All language subtitles for All.This.Mayhem.2014.REPACK.720p.BluRay.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

(Crackling)

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

TAS PAPPAS:
I don't like bringing it all up

because I would like to be
friends with everyone again.

But you're asking me questions
about that period -

well, that's what went on.

That's just the way it is.

That's the way it went down.
I can't bullshit.

Don't want the Pappas brothers
to be remembered

as just maniacs.

But it got pretty heavy.
Yeah, just weird.

Stuff you wouldn't think would
happen in skateboarding.

And the facts is this, boys -

there's three sides
to every story -

there's my side,
your side and the truth.

DOM KEKICH: Back then, there
was no other place better to be

than Prahran
if you were a skateboarder.

You had all different types
of people rocking up there.

People in the tight, torn jeans,

long hair...

Messy ones, clean-cut.

No matter who you were,

you'd just get accepted
if you were a skateboarder.

CAMERAMAN:
Do you like skaters?

- Yeah, I am one.
- Do you like other skaters?

- Yeah, of course. I have to.
- You have to?

What do you think
of pedestrians?

Can't do much about 'em.

DOM KEKICH:
I used to finish school at 3:30,

get my board
and go straight to the ramp.

It was the only thing
that I wanted to do at the time.

- Oh!
MAN: You alright?

CAMERAMAN:
Dom! Why do you skate?

- For fun.
- Fun?

Yeah. What else would
I skate for? Money?

OM: I had that sense of freedom
there with skateboarding,

and pretty much
that was my life at the time -

I was just skateboarding.

School was OK, but skateboarding
was more than that to me.

CAMERAMAN:
Looking sharp there, Greg.

Yeah, looking very good!

GREG STEWART: Every weekend,
every night after school,

we used to go down to Prahran.

It was so exciting
because there were people

from all around Melbourne, a lot
of older crew and street guys.

CAMERAMAN:
Hey, why do you skate?

'Cause, you know, I've gotta
get some enjoyment in my life.

- (Chuckles) You know?
- Then go and have a pull, son.

GREG: My mum hated it.

She just didn't understand
why I wanted to go to Prahran

all the time and
didn't understand that culture.

Still to this day,
they don't really understand.

What do you think
of skateboarding?

Skateboarding?
I haven't thought about it much.

CAMERAMAN: But do you think
it's a good sport, really?

If it turns people on, why not?

DOM: I was down at Prahran
one day.

I was probably, like, 11 or 12.

And these kids padded up and
just started from the bottom.

It looked like they had never
even stepped on a board before.

They just got on the ramp
and started pumping,

going quarter of the way up,
halfway up the ramp.

They didn't give two shits
if someone said to them

to get off the ramp, they would
just go and have a skate.

You could see they were
pretty hard, you know.

I found out they were called
Ben and Tas.

MAN: We were young as fuck
when we came to Prahran,

which is on the rich side
of Melbourne.

We were just normal kids

brought up in a physical
kind of atmosphere,

like having rock wars
and climbing construction sites

and houses
that were being built.

I saw the vert ramp and I was
just mesmerized by the fact

that people could fly through
the air, and that took over.

TAS: We were bogans.

There's bogans in every country.

I think in America they call
them hessians or white trash.

They'd be the American bogan.

In Australia,
it's just called a bogan,

but it's more
the rougher suburb type.

TAS: We grew up in suburbia,
half Greek, half Aussie.

Sort of rough.

Growing up was pretty hectic
as far as Mum and Dad went.

They tried to be together
and cool,

but there were just fights
every night.

Mum was hardcore.

I mean, they had a fight,
they got into it

and then she's screaming
and I was, like, freaking out.

'Don't hit Mum!'

Then Mum would come back
with a big glass ashtray,

smash Dad in the head,
then he's... Bff!

...laid out on the floor
with blood coming out his head!

I'm like, 'Ah! Dad's dead! '

That's the sort of things
we saw growing up.

Me and Ben would always be
going at it with each other,

smashing each other.

And we learned martial arts
as kids.

I was in kung-fu
when I was five.

They had to take me out of it

'cause I started smashing
all the grade fives

when I was in grade one.

Just thought I was Bruce Lee.

My dad and Uncle Willie
had a jujitsu school,

and the first thing
Uncle Willie taught us

was all the pressure points.

Temples, eyes, behind the ears,

throat, up the nose,
down the chin.

And he's teaching us
all these death strikes.

Then he'd tell us in class,

'Right!
Now, what are you going to do?

You've just walked in,
some bloke's raping your mother.

Think about that.
She's about to die.

Now what are you going to do
to that bloke?'

We'd be in our heads, young,
going, 'I'm going to kill him! '

And then they'd go, 'Now, spar!'

And then we'd go in there
and fully spar.

(Kids grunt)

Dad was like,
'Willie, maybe we should ease up

on the death strikes,
they're children.'

But I took that to skating
and so did Ben.

DOM: Sure enough, a week later
they're dropping in.

Tas is dropping in,
Ben gets up, starts dropping in.

They'd gotten good really quick.

They just did it for fun,
how I did.

We'd become really good friends,
me, Tas and Ben.

BOY: Ben! Yeah!

GREG:
We were a really tight group

and everyone bonded
with each other who could skate,

and we were just complete pricks
to other people who couldn't,

so it was
that sort of mentality.

- Do some fucking tricks!
(Boys laugh)

BOY: When are you gonna
fucking skateboard?!

BOY: That's the way!
There you go.

(Boys laugh)

BOY 2: Oh, look at it.
BOY: It's not good enough!

BOY: Not fucking good enough!
(Boys laugh)

BOY: You're a wanker!
Let's go, man.

♪ The Star-Spangled Banner

REG: Everyone used to come back
to my house

and just... all we did

was hang out in the lounge room
and watch videos.

(Skeleton laughs)

GREG: We always got
really excited

just by watching videos from
the States, 'cause that was it.

DOM: I used to just rock in
and there was my brother

and a couple of friends
watching the videos.

My drive is just progression.

Just to be able to keep going on
and doing new things.

DOM: To see what they could do,
I didn't think was possible.

It just blew my mind away.

GREG: That's all we watched,
and just recited songs from them

and just had a laugh about
what the skaters were saying.

CAMERAMAN: How long
have you been skating?

Six years.

- When did you start?
- Um... six years ago.

GREG: The Americans
had that twang in their voice,

like, 'Hey!' -
we used to imitate that.

(American accent)
You're just flying around,

like you're not skating anymore,
just flying around.

Wasn't that Tony Mag's quote
in one of the H-Street videos?

TONY MAG: It's like you're not
skating anymore,

you're just flying around.

♪ ROCK MUSIC

TAS: All I cared about
was H-Street.

New gen style, Danny Way style.

I remember being in my room,
going,

'That's it.
I'm going to America.

'I'm going to be the best.
I wanna smash Hawk! '

I had these huge dreams.

GREG: You just realized

that Australia just didn't have
that same buzz.

So to be a part of that
US skate culture was our dream.

♪ HARD ROCK MUSIC

(Boy laughs)

BEN: I was living with my dad
during the week

and we stayed with Mum
on the weekends.

Mum moved to Clifton Hill so the
closest vert ramp was Northcote.

That ramp
was a lot bigger than Prahran,

and it was pretty much
dead there

so we had the ramp to ourselves.

TAS: Sometimes these guys would
rock up to the ramp

in these two Porsches,

I remember just tripping.
'Who are these two?'

They saw me and Ben learning,
fighting and learning,

and he'll learn this
and I'll learn that better,

I'll go higher here,
and we were just battling.

These guys just so happened
to be the two brothers

who had pretty much the biggest
distributorship in Australia.

We had no idea
who they were either.

Lucky we didn't get lippy
to them, eh?

WOMAN: So if you were starting
off from the beginning

to learn skateboarding,
is the book going to help you?

For sure. It also has
a how-to-do section in it.

BEN: Stephen and Peter Hill
approached us at the ramp

and said, 'Hey, do you guys want
to come into Hardcore?'

Which is now known as Globe.

'We'll give you some product
and stuff.'

I was expecting a T-shirt
and we walked out of Hardcore

that day with so much shit,
I was just blown away.

And from that day on,
we were hooked up

with the Hill brothers
and Hardcore.

TAS:
Me and Ben, we got sponsored.

We couldn't exactly quite
do things yet,

but they thought
we were going to be good.

Hi, Jerry Sont here and welcome
to Melbourne's Festival Hall

where, tonight,
skaters from all over the world,

including USA's No. 1
Christian Hosoi

and Sweden's Tony Magnusson,

will compete
against Australia's best.

