Jake Brown

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jake 'Unbreakable' Brown (born September 6, 1974) is an Australian skateboarder who competes in the X Games. He began competing in 1996, turning pro the following year.[1] His skateboard stance is goofy.

Mega ramp fall

On August 2, 2007, during the Summer X Games 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Brown suffered what ESPN commentators called the "heaviest slam they had ever seen". On his fifth and final run, he landed the first 720 on a mega ramp, but on the ensuing trick, he lost his balance, flew into the air, and fell about 45 feet (15 meters) onto the ramp below.[2] According to Brown, when he landed the 720, he was approaching the quarterpipe too far to the left. At that moment, he started carving towards the right, which caused him to go into a slide. To stop the slide he had to compress, which shot him out above the flatground once he flew over the coping of the ramp.[3]

The collision with the ramp was so hard, it knocked both of his shoes off. Tony Hawk compared it to walking off a three-story building and landing on the concrete. Incredibly, Brown managed to walk away from the scene under his own power,[4][5][6] but was found to have sustained liver and lung contusions and stress fractures in his vertebra as well as a small hand fracture.[7]

Brown had won the silver medal earlier in the X Games for the Skateboard Big Air.

Brown was released from the hospital on August 5, 2007, having been there for 3 days for observations.[3]

Career highlights

  • 2004 - First in Vert at LG Action Sports Tour, Beijing, China[8]
  • 2005 - Second in Vert at LG Action Sports Tour, Paris, France[8]
  • 2005 - Won "Best Vert Skater" from Transworld Skateboarding Magazine[9]
  • 2006 - Highest air at Global Assault, Australia[10]
  • 2007 - X Games Big Air Silver Medalist

References

  1. ^ about.com Biography
  2. ^ Asterpix.com "Interactive Video"
  3. ^ a b Thomas, Pete "JAKE BROWN: The Aftermath", August 5, 2007
  4. ^ Break.com "Live Video"
  5. ^ Gibson, Jano. "The gnarliest slam I've ever seen", The Sydney Morning Herald. August 3, 2007
  6. ^ Lair, Keith. "Frightening fall puts Brown in hospital", Whittier Daily News. August 4, 2007
  7. ^ Thomas, Pete "It still makes him feel like a kid", August 4, 2007
  8. ^ a b Jake Brown LG Sports Tour Biography
  9. ^ The 7th Annual TransWorld SKATEboarding Awards Winners!, May 31, 2005
  10. ^ Global Assault results