Pete Thomas Outdoors

Skateboarder Adam Miller back-flips down six stairs (video)

Skateboarder Adam Miller put his gymnastics skills to good use recently while performing a first-ever trick that involved back-flipping from one board at the top of a flight of six stairs to another board waiting at the bottom. (Be sure to check out the slow-motion footage toward the end.)

 

It's described by the Ride YouTube channel as the "first-ever gainer back flip from one skateboard to another down six stairs!" and that's probably accurate.

Regardless, it was an impressive feat and one can only wonder how many painful slams were endured before Miller stuck the landing.

South African skateboarder sought for reckless driving after downhill speed run ends up on YouTube

 

Skateboarders are sure to be impressed when they view footage of Decio Lourenco's recent dash down a steep mountain road in Cape Town, South Africa.

But police are not impressed after watching the YouTube video and, in fact, would like to arrest the skateboarder for reckless driving and, presumably, for breaking the speed limit.

During Lourenco's run down Kloof Nek Rd., he attained a speed of 110 kilometers, or 68 mph, in a 60-kilometer zone.

"We've handed over the matter to traffic officials and want him arrested," JP Smith, the Cape Town official in charge of safety and security, told Reuters on Thursday. "The speed limit is irrelevant. He is seen careening down the road in a reckless and dangerous manner."

The video, titled, "Spoofing the Traffic Camera--Longboarding without Limits," has garnered more than 212,000 views since it was uploaded on Jan. 26.

Check out his run and feel free to offer an opinion.

As for the local skate community, it was not pleased to learn that the police were seeking one of the country's most well-known  skateboarders.

States a post on South Africa's National Skate Collective Facebook page: "The City is trying to shut us down. They want to arrest one of our own, Decio! What do you think we should do? Mass Action? More meetings? Keep hiding from the cops?"

Skateboarder Elliot Sloan sticks first-ever 900 tailgrab

Elliot Sloan joined skateboarding's elite 900 club over the weekend, when he nailed the first-ever 900 tailgrab on the mini-megaramp at the Maloof Money Cup in Kimberly, South Africa.

The trick entails a 900-degree spin ( 2-1/2 rotations) and a one-handed tail-grab during the spin. Sloan easily won the best-trick competition and became only the seventh skateboarder ever to land a 900.

Tony Hawk was first, at the 1999 X Games, when he stuck a 900 on his 11th attempt on a traditional U-shaped vert ramp. Bob Burnquist last summer became the first to land a 900 on a full-scale megaramp.

Others to have landed a 900 (minus the tail-grab) are Georgio Zatoni, Sandro Dias, Alex Perelson and Mitchie Brusco.

The megaramp and mini-mega-ramp feature steep roll-ins and a jump ultimately leading to a quarterpipe wall. Tricks are performed above the wall.

Burnquist, Tweeting on Sloan's feat: "Radicalness at its finest. Congrats Elliot!"

Evan Doherty, 8, is youngest skateboarder to land a 720

 

Evan Doherty is only 8, but already busting moves on a skateboard that many of his older peers cannot pull off.

Doherty recently became the youngest person to land a 720-degree rotation on a vert ramp (see video), capping a summer during which he also nailed a 540 and a McTwist.

Some are referring to him as the future of vert skating, and once he gets more strength in his little legs, he's going to become a force. Stars such as Pierre Luc-Gagnon, Shaun White and Bob Burnquist aren't ready to move over just yet. But they are impressed.

As for the legendary Tony Hawk, on Wednesday morning he tweeted: "Today's news: 8-year-old @evansk8r can do 720's: http://say.ly/fohHSA" RT Please!"

Bob Burnquist reclaims X Games gold in Skateboarding Big-Air; Mitchie Brusco, 14, is fifth

The future of Skateboarding Big-Air may belong to people like 14-year-old Mitchie Brusco, but for now the X Games gold medal belongs to Bob Burnquist. 