The wheels are way more new
than his.

Better trucks,
they're way stronger.

TAS: We've got
the ultimate trucks...

These are so shit. It's a joke.

- It's independent.
- Grip tape, really chunky.

Independent is where it is at.

TAS: 1989 Ramp Riot,
they wanted us to go on it,

and I told my dad,
'Dad, you've got to go!'

Me and Ben were,
'Yeah, you gotta let us go

to go on tour
around Australia.'

Someone from Hardcore
spoke to our parents,

and the next thing you know,
we're in the team van.

(Cheering and shouting)

♪ ROCK MUSIC

TAS: And then we toured
around Australia,

seeing all this mayhem go down.

We were staying in a hotel
with 30-years-olds,

partying out of control.

We live to skate 100%
of the time.

When we travel, we skate.
When we're at home, we skate.

The skating
shouldn't be organized.

It is like trying to, you know,
chain a wild animal.

It shouldn't be done.

TAS: They're all just
coked, drinking maniacs

with all these chicks.

Naturally, that's what me
and Ben saw as young, young kids

and we were like, 'Oh,
this is what skating is about.'

And you're young, going,
'Yeah! These pros are cool.

I wanna be a pro skater.

What's that white shit
they're sniffing?

Oh, it makes you skate better?
Hmm.

Get me tons of that.'
You know, you'll do it.

(All cheer)

AS: So that was our first taste
of pro skateboarding.

CAMERAMAN: Harder.

(Speaks indistinctly)

- (Sniggers)
- Fuckin'... Unnggh!

GREG: I got into video

just because so much stuff
was happening at Prahran,

it was entertaining
to actually watch

people's reactions
to themselves on video.

Why are you filming
all the time?

REG: Apart from the skating, we
were just basically hanging out,

doing what your regular boys
would do at that age.

Look at that little baby. Mmm.
She's just asking for a root.

- Mmm.
- Lana, want to fuck?

No, don't say that.
Buzz will root you!

Nah, I'm just asking for Buzz.
He hasn't got the guts to.

GREG: At the same time,

I could see Tas and Ben
were getting really good.

They were improving,
like, really quickly.

(Clapping and whooping)

(Laughs)

GREG: Just go for it.

REG: They were doing new tricks
that, in some respects,

that were better
than some of the pros

who were in
the American videos.

Shut up while
I'm trying to skate. Alright?

Fair enough.

(Laughs)

GREG: Tas was
an in-your-face kind of guy,

and his skating was the same.

He'd just go for it,

always put together
the hardest stuff, back to back.

If he slammed, he slammed.

DOM: If he couldn't make
a trick,

it was, 'Look out, heads,
here is a board coming.'

Fuckin' dick! Fuckin' homo!

Fuckin' eh!

(Metal bangs)

ON VIDEO: No, don't say that.
- Buzz will root you!

(Laughs)

GREG: Ben, on that session
you just watched today,

what is the outcome,
your response?

Ah, well... nothing.

GREG: Ben was always different
to Tas,

maybe because
he was the younger brother.

He was quite laid-back and he
was just a bit more open-minded.

It was weak.

GREG: At the time, there was
a big boom in street skating.

It had its own energy,
it had its own language.

It was a new generation of kids
taking all the old tricks

and adding kickflips

to create a whole new
dynamic form of skating.

Ben would come along
and skate street with us

and actually try
these street tricks

on the vertical,
which was just unheard of.

GREG: Ben Pappas.

- Kick indy revert.
- Yep. Do it.

After the heelflip?

No, try the varial. You're so
fucking close to the varial.

GREG: The thing that was really
amazing about Ben

was he was just, like,
completely natural.

If you thought anything,
he would do it.

- Back foot kickflip.
- You'll never do it.

- Alright.
- You're dreaming.

GREG: Obviously take time,
but he'd actually do it

and do it all the time,
really easily.

That's when all that sort of
vert and street mix

was coming to power,
I guess you could say.

(Speaks indistinctly)

(Boys laugh)

Look at how Sean's going, eh?

TAS: He'd like to quote
movies, my brother.

The movie Platoon, that was the
war between Elias and Barnes,

and he'd say, like,
we skated like Barnes and Elias.

Elias was more free-flowing
and stoned

and Barnes was like,

'If the machine breaks down,
we break down.'

He just gets hammered
and just, 'Raah!'

Makes things happen, and that's
how Ben reckons I skated.

I'd roll in, try to do
everything and land it or die.

He'd call it 'Barnesing' it.

Ben was more flick perfect
and he was more the Elias

'cause he tried to be more
understanding.

We did everything together.
We were inseparable.

Go slowly.

- Wait, are you filming?
- Yeah.

GREG: The scene was really dead
in Australia at that point.

Just feed it. Don't hurt it.

GREG: But it sort of brought us
sort of closer together.

It's trying to attack me!

GREG: Tas and Ben both knew
how to have a fun time.

Come on!

(Boys laugh)

Get off!

(Boys laugh)

GREG: I'm recording.

GREG: Yeah, hang on.
(Tas breaks wind)

(Boys laugh)
TAS: Did it work?

GIRL: (Laughs) Nah!
- No!

(All laugh)
- Did it work?

GREG: Got it, mongol?
- Fucking wait.

DOM: Tas always had something
new up his sleeve, you know.

If it was causing mischief, he
definitely wouldn't hold back.

Hold it upside down until
the plastic starts burning.

The bomb is gonna go off!

TAS: Little bogans, I suppose.
That's what we did.

We were always looking
for a rush, trying to have fun.

BOY 1: Fuck off.
BOY 2: Keep away from me!

- You're a fucking goober!
- Get away from me!

- Fucking don't hit me.
- Get away from me, you idiot.

- You're a cunt.
- Well, fuck you, mongol.

(Boys laugh)
BOY: Yeah!

TAS: What kid doesn't have fun
blowing up lighters

or smashing things or finding
a stolen car in a paddock

and smashing all the windows
in it and setting it on fire?

(Chuckles) What little kid
didn't enjoy that stuff?

It's what everyone does,
don't they?

Didn't they?

♪ ROCK MUSIC

Why are you here?

I'm doing a demo.

What do you think of the demo
so far?

It sucks.

- Why?
- Shit ramp.

Any good-looking chicks
out there?

Uh... most of them are lizards.
I suppose there'd be a few.

How could you sum Sydney up
in one word?

Fucked.

TAS: It went sort of slack
for a bit.

Not much skating went down.

That was when I made up my mind.

I was 16, worked for a year
and a half, saved up my money,

jumped on a plane, vowing
to myself I have to go there,

and I have to beat Hawk.

Hello, and welcome
to the skate park of Tampa.

I'll be your tour guide.
My name is Bill.

Welcome to the pro shop.
We've just refinished it.

You've got Fred over here,
dealing with construction...

You've got Olly, park employee.
And the Sandman.

BILL: The first time I met Tas
was in Tampa, Florida.

They had a vert ramp in
a warehouse where lots of people

from all over the world
would show up.

(Shouting)

It was not only a great place
to skate

but it was a really fun place
to party.

It was a cool environment.

TAS: We lived in the skate park
behind the ramp.

There was the skate park

and then there was an office
building inside the warehouse,

and we lived directly under the
ramp in the Charlie Brown room.

It was painted yellow
with a black zigzag

all the way around the room.

Trippy room, gave you really
weird dreams in there.

BILL: He was a kid.

I don't even know how
you'd gather the kind of money

it takes to get
a plane ticket from Australia

to fly all the way to the US
with nowhere to stay in sight,
trying to chase a dream

that, you know,
doesn't seem very realistic.

You get here and
if you're the new vert skater

from Australia that shows up,
nobody cares.

Tas came over here

and his skating was what put him
on the map, period.

It was, like, undeniable.

TAS: The level of skating there
was mad!

Everyone was just going off
all the time,

just filming constantly,
everyone is there every day.

...In the pool room.

Mike Frazier, Mike Crum!
What do you know?

(Retches)

TAS: It was full-blown mayhem.
It was crazy, man.

A lot of acid-taking going down.

You get sheets,
mini sheets of acid

and I'd just have acid
all the time.

(Wolf howls)

♪ Madness and mayhem... ♪

I filmed my whole part,

all my tricks in the Mad Circle
Let The Horns Blow,

I was on acid, and I got
Video Part of the Year.

When I'd get on the acid,

it was like everything just felt
like I was moving well.

You know that da Vinci painting
where the guy is like this

and it's in the circle,
there's all the numbers?

I started feeling like him.

♪ HEAVY METAL

I always wanted to be able to do
everything in a line at the end.

