Skateboarding

The Infestation: Welcome to the world of Skateboarding, enter Chris Cole

In the world of action sports and skateboarding, athletes have to strive to make it just like the athletes who play the most prominent sports. Chris Cole was born on March 10, 1982 in the town of Statesville, North Carolina. In 1990, at the age of eight, Chris Cole made a decision that would forever alter his life. Cole wanted to be a professional skateboarder.

The 90's were a perfect time to get into skateboarding as it was slowly being resurrected and brought into the limelight again as it was lead by a slew of skaters that considered to be the golden age of skateboarding. There was Bob Burnquist, Bukey Lasek, Rune Glifberg, Chad Muska, and or course Tony Hawk.

Despite the odds of getting noticed, Cole went against the grain and reached for the stars. He wasn't your ordinary skateboarder, Cole was 6'1'' and 186 pounds. Some conisider it to be weird combination for a skateboarder, But Cole kept grinding sort to speak.

In 1993, Cole started competing in competitions at the age of 11. He would compete for seven more years until he turned pro in 2000. He would go on the prove his worth in Demo Skate Night in Washington D.C. Chris Cole's break would come when he entered the 2005 X-Games.

He participated in the skate street competition. Cole wanted to leave his mark, he was ready to show the skating world who is Chris Cole. The challenge was thrown and Cole accepted. Cole would go on to finish in 3rd place earning the gold medal.

His performance gained praise from some of greatest skateboards to ever skate including skateboard legend Jamie Thomas. Cole continue to shred the streets from California, Florida, and Pennsylvania practically skating all over the nation. He won competitions all over the nation and skated in tours as well.

Though his popularity and fan base was growing Cole was still nervous when he competes. Chris Cole also earned gold medals at the Gravity Games and best trick at Tampa Pro skating competition.

More victories would come in the likes of the Vans Downtown Showdown in L.A. and Hammers vs Bangers in Ohio. Thrasher Magazine would dub Cole the skater of the year in 2005.

He was featured in a 16 page spread in the June 2005 edition of Skateboard Mag. Fallen, a skateboard sponsor signed Chris Cole and his career took off once more to great heights. Soon Cole became the face of Fallen and was the first skater to have a signature shoe for the company.

Cole was featured in a slew of Fallen videos ranging from New Blood, Fallen Thunder, Rise With The Fallen, and Ride The Sky. He was even featured in the final part of the Zero or die video.

Cole went head to head with 19 other skaters around the country in an extreme no holds barred competitions and face offs that culminated with the King of the Road DVD.

He moved from North Carolina to Pennsylvania a while after his marriage. 2006 would be the year for the man they call Chris Cole. His fan base was able to match those of the legendary skaters.

Many fans dubbed him Chris Cole the "Fallen Angel" for his gracefulness on the surfaces that he skates on. Skate legend Jamie Thomas continued to praise Cole and stated that Cole can skate on terrain whether it's a rail, a curb, a bank, a ditch, a ledge, a quarterpipe, and finished up with stating that Cole can do anything.

He won skater of the year for 2006 and he earned the honors with one heck of a year. His proudest moment came when he demented himself in X-Games history at X-games 12 in 2006, where he won the gold medal for best trick by landing a 360 Double Flip.

Chris Cole continues to skate today and continues to amaze. He's happily married. He went on to attempt a Tre-flip over three sets of stairs, which he landed after numerous attempts. You can view it here. In 2008, Cole went head to head with skate street prodigies Paul Rodriguez, and Ryan Sheckler.

X-Games Skate Street 2008: Session 1, Session 2,  Street Final

Did Cole take the gold? The Chris Cole Infestation has just begun.

Writers Needed For Extreme Sports Community

Ladies and gentlemen, sportwriters of all ages, B/R is a place we love to spread our ideas, share our opinions and manifest our passion through writing and leaving comments. There are many communities from the NFL, NBA, MLB, Tennis, F1, NHL, NASCAR, and the Wrestling community, my main community.

I venture off into other communities as I'm fond of many sports. I know writers out there have written for other communities as well. One day, I published an article for the X-Games and noticed that there wasn't an Extreme Sports community.

