Tas Pappas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tas Pappas
Born Tasou Micah Pappas[1]
(1975-09-02) 2 September 1975
Melbourne, Australia
Nationality Australian
Occupation Professional skateboarder
Children Son[1]

Tasou Micah Pappas[1] (born 2 September 1975), better known as Tas Pappas, is an Australian sponsored skateboarder. He was previously a professional skateboarder, primarily in the discipline of vert skateboarding, and competed in a number of major international events. During the 1990s, he and brother Ben Pappas were highly regarded skateboarders on a global scale.[2]

Early life

Pappas was born 2 September 1975 in Melbourne, Australia.[citation needed]

Professional skateboarding

Mad Circle

In a 1994 advertisement for the now-defunct Mad Circle skateboard deck company, an x-ray of Pappas' femur is depicted with the tagline: "Tas Pappas, Mad Circle's Answer to the Bionic Man."[3] Pappas then appeared alongside Moses Itkonen, Edward Devera, Mike Cao, Justin Girard and Scott Johnston in the 1996 Mad Circle video Let The Horns Blow.[4][5]

Revolution Graphite Skateboards (RevDeck)

In 2005, Revolution Graphite Skateboards (RevDeck) announced the release of a new skateboard deck, co-designed and tested by Pappas (he was also sponsored by DVS Shoes at this time[citation needed]). As of 2013, Pappas is associated with the company, according to the "About" section of the website;[6] however, as of August 2013, the website's home page states that the company is manufacturing certain skateboard deck products for a limited period of time.[7]

Return to professional skateboarding

Following his incarceration in 2008, due to drug-related charges, Pappas was drawn to the tenets of Christianity as a central part of his recovery from drug use, the development of his marriage and fatherhood, and his return to the skateboarding world.

Cliché Skateboards, through Dwindle Distribution, released a Tas Pappas "guest board" in January 2013, with graphics by renowned skateboarding graphic designer, Marc McKee. The design is set to be representative of Pappas' life and new outlook, with a deity figure reaching down and exalting Pappas from a burning environment in which items such as handcuffs and a syringe are present. Footage of Pappas, skateboarding primarily at the Prahran ramp in Melbourne, Australia, accompanied the release of the product.[8] Morgan Campbell, online content manager for Skateboarding Australia, the country's government-funded peak body, stated:

Tas has truly put the board into orbit with this stupendous video part which contains some of the best vert skating we have seen from anyone in eons. The graphic was done by Mr Marc Mckee, so you can be sure that collectors snap it up all over the globe. So good to see you back in the skies above Prahran Tas. The clip is by Greg Stewart, who happens to be known in the UK as “The Talking Filmer”. Gregsie: we are all delighted to once again hear your mid-air commentary. Just incase you missed it, in 2011 Tas was given the Video Vault treatment for his epic Mad Circle part from almost 20 years ago.[8]

Sponsors

As of August 2013, Pappas is sponsored by Theeve Trucks,[citation needed] a company founded and managed by fellow Australian vert skateboarder Trevor Ward.[9]

Contest history

In 1996, Pappas won both titles at the Hard Rock Cafe Skateboarding World Championships (the finals event, as well as points accumulation for the entire year), beating Tony Hawk. Soon after, Pappas suffered a number of serious injuries and was unable to compete or maintain the level at which he had been skateboarding prior to the mishaps.[2] In 1999, following physical rehabilitation for his injuries, Pappas placed highly in a string of events, including the X Games and the Milwaukee Triple Crown.[2]

On 28 October 2006, Pappas won the vert skateboarding event at the LG Action Sports World Championship, beating Brazilian professional Sandro Dias in a tiebreaker (Andy MacDonald finished in third place).[10][11] During Pappas' winning run, in which he is riding a RevDeck skateboard deck, he executes a 720-degree rotation; described as "flawless" by one of the competition's commentators, Pappas completed the run without making a single error.[12]

Recognition and influence

Following Pappas's success with the Hard Rock Cafe competition, both he and his brother were credited with helping to revive the popularity of vert skateboarding, which was beginning to fade.[13] In August 2011, Tas and Ben Pappas both received the number 10 ranking in Transworld Skateboarding's "10 Infamous Australians" article for "rekindl[ing] vert’s flickering candle" during the 1990s.[14]

Incarceration

In 2008 Pappas was imprisoned on charges of importing cocaine into Australia, unrelated to those of his brother, who was found guilty of the same offence in 1999.

