today is the birthday of the most dynamic skateboarder ever.
during the 1980s skateboarding was hitting it's second peak and at this time there were only ever 2 names at the top of podium, it was either Tony Hawk or Christian Hosoi.
Where Hawk would rely on impossible technical tricks Hosoi would be flying 15 feet out doing huge methods, japans, judos, madonnas or his signature Christ air.
And he did it with most amazing style and flair.
Most skaters would do a McTwist (an inverted 540 degree spin) about 3 feet out, Christian would rip them 10ft out, imagine that, he'd be 10ft out of a 12ft ramp performing an inverted 540 degree turn and he did this in 1988!
There were 2 clear factions, those who loved the technical and those who loved the flair, I simply loved them both.
There is an amazing documentary called "Rising Son: The Legend of Skateboarder Christian Hosoi" which gives you an insight behind the scenes of simply the most talented skateboarder of all time and perfectly documents his life which is almost impossible to believe, he was basically the David Beckham of skateboarding 20 years earlier.
Hosoi just made everything seem so easy due to his fluid style, even when he'd finish a run he'd fly out the top of the ramp and back onto the platform.
Just as the skateboarding world came back to forefront with the advent of the X Games, Christian was doing meth in Tokyo and denied the invite. Hawk went on to become a superstar and a household name and Christian ended up in prison.
Whilst in prison he found religion and was released on parole early.
thankfully he's clean and skating again, he turns 43 today but I bet he still blazes!
Happy Birthday Hosoi!
No comments:
Post a Comment