I just thought
the best thing is, like,

imagine all these mad, single
tricks these guys have filmed

and then everyone thinks
that's your video part done

and then,
at the end of your part,

you gotta do it all
in one line.

♪ HEAVY METAL

(Boy screams and whoops)

BILL: The Mad Circle video
really put him on the map

because he was certainly
the next guy that was changing

what you thought was possible
or how it was done on vert.

There was one line
that stood out

that was like
all the hardest tricks

that no one had really ever
seen, but put into one line.

Rumor has it that that line was
done on mushrooms as well,

so it made it
that much more iconic.

GREG: In that period
when Tas was in the States,

Ben was preparing himself
to be a world-class skater.

MAN: Oh, yeah!

CAMERAMAN: Whoo-hoo!

- It's fucking cold!
(People laugh)

Oh, my God! That was so scary!

CAMERAMAN: You guys are fucked!

GREG: He was filming
all the time with me,

hanging out, having fun,
but also trying to do

the best he could to prepare
himself to go to America.

- Start again.
- Shut up!

(Coughs)

(American accent) Bunch of
slack-jawed faggots around here.

This stuff will make you
a goddamn sexual Tyrannosaurus,

just like me.

BEN: I was 16, I finished
Year 10 and went to the States.

My brother was already over
there 'cause he finished school

because he was two years
older than me,

so he was already
in Tampa, Florida.

I flew over to Tampa,
met Tas there.

BILL: Ben blew straight onto
the scene like his brother.

BILL: What's your name?
- Ben Pappas.

- Where are you from?
- Australia.

- How old are you?
- 16.

BILL: These guys were putting
such a heavy hit on vert skating

that it was just unbelievable.

LANCE CONKLIN: Me and my brother
and this guy Bo Turner,

we would go to the skate park
to go skate,

and then seeing these dudes
skate the vert ramp

like no one else I've ever seen
skate the vert ramp.

Out of nowhere, like,
'Who the fuck are these guys?'

'Oh, they're the Pappas brothers
from Australia.'

Both those guys were,
'I'm going to fucking make this
trick, I don't give a shit.'

That was the mentality.

When they were on it,
it was like, 'Dude, stand back,

and fucking watch some really,
really good skateboarding.'

♪ ROCK MUSIC

(Cheering and applauding)

TAS: Got onto the comp circuit.

Being an outsider from another
country, it was hard.

You come up,
you've gotta start doing stuff

that is just obviously
light-years ahead,

or way harder combos which
no one's even bothering to do.

BILL: Tas went from a guy

that was living in
the skate park at Tampa

to a guy that started to pick up
a bunch of really good sponsors.

Ben, as well, during that

had really stepped into
that arena just like Tas.

They were both
so fucking gnarly.

(Whooping and cheering)

TAS: It took Ben a bit
to get used to the pressure

of the world stage, but once he
did, he just started killing it.

(Cheering)

TAS: I never thought
about the money.

I was just enjoying
going on tour

and chicks and new best friends
in every city.

(Chuckles) It was fun.

COMMENTATOR:
Tas Pappas, ready to go.

He's a feisty one.
COMMENTATOR 2:
He is a feisty one...

TAS:
As the comp circuit went on,

I started realizing
how weird it was getting.

All of a sudden, it's ESPN

and you got your Hawks
playing it up to the camera,

really going, like,
full mainstream

Brady Bunch type stuff.

COMMENTATOR:
It is skateboard vert,

and it is Tony Hawk's turn.

Can I go?

TAS: Some X Games it was like,
'X Games welcomes Tony Hawk'

like, he was fully in there
at ESPN.

I think he married a chick
from ESPN.

It was like he owned it!

He's a pretty smart businessman,
I'd give him that.

COMMENTATOR: Tony Hawk, one of
the greatest ever in this sport.

He's got his own skateboard
company, he's into videos,

even took a stab at directing
in our ESPN truck.

(Chuckles)
Hey, I just have a question...

TAS: I thought, 'Yeah,
what is this? This isn't us.'

Skateboarding
is about individuality,

and they were taking that away.

Whoa, nice.

COMMENTATOR: Is he going
for something new?

TAS: Some of the stuff I saw,
I remember just shaking my head,

just going, 'Wow, is this what
skating has turned into?'

(Screaming and cheering)

REPORTER: We've seen that
he can fly high.

Here he goes, scooting across
there. He's in the water!

(Cheering)

Hawk takes a swim,
and the crowd love that!

♪ ROCK MUSIC

LANCE: If you want to be
a pro racer, where do you go?

Indianapolis 500.

You want to be an actor,
you go to Hollywood.

Want to be model?
Go to fucking New York.

You wanna be a pro skateboarder,
you come to San Diego.

I moved to California in '95

and ended up living with
Danny Way,

and then those guys came out.

It's not even that hard.

AS: As soon as me and Ben moved
to San Diego, we felt at home.

Do it all the way.
Should go all the way forwards.

TAS: Then when Danny and Colin
invited me and Ben

to go skate the Plan B ramp with
them, we were just psyched.

Yeah!

TAS: It was just like hanging
with the boys.

There was no fakeness going on,
you know?

Cocky bastard.

LANCE: They were skating
with their hero, Danny.

The level went up, huge.

It was like, 'Holy fuck, dude,
did you see that?'

Those guys fed off each other.
They were fucking competitive.

Tas would be saying shit
to Danny

and they'd get into arguments

and, 'Fuck, I can't wait to see
the skateboarding go down! '

And it went down.

Ah, you trick thief.
Jake's been trying that.

Then those guys ended up
living at the house

and that was quite a...
You know.

(Laughs)
I don't know what to say.

(Laughing and shouting)

TAS: That was another mayhem,
living at Danny's house -
it was just party time again.

Me and Ben are chopping coke
non-stop, skating, partying.

Just... You couldn't escape it
in those days, you know
what I mean?

TOMMY CAUDILL: The first time
me and Tas sat down,

he took my brand-new bag of weed
and I look over

and he's chopping it all up
with his cigarettes, you know,

and, to me, that was disrespect.

I was a little pissed.

You know,
'That's my fucking weed.

That's my brand-new bag
of weed,'

and he's chopping it up,
making himself a mull.

'It's a fucking mull, mate.'
Chopping it up.

I don't really think it was
something he tried to do.

I just think he was,
like, a natural asshole.

At the time, me and Danny were
starting a skateboard company

called Platinum Skateboards

and we wanted Tas and Ben
to be on the team.

We started talking to them
and it was just on.

♪ HEAVY METAL

(Cheering)

TAS: Platinum was
a bloody dream team.

It was a sick bloody team!

Chet Thomas came on board
with us, Henry Sanchez,

but the big drawcard
was me and Ben were together.

HENRY SANCHEZ:
Tas and Ben were acquaintances

until I got on XYZ Platinum,

and from that point,
we got pretty close.

It opened up a different side -
for me, anyways,

because I was
a street skater.

Just seeing those guys
skating vert, just going crazy,

living the rock star lifestyle
was pretty awesome.

You appreciate it
as a street skater

'cause you don't get
that rock star status

that the vert guys get.

They do a couple of Mac Twists
and come off the ramp

and literally girls are
surrounded.

Ben wasn't so much like that,

but Tas indulged
in that lifestyle, you know.

BILL: They both rode
for this new company.

There was all this huge hype
surrounding them.

They had this
really cool apartment

just steps away from the beach.

Tas's dad had come over
and started living with them,

so that was really cool,

and then the contest season
started to pick up

in the vert world and there were
some big contests.

♪ WHIMSICAL, HAPPY MUSIC

HENRY: Tas and Ben just killed
all the contests, you know.

They were powerhouses,
they come from Australia,

and they just had
that Australian attitude

of not giving a shit.

(Cheering)

ANNOUNCER: From Melbourne,
Australia, Tas Pappas!

TAS: There was a bit of
push and pull all year

between me, Ben and Hawk.

ANNOUNCER:
Tas Pappas opening the door.

Kickflip indy. Wow!

TAS: I just remember
going to each comp

and we'd be doing latest tricks.

ANNOUNCER:
Tas really had a good run.

TAS: Hawk was still
just doing his normal stuff.

He wasn't flipping his board
or any of that stuff

and he would be winning
the comps still.

We were a bit mind-boggled.

ANNOUNCER:
And the judges scored a 90.

That means we are deadlocked

and we will have a run-off
for the championship.

TAS: He's an amazing skater.

I don't particularly like
his style.

He just wasn't doing
the latest moves

and it was a bit hard to cop
at times, you know.

ANNOUNCER: Oh, incredible!
Outstanding run by Ben.

TAS: Then all of a sudden,
Ben went off.

