Many have tried and all have failed to land the a three-rotation aerial move, but the determined Shaar, who has been skateboarding since the age of 4, nailed it on his fifth try at the MegaRamp at in Tehachapi, California.
“It was the hardest trick I’ve ever done, but it was easier than I thought,” Schaar said.
“I’m pretty stoked. Best day of my life.”
He warmed up with 10 gay twists [a fakie to forward mute-grab 360], half a dozen 720s, and and a 900 before tackling the elusive 1080.
With a new sense of confidence, the future champion went back and did it again the next day.”
Tom and his brother John both surf and snowboard and had a small vert ramp in their back yard growing up.
However, Tom’s potential thrived during the past three years after being taken under the wing of pro skater and multiple X Games medalist Bucky Lasek .
Defending X Games Skate Vert champion Shaun White was widely considered the safest bet to land the first 1080, especially during his competitive skate streak after winning his first Winter Olympic snowboard gold medal in 2006.
“Tom’s a little giant and a spinning machine,” defending X Games Big Air gold medalist Bob Burnquist said. “Amazing. I look forward to learning a lot from him in the future. All eyes on Tom!”
Schaar now has his eyes on getting an invite to X Games 18 this summer in Los Angeles. He said the chance to skate the Big Air comp would be “really exciting, just insane.”