I must have not been cognizant, but now I am. I've taken this to the B/R big guys and they've made a proposition for me and hopefully the community. If at least five guys agree to join the community, we can get it going and the Extreme Sports community will join B/R's other communities. We all have a good sense of what Extreme Sports are, but just in case, I'll touch the surface.

Skateboarding

Tony Hawk is one of the most legendary men of the sport and is hands down the Michael Jordan of skateboarding. Since his 90's era, skateboarding has come back to life from the days of Tony Alva.

A slew of young men aspire to rule the sport and they have their own World Series, Wimbledon, Daytona 500, NBA Finals, Masters, Wrestlemania, and it's called the X-Games. The Games are covered by ESPN and the boys come out to play.

Tony Hawk Lands The First Ever 900

BMX

Everyone knows cycling right? We know Lance Armstrong, but what about Extreme cycling? Have you ever seen a man rotate his bike five times in the air without neither hand on the bike handle?

I have and it's called the No-hand 900. It's been done by BMX legend Matt Hoffman. Dave Mirra was another star in BMX and the moves these guys pull off will blow away minds.

No-Handed BMX 900

Moto X

We've seen dirt bikes right? Have you guys ever seen men go across entire arenas doing death-defying stunts on motorbikes? These men are true dare devils as their lives are on the lives.

When you ask if they do it for the fans or themselves, some respond with they do it for themselves. Travis Pastrana is a legend in Moto X. He was the first man to successfully land a double backflip on a motorbike. The move is known too.

Double Backflip

Snowboarding/Skiing

When summer ends and snowstorms come out, do you think Extreme sports are done for the year? Heavens no! The winter X-Games come into play. Skiing and Snowboarding are taken to the next level. Shaun White is a extreme sport prospect. He skateboards and snowboards.

In some eyes, he's the next Hawk. This would be equivalent to LeBron James or Adrian Peterson, or the young and upcoming Tampa Bay Rays MLB team. With all the snow and no wheels you would think that people wouldn't be going to the extreme right? Wrong. Shaun White has rotated further than the 900 and landed the 1080. But have you seen 1260? How many spins is that? Watch and find out.

Shaun White Lands 1260

There's also surfing amongst other extreme sporting. These sports defy gravity. These sports cover land, air, and sea. It isn't about what you can do, but doing what you can't do. I am very optimistic about this new community, but it'll only happen with the help of writers who want to contribute to the Extreme Sports community.

ESPN, NBC and ABC are three big broadcasting networks cover extreme sporting throughout the year and the things we'll see are phenomenal. I'll leave a preview of 2009's X-Games. You can view it here. Comments at the bottom any anyone is welcome to join the community.

It is now possible to have your own awesome art printed onto skateboards. This new process has revolutionized the industry—one that was mainly an extension of the very crowded t-shirt screen printing market.

With these new advances, it gives printers and artists the ability to have their boards printed at low quantities due to the digital process. Digital art is then heat pressed to the blank board or applied with adhesives.

This process allows printers low-risk, quick turnaround, and easy production. Unlike screenprinting which requires intense manual labor and switching of different colored screens, digital skateboarding printing is fast, easy, and low cost.

The digital revolution first made way into many staple consumer goods products, eventually making its way into skateboarding. The strict counter-culture idealism
associated with skateboarding was quick to embrace the ideals and individuality provided by the unique production method.  

With the embrace of the new technology emerged a largely uni-lateral on-line skate community, seeking to band together in one place.

The skateboarding industry was dominated by pro-series decks, pushed into mainstream skate culture though the large skate companies. Due to the few other options for amateur riders, this quickly became the norm for all levels.

Yet, this failed to account for the uniqueness of skateboarding in its ability to embody more than just skateboarding as an activity, but rather as a lifestyle.  

Custom skateboarding goes hand in hand with this emerging technology, allowing riders the inherent individuality so closely associated with the skateboarding movement.

As the technology continues to grow, we can expect to see more advancements in other sectors of the skateboarding industry, such as wheels, helmets, and bearings.

Furthermore, the ability for amateur riders to connect all over the world will enable new influencers and riders for beginning boarders to admire, putting less emphasis on the few pro riders.

Sites like Deckpeck and others have made it extremely easy for consumers to get their boards printed—providing a completely facilitated process and payment system. With the revolution in the skateboarding industry, it allows an increased emphasis on individuality as riders for the first time have the ability to completely customize their boards.

