Danny Way Honors High-Air History With Hosoi Tribute

Aug 06 2006 / Los Angeles, CA

Danny Way won the Gold again – that makes it a three-peat – in the event he is solely responsible for bringing to the X Games, dropping in from the high deck to float a huge rocket backflip (around here they're calling it an El Camino) over the 70-foot gap, then launching a Christ air some 25-feet above the quarter-pipe in tribute to skateboard pioneer Christian Hosoi.

VIDEO Check out the Big Air Finals video of Danny Way's Gold-medal winning run.  VIEW CLIP>

Hosoi is known for bringing in the eighties' era of skateboard big air on vert ramps – long before Danny Way's entries into the Guinness Book of World Records, Hosoi held the record for the highest skateboard air – and has been providing commentary here at the X Games Megaramp. He says he sees the Megaramp as a perfect extension of the future of skateboarding he envisioned at his prime, and he looked on approvingly today as Way struck the signature Hosoi crucifixion pose above him.

Hosoi was an early hero to Danny Way, who first went pro as a child prodigy for H Street back in the late eighties when Hosoi was one of the most famous and most respected guys in skateboarding.

Another old Danny Way hero was also on hand for the event, watching on with Hosoi: after a video debut at the age of 14 on the Powell Peralta flick Public Domain, Tony Magnusson brought Danny Way's name to the skateboarding public in a huge way with the finale slot in legendary H Street videos Shackle Me Not and Hokus Pokus. (Full disclosure: I taught myself how to skate by studying H Street videos back in the day, and once skated with Danny Way at the Bobby G Skateboard Camp in San Diego when were both in Junior High, so forgive me for being a bit star-struck from my vantage point looking up from the foot of the Megaramp – the upper deck makes for quite a pedestal).

Way was a smart-alecky young twerp back then; today he is probably the best-known name in skateboarding. Even Tony Hawk – another longtime hero for Way – probably doesn't have as many fans in places like China: Danny Way's world-wide broadcast of the Megaramp launch over the Great Wall of China was the most widely seen footage in skateboard history.

Other highlights from today's contest included Jake Brown's mute 360 over the big gap into a picture-perfect McTwist on the quarter, and Bob Burnquist's switch backside 180 no-grab ollie over the gap into a huge double board flip on the quarter. Brown and Burnquist took Silver and Bronze, respectively. Bucky Lasek (who, incidentally, also made
his debut in the same Public Domain video as Way) took fourth, Andy Macdonald took fifth, and youngster Rob Lorifice celebrated his high school graduation by sticking 360 tail grabs and making repeat attempts at a rodeo 540 on the quarter.

No longer just a circus freakshow attraction ¬– though it is still that too – the Megramp is here to stay. Still to come today at X Games 12: The debut of BMX Big Air. Favorite Chad Kagy went down hard in yesterday's practice after dropping in from the top and soaring a Superman seat grab – roughly approximating the Kryptonian body position of Kal-El and sail-like stance of Olympic ski jumpers – over the big gap, but should be back on it today.

– Colin Bane