Sam Beckett (born 20 April 1992) is a British professional skateboarder. In 2016, he became the first skateboarder from the United Kingdom to win Gold in the Summer X Games. [1]
Beckett first began vert skating with his friend and future fellow professional skateboarder Paul-Luc Ronchetti. Due to the lack of appropriate ramps in the local area, the pair had to travel as far as Peterborough and Birmingham to practice. [3] After winning the UK vert series in 2008, Beckett moved to California the following year to further his career. Whilst living there, he joined the Dew Tour, and became the first British skater to land a 720 on a vert ramp. [4] In 2015, Beckett won his first two medals at the Summer X Games, placing third in both the 'Vert' and 'Vert Best Trick' competitions (landing a Backside 540 Ollie rock slide to win the latter). [5] After this initial success, Beckett turned professional [6] and returned to X Games 2016, this time winning the 'Vert' competition outright with his second run in the final, scoring 89.33 in the process. [7]
Beckett is sponsored by Vans, Route One, Madness Skateboards, Monster Energy, Oakley Sunglasses, Dickies, TSG, Bones and Thunder Trucks. [8]
Beckett is friends with fellow professional skateboarder Alex Perelson, living with him when in California. He is a supporter of Norwich City F.C. [9]
Robert Dean Silva Burnquist is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a "fakie 900", making Burnquist the fifth person in history to successfully complete the 900 trick.
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organised, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, as well as prize money.
Mike Vallely, also known as Mike V, is an American professional skateboarder and singer. Since November 2013, he has been the lead vocalist of hardcore punk band Black Flag.
Charles Michael "Bucky" Lasek is an American professional skateboarder and rallycross driver.
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.
Pierre-Luc Gagnon, commonly known by his initials, PLG, is a Canadian professional skateboarder.
Vert skateboarding, short for vertical skateboarding, is the act of riding a skateboard on a skate ramp or other incline and involves the skateboarder transitioning from the horizontal plane to the vertical plane in order to perform skateboarding tricks.
Leo Baker is a goofy-footed American professional skateboarder from Covina, California, now based in New York City.
A mega ramp, or megaramp, is the informal name given to any large-format vert ramp structure, often used in skateboarding and freestyle BMX. The name distinguishes a second generation of ramps which became increasingly popular during the 1990s-2000s transition years. They are so called to distinguish them from the more modest classic ramps used throughout the preceding decades of these sports and which were, at most, half-scale versions of these newer and larger ramps.
Alex Perelson is a professional skateboarder living in San Diego. Perelson began vert skateboarding in 1999 and turned professional in 2005.
The Maloof Money Cup was an annual skateboarding competition for amateur and professional skateboarders founded by Joe and Gavin Maloof of the Maloof family. The events were held in four cities: Costa Mesa, California in 2008, 2009, 2010; New York City in 2010 and 2011; Washington, D.C. in 2011, and in Kimberley, South Africa in 2011 and 2012. The aim of the competition was to raise awareness of skateboarding and to encourage participation in skateboarding events and activities. Organizers also aim to contribute new skateboarding infrastructure and boost retail activity in those areas where events are held.
Tom Schaar is an American professional skateboarder. He was the first skateboarder to land a "1080," which is three revolutions. He became the youngest X Games gold medalist after completing the first 1080 in a competition at the 2012 Asia X Games in Shanghai; youngest Dew Tour champion, the youngest Vans Pool Party champion, and the youngest "Big Air" gold medalist at the Austin X Games. Before turning 18 years old, Schaar was a nine-time X Games Medalist. On March 20, 2019 Schaar was named to the first-ever U.S.A Skateboarding National Team and will be competing for a spot to represent the USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Forbes Magazine listed Schaar to their 2020 30 Under 30 Sports category highlighting the next generation of Sports talent.
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.
Jagger Jesse Eaton is an American professional skateboarder who currently competes in street and park competitions. He was the youngest ever X Games competitor, until his record was broken in 2019. In 2021, Eaton won the first Olympic skateboarding medal, earning a bronze in the men's street competition in Tokyo, Japan.
Vince Byron is an, Australian BMX rider. He wins 14 medals at X-Games and he will specialize in BMX Vert and Big Air.
Letícia Bufoni e Silva is a Brazilian-American professional street skateboarder. She is a six-time X Games gold medalist. She has 4.4 million fans across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Pedro Barros, known as Pedrinho Barros, is a Brazilian skateboarder who is specialized in Bowl and Park Skateboarding. He won the silver medal in the inaugural Olympic men's park skateboarding event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Also in doom metal/dark punk band Melissa.
Edgar "Vovô" Pereira, also known as "Edgar Vovô" is a Brazilian professional skateboarder.
Brighton Zeuner is an American professional skateboarder.
Guilherme 'Gui' Khury is a Brazilian skateboarder. He is the first person to land a 1080 on a vertical ramp and the youngest person to win a gold medal at the X-Games.