I think he got three firsts
in a row or something.

He was just on this roll
at one point.

ANNOUNCER: Oh, my goodness!

Ben Pappas
is the best skateboarder

in the world right now.

- You've got to be stoked.
- I'm stoked as.

I was like, 'He beat me again.'

Then I'd beat him
and he's like, 'Grr, next comp.'

Like, brotherly push.

It was always been like that
since day one.

ANNOUNCER: Another fakie
into a 720. Holy cow!

TAS: It got to a point

we weren't even thinking
about anyone else.

Hawk wasn't in there.
It was just about pushing each
other further and further.

We've been entering contests
ever since we were kids.

It's all the same
when it comes down to it.

It's just a contest. You're
there, you gotta do your best.

TAS: I was told on the day

that, 'You and Ben are one point
apart from No. 1 in the world.'

Ben just had to place higher
and he'd have had it.

ANNOUNCER: The crowd,
are you guys ready?

(Cheering)

1996, Hard Rock Café
Vans World Championships.

(Speaks indistinctly)

COMMENTATOR: Tony Hawk
is banging trick after trick.

Not a lot of skateboarders are
able to do what he is doing.

TAS: Hawk did his normal run,

which is a good run,
but it wasn't, like... great.

COMMENTATOR: Although
he does do a lot of tricks,

the level of intensity
wasn't quite as high

as some of the other skaters.

Ben Pappas dropping in,

dropping straight
into a huge kickflip indy.

Winner of three previous events
coming into this contest.

TAS: It was a long, hard season

and Ben has a tweaked lower
back, so he was struggling.

So I decided it was up to me.

I figured
I just had to Barnes it,

and Barnesed it is what I did.
(Chuckles)

ANNOUNCER: Tas! Yeah!

(Announcer speaks indistinctly)

(Audience cheers)

(Audience screams and cheers)

Let's give a little applause
for Tas Pappas right now.

He's our No. 1 qualifier.

TAS: Hawk was a very smart
competition skater.

He's a chess master
on a skateboard

as far as a comp run
is concerned.

But I wasn't interested in that.

(Audience cheers)

I did my stuff
and I slammed on a 720

and slid out and went bang.

I knew straight away
I had broken my rib,

but it didn't matter 'cause
I'd already done my best run

so I didn't think
I had to skate again.

ANNOUNCER: Was that enough
to beat Tony Hawk?

What do you think?
What do you think?

ANNOUNCER: That is a dead tie,
so we are headed for a run-off

with Tony Hawk and Tas Pappas.

TAS: I didn't believe it.

I was saying, 'Oh, my God,
what more can I do?'

I remember Ben going off
to the judges,

'How the hell is it
a head-to-head?

He did kickflips 10ft high! '

Now I gotta try again?

And it was even harder
in the head-to-head

because he would just be going
540,540, 540,540,

air to fakie, 720,540, 540,
grind, grind, grind.

You know what I mean?

COMMENTATOR 1:
Well, in situations like this,

you always have to favor
the veteran of the sport -

he's been here before.

COMMENTATOR 2:
Tony just doesn't fault.

EN: Tony dropped in and did his
run and did every single trick

that he was pretty much
doing that day.

I thought he had it in the bag.

I thought,
'Tony's definitely got it.'

(Cheering)

TAS: I was on top
of the roll in...

...and I'm like, 'What have I got
to lose now?'

My rib's already broken
so I may as well just go for it.

If I didn't win, I just wanted
to be known as the guy
who went completely ballistic.

ANNOUNCER:
Are you ready for Tas Pappas?

Look at that, just going giant!

Oh, my goodness!

Oh, my God.

Fakie, 540 to fakie, one of
the hardest tricks you can do.

Oh!

That was amazing. It's going to
be a tough call for the judges.

ANNOUNCER: Was that enough
to beat Tony Hawk?

- What do you think?
(Audience cheers)

Well, it's kind of déjà vu
in Las Vegas,

Tony Hawk and Tas Pappas
went head-to-head for a final.

They did it again today,
as you saw,

and I'm gonna tell him
for the first time.

Tas, you're the champion,

I don't know if you know that,
but you won the contest.

- Did I? No...
- You won the contest.

- You're serious?
- Yes, you did.

- Nah.
(Laughs)

Well, kind of an unbelievable
reaction because I know, Tas...

TAS: I didn't believe it.

I thought they were
taking the piss.

Then after that, I was like,
'No way.'

Are you pretty stoked right now?
What are you thinking right now?

- You're in disbelief.
- I don't believe you.

(Both laugh)

(Applause and cheering)

TAS: It felt sick!
You're at the top.

You're on the best teams,

you're affiliated
with the best guys,

winning comps.

That was the goal -
to be there, to do that.

It was bloody amazing really.

YOUNG TAS: When they called it,
it was just like, 'Holy shit!'

Yeah, that was amazing.

I will never forget the day.
I was just blown away.

TAS: Afterwards,
Hawk was sort of angry and cut,

and he came up and he's
looked at me, he's like,

'Uh, I just feel like
I should have won that.'

Then Ben's just come out, going,
'Fuck off, Hawk.

All year, they have been
giving you the comps

and you come to us, "Uh,
I think I should have won!"'

And Ben goes,
'Why can't you just be happy

for someone else
who's done it, man?

You don't flip your board!'

He goes, 'Fuck off, old man.
You're over.'

Because Ben went to bat for me
so hard,

I was thinking,
'Do I do the right thing here?

No, no, no, Ben.'

I couldn't leave Ben with it
and have Hawk hate Ben's guts

and not hate my guts
at the same time.

'If my brother's going off
for me this hard,

I won't have him
look like the only dick.

I'll be a dick with him.

Yeah, fuck off, Hawk,
you fucking wanker!

You can't even flip your board,
you old prick.'

And that's one of the things
that led to our feud.

Tas did a really good job
at burning bridges.

You know, he thoroughly would
burn down the bridge.

It wasn't like he stepped on
someone's toes

and then worked it out with them
or anything -

he would step on your toes,

spit in your face
and, 'Fuck you!'

PRESENTER:
No, it's not New York.

It's Melbourne's Prahran
skate ramp

where the Pappas brothers have
come home to a hero's welcome.

BOY: I've had tapes of them
when they were younger.

They weren't as good.

And now they've reached the top
and they're the best now.

They've got the technique,
everything, soul,

whatever it takes,
they've got it and they did it.

PRESENTER: Tas Pappas
and his younger brother Ben

are now the world's No. 1 and 2
ranked skateboarders.

I just did it to pass time

and then it started working out
for the better.

DOM: I couldn't believe it
myself, you know.

I thought they would probably
get in the top ten or top five,

but I never expected them
to take it that far.

I am a professional athlete.
I'm about to do an interview.

TAS: We went back home
to celebrate.

We were just on such a high,

we just didn't want the party
to end.

Everywhere we went, we had a few
casual little lines of coke,

which turned into
three weeks at a time.

Yeah, it was party time.

Come in, James, are you there?

Tas Pappas, everyone,
give him a round of applause!

(Cheering and applause)

Tas, can I just ask a question.
You are world champion.

You won the $10,000 prize or so
recently up against Tony Hawk

and you did it
with a broken rib.

How did that happen?

That was in my final run.
I slammed and smacked my ribs.

GREG: I was watching TV and
Hey, Hey, It's Saturday came on

and I saw Ben and Tas,

and I went, 'Oh, my God!'

They were completely bonkers.

This is Tas' brother, Ben.

GREG: They were just
all pumped up,

egos were flying
and high as fuck.

...Brother on the world circuit
with you?

I'm stoked to have Tas
on the world tour. It's rad.

We get to cruise around, skate.

Yeah, I think he likes it too.

A whole new lingo thing
going on here.

DARYL SOMERS: Thank the boys
for showing us what they can do.

We're proud to have
the No. 1 and No .2 in the world.

Yeah, these guys rock.

ALL: Whoa!
- Heavy slam!

Tas!

Hey, Tas.

What's in your mouth?

(Tas speaks indistinctly)

TAS: I was training
with Danny's trainer.

I just was feeling pain and he
did a full check on my body,

X-rayed everything

and then it turned I out
I had spondylolisthesis.

Spondylolisthesis is where the
vertebrae breaks off the wings.

My spinal cord
was jammed down the bottom.

He told Danny,
'Don't force Tas to skate.

He'll end up paralyzed.'

He told him, 'He needs some time
to get strong'.

I ended up paying him ten grand
to do my physio.

Do you want a Jack-and-coke?

TAS: When I'd get injured,
I'd just go party,

I'm not going to sit at home
doing this and that.

