Christian Hosoi

Christian Hosoi, 2008

Christian Rosha Hosoi (born October 5, 1967 in Los Angeles ) is a professional American skateboarder , who is also known in the scene under the names Christ and Holmes . Along with Tony Hawk , Hosoi was one of the most famous skateboarders of the 1980s.

Life

Early career

Hosoi began skating at the age of six, using veterans such as Shogo Kubo , Tony Alva , Stacy Peralta, and Jay Adams as role models. His father Ivan "Pops" Hosoi became the manager of the Marina del Rey Skatepark, after which Christian soon left school to develop his talent there. In 1979 he was sponsored by Powell Peralta , but left the company a year later because they did not want to add him to the professional team. He signed with Dogtown Skateboards , which however had to file for bankruptcy a year later, after which he became a professional at Sims Skateboards at the age of 14.

Among other celebrities such as Steve Caballero , Mike McGill , Lester Kasai and Mike Rogowski , Hosoi became one of the best skateboarders of the time, and over time a strong rivalry with Tony Hawk also built up. While Christian went for style, Hawk went one step further technically. Well-known tricks by Hosoi were the Christ Air and the Rocket Air , which even once set a world record due to the enormous height in the air. As a result, he gained popularity and sponsors such as Converse , Swatch and JimmyZ , as well as Pro-Model Wheels from Santa Cruz Speed Wheels ( OJ II Hosoi Rocket ) brought Hosoi sums of money above his expectations.

1984 founded his own skateboard company Hosoi Skates , first in cooperation with Skull Skates , then with NHS / Santa Cruz and published his first own pro model ( Hammerhead ). When the sport became more popular again in the mid-1980s, it proved its strength at the Lotte Cup in Japan in 1989 when it won both disciplines (Vert, Street).

Legal conflicts

Christian's career was at a turning point when not only the world economy changed, but also the sport of skate and many new faces stepped onto the floor and literally stole the show from the old ones. Shortly thereafter, Hosoi faced a major bankruptcy after several market strategies ( Tuff Sk8s , Sk8 Kultur , Milk , Focus , etc.) had failed, whereupon he came into increased contact with drugs. After a few offenses and an arrest warrant, he withdrew from the public and therefore did not take part in the first X Games , which revived the vert discipline and used the rivalry between Hosoi and Hawk as a marketing magnet. Tony Hawk rose to his present size.

In January 2000, he was arrested at Honolulu Airport while trying to smuggle large quantities of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Hawaii . He was sentenced to ten years in prison and transferred to the San Bernardino Detention Center.

Christian faith

While serving his sentence, Hosoi married his girlfriend Jennifer Lee and became a so - called born again Christian , probably also through the influence of his wife and her uncle Christopher Swain, who was a pastor. During his sentence he was supported by various well-known skateboard manufacturers ( Black Label Skateboards ). In June 2004, he was finally paroled for good conduct. Shortly thereafter, he became a pastor himself at the Sanctuary of Huntington Beach , California, and resumed his skateboarding career.

Later career

Two weeks after his release, he returned to skating, which he did not practice during his entire prison term. He was soon able to prove his talent again, leaving Black Label Skateboards and concentrating on rebuilding his company Hosoi Skateboards . He appeared in the Christian skate film Livin 'It LA and signed a contract with Vans in 2006, which also secured him his own pro-model shoe (Hosoi Sk8-Hi). He can also be seen in the game Tony Hawk's Project 8 and the documentary Rising Son: The Legend of Christian Hosoi by Cesario Montaño .

successes

Was in the top 5 in the 1980 Van's / Offshore Amateur State Finals (California) in the Boys 11-13 division.
1985 NSA Summer Series # 5 (Vancouver, BC) winner: pro vert.
Second at Expo 1986 (Vancouver, BC): vert
Winner in the 1988 Vision Skate Escape: vert.
Winner of the 1988 Titus World Cup (Germany): vert.

Trivia

In connection with Hosoi's prison sentence in 2000, the band OPM released the music video for the song Heaven is a halfpipe that same year . At the end of the video, there's a man wearing a white t-shirt that says FREE CHRISTIAN HOSOI .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ OPM "Heaven is A Halfpipe" on youtube.de, accessed on November 4, 2016

personal data
SURNAME	Hosoi, Christian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American skateboarder
DATE OF BIRTH	5th October 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH	California , USA

[1] OPM "Heaven is A Halfpipe" on youtube.de, accessed on November 4, 2016