Brusco, invited to the X Games after recently becoming only the second person to have landed a 900 on the MegaRamp (Burnquist was the first), finished admirably in fifth place during Friday night's marquee competition at Staples Center in Los Angeles. But it was Burnquist who stole the show and reclaimed a title held for the past two years by perennial rival Jake Brown.

Burnquist, 34, who hobbled into the competition with an array of injuries, took the lead on his second of five runs by performing a switch 180 over the 70-foot gap of the MegaRamp, then sticking a double-grab 540 above the quarterpipe wall. That was good for a score of 92.66, placing him ahead of Adam Taylor.

Burnquist, who won the Big-Air gold in 2007-08, matched his winning score on his fourth run with a switch 540/double-grab 540 combo (see video).

 

Brown, 36, who had been Burnquist's nemesis for the past two years, nailing the winning run at the end of both competitions, was unable to complete a routine on either of his five runs. He fell while attempting a back-flip over the gap on his final run. Taylor ended up in second with a score of 89.66, reaching the podium for the first time in the event. Brazil's Edgard Pereria was third (87.00).

Afterward, Burnquist said he was just happy to have completed a scoring run on an apparatus as difficult as the MegaRamp.

It was a difficult night indeed, as only six full routines were completed -- two by Burnquist -- out of 40 attempts by the eight finalists.

As for Bruscoe, the youngest competitor at the X Games, he turned in an admirable fifth-place performance, on the merit of a backside 36 over the gap, to a 540 over the quarterpipe wall.

Bruscoe, who stands only 5 feet 1 and weighs just 95 pounds, was not disappointed with his performance against the daredevil sport's luminaries. He told sideline reporter Jenn Brown: "I'm feeling good. I didn't expect to do anything; I'm just happy to be here."

Fans can expect a lot more from "Little Tricky" in the years to come.

Pierre-Luc Gagnon training in MMA to stay in skating shape

How do the world's top vert skateboarders stay in shape for the grueling jam sessions they must endure at major competitions?

For perennial X Games star Pierre-Luc Gagnon, mixed martial arts training is playing an increasingly important role in conditioning.

The video shows PLG explaining his craft, and how MMA helps him perform at a top level, at the Tiger Muay Thai facility in Phuket, Thailand. The interview was after he edged Bob Burnquist to claim a gold medal on the mini-megaramp at X Games Asia. It's a bit long, but PLG fans won't mind:

 

Expansion of X Games a reflection of mainstream acceptance

The announcement Tuesday by ESPN that the X Games will expand from two major events in the United States to six global events staged annually underscores how deeply action sports have penetrated mainstream youth culture.

As part of the "Global X" initiative, expansion will occur in 2013, with Los Angeles and Aspen, Colo., remaining as venues for summer and winter competitions, respectively. Tignes, France, will be a second Winter X Games location, and the remaining venues will be determined through a competitive bidding process that began Tuesday. (Host cities will be announced sometime next year.)

Scott Guglielmino, ESPN's senior vice president in charge of programming, called this the biggest announcement regarding the X Games since ESPN announced the event's debut in 1995. He added that each of the six events will showcase local culture and "have its own kind of flare."

Travis Pastrana, an 11-time X Games gold medalist and arguably the world's most popular action sports athlete, said the expansion reflected the booming growth and mainstream acceptance of action sports.

"It used to be that schoolteachers and parents and other people with a big influence on kids were saying there's no future in it," said Pastrana, a freestyle motocross legend and rally racing star. "You found, really, that the true passion in action sports comes from that, but what's awesome is that it's now accepted more socially.

"It's giving kids the opportunity to really chase their dreams and parents the opportunity to see that these are legitimate sports with real money [involved]. And at the same time it's still core and fun. I'm super pumped about the expansion."

X Games competitions have been held abroad in recent years but as lower-profile events. Under the Global X plan all six events will be similar in size and scope, and a website will be created to devote year-round coverage to all things related to the events.

Unlike the U.S. Dew Tour, a summer and winter action sports series run by NBC, each Global X event will be stand-alone, with no points or standings determining a series winner. Each, Guglielmino said, will be regarded as a major, like the PGA Tour's four majors.

