Tas Pappas

Tasou Micah Pappas He and brother Ben were the only children of a Greek-Australian father, who worked for a finance company, and an Australian mother who was a caterer—the parents eventually separated after marrying at a young age. 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.

Pappas won the 1996 World Championships skateboard contest over Tony Hawk that led to his world number-one ranking—he won with a broken rib sustained earlier in the contest. Pappas explained that he was "humbled" soon afterward, as he subsequently broke his back. however, in August 2014, the website's home page stated that the company is manufacturing certain skateboard deck products for a limited period of time.

US incarceration In 2005, Pappas married Colleen, an American he met through skateboarding. They lived in San Diego with their two children. However, due to financial difficulties, the relationship was strained and Pappas began using crystal methamphetamine, to numb the pain from injuries during contests that he desperately participated in to earn money. Additionally, Pappas was prescribed an antidepressant after he consulted a doctor for help with a low emotional state caused by his life situation—Pappas proceeded to use alcohol and cocaine with the medication.

Return to skateboarding Following his incarceration, Pappas was drawn to the tenets of Christianity as a central part of his recovery from drug use, having read the Bible during his sentence. He also continued to develop his marriage with Helen Norman, whom he raises a son with, and he resumed skateboarding.

In April 2014, Pappas became the 12th skateboarder and first Australian in history to complete a 900-degree rotation. The achievement occurred on the Anzac Day holiday at a newly built facility on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia called the "Megaranch".

Sponsors As of August 2014, Pappas is sponsored by Theeve Trucks, a company founded and managed by fellow Australian vert skateboarder Trevor Ward.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

All This Mayhem In May 2012, Pappas attended the Melbourne premiere of Danny Way's documentary Waiting for Lightning, where he was photographed alongside Way and fellow Australian vert professional Dom Kekich. In an interview at the premiere, Pappas confirmed he was in the process of producing a documentary of his own, focused on his career and that of his late brother. A filmmaker approached the Pappas family about making a documentary, but the family did not give their authority as Pappas would not be included in the filmmaking process.

The family approved a documentary backed by Screen Australia. It was directed and produced by Eddie Martin, and George Pank co-produced the film, and Chris King was the editor. and King had previously worked together on the award-winning documentaries Senna and Exit Through the Gift Shop.

The documentary began production in 2010, as footage of the Pappas brothers was sourced from friends and filmmakers. Tony Hawk declined an offer to be interviewed for the film. The documentary was released as All This Mayhem and the world premiere was at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2013. The documentary received additional backing from the Adelaide Film Festival, Deluxe Sydney, and Hopscotch Films, and is sold by Eone Films and Cinetic Media.

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.

Personal life As of May 2014, Pappas resides in the inner north-eastern Melbourne, Australia suburb of Clifton Hill, where he shares a home with Helen and their five-year-old son Billy. Pappas is employed as an abseiling window cleaner and attends a Christian church for mass.

Timeline

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

XYZ: Stars und Bars (1995) Mad Circle: Let The Horns Blow (1996)Las Vegas Pro Vert '96 (1996)Genie of the Lamp (1998) Globe: World Cup Skateboarding 2005'' (2005)