Taig
Khris, pretty much the biggest star in inline skating today. He's
even got his own video game (I wish I had my own video
game)!
So when did you start skating?
I first started quad skating when I was six years old. Just skated everywhere,
then started doin' tricks along the way and building jumps. I didn't see
a half pipe until I was 15 - it was love at first sight. But I didn't
get to try inline until I was 21 and then it happened really quickly.
I got my first contract after my first comp and suddenly everything changed.
I was travelling, I had to learn English real quick! It was a dream. I thought
inline would only be around for a couple of years. Now it's my life.
What about the vid game?
That was a big step. After the Dave Mirra game, everyone hoped that inline
would be next and I was approached by Acclaim last year which was unreal! It's
the first inline skate game and I really got involved in the development,
the characters, motion capture editing, all of it. We wanted to make it
as real as possible, so there are no impossible tricks, just real tricks.
And each character has an ultimate trick - mine is the double backflip,
of course.
I've heard that as well as skating you also run a skate shop, go salsa dancing, free dive
and act. Is this true?
Yeah, I like to do all kinds of stuff as well as skate. My dad was a
theatre actor and I've started acting too. Last year, I started to think
about what other career I could have as well as inline. I love to do creative
stuff and started acting classes. Now I have a coach and am in two movies
that will be released later this year. I can't tell you much right now
but the director is Philip Dusol. Watch out for them! I'm not skating
in them 'cos I don't want to be typecast.
Why is inline seen as not being as cool as skateboarding
and bmx?
Yeah, that's a problem sometimes. Well, inline is a new sport and so
most of the pro skaters are young. Skateboarding and BMX are older sports
with pros in their later twenties and thirties. They've got experience and their
sport has matured. Inliners were initially seen as just being immature
kids, also, the level of skill was not as high at first, so it was seen
as being easy. All that has changed now and inline was given big respect
at the X Games last year. But there's still an attitude against inliners.
If you are in a skate park on your own, you're not made to feel welcome.
I want to fight this attitude.
How
are you planning to do that?
Well, this year I have been working on lots of tricks and plan to prove
that inline is as extreme as other sports. First I'm gonna try and break
the vert record. I'll build a quarter pipe twice as high as normal, more
than six metres high. I want to get higher than previous records in any
sport. I'll do this in Las Vegas or at the Gravity Games. Next I'm building
a special ramp that looks real weird, has never been built before and is seven
metres high. It's gonna blow people's minds and I'll be the first to use
it, probably at the X Games. Finally I'm in training for a new trick.
One that hasn't been done before in any sport, not even gymnastics! It's
a special spin and I'm gonna do that at the Gravity Games too. After all
of this, inline won't be seen as easy any more.
What's the most expensive thing you've bought?
Hmm ... I'm not a materialist, don't want a big car, don't want to show
off. If I spend money on expensive things it's for my job. I have a good
mobile phone and laptop and camera and stuff. If I spend one thousand
dollars, I feel bad 'cos some people don't earn that in years. So, I'm
not happy throwing money around. Also, I support my family and like to
think about everybody, not just myself.
