Boardshop in Temecula.

Said skateboard partner and videographer Lewis Gifford, of Huntington Beach: "A lot of people can do them, but he sticks with that trick more than a normal person does. … He's really good at it, probably the best I've seen."

The record-setting sequence is also featured on YouTube and, as evidenced by the video, it's a feat of endurance as well as agility. Prado said it took him four hours to work up to 14 consecutive flips, which he did in 51 seconds before failing on the 15th attempt.

"My legs felt like jelly after I did it," he said.

While Prado has yet to be paid cash for his prowess, his skill and dedication have garnered him sponsorships from Jays as well as six other companies in the skateboard gear business, including Descarte Skateboards, which supplies his boards.

"He's got a chance to go somewhere, definitely, as long as he stays motivated, like he is," Mittry said.

As Prado did a demonstration of his varial heel flip technique Monday inside Jays to avoid the rain, longtime owner Jay Austin took notice.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely good," Austin said.

Prado said he got hooked on skateboarding as a teenager while growing up in Antioch, a town in the East Bay Area.

"I liked the feeling I would get whenever I would accomplish a trick, whenever I'd land something," he said. "All the stuff I do now, I never thought I could do when I was a kid."

Though he never had a knack for team sports, the skating seemed to come to him naturally, he said. His parents have been supportive and helped him pay for equipment, as long as he kept his grades up and stayed out of trouble, he added.

The occupational hazards of trick skateboarding include running afoul of the law in places where such activities are discouraged, and broken bones, both of which Prado has been able to avoid, he said. He frequents spots that are well-known for skateboarding activities, especially among professionals, and never attempts a feat he hasn't worked up to achieving.

After moving to Lake Elsinore with his family about three years ago, he was increasingly exposed to the skateboarding community.

"I like being between Los Angeles and San Diego," he said. "Southern California is like a skateboarding mecca. That's where a lot of skaters live and where a lot of videos are shot."

To date, self-produced videos have been his main form of exposure. He manages to squeeze in his skateboarding practice and videotaping while not working at his job at Sports Authority or attending classes at Mt. San Jacinto College's Menifee campus.

He said he originally did the varial heel flip video as a challenge to himself to demonstrate how many he could do consecutively. He subsequently had the idea to submit the video to Guinness, when he couldn't find such a record listed among the skateboarding accomplishments.

Because he didn't want to pay for fast-track processing with no guarantee of a result, he went the slow, free route, and the certificate arrived 10 months later. It was accompanied by a congratulations letter, which also cautioned there was no guarantee his record would actually make it into Guinness' annual records book.

"Even if I don't become a professional, at least I have videos to show my kids someday and I have a certificate from Guinness World Records."

He said he hopes the record will provide more exposure for him, as well as for Lake Elsinore and the region's skateboarding community.

"I think it will hopefully influence more people to go do something like that," said Mittry of Jays Boardshop. "I'm hoping Robert … getting into the record book will influence more kids to try it."

As for other skaters potentially breaking his record, Prado said: "Well, I hope they do, because that will motivate me to do more."

Contact Michael J. Williams at(951) 676-4315, Ext. 2635, or mwilliams@californian.com.