In November 2011, Pappas was afforded the privilege of prison day-release on weekends and used this time to skate the vert ramp in Albury, New South Wales. In December 2011, after internet blogs reported Pappas' Albury visits, SLAM Skateboarding Magazine ran a feature on Pappas and suggested that, at the time, he remained one of the most highly skilled skateboarders in Australia. The video footage that SLAM published to coincide with the article revealed that the session was Pappas' "third skate in 3 years" due to his incarceration—the video was filmed by Stewart.[1][15]

All This Mayhem

In May 2012, Pappas attended the Melbourne premiere of Danny Way's documentary Waiting for Lightning, where Pappas was once again described as a "professional skateboarder"—Pappas was photographed alongside Way and fellow Australian vert professional Dom Kekich. In an interview at the premiere, Pappas confirmed that he was in the process of producing a documentary of his own, focused on his career and that of his late brother.[16][17] A filmmaker approached the Pappas family about making a documentary, but the family did not provide their authority, as Pappas was not included as part of the filmmaking process.[13][18]

A family-approved documentary eventually received the backing of Screen Australia, and was directed and produced by Australian Eddie Martin, who knew the Pappas brothers as teenagers skateboarding at Prahran skate park. James Gay-Rees from the United Kingdom (UK)'s Playmaker Films and George Pank are also producers of the film. The film's editor is Chris King—both Gay Rees and King worked on the award-winning documentaries Senna and Exit Through the Gift Shop.[19][20]

The documentary began production in 2010, as footage of Tas and Ben was sourced from friends and filmmakers. According to a 2011 Screen Australia media release, The Pappas Brothers will tell the story of Tas and Ben Pappas and their rise to skateboarding prominence.[21] The title of the documentary was later changed to All This Mayhem and the world premiere will occur at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2013.[22] According to the Playmaker Films website, the documentary also received backing from the Adelaide Film Festival, Deluxe Sydney and Hopscotch Films, and is being sold by Eone Films and Cinetic Media.[23]

Martin explained prior to the release of the documentary:

It’s a story about two brothers that just happen to be in the world of skateboarding. People can get so easily put off and I think that the skateboarding element will be our biggest challenge. We didn’t want to use a skate image as our promo because obviously, for us, this isn’t a story about skateboarding.[18]

Martin further explained: "The film is to be distributed by Hopscotch in Australia. We are hoping the film will play at some festivals before a national Australian release. To get an overseas sale would be our main goal."[18]

List of competitions and events

1991 - Australian Amateur titles in late 1991 at Darling Harbour
1993 - Pappas' first US competition in Tampa, Florida
1994 - 7 August Pappas competed in Munster Monster Mastership Germany, coming 4th
1995 - Triple crown in Las Vegas
1995 - Came 3rd in Slam City Jam vert competition
1996 - Came 3rd in X Games after Andy MacDonald (1) and Tony Hawk (2) - Providence & Newport, Rhode Island
1996 - Tas won 1996 Triple Crown finals, in which Pappas edged past Tony Hawk after one amazing run.
1996 - Tas #1 ranked Vert skateboarder worldwide
1997 - Vancouver Slam City Jam, coming 10th
1997 - Pappas finishes 44th in World Cup of Skateboarding
1997 - Pappas Wins LG competition in Las Vegas
1997 or 98 - Demo in Switzerland
1998 - Pappas finishes 39th in World Cup of Skateboarding
1998 - Pappas comes twelfth in B3 Vert, Beaverton, Oregon
1999 - May - Pappas finishes in 22nd position in Vancouver Slam City Jam
1999 - June - Pappas finishes 8th in Vans Hardcore Triple Crown in Milwaukee
1999 - July - Pappas finishes 7th in Radlands in Northampton UK
1999 - 9–11 July Pappas came 2nd in Munster Monster Mastership Germany
1999 - 16–18 July Pappas comes 2nd in Prague
1999 - 28 August - Pappas comes 1st in vert competition at the B3 in Beaverton, Oregon
2001 - (17–22 August 2001) Pappas comes 3rd in X-Games in Philadelphia
2003 - Cincinnati
2003 - Pomona - Pappas gets injured from Vert ramp fall
2003 - Washington
2003 - 11–13 July Armegeddon Cup Skateboarding Event Birmingham, UK - Pappas comes 2nd
2004 - Beijing LG tour
2004 - Cincinnati
2004 - Dulles, VA
2004 - Pomona
2004 - Sacramento
2004 - Shanghai LG tour
2004 - Cleveland, OH - Summer Gravity Games (15-19 Sept.) Tas (6th in Vert, 5th in Vert Best Trick)
2005 - Cincinnati
2005 - Manchester
2005 - Moscow
2005 - Pomona, CA
2005 - Sacramento ASA
2006 - Birmingham, UK
2006 - Amsterdam
2006 - Berlin
2006 - Dallas (Pappas won)
2006 - Paris
2006 - Richmond
2006 - San Diego
2006 - Amsterdam (Pappas came in 1st place in LG Action Sports World Tour competition)
2006 - Birmingham, UK (Pappas came in 3rd place in LG Action Sports World Tour competition)
2006 - Dallas - (Pappas came in 1st place in LG Action Sports World Tour competition)
2006 - Richmond - (Pappas came in 2nd place in LG Action Sports World Tour competition)
2006 - San Diego - (Pappas came in ? place in LG Action Sports World Tour competition)
2006 - Portland - Dew Action Sports Tour Vans Invitational - Pappas finishes in 9th position
2006 - Orlando - Dew Tour - Pappas comes 2nd in Vert competition
2007 or 2008 - Pappas at Globe World Cup in Melbourne, Australia
[24]