I'd just get on it.

What are you going to do
when you're young,

you've been on top of the world,
you've got major injury,

you're thinking this and that?

You're going to party,
aren't you?

Once you've already
got a habit, why stop?

You've got money,
you've got this,

you think
it's never going to end.

LANCE CONKLIN: Going from
nothing and then making money

and you're that young
and you're in a foreign land,

it's got to be weird.

All of a sudden you can do shit.

When those guys started making
a lot of money,

they got a nice house,
they were cruising around

and having a good fucking time
for a while.

Everything was great.

But then...
fucking doing drugs and stuff,

that definitely fucks you up.

Everyone looks better in gold.
The gold rim.

TAS: I would always have
tons of coke on me.

I had a pound of coke
at one time

just sitting in my dresser,

I didn't even think if I got
caught I'd get a bunch of time.

I remember waking up
in the mornings,

I had a big brick of this shit,

and I had a mad knife
in my top dresser.

I'd wake up,
and it was sharp as,

and I'd just scrape
the top of the brick

and then... (Sniffs)

Straight off the knife,

and just have it sitting there
at all times.

Lee Ralph came over and
I'd just break off a good chunk,

and do it until it was gone.

I liked to buy in bulk
back in those days.

LANCE CONKLIN:
Those fucking guys went nuts.

Going over to their house
to pick up Tas

to go film with him one night,
and he's doing coke.

There was a mound of it.
It looked like Scarface.

I mean, it was, like,
a mound of cocaine.

Like, 'Hey, Lance, fuckin'
want to do some?'

And I'm like, 'Alright.'

He'd bring some along with him

and we're driving
to the Plan B ramp

and we get pulled over
by the cops.

POLICEMAN: Get out of the car.

LANCE: I'm like,
'Oh, shit, dude.'

I know he's got it with him.

POLICEMAN:
Get your driver's license out.

They're like,
'What are you guys doing?'

'We're about
to go skate a ramp.'

The cops are like,
'Yeah, right.'

I'm like, 'Look,
there's the skateboard,

all the pads and everything.
Want to watch?'

POLICEMAN: What's this
contraption on here?

LANCE: It's a skateboard.
- It's a what?

ANCE: We got away with that one

and I'm like, 'Fuck, man,
we almost got busted for that.'

That's when I was like,

'Man, you've got to stop
doing that shit.'

LANCE: Let me film
all this shit.

I'll fucking film it.

(Man speaks indistinctly)

(Whistling)

TOMMY CAUDILL:
There was definitely

more partying that went on
than skateboarding,

and Tas became impossible
to deal with.

TAS: You fucking rule, mate.

I'm the same as you guys.
We all skate. We skate.

MAN: Yeah!

TAS: I'm just the same.
I just got lucky.

I could be God fucking...
(Speaks indistinctly)

But the fact of the matter is
it's the skaters for the skaters

and fucking Platinum
is for the skaters.

ALL: Yeah!
- You guys rule.

TOMMY CAUDILL: The Vegas contest
we all went out to,

I remember Tas getting so wasted
and so belligerent

he didn't even skate
the contest.

ALL: X-Y-Z, X-Y-Z!

- Who rules?
ALL: X-Y-Z!

- Who rules?
ALL: X-Y-Z!

TOMMY CAUDILL: He went up
on top of the platform

and we had a box of XYZ stuff

that he was throwing out to
the crowd during a contest run.

The main chick that ran the
whole contest tried to stop him.

He's called her a cunt,
told her to fuck off, you know.

It got the crowd away
from the contest, chanting.

ALL: X-Y-Z, X-Y-Z!

MAN: Louder!
ALL: X-Y-Z!

TOMMY: He disrupted
the whole event.

At the time he was so drunk,

I don't think he saw really
what he was doing.

He was just stoked on the energy
that he was creating.

ALL: X-Y-Z! Platinum!

(Horn honks)
(Man laughs)

Platinum!

TOMMY: Everywhere Tas went was
like a fucking tornado, man.

He just truly
didn't give a shit.

XYZ, Platinum!
Or I'll fuck your mom!

- I'll fuck your mom.
- (Laughs)

TAS: Tommy was like,
'Why aren't you skating?'

I think he was starting
to confuse the issue

with my partying as to
just not wanting to skate.

That's when
the downfall started.

Right there was when
it started to go sour.

(Tires screech)

HENRY SANCHEZ:
We just had good times.

We drank a lot and smoked
a lot of weed and just partied.

Had a good time.

TAS: Me, Ben and Sanchez
were always smoking bongs,

doing snow cones, smoking coke.

We thought that the money
was never going to stop

because I was No. 1 in the world
and Danny Way had his name

and we were killing it
and we were rock stars.

(All laugh)

- Holy shit!
(All laugh)

- He just went off.
- That was fucking insane.

MAN: I thought I'd get burned.

I thought this house was
going up in flames, dude.

TAS: When you start making
a lot of money,

a lot of shit
comes along with that.

People get ego-driven
and greedy.

You get a shitload of people
that pretend to be your friend

just to get stuff out of you,

especially where money
is involved.

Shit can get pretty messy.

MAN: Oh, my God!

- Jesus!
(Laughter)

HENRY SANCHEZ: There was really
no direction in the company.

How you survive in
skateboarding is basically

you get a good team
and you film a video

and you make good products.
It's that simple.

But there was no direction
at all.

Danny would send me to San Diego
to skate and film,

and I would skate vert,
I am a street skater. (Laughs)

So... nothing was very organized
at all.

BILL WEISS: It seemed like XYZ
all of a sudden,

which was part of Platinum,
they had built this huge ramp,

one of the first really big
ramps, at this warehouse.

So now these guys they had this
really gnarly practice facility

or vert ramp to themselves.

Everyone was like, 'What?'

You'd never seen anything
like that.

TAS: Danny and Tommy
never listened to budgets,

and then the investors are like,

'What's going on with the money
from XYZ?'

It was just dwindling away.

And I couldn't skate
because of the back,

but I was still blinded
by the light,

sniffing the lines of coke
from hell.

'Yeah, whatever, I'm the best.'

LANCE CONKLIN: I disagreed
with the money-spending thing.

I thought it was stupid.

Fucking buying dumb shit
and I'm like,

'We don't need that.
We're a young company.'

It felt like they expected me to
be 'Fuck, let's just go for it.'

No.

You need to put the money back
into the company.

You don't start buying
fucking vans

and stupid shit we don't need
and partying and... Eugh.

I just wanted to make it
in skateboarding,

and that's why I got out of it.

AS: They came and picked me up,

took me for a drive

and Danny and Tommy
were in the car.

They said 'Listen, we're gonna
have to let you go.

Platinum is no more.

There's just no more money.

And we hate to break it to you,

but your dad embezzled
the money, he took the money.

There's just no more money.'

I went, 'What?'

I was in the car. I remember
going, 'You're fucking kidding.

My dad wouldn't take money.
What are you talking about?'

They fully tried to say

my dad stole all the money
from the company,

and then it got out
in the industry

that that's what was said about
my dad and I wasn't having that.

TOMMY CAUDILL: Kicking him
off the team wasn't easy.

It was like, I had to deal
with this guy

and it would now turn
into a little personal war.

I felt at the time
I've put a lot into him,

I helped him out
as much as I could

and he thoroughly, I felt,
fucked us over.

I had a lot of resentment
and a lot of frustration

and anger towards him

where I wanted to fuck him up.

TAS: We were sitting
at our house one night.

Next thing you know we hear
boom, boom on my roof.

I go outside
and it's a fucking beer bottle

with a sock on fire
and full of petrol.

Lucky it didn't break.

We heard fast footsteps,
and it sounded like little legs,

and Tommy has got little legs.

He tried to petrol bomb
the house.

I thought
'Fuck, this guy's off tap.'

I did things on my end
to let him know that

'I wanted you fucking
out of here, man.

We helped you get here
and you can leave now.'

We need to get the ball rolling,
alright?

MAN: Alright.

Jump in off that
and go right here, OK?

- OK.
- OK, mate.

BILL WEISS: XYZ Platinum
both had fallen apart...

...and then sort of quickly
from everyone being

this sort of band of brothers
mentality,

there seemed to be
this huge falling-out

between Tas and Danny.

Then all of a sudden,
it was, like, cut ties

and Tas and Ben
were not even allowed

to skate the ramp anymore.

It turned kind of ugly
really fast.

TAS: I started thinking,
'This is crap.

Is this really what
skateboarding is all about,

just backstabbing bullshit
over money?'

I hated it and Ben hated it.

We'd be talking and Ben says,

'I can't handle the fakeness
over here.'

