Born and raised in California, Derek Parra’s first passion was not for ice or snow but for inline skating, and he did anything he could to hone his skills, including working at a nearby rink in order to earn extra admission time to hone his skills. He was so successful that he became one of the world's top inline skaters, winning US and world titles. But he was keen to push himself further, so he decided to harness his raw speed and technical ability and switch to the ice. Inline skating was out, and, from 1996, speed skating was in.