Videography

  • XYZ: Meet Your Maker (1985)
  • 411VM: Issue 2 (1993)
  • 411VM: Issue 5 (1994)
  • 411VM: Best Of 411, Volume 1 (1994)
  • Mad Circle: Let The Horns Blow (1996)
  • Las Vegas Pro Vert '96 (1996)
  • Genie Of The Lamp (1998)
  • Globe: World Cup Skateboarding 2005 (2005)[25]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Greg Stewart (January 2013). "Cliché Tas Pappas guest board video" (Video upload). Cliché skateboards on Vimeo. Vimeo LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Transworld (15 December 1999). "The Tas Pappas Interview". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Mad Circle Skateboards - Bionic Man Ad (1994)". Skately. Skately LLC. 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Mad Circle Skateboards - Let The Horns Blow (1996)". Skately. Skately LLC. 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013. 
  5. ↑ ChrisAndRicca (9 March 2011). "TP_hornsblow" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 28 February 2013. 
  6. ↑ "About Revolution Skateboards". Revolution Graphite Skateboards. Revolution Skateboards. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  7. ↑ "Home". Revolution Graphite Skateboards. Revolution Skateboards. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Morgan Campbell (12 January 2013). "TAS PAPPAS VIDEO PART!". Skateboarding Australia. Skateboarding Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Trevor Ward". ISUU. That's it. 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013. 
  10. ↑ Jared Souney (2008). "2006 LG Action Sports World Tour - Dallas - Skate Vert Finals" (Photo upload). Lat34.com. Lat34.com. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  11. ↑ Steve Lemig; Jared Souney (6 November 2006). "Pappas Snags Vert Win From Dias". Lat34.com. Lat34.com. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  12. ↑ Lat34 (3 November 2006). "Tas Pappas Winning Run!" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lachlan Aird (9 October 2013). "Tas Pappas: All This Mayhem". Rip It Up. Rip It Up Publishing Company. Retrieved 6 February 2014. 
  14. ↑ Mackenzie Eisenhour (10 August 2011). "TWS 10: INFAMOUS AUSTRALIANS". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  15. ↑ Greg Stewart (15 December 2011). "TAS PAPPAS IN ALBURY" (Video upload). SLAM Skateboarding Magazine. SLAM Skateboarding Magazine. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  16. ↑ Allday Pictures (June 2012). "DC Waiting For Lightning - Melbourne Premiere" (Video upload). Allday Pictures on Vimeo. Vimeo LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  17. ↑ Morgan Campbell (30 May 2012). "Coupla Gourlay Gems". Skateboarding Australia Blog. Skateboarding Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Q&A with director Eddie Martin". Mumbrella. Focal Attractions. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2014. 
  19. ↑ "Full cast and crew for Senna (2010)". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. 1990–2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  20. ↑ "Full cast and crew for Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. 1990–2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  21. ↑ Teri Calder (5 December 2011). "Screen Australia investment triggers $97 million in production" (PDF). Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  22. ↑ "ALL THIS MAYHEM WORLD PREMIERE DOCUMENTARY". Adelaide Film Festival. Adelaide Film Festival. August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013. 
  23. ↑ "All This Mayhem". Playmaker Films. Playmaker Films. 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013. 
  24. ↑ "Home". World Cup Skateboarding. World Cup Skateboarding. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 
  25. ↑ "Tas Pappas skate videos". SkatevideoSite.com. SkatevideoSite.com. 2005-2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.