So he decided to go home
for a while.

We dropped Ben off at LAX.

So I slept in and then I woke up
to the phone ringing,

and it was Ben
at Melbourne Airport.

And all I heard Ben say was,
'Tas, I fucked up.'

REPORTER 1: Ben Pappas was
arrested at Melbourne Airport

after his credit card triggered
a high cocaine reading.

X-rays of his sneakers revealed

103g of cocaine with a street
value of more than $50,000

concealed in the sole.

REPORTER 2:
Ben Pappas and his brother, Tas,

are youth sensations,
idolized to the United States,

where skaters rub shoulders
with rock stars.

The pair is ranked one and two
in the world,

but such heights are now
likely to elude Ben Pappas

after he was caught smuggling
cocaine into Melbourne.

As imports go,
it was only a small amount -

just over 100g
for his own personal use.

But importing the drug is
punishable by a hefty fine

or, at worst, a term in prison.

Whatever happens to him, it's
almost certain that Ben Pappas

will never be allowed back into
the United States to compete.

TAS: That was just bloody
the most shattering phone call

because I knew Ben
couldn't come back.

That shattered me.
I cried and...

...I just couldn't believe it.

GREG: Picked up the paper
and it just was Ben Pappas

just, like, busted at Melbourne
Airport for cocaine in his shoe.

You just thought,
'What the fuck are you doing?

You're blowing it.'

DOM: My jaw pretty much dropped.

I thought he was in the
motivation to become No. 1.

I didn't think it was like Ben
to do that, bring it over.

I used to get along with Ben
back in the day,

so I kind of really
felt for him at the time.

I wanted to see him
get through it.

TAS: Being pro skaters
who are traveling a lot,

people always propositioned
each other.

'Imagine we just brought it
from here

because it's so much cheaper.'

But... you know not to run 'em
across borders.

The pay-off is not big enough.

REPORTER: Does it mean
the end of competition?

GREG: It beat him up big time.

He just had a lot of regret.

He used to say to me,

'Fuck, if only I left my shoes
on the plane.'

DOM: He couldn't go overseas,

he couldn't travel
and make a living from it.

For him, that was
a huge wake-up call, man -

coming from second in the world
to rock bottom, that's it.

That would be like a spear
through the heart, pretty much.

TAS: I was shattered.

My partner in crime has gone.

I'm gonna be touring the world
alone now.

Any country I go in, no one's
really got my back anymore.

It was me and Ben against
the world, and now it's only me.

TAS: What are you guys up to?

- We're just looking around.
- Hello!

- You can sign right here.
- Alright.

TAS: What's your name?
- Gabe.

DANNY: I was living with Tas
at the time when Ben got caught.

I remember everyone
was kind of devastated.

Switch ollie.

DANNY: Dude, this is it!

DANNY: I started
filming him a lot,

and that's when he started doing
the 900, and he was so close.

CROWD: Whoa!
TAS: Fuck off!

TAS: After Ben got busted,
I was thinking,

'It's time to knuckle down,

try to kick the doors open again
for me and Ben,

like I did when I first came
to the States.

If I nail the nine
that could lead me to money

which could help
get my brother back.'

Tas!

Do a 900.

TAS: The 900 was something that
has never been done before,

and it was very scary.

A 540 is one and a half spins.

With a 900, you go up,
you do a 540

and another 360, bang.

(Clapping)
MAN: Whoo!

DANNY: He was so close, landing
on 'em, almost making it.

We had a couple of people
from Transworld Magazine

come and shoot sequences
of Tas.

DANNY: Yeah, he's gonna do it,
Grant. You want to bet 100?

TAS: Grant Brittain, he's
an old-school photographer

who works for Transworld
who's shot Hawk for years.

He shot all his photos,
they've been mates for years.

I just thought, 'sick,
Grant's being cool again.'

CROWD: Oh!
You've got to get him
to free run.

DANNY: What?
Get him over there
when he's hyping up for it.

(Rock music in background)

MAN: Yes!

CROWD: Oh!
- Yeah!

HENRY: He almost made it.

He was way high,
way high in the air

and almost making them.

It was like a legit 900.

He heard that everyone
at Transworld,

Hawk and everyone was
gonna look at his sequences.

The Hawkman, everyone went
and studied his work.

TAS: I was just about there
and I was thinking it was on

and then I was thinking,
'I'll do it at the '99 X Games.'

COMMENTATOR 1: From Melbourne,
Australia, mate, it's Tas Pappas

and just from watching him
in practice,

after being gone from
pro skating for a little while,

the man is on a mission.

COMMENTATOR 2: This guy has just
been going off all day today

and all day yesterday
in practice.

COMMENTATOR 1:
He's on fire, man.

COMMENTATOR 2: He has got
so much confidence going on
right now.

I want to see the 900.

COMMENTATOR 1: Phenomenal.
I think he's gonna save that

maybe for the best trick contest
if he's in it.

DANNY: Tas and Bill
were just super psyched

because there was
a best trick contest.

But for some reason,
they didn't let Tas skate.

TAS: I've done the comp,
this and that.

I've been doing alright
and Don Bostick is like,

'You're not in the best trick
comp this year.'

I'm like, 'What do you mean?

I've been in every
best trick comp all year

for the last few years.

Why just out of nowhere
just this one?'

They said, 'You're not in it.'
I said, 'Well, who is in it?'

COMMENTATOR:
Tony Hawk, Tony Hawk.

COMMENTATOR: It's the 900.
You guys wanted to see it done?

TAS: Then the best trick comp
started

and I saw Hawk
start trying nines.

And I was just like, 'No way.'

COMMENTATOR: 900,900.

DANNY: Tas was devastated.

Because that was it -

if he would have entered that
contest he would have did it

because he's that kind
of skater.

COMMENTATOR: 900!

Everybody picture it.
Here we go.

TAS: I thought,
'What a weasel maneuver.

At least give me a chance.'

He probably would have
beaten me to it,

but at least I could have had
a shot for shot for it,

you know what I mean?

(Cheering and applause)

HENRY: When Tony Hawk
did the 900,

I was there, I witnessed it.

I didn't think it was
all that impressive

compared to what I saw
Tas doing.

I know he would have
at least tried it.

I don't know if he'd have nailed
it, but he'd have tried it.

And it would have made Tony
Hawk's 900 less impressive.

TONY HAWK: If it weren't for you
people I'd never have made that.

Thank you.
This is the best day of my life.

I swear to God.

TAS: I realized right then and
there who I was up against.

It didn't matter how good I was

or how close
I was getting to something,

it was just, 'stuff you.
Piss off home, Aussie.'

MAN: Ahh!

(Curses)

Leave it there, you cunts.

GREG: I hadn't seen Ben for
two years after he got busted.

He just disappeared again.

But then I saw him in the city
just off chance,

and he was completely
a different person -

stacked on the kilos,
just mega overweight.

You filming again?

GREG: He was just doing a lot
of drugs and playing music.

He totally did not skate.

He reckons he didn't skate for
about a year, year and a half

and was totally removed from it.

He was really unhappy
and really down on himself.

BEN: It's easy to get sucked
into doing drugs,

partying and shit like that,

but in the end it brings you
nothing but bullshit.

Basically it taught me
that you reap what you sow.

If you do good things,

good things are gonna
happen to you.

Pretty much karma.

DOM: He was on antidepressants.
He would get depressed.

He gained a lot of weight.

At the time I had put on
the kilos as well.

I was on some
antidepressants myself.

Everyone used to see us
and see two fat people,

and we were trying to skate
the new Globe ramp.

Hey, Dom.

Has it stopped raining? Yeah?

DOM: At that time,
I kind of felt

that I had caught up
with a good friend again.

He needed somewhere to stay

so I said, 'Yeah, you're in.'

And having him around was good.

Alright, this is it.

Make this one!

Whoa!

MAN: So, Dommy,
tell us the vibe.

It's not looking too bad. We're
just gonna go to the ramp now

and see
if it's alright to skate.

Maybe throw down a few tricks.

Yeah, mate.

MAN: Top one.

- (Laughs)
- Fuck off with your camera.

Yeah!

So here we are...

OM: We started skating together
all the time, just hanging out,

going out to bars and stuff,

having a good time
and skating a lot.

GREG: He was basically
coming back to who he was,

because he'd been on that
sort of arrogant high thing.

He realized 'That's not who I
am,' and went back to being Ben.

BEN: She's got sideburns.
Fucking hell.

(All laugh)

REPORTER: Professional
skateboarder Tony Hawk

is known worldwide
as an innovator of the sport.

TAS: I'd met this young chick,
Colleen.

