"[1] Willy Monolato Santos was born in a military base in Subic Bay, Philippines around 1975.
[2][6][7] When his father was transferred by the Navy, his family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas when he was one year old and to San Diego, California when he was two.
[2] When he was in the eleventh grade, he was heavily recruited and was asked to join skateboarding teams by Tony Hawk, Plan B Skateboards, Rodney Mullen, Steve Rocco and Mike Ternasky of World Industries.
[5][2] He joined Tony Hawk as one of the original riders for Birdhouse Skateboards in 1992[3][2] and was given a used Honda Accord as part of his sponsorship deal.
[8][2] Santos suggested then-amateurs Andrew Reynolds and Matt Beach for the Birdhouse team.
[4] He placed third in the first X Games Street Contest in Rhode Island in 1997, competing against Tony Hawk.
[7] After almost 25 years, he left Birdhouse to form his own skateboard company, Willys Workshop in Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, California.