| Arto Saari | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 9, 1981 Seinäjoki, Finland |
| Residence | Huntington Beach, California |
| Occupation | Professional skateboarder |
Arto Saari (born November 9, 1981 in Seinäjoki, Finland) is a professional skateboarder.[1] He lives in Huntington Beach, California. He was selected as the "2001 Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine. His skating stance is regular. He is known for his big and aggressive skating style and also for his lipslides. In 2001 he starred in Flip Skateboards' video Sorry.
Saari has had several major injuries during his career. Saari was 19 when he almost died of brain injuries suffered as he was warming up with a backside Feeble grind on a handrail. The clip was used as a cartoon on Flip Skateboards' first video, Sorry. As of 2009 Saari has been selling boards and going to skate park premieres, such as Mindfield and Extremely Sorry.
Arto Saari was voted 26th on the list of 100 Greatest Finns held during the summer of 2004 by the Finnish Broadcasting Company. However, Saari is almost unnoticed in Finnish mainstream media. Saari is sponsored by Flip, Gravis Footwear, Analog Clothing, Ricta Skateboard Wheels, CCS, and Destructo Trucks. Former sponsors included Flip Skateboards, Alien Workshop, éS Footwear, Quiksilver, Fury Trucks, and Etnies Shoes.
Arto appears as a playable character in the video games Evolution Skateboarding, Tony Hawk's Underground, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Tony Hawk Ride, and Tony Hawk Shred. He is the instructor in Tony Hawk's Proving Ground for Nail-The-Trick, a career option on the video game.