She was a friend of the family
and we hit it off.

She was responsible
and didn't party -

all the traits that I wanted

because I had my drug problems
and I kept that hidden from her,

but she inspired me to really
get my act together.

Within a year, she was pregnant
and we had Kaia.

Once I had Kaia,
it just made me start to think,

'Right, time to get serious.'

I had sort of grown up a bit,

and once you've had a kid,
you start to realize,

'Hang on a second here.

I'll do whatever it takes
to feed my kid.'

COMMENTATOR: Ramp it up,
ramp it up, ramp it up.

The vert doubles final

at the First Union Centre's
out of control,

crowd peaking for Bob and Bucky,

giving Tony and Andy
a run for their money.

TAS: By then the mainstream
scene that had blacklisted me

had changed completely.

It had fully turned
into show business.

And of course ESPN and
the X Games ran the whole show.

COMMENTATOR:
Oh, the crowd loves that one.

They're show-stoppers,
this team Boom Boom.

TAS: And I thought it was bad
in the '90s.

COMMENTATOR: Erin Hawk.

Those guys won.

You win.

Even Danny was getting in on it,

jumping the great wall of China
on his mega ramp.

And it didn't take long
for the X Games

to cotton on
to that one either.

Of course they said
it was a way to attract

a new generation
to skateboarding.

To me it just looks like
it's only something

the privileged can do.

LANCE CONKLIN:
You know what sucks?

It's that whole X Games shit.

When I found out how much money
those assholes were fucking...

...assholes...
the X Games were making.

Take a fucking shit.

You guys fucking can fuck off.

How much they fucking scoop off
of fucking skateboarding?

Suck it.

TAS: But even though
I was shut out by the scene,

by the two main vert camps,

I found a way to support my
family through skateboarding.

COMMENTATOR:
Tas Pappas set up for the 180...

(Cheering)

TAS: All the pros were doing
X Games,

but then I heard that there
was another comp circuit,

you get paid 250 a day
for a half-an-hour demo.

You're gone for a couple of
weeks out of the month.

So I started thinking,
'Right, I'll pull my head in,

I won't be a prick anymore.'

Stuck to myself and skated.

Tas Pappas,
you'd better recognize.

This guy will put you in a
headlock if you don't shut up.

- Yeah, like this!
- Argh!

What?

DOM: Ben liked to keep
everything to himself, you know.

He met this girl, Lynette,
and he started seeing her,

and he didn't tell me anything.

GREG: It was odd actually.

He was never actually honest
in saying,

'This is who I'm seeing.'

She just used to rock up
at the ramp.

There was just this little small
flesh-and-bone...

She was really skinny.
She never said a word to me.

One time we went to a pub
around the corner from Prahran,

and she just popped up
and just sat down next to him.

I was like,
'Whoa, this is really bizarre.'

That's the first time I knew
they had a sort of connection.

He was actually really
embarrassed by it.

You could tell - he was like,
'Fuck.' Two sides to his life.

Just a really weird situation.

But every time
I saw them hanging out

or knew they were hanging out,

he looked like he had taken
a lot of drugs.

DOM: It was obvious that Ben
and Lynette's relationship

was revolved around drugs.

I could see he had been using it
because he was down and gaunt.

I knew he was on the Xanax,

but he didn't admit that
he was using heroin to me.

I didn't even see him around

for two or three months
or something.

He had taken everything
from my house at this stage.

I don't know
who he was staying with.

I didn't think he was going
to get into bloody heroin.

What broke my heart was
when I heard he got into heroin,

I just couldn't bloody
believe it.

I went home one trip.

It was this Globe comp.

He comes with Lynette and
they were both off their face.

Pinpricked eyes,

just full smacked out,
just had a shot each.

I realized then that she was
a junky, Ben was a junky.

So I went off.
I was being mean.

I'm like, 'You, get the fuck
out of here.

Stay the fuck away
from my brother, alright?'

We got into a bit of a fight,
so I left.

What am I supposed to do?

He's 25 years old,
I'm 27, 28, with a kid.

He was under the impression

I was having this great time
in America

and I'm like, 'Ben, mate,
you think I'm having fun?'

COMMENTATOR: Tas Pappas
comes into this event injured.

He's got some back...

TAS: I had to be top ten
at every comp.

That's how I was living,
trying to support my family.

Shortly after that,
Aydin was born.

And then the pressure was on.
The pressure was on hard.

Being away all the time
and not seeing my kids,

we'd fight a lot
while I was gone.

She'd be angry
I'd be gone,

it just strained the
relationship hardcore.

When I'd get injured
I'd start sniffing a bit of ice,

purely to be able to stay in
the comp to make the money,

and it would numb your body,
the speed.

And it worked,
but the problem was,

after the comp, you're already
on speed so you're figuring,

'Who cares?
I'm already off my face.

Let's just charge
the rest of that gram

and get another eight-ball and
then we'll just go for days.'

And then boom,
I'm back on drugs.

Smoking ice, smoking crack.

Then I hit psychosis mode bad
and I just lost the plot.

It was weird, it was like me
and Ben lived parallel lives.

Whenever he fucked up,
I fucked up.

It was like we were twins.

Do you reckon we should make
this one, Gregsy?

GREG: Yeah. Now.
- Yeah.

We can do it for another
two hours if you want.

- Now?
- Yeah.

GREG: Ben looked terrible.

He was going down to Prahran
fully on drugs.

He used to have this bottle of
Xanax and when we were filming,

he used to pop two Xanax
before the skate

and I was like,
'Are you off your head?'

GREG: He was really upset.

He was trying to get out
of that routine.

You could tell he was trying
to get away from that.

He knew in his heart that that
wasn't the right thing to do,

do drugs with her.

He'd just say, 'I've just got
to get away from her.

She's not good for me.'

But I think he didn't know
where to go at that point.

What's up? Not today.

TAS: I went to jail two months,

I went on a mad
ice and crack bender.

I came home and tripped out,
got in a fight with Colleen,

did a silly thing,
slapped her and hit her.

I was off my face,
I couldn't remember.

I was ashamed of myself too
because I've got a daughter

and if anyone did that to her,
I'd want to kill 'em.

It's something that's been hard
for me to admit,

and people look at it,
like, weak,

'You hit a chick,'
and this and that.

I don't know.
I am ashamed of myself for that.

They had me in the mental pod
'cause I was fried on the drugs,

and then Homeland Security
came to me when I was in jail.

They said, 'You're going home.'

I was like, 'What do you mean
I'm going home?'

They said 'You're going home.
You're getting deported.'

I stayed in jail
from that point on.

I just couldn't believe
what was going on.

I was losing my family. My whole
goal was to never lose my kids.

And then boom, it was just shit.

(Dog barks)

DOM: Me and Greg went
to the ramp at Prahran,

met up with Ben.

I hadn't seen him in a while

and it was the first time I'd
seen him so gaunt and just down.

Didn't want to skate,
didn't want to talk to anyone.

I thought his brother
is in jail,

his brother can't come over
to Australia to visit him.

REG: He was acting really weird

and completely like he just
did not care about anything.

I remember I said,
'Where is your board, man?'

And he said to me, 'I won't be
needing my board anymore.'

DOM: Ben said, 'Dom,
I need somewhere to stay.

Can I stay at your house
for a few days or something?'

Because he was such a good
friend, I couldn't refuse.

Ben wasn't talking.
He was just really down.

I was trying to ask him
what's on his mind.

He started crying and said

he couldn't remember anything,
like, what happened.

I said, 'What do you mean
what happened?'

He said he just remembered
waking up on a bench in the city

a few days before

and dropping some Xanax
or something like that.

And then I saw a newsflash.

REPORTER: The body
of a woman was found

wrapped in material
at Dights Falls yesterday.

Police believe the woman is
27-year-old Lynette Phillips.

OFFICER: The body has been
wrapped in material,

and there's a backpack
apparently with weights in it,

then over the material
and the body.

REPORTER: Results of an autopsy

expected to be known
later tonight.

DOM: I thought,
'shit, don't tell me

he's gone and done
something stupid.'

Just felt surreal. Couldn't
believe it was happening.

I said, 'Did you see the news?
Lynette's been found dead.'

He said, 'shut up.
Don't tell me any more.'

And he left.

GREG: It was out of this world
really,

because you thought he was down
and out, but you never thought

that one of your good friends
could do that.

DOM: I didn't want
to believe it, you know.

The Feds came around
to my house,

they started asking questions
about Ben -

when was the last time
I saw him?

They said, 'Can you come back
to the station

and answer some questions?'

They said, 'Now we're going
to give you some pictures

if you can identify
if this is yours.'