The bidding process will begin next year and the most likely scenario is that there will be four summer and two winter Global X events, but it's possible that there will be three summer and three winter competitions.

Core sports will remain the same at each venue. For example, the gargantuan mega-ramp, used for immensely popular big-air skateboarding and BMX competitions, will be featured at each summer venue.

But it's also possible, according to X Games creator Ron Semiao, that sports will be added at specific venues where certain sports are important to a specific area's culture. For example, if Australia were to land an X Games, surfing might be added as a discipline for that event.

Semiao does not believe the expansion, which will include 130 hours of live programming for the six events, is a gamble. Rather, he said, the timing is perfect because action sports have worked their way into the mainstream youth culture to the point where they're as accepted, if not more so, than traditional sports.

"You now have a situation where if you go into a teen's garage, you will see a football and a basketball and a baseball and a snowboard and a dirt bike, a BMX bike and a skateboard along with a soccer ball," Semiao said. "They are all part of sports and have worked their way into the generally accepted sports culture, particularly with youth."

The timing of the expansion comes shortly after it was announced that freeskiing halfpipe competitions -- staple X Games events for men and women -- will debut at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Freeskiing star Sarah Burke acknowledged that her already busy schedule will become more hectic, but said she'd work the X Games competitions into her itinerary. "The X Games has always been the main one; the dream that everyone strives to be part of," she said. "I know it's going to be the top event on everyone's schedule and they'll make room for it. And I think everyone's really excited to see how it goes."

-- Travis Pastrana image (top) courtesy of Dom Cooley/Shazamm/ESPN Images. Sarah Burke image courtesy of C. Van Hanja / ESPN Images

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Tony Hawk turns 43, shows he can still nail a 900

The legendary Tony Hawk is best known for becoming the first skateboarder to stick a 900 during a competition--a trick so difficult that it required 11 attempts during the 1999 X Games, for an athlete who had seen the trick play out in his mind for 10 years.

The trick, which entails 2 1/2 rotations above the vert ramp wall, inspired future generations of skateboarders and other action sports athletes to persevere and progress their sports to astonishing new levels.

Hawk, meanwhile, remains an inspiration. Over the weekend, during a demo tour in Sweden, he nailed another 900, and the big deal this time is that he is now the oldest person to have performed the trick. "I'm 43 and I did a 900 today in Linkoping, Sweden," he tweeted. "Yes, I still skate as much as ever." Here's the proof:

 

Tony Hawk tops Shaun White in video game sales

One is an action sports legend past his prime athletically, and the other is a reigning superstar. But it's clear that Tony Hawk remains at least as popular as Shaun White, and a strong indication is that Hawk still rules the video game market.

Hawk is presently reaping benefits from sales of his 11th skate game: "Tony Hawk: Shred," released last October by Activision. More than 270,000 copies have been sold, according to the market research firm, The NPD Group.

White, who has made three snowboarding videos with Ubisoft, is enjoying considerably less success with his debut skate game: "Shaun White Skateboarding," which has sold an estimated 120,000 copies.

Hawk, 42, thoroughly dominated vert skating in the 1990s -- in 1999 he became the first skateboarder to land a 900 during a competition. His incredible fame, however, comes from his line of video games, which have generated more than $1 billion for Activision.

"I think that my games are synonymous with skateboarding because they were the first ones to create the genre," Hawk told the Hollywood Reporter.

White the snowboarder dominates halfpipe competitions the way Hawk used to dominate vert ramp competitions. He's a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner and last week won his fourth consecutive Winter X Games competition.

White's snowboarding video games have sold more than three million copies and he apparently takes the same approach while helping to develop his games as he does in competition: seriously, but all in good fun.

"I still can't believe Ubisoft pays me to make video games," White, 24, told ESPN.

