Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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Birth name | Chris Denton | |||||||||||||||||
Nickname | Airman | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | December 22, 1973|||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Vert skating | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Chris Edwards (born December 22, 1973) is an American former professional vert skater. Edwards is widely considered one of the founding pioneers of the discipline of aggressive inline skating. [1] [2] [3]
Edwards was born Chris Denton in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up in Escondido, California. [4] In 1986, he started skating when he was thirteen years old. [5] Edwards' became known for his skating prowess at an early age, appearing in commercials and as a stunt double, as inline skating became popular in the early 1990s. [6] [7] In 1993, Edwards appeared in the rollerblading film Airborne. The film would go on to be a cult favorite and touchstone for the burgeoning sport of inline skating. [8]
At age 16, he became one of the early members of Team Rollerblade. [4] [9] In 1995, the then Chris Denton turned professional and became Chris Edwards. [2] Edwards would go on to compete in the inaugural Extreme Games, later known as the X Games. [10]
At his height, Edwards had several inline skates named after him, including: tarmac CE (Chris Edwards), [2] Edwards Chocolate (street), Edwards Trooper (vert) and Edwards Daytona,"CE Speedsters", and the "CE Hermes" circa 1994 - 1999.[ citation needed ]
In 2002, Edwards appeared in the video game Aggressive Inline for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. [11]
Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a metal or plastic frame on the underside of a boot. The in-line design allows for greater speed and maneuverability than traditional roller skates. Following this basic design principle, inline skates can be modified to varying degrees to accommodate niche disciplines.
Aggressive Inline is a 2002 sports video game developed by Z-Axis and published by AKA Acclaim. The game simulates aggressive inline skating, with players completing tricks and objectives in open-ended levels. The game was released in North America for the PlayStation 2 on May 29, 2002, followed by GameCube and Xbox versions in August. A Game Boy Advance version was released by Full Fat in August 2002. The developers of Aggressive Inline aimed to innovate upon the formula of the Tony Hawk's series of extreme sports games, building on the engine and tools of the developer's previous title, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2. The developers experimented with gameplay features, including the inclusion of open-ended level design and greater environmental interaction, an organic skill progression system, and the removal of fixed time limits, many of which had not been implemented in an extreme sports game before.
Airborne is a 1993 American comedy-drama film about inline skating directed by Rob Bowman in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Shane McDermott, Seth Green, Brittney Powell, Chris Conrad, Jacob Vargas and Jack Black.
The Gravity Games was a multi-sport competition originating in Providence, Rhode Island that was broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations. The competition featured a variety of extreme sports such as aggressive inline skating, skateboarding, freestyle motocross, BMX freestyle and snowboarding.
The 900 is a 2½-revolution aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. While airborne, the skateboarder makes two-and-a-half turns about their longitudinal axis, thereby facing down when coming down. It is considered one of skateboarding's most technically demanding tricks.
Brian Matthew Isoa Shima is a former professional inline skater. Considered one of the greatest in the sport, he also holds the record for the most pro skates held by any person.
Arlo Eisenberg is an aggressive inline skater who pioneered street skating. He is considered by many to be an important innovator of the aggressive skating industry.
Aggressive inline skating is a sub-discipline of inline skating in the action sports canon. Aggressive inline skates are specially modified to accommodate grinds and jumps. Aggressive skating can take place on found street obstacles or at skate parks.
Taïg Khris is an entrepreneur and former professional vert skater.
Chris Haffey is an American aggressive inline skater.
Shane Yost is a retired Australian professional roller blader and was the 2000 ASA number one ranked vert skater in the world. He was the first roller blader to land a switch 1080 and the first skater to land a frontside 1260. Yost revolutionized the world of inline skating with his clean style and incredible flair.
Vert skating or vertical skating is a discipline using skates like inline skates or roller skates on a vert ramp, a style of half-pipe. In vert skating, the skater is able to achieve more air-time as compared to other styles of skating, meaning skaters can perform complicated aerial maneuvers and acrobatic tricks, such as spins and flips.
Takeshi Yasutoko is a Japanese professional vert skater. In 1995 Takeshi became the youngest professional Vert Skater to turn pro at the age of nine, and at age 11 became the youngest athlete to compete at X Games. He was the first male skater to win three X Games gold medals, and was the 2003 top-ranked vert skater by the Aggressive Skaters Association (ASA).
Alberto Arakaki AKA japa is a Brazilian professional vert skater. Japa started quad skating when he was 6 in 1978, practiced skateboarding until was 15, and went to bmx flatland from 15 to 18 years old. Them met aggressive inline skating at age 20 (1995) and turned professional in 1996. Japa has won many competitions in his vert skating career.
Cesar Mora is an Australian professional vert skater known for his significant contributions to the sport's development. He is the only skater to have competed in all ten of the first X Games. Throughout his career at the X Games, he secured four medals: a gold medal in 1998, two silver medals in 1995 and 1999, and a bronze in 2000.
Pavel Mitrenga is a Bulgarian professional vert skater. Mitrenga turned professional in 2007 with a gold medal in Tehachapi California.
Sven Boekhorst started skating in the early 1990s in Den Bosch, Netherlands. In 2000 he won every contest, which includes winning the Triple Crown. In his years as a professional skater he also had a character in a videogame: Aggressive Inline, performed three weeks in a big theatre show on Broadway, NYC, with a theatre group from Amsterdam and got his own Rollerblade pro model "Sven Boekhorst" skate.
Matt Salerno is an Australian former professional inline skater and four times world champion. Salerno was famous for his style and his unrestricted skating ability and won both vert and street competitions. Salerno started skating very young, turned professional in 1996 and still skates to this day. He was a big influence in the vert skating style.
Tom Fry is an Australian professional vert skater. Fry started skating when he was seventeen years old in 1991 and turned professional in 1995. Fry has won many competitions in his vert skating career.
X Games Asia, also called the KIA X Games Asia or World Extreme Games, is a sports event which focuses on extreme sports. The inaugural World Extreme Games were held in Phuket, Thailand, in 1998. They were held in Phuket until 2001, Kuala Lumpur from 2002 to 2004, Seoul in 2005 and in Shanghai 2014 to 2015.