Spring is here...well sort of. I've been itching for some good weather. With good weather comes more outside sporting and events. We're a while away from August, but I'm already looking forward to the X-Games.  Who'll be the hit misses. Who to be on the lookout for? I've got me eye on a couple of things.

Skateboard Street

Ryan Sheckler and Paul Rodriguez are always the favorites for Skateboard Street, but I don't really watch it. Hasn't been the same since Rodney Mullen and Chad Muska. I'm on the lookout for Chris Cole, he looks very promising.

Bob Burnquist

Brazilians stand up, Bob is a living miracle. A man who took so many falls and crashes and he's still going strong. This is one of the few legends still around since Tony Hawk and the golden era.

Last year, Bob did his thing again with one heck of 720 degree rodeo. Burnquist is now a two time big air winner and has the longevity to do so again this year. Bob seems to have father time on his side like Shawn Michaels, but there's one man who'll be looking to reclaim the Bir Air title that's rightfully is.

Jake Brown

Australians are tough. He'll be around. Too much speed from a 720. What a fall.

Danny Way

This is a man with guts. Big Air is one of the most exciting events (my favorite personally) as well as one of the most dangerous. How do you imagine the velocity as they launch off a 70-feet ramp?

Movement and timing is crucial...yet Danny Way makes it look so easy. He practically owns the Christ Air now. He had missed a year due to injury and returned last year to go for the 3-peat. He has two gold medals in Big Air in the X-Games and one medal from the Mexico X-Games.

He returned with a vengeance and lit up the ramps like a demon. Everything came to a halt when he took a nasty spill to the ground. Way didn't give up and returned for another run as he took the elevator to the top of the launching ramp and went for one heck of run...it just wasn't enough to defeat Burnquist. He will be back this year and Danny will be looking to find a Way.

Scott Murray

This is the die-hard Motorbike fan who sent in countless video tapes of himself performing the double backflip on his motorbike in his backyard. He was finally excepted into X-games. The only problem is that Motorbike prophet Travis Pastrana already hit the double backflip live, on dirt, in front of thousands, in one attempt, and not in a dumpster full of foam and cushion.

What made it worse was the fact that hecouldn't afford a trip to the X-Games in L.A. from his home in Mississippi. He came to the games in the weirdest fashion ever...in an ambulance van. How do you hitch and ambulance ride?

He went for his first try and failed badly. He failed so bad that his bike got trashed. He had no sponsor, so he came out with custom gloves and a sweater with his name on it in marker. No sponsor, no money.

No money, no replacement. He was out of the best trick competition with a trashed bike. What made matter more amusing is the fact that he returned again last year still trying to land the double backflip.

Pastrana did it already..it's been TWO years, my goodness. I give him props because he has guts and he lived his dreams out, but I have to wonder, did the X-Games bring him in because they believed he had a shot? Or did they bring him in because they wanted a good laugh? I'll applaud him again...but please stay home this year.

Shawn White

This is the guy right here. Some call him the next Tony Hawk. Do I? Ahhh no. This is a man who has gold medal in Skate boarding and Snowboarding. White is definitely the future.

He's landed 1080's and beyond in the winter games and has an acumen for skateboarding. For him to be Tony, he's has a long way to go. I'm not sure if he can outlast Bucky Lasek and Bob Burnquist. Last year he had the world on the edge of their seats promising the Armadillo Tuck, his new " spectacular" move.

Some people had the feeling on the 90's X-Games, where Dave Mirra continued to prosper and Tony Hawk landed the first ever 900 on live television before everyone started doing it like crazy. White brought the hype, but not the bang.

The Armadillo looked like a modified Cannonball with little fingerflip on the side. Many were disappointed, probably Shawn himself, who took home the silver medal in the Skateboard Vert. Skateboard Vert is where the big boys come to play and anyone from Hawk, Lasek, Burnquist, Glifberg and more can tell you that you have to bring it.

Jeremy Lusk

His Moto X freestyle run was nearly flawless. He won the gold medal, but won't get the chance to defend it this year. I never got a chance to say goodbye to Lusk. The motorbike star crashed on dirt and the impact was on his head and neck.

