MTV taps O.C.

At 18, most kids wouldn’t know where to start when it came to decorating their new pad.

Then again, at 18, most kids probably wouldn’t have their own pad to decorate.

Skateboarding phenomenon Ryan Sheckler, star of the MTV show “The Life of Ryan” was shopping for furniture at Z Gallerie in South Coast Plaza Thursday, while the MTV cameras were rolling for a future episode of the teen’s reality show.

Sheckler was hoping to purchase his dream house in San Clemente later that afternoon — a 4,000-square-foot, 5-bedroom, 4-bath home complete with game and media room.

Sheckler said he was excited to be shopping for his new house, and while he knew he wanted a contemporary, modern look, had no idea where to start.

Why did he settle on Z Gallerie?

“At my mom’s house, everything in there is from Z Gallerie,” Sheckler said. “That house feels like home, so I’m going to try to bring a little bit of Z Gallerie to my home.”

Sheckler’s second season on “The Life of Ryan” will follow him as he leaves home, begins to focus more on his skating career and lives on his own with Casey and Mitch, the two friends featured on the show with him.

Sheckler got on a skateboard for the first time at 18 months old and turned professional at the age of 13, in 2003.

He has dominated the sport ever since, and his name has become synonymous with skateboarding.

“It’s good to be in the position that I’m at, because I’ve said for so long that this is where I want to be. When people think about skateboarding, I want them to think of Ryan Sheckler. I just want to keep going.”

Sarah Kane produces “Life of Ryan” and said the show’s star has “matured incredibly” over the last year.

Sheckler had to deal with his parents’ divorce on national television, something that goes along with the territory when you open your lives up to public scrutiny, Kane said.

This season, Kane said Sheckler will try to figure out how to balance everything in his life as he’s growing up. He’s got his skating career, his family, relationship issues and his house.

“You’ll see a whole different, mature side of this kid. He’s still a teenager, though, and he said that he feels this show is a kind of therapy for him.

“He’s been open, and we’ve pushed him to say more and more things. He’s rising to meet the challenge,” Kane said.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at [email protected].