They gave me a picture
of a backpack and I said,

'Yeah, that's mine. I gave it to
Ben maybe six months ago.'

They told me she was
weighed down with that,

so I was like, 'shit.'

They showed me another picture,

my doona cover, saying that's
what she was wrapped up in.

I started just bawling.

Like, seriously
didn't believe it.

Just thought, 'No fucking way.'

I just had the impression,
'Ben, gosh, what are you doing?'

REPORTER: Police say one of
the world's most talented

skateboarders, Ben Pappas,

is a person of interest in
the murder of Lynette Phillips,

a recovering long-term
drug addict

who was studying
to become a counsellor,

her battered body
found wrapped in a blue cover.

DOM: After a week,
no one could find Ben.

So everyone was concerned
for his life, you know?

And then I saw a newsflash.

REPORTER: The body was found
in waters off Victoria Pier

around 7:30 last night.

Divers were sent in after
a wallet was found at the scene.

The dead man is believed
to be former

world skateboarding champion
Ben Pappas.

An autopsy is being carried out
to confirm his identity.

Pappas was the main suspect
in the murder of...

GREG: Everyone was
so blown away,

just blown away and devastated
about what had happened.

Didn't even think about Tas, no.

TAS: I was calling Colleen
one day.

She just wasn't
answering the phone.
I'm getting bloody paranoid.

So then I called my dad.

He goes, 'Tas, I need you
to be strong for me.'

I go, 'What are you talking
about, Dad, be strong for you?'

He goes, 'Tas,
I need you to be strong for me.'

I go, 'What are you talking
about, Dad?

What the fuck is Colleen doing?
Where are my kids?'

He goes, 'Tas, I need you
to be strong for me.'

I said, 'What are you talking
about, Dad?'

He goes, 'Ben has drowned.'

'What do you mean
Ben's drowned?'

'Ben's drowned.'

I've gone,
'Fuck off, he's drowned.

He can swim. We used
to surf in massive surf.

He didn't fucking drown.
What are you talking about?'

He goes, 'Ben's dead.'

I just remember
being in the day room

and I've just gone, 'Fuck!'

I just remember just fucking
storming the room in circles,

just fucking pissed,
hoping some cunt would kill me.

BILL WEISS: I just felt
fucking so bad.

Thinking about his brother,

thinking of how sad
his dad must have been,

let alone the whole family

and then Tas being in jail
during all this.

I remember talking to him
and saying,

'Man, fuck,
all your friends love you.

I know that you're
in a lot of pain, man,

but, fuck, you've got a lot
going for you right now.

It doesn't seem like you do,
but you do.'

And I just remember
he was fucking pissed, man.

He didn't sound good.

TAS: Honestly, deep down,
I felt like I failed him.

I was so shattered
my brother is dead...

...and I was so fucking
pissed off.

GREG: Tas got deported
and he came back here.

In his mind, his relationship
at the end with Ben

wasn't what it should have been.

There was a lot of stuff
that wasn't resolved.

He was really in a bad way.

He actually looked
like he was suicidal.

MAN: Go.

Four.

(Hard rock music plays)

What are you, Colleen?

(Sings aggressively)

GREG: He was completely
out of his mind.

This is crazy,
just crazy out there.

He was just a mess, he was just
taking it really hard.

That's for you, you cunt.

DOM: He was in bad shape.

He said to me, 'I can't believe
this is happening.'

It's gonna be really hard
for him to continue on life.

TAS: My whole world fell apart
at once.

I lost my kids, got deported,

came home to a dead brother.

I just thought, 'I deserve
to suffer. I hope I die.

And maybe I'll do something
like the way Ben did.'

So I got on the same drugs
as him -

methadone, Xanax, ice, hammer.

People were saying to me,

'Fuck, Tas is just
a complete write-off.'

And then his dad passes away.

Dad died of a heart attack.

He was stuck in America.
He was just broken.

I just had enough.

I figured the start of the real
end was when Ben got busted.

That was the end for everyone.

I just thought I deserved
the misery Ben got

because I wasn't there for him

because he died,
and I just wanted to die.

Then I thought, 'I'm a piece
of fucking shit anyway.

Who gives a fuck?'

Next minute, I'm in Argentina
with ten grand Australian,

a few skateboards,
a bunch of grip tape, glue

and a cheese grater.

I don't even know
what I was thinking,

but I just came up
with the plan.

I went straight up to the taxi
rank, I've met this cab driver,

I told him the deal and he was
like, 'OK, you wait for me.'

Then we get driven into
some weird little ghetto thing.

Next thing you know
I get given a little bag

and it's got two discs in it

with a scorpion
pressed in the back of it.

That's it. Fine.
500g each disc.

I've gone back to the hotel

and I've started grinding away.

I was creeping around the room,

and I knew
that I had got the answer

that's going to fix everything.

O spirit brother, my turn.
This is for you.

I'm there for four days,
I packed everything up,

grabbed the bag I had,
put everything in it.

PILOT: Welcome to Sydney.

Local time approaching 11:10.

TAS: Next thing you know, I'm
coming in, landing for Sydney

and I've had a moment
of clarity

and I've gone,
'Am I fucking kidding?

I've got a kilo of coke.
I'm off my fucking head

and I've changed my ticket.

I've only been gone five days.
I look like a zombie.

I'm fucking done!'

It was so loosely packed, man.

There were smears of coke
on everything.

As soon as I walked
into the airport,

I think the coke machine
just started buzzing.

(Beeping)

That thing just started going
ballistic as soon as it saw me.

That's how much residue
there was all over me.

It was so loosely packed.

The first question they asked,
'What's in the boards?'

It was that bloody obvious.

They all jumped on me,
cuffed me. Quite a fiasco.

I had ground up a kilo
to a nice little pile on a table

and it was falling
on my clothes,

it's all over the boards
when I was packing it in.

I just wiped it off with water.

What was I thinking?

I was completely gone.

I was so embarrassed.
I was so ashamed, man.

GREG: There were these pictures
on the internet

from the Australian
Skateboarding website -

three or four boards

with all 'Fragile' stickers
wrapped around

and it said, 'A skateboarder is
caught in Sydney Airport

with cocaine in his boards.'

And you just knew instantly
it was Tas.

You didn't even have to say Tas.
It screamed Tas all over it.

You would have to be completely
off your head

to even think you were gonna
get away with those skateboards.

It was such a similar
subconscious thing

that was happening
with what Ben did.

It was actually...
It was pretty sad.

Switch... (Speaks indistinctly)

TAS: In the end,
I got three years.

I'm doing 50-50s,
you know what I mean?

I think it's been good for me.

It's been very good for me,
it's exactly what I've needed.

I needed to be locked in a cell

to really think
about my brother.

Because I couldn't handle the
pain. It was too much at once.

I went straight. I was forced to
face my issues, which was good.

You feel like you're weak
because of it,

but it's actually strong
when you can admit it.

I miss my brother.

I miss him.

I just cried a lot in jail
thinking about Ben as a kid,

me as a kid
and how it all turned out.

BILL WEISS: It seems like
they're painted one way

and people perceived them
in that way.

To me,
they weren't like that at all.

They were fucking crazy, crazy
as anyone else at the time,

but those guys were just really
cool people, man.

They were really generous

and I think that's truly
the mentality

of most skateboarders.

On top of that, vert skating
was pretty much dead,

and they put a big hand

in saving skateboarding
right there.

HENRY SANCHEZ:
When I heard about Ben,

I was like,
'Damn, skating just lost one

of the sickest style skaters in
the history of skateboarding.'

I think those guys belong
in the history books

and Tas... Tas is still here
so he definitely needs to be

in the scene
with all those guys.

LANCE CONKLIN: Those guys
should still be right here

fucking kicking ass,

doing the same shit
they were doing.

It's fucking sad.

Skateboarders got fucked
in the ass so bad by bullshit.

Skateboarding used to be so
fucking great, and it still is,

but it's so fucking fucked.

TAS: Skateboarding is a gift,

and it did take me and Ben away
from crap in St. Albans.

But somehow we got sucked back
into the life

we would have had
in St Albans anyway.

I mean, I don't care.
I'm over it now.

There's no point
in holding onto it.

But it got pretty heavy.

Somehow in my big
demented stage,

I met Helen, we fell in love,
we had Billy straightaway.

She stuck by me.

Yeah, I just needed a strong
Australian woman

to help me through my shit.

TAS: I feel like God has given
Ben a second chance.

His soul is coming back
in this kid.

When I look at Billy,
I feel it's Ben.

I feel like I will Barnes it to
the death for my new Elias.