Now onto another Tarheel state business.

Tom Risser isn't your typical CEO.

This fourth generation owner of US Bottler's Machinery has spent decades prioritizing people over profits, all while staying true to his love of skateboarding.

From building skate parks to creating welding art, Risser inspires others to embrace creativity and authenticity.

"Carolina Impact's" Chris Clark has more.

(upbeat music begins) - [Chris] Picture the typical CEO.

Crisp suit, polished shoes, and a corner office that whispers tradition.

(record scratches) Now toss that image out the window and meet Tom Risser.

- If you don't mess up, you're not going fast enough.

- [Chris] The president of US Bottlers Machinery is anything but conventional.

- To me, it's a breath of fresh air.

- [Chris] In a city where creativity flows, the man at the helm of this bottling empire is right at home on four wheels.

- I'm a traditional engineer.

To venture off into being more creative was kind of an awkward sense.

(upbeat music begins) - [Chris] Tom comes from a long line of engineers, but he's the renegade sketch in the family blueprint.

The story begins back in 1906, when his great-grandfather co-founded US Bottlers Machinery company in Chicago, building machines that package glass bottles.

The business passed down through his grandfather and father, each generation adding its own innovations along the way.

- Plastic bottles came along, so glass wasn't as popular, developed some technology for that.

He started being able to do those containers in high speed, at the time, say 250 bottles a minute, 300 bottles a minute.

Today we go over 11-1200 bottles a minute.

(upbeat music continues) - [Chris] In the 70s, Tom's father needed to expand the business and Chicago was off the table.

The choice came down to Little Rock, Arkansas or Charlotte.

And a 16-year-old Tom, obsessed with skateboarding, quietly tipped the scales.

- My dad sent me to the library to look up those two towns a little bit.

We went down to Charlotte and there was a skateboard park on South Boulevard.

I was hooked immediately.

So I said to dad, now that wasn't the only reason, but I said, "I think Charlotte sounds like a really good option."

- [Chris] He hit the park as often as he could, but eventually Tom went away to college, graduated from NC State with an engineering degree, marriage followed, then a role working for his dad.

It seemed skating was gone for good, or was it?

A small ramp in his parents' place sparks something bigger.

- And we bought five acres out in Waxhaw, and I would stare into the woods and my wife said, "What are you doing?"

I go, "Man, we could put like a ramp over here."

And she said, "How about over here, on the other side of the property, like where the septic field is?"

You know?

And when your wife says it's okay, you just go to Home Depot and start getting plywood.

(upbeat music continues) - [Chris] Within five years, Tom had constructed the world's largest continuous skateboard ramp, a sprawling masterpiece that quickly became the stuff of legend.

Didn't take long for word to get out, drawing the titans of the sport, eager to experience the underground marvel for themselves.

- You come home one day and that bus, Tony Hawk's bus and ESPN is parked outside your driveway, and you're like, okay.

It's like Michael Jordan coming over and saying, "You wanna shoot some hoops?"

- [Chris] Since then, he's brought numerous skate parks to life for the public, like the one in Waxhaw, but his true passion lies at Whip Snake, his skating haven, where creativity and adrenaline weave seamlessly into every curve and ramp.

- The best advice is to walk this park first to see what transition leads to the other transition on the opposite side.

And you could be dealing with three feet on one side, six feet to death on the other.

Whether there's 20 people out here or it's just me and Tom, it's like there's always a sense of joy, sense of solitude, sense of you're challenging yourself, you're pushing each other to achieve things maybe you once did as a kid, maybe you are just learning again.

- [Chris] Tom doesn't leave that passion at the park.

He carries it with him to work, fueling another artistic pursuit.

Welding.

- My wife bought me a little sort of a tiny sculpture based on a photograph of me doing a hand plant as a skateboarder.

And she gave it to me as a present.

And I was fascinated by how this thing was constructed and I wondered if I could do something like that.

- [Chris] The short answer was yes, but it took some practice.

- I said to one of my welders, "Gimme a 20 minute lesson.

I don't have time to go to school."

So he shows me how to mig weld a little bit.

I find a used NASCAR welder.

I go home, I catch my pants on fire.

- [Chris] Tom has come a long way since his fiery beginnings.

These days he's working on an enormous bear sculpture.

All of these made with leftover metal from his bottling company.

His artistry extends far beyond the factory walls.

His creations bring life to every skate park he's built with sculptures in cities like Pineville, Matthews, Waxhaw, Wilmington, and as far away as France.

- It's just become like this whole rollercoaster whirlwind ride is starting out, and it's never slowed down.

- [Chris] From the custom desk, he designed the artwork adorning every corner of the offices.

Tom's influence is woven into the fabric of the company.

His bold, creative, and boundary pushing mindset shaping its culture.

- It gives you the freedom to act without actually worrying about, am I gonna make a mistake?

- Failure's not fatal.

You've gotta take chances, gamble a little bit, but then learn from those mistakes.

- [Chris] Tom Risser is proof that the best leaders don't just think outside the box, they live there.

Whether he is welding sculptures, designing skate parks, or running a bottling machinery company, his creativity and fearless approach inspire everyone around him.

With a mindset forged by skateboarding and an artist's eye for innovation, he's built more than just a career.

He's built a legacy of passion and possibility.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Chris Clark.