Skateboarder extraordinaire and teen heartthrob Ryan Sheckler returns to MTV to “grind” his way through a second season beginning Tuesday, January 8 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Viewers will have the opportunity to become more familiar with Ryan’s world as he skates full-time while juggling his responsibilities back home through episodes available on various screens as well as exclusive material online. This Tuesday skater night also will feature the new season of “Rob & Big” at 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

“Life of Ryan” continues to follow super-star athlete Ryan Sheckler as he balances his public life with trying to be a regular teenager in Southern California. As he approaches his 18th birthday and high school graduation, Ryan travels the world showing off his gravity-defying moves. In addition, Ryan takes a more active role in his business ventures, learning the ways of the corporate world. After stepping up to be the man of the house following his parents’ divorce last year, Ryan now prepares to move out on his own for the first time – a difficult decision since he is very close to his two brothers, Shane and Kane. When he isn’t traveling and competing, Ryan enjoys hanging out with his friends Tony, Mitch, Casey and Casey’s girlfriend Taylor – whether it’s going surfing, riding motocross bikes, skating on his personal skate park or looking for the perfect girl.

MTV.com revs up the “Life of Ryan” site (http://lifeofryan.mtv.com) with all-new features, including a chance to catch up with the first season while jamming to the music heard in the episodes at www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/life_of_ryan/series.jhtml. Viewers can find out what Ryan and the cast have been doing since the season one finale with an updated “Meet the Cast” section that has new exclusive photos of the friends and family hanging out around their hometown plus updated bios, beginning December 19. Once the series’ episodes premiere on-air, MTV.com will post the episode online, as well as have a blog for viewers to chat about what they saw. Ryan will write his own personal blog and share his thoughts and give insight into what is happening in his life. The site also will have sneak peeks of what is to come in the next episode.

For fans who want to live the life of a skateboarder, MTV Networks will be unveiling a brand new virtual hoverboard park (www.thevirtualskatepark.vmtv.com) on January 8 – fully equipped with ramps, halfpipes, jumps and rails so fans can showcase their own talents and be rewarded based on their performance all in-world. Weekly missions, contests or events will be held to demonstrate users’ boarding skills and style. Users can also purchase exclusive celebrity hoverboards and limited edition clothing in-world. Plus, the “Life of Ryan” cast will make in-world appearances throughout the season.

The premiere episode of the second season will be offered for free download beginning January 2. Thereafter, “Life of Ryan” episodes will be available for download to own on iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com), Amazon Unbox (http://unbox.amazon.com) and Bit Torrent the day after each episode airs on linear. Viewers have the option to either purchase single episodes or a season pass, with a discounted price being offered to those who purchase early. MTV On Demand also will make the episodes available to view after they air on MTV.

The first season of “Life of Ryan” skated to a strong finish as the most-watched program in its Monday, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT time period among F12-24 across all of television, including broadcast. During the course of the season (8/27-10/15/2007), more than 41 million total viewers (P2+) and 24 million viewers from the P12-34 core audience tuned in to watch Ryan with his family and friends.

Jason Carbone (MTV’s “Run’s House”) serves as Executive Producer for “Life of Ryan” with Sarah Kane (“America’s Next Top Model”) as the Co-Executive Producer. Michael Powers and Lauren Dolgen are the MTV executives overseeing the project.