Chris Culotta, also known as DJ Bird, has been skateboarding for more than half of his life. He’s been able to turn his passion into his passion project with the creation of local skateboard company Heartthrob Skateboards.

The company will be celebrating its fourth birthday this year. To commemorate the milestone, Culotta and others will be hosting an anniversary party this Saturday.

Culotta said the company was born when he found himself jobless after a bookstore he was working at closed for business. He said he followed the age-old saying of “do what you love and money will follow,” and Heartthrob is the product of his zeal for skateboarding.

“I wasn’t really willing to, you know, work another job,” Culotta said. “So I tried my hand at entrepreneurship… and four years later, I’m still doing it.”

The skate shop has expanded to a national level with out-of-state accounts in places like California, Kansas and Pennsylvania. It has also seen increased sales of skateboards and developed a skilled crew of skateboarders or “riders,” who have placed in national competitions around the country.

“That’s what the party is about. Not only to celebrate the company, but to celebrate each rider’s accomplishments through the year, and to just kind of celebrate them as a family,” Culotta said.

The celebration will consist of a “skate jam” session during the day at the BREC Perkins Road Skate Park. Culotta said he hopes to encourage the public to come out and meet the team while everyone skates together. He said the jam will begin around 1 p.m. and will last until about 5 or 6 p.m.

The party continues with a late-night fête at Mud and Water, a newly opened bar near The 13th Gate, and it will feature glam-rock band The Glitter Boys from Hattiesburg, who Culotta described as “the ultimate party band.” He also said costumes are encouraged but not required.

“It’s celebrating the fact that you can do something with skateboarding. It’s not just a toy or a board with wheels on it. It’s another creative outlet,” Culotta said.

Mud and Water’s doors open at 9 p.m. and the band will start about an hour or so later. Admission is $10 for ages 20 and under, $8 for 21 and up.

“It’s celebrating the fact that you can do something with skateboarding. It’s not just a toy or a board with wheels on it. It’s another creative outlet.”