He went to the hospital, but died a few hours later. He was really one of the greats in Moto X freestyle..motorbike period. My condolences  go out to his friends and family. You can view the spill here.

Kyle Lota

He brought what Shawn White did, the bang. Kyle Lota took the Moto world by storm and took everyone's breath away when he did one heck of a run. Lota performed his new trick The Electric Death.

The move was a jaw dropper. Everyone including myself, knew that there was no topping that. There was no comeback, nothing better. Lota's move sealed his gold medal victory. Eat your hearts out non believers, he'll be back this year. Bet you'll know who Kyle Lota is now.

Be on the lookout for Dave Mirra and Wakeboarding/Surfing competitor, Dallas Friday.

I have taken a recent sabbatical from Bleacher Report and writing in general for about a month now. 

Personal problems and the holidays are partly to blame, but the true reason for my absence (not that I was missed) is that I lacked inspiration from anything going on in the world of sports. 

Truth be told, I am a college football fanatic. I also enjoy the NFL and the NBA, but football season is over, and I live in St. Louis, which is far removed from the professional basketball universe, making it a bit more difficult to follow with the same unabashed enthusiasm as I enjoyed when I lived in California. 

A lot of my professional sports heroes—Michael Vick, Lenny Dykstra, etc.—have really been letting me down lately, sp I began to look outside of the four major sports for someone, something uplifting to raise my spirits and inspire me again to write interesting pieces that people may enjoy.  That is when I stumbled across the story of Christian Hosoi.

For those of you who are not familiar or too young to remember, Hosoi was an 80's skateboarding legend and main rival of today's face of the sports Tony Hawk. He was best known for his flamboyant style and "huge airs" that made vert-skating in the 80's so popular.

He was the epitome of California cool:  stylish, laid back, famous, and popular with the ladies.  In the 80s he reigned supreme in the world of skateboarding winning several competitions, with a plethora of sponsors and all the riches that came along with his success.

He began experimenting with drugs at an early age, often just weed and alcohol, but this soon turned into harder drugs and an addiction to crystal meth.  As popularity in vert skating in the early 90s waned and more of the focus in the industry was paid to a rawer form of the sport, called street skating, Hosoi's star was beginning to fade.  Although Hosoi's transistion to street skating was smoother than some of his 80s contemporaires, such as Gator Rogowski and Jeff Grosso.  Hosoi's drug intake was slowly taking it's toll on his psyche and his bank account.

With Tony Hawk leading the resurgence in skateboarding and action sports in the mid 90s and with the advent of the X-Games it would only seem reasonable that Hosoi would be one of the torch bearers and enjoy the acclaim as a skateboarding icon along with Hawk.

But, Hosoi was no where to be found.  His low-point came in 2000, when he was arrested in a Honolulu airport for trafficking crystal meth with the intent to distribute.  This was Chrsitian's third brush with the law and he received a five year sentence in federal prison.

While behind bars, Hosoi had an epiphany and with the help of his supportive girlfriend Jennifer, (now wife) he turned his life over to the lord. 

Soon after his imprisonment, the emergence of a "Free Christian Hosoi" campaign was adopted by many in the action sports community and some heavyweights in the music industry such as self-professed fans the Red Hot Chili Peppers who famously wore the "Free Hosoi" T-shirts in an awards show performance.

In 2004, Hosoi was released on parole for good behavior.  With the support of his family and many within the skateboading collective, Hosoi was able to continue to spread the word of his newfound faith without coming across too "preachy" and remain sincere even after he paid his debt to society.  Many other men and athletes, preach their faith but often come on to strong and discourage those in search for their higher power.  It remains a testament to the man, that he was able to transform himself so dramatically and still earn the respect of many of his peers.

Today, Hosoi enjoys the family life with his wife Jennifer and his two children Rhythm and Classic.  He also owns the skateboard company Hosoi Sk8boards and has a lucrative shoe deal with Vans.

This is a story of redemption, most of us deserve a second chance in life and it is what we do with this opportunity that helps build character and allows us to live a happy, more meaningful life.

Let's hope that the Maurice Claretts and Michael Vicks of the world can turn the poor choices they have made in life into a positive on down the road after they have paid their debt.