White the skateboarder is an X Games gold medalist and one of the world's top vert skaters. His skateboarding game is the first in the action sports genre to be available in stereoscopic 3D on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

He told Hollywood Reporter: "Whether you're watching a 3D movie or playing a 3D game, this technology is exciting because it makes you actually feel like you're the only one there being a part of the action, and it sucks you into the experience."

In a sense Hawk has invaded White's turf. His "Shred" game includes skateboarding and snowboarding elements. "I've been snowboarding since before Shaun was born," Hawk said.

Of the game, which targets kids 6-12, he added: "We're moving into a more interactive mode of playing with the actual board peripheral. Players standing on the board become more immersed in the game."

Both skateboarders/entrepreneurs, who are friends, have something else in common: Hollywood aspirations. White will appear as himself in the comedy "Friends with Benefits," starring Mila Kunis Emma Stone and Justin Timberlake and scheduled for a summer release .

Hawk will star as himself in the skateboarding flick "Dream Seller" with Bam Margera, due to be released later this year.

-- Pete Thomas

-- Screen shots are from "Tony Hawk: Shred" and "Shaun White Skateboarding," respectively

-- Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

-- Editor's note: A version of this post appears on the GrindTv.com skate blog

Skateboarding school helps to empower kids in Afghanistan

Amid the fighting and poverty in Afghanistan, within a country torn apart by war and spilling over with uncertainty, a small but growing number of young people ride skateboards.

They share a common passion. They skate as a means of building relationships and to forget about -- if only for brief periods -- the bombings and other harsh realities that are part of so many young Afghan lives.

 

Two of these skateboarders -- Murza and Fazila -- are subjects of a documentary produced earlier this year and recently released online (posted below), entitled "Skateistan: To Live and Skate in Kabul." The film, directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel, provides a glimpse of a hard life in a hard place, through the eyes of the skateboarders.

Skateistan is a co-ed school with a current enrollment of 320 students. It was established 13 months ago with the purpose of engaging and empowering urban and displaced youths through classroom instruction and skateboarding.

The idea was born after Australians Oliver Percovich and Sharna Nolan visited Kabul with skateboards in 2007, set the boards down became surrounded by dozens of curious kids.

They co-founded Skateistan in October of 2009 and today dedicated teachers and volunteers provide schooling and skateboarding lessons on property donated by the Afghan National Olympic Committee.

Skateistan, which is funded largely through private donations and operates on a shoestring budget, strives to share positive stories about Afghan youth though various media platforms. "Skateistan: To Live and Skate in Kabul," is one example.

In the documentary Murza, 17, talks about having grown numb to a lifetime of violence and about his former job washing cars, often in freezing temperatures, to make ends meet.

That was before he attended Skateistan. He now works there, helping to maintain the wooden ramps and teaching new students how to skate.

"Skating has become a habit and I'm addicted to it," he says in the film. "If I don't skate, I become ill. Life is hard in Kabul. It is solely because of the support of Skateistan that I am standing now."

Surprisingly, given Kabul's recent hard-line governance by the Taliban, more girls are becoming part of the Skateistan program.

Fazila, 12, works on the street selling chewing gum, but is also a student. "Life is hard for me personally because my family is poor and sometimes we can't afford enough to eat," she says. "[But] at Skateistan I don't feel that my surroundings are ruined, I feel as though I'm in a nice place."

Her father does not support her new hobby. Neither do many adults throughout Kabul look favorably upon kids -- especially girls -- rolling around the streets on skateboards.

But as other societies have long-since learned, it's not easy to dissuade separate passionate skaters from their boards. "Their opinions are meaningless to me," Fazila says. "I really like skating and I won't stop."

Murza closes the documentary by expressing, pensively, his thoughts about the future during the post-Taliban era, and of the need to rebuild Afghanistan and find peace.

"I don't want war anymore," he says, as he and his friends skate off and into the distance, down ruble-strewn streets.

-- Pete Thomas

-- Images show Skateistan students Murza (top) and Sabrina riding the ramps at the school facility. Both are courtesy of Skateistan

Editor's note: This post also apears on the GrindTv.com skate blog