A Night With Tas Pappas

It is difficult to not sound at least a little cheesy when saying former professional skateboarder Tas Pappas lived life like a rock star. But that’s the story. Born Tasou Micah Pappas, Tas, along with his brother Ben, became fascinated with skateboarding at an early age.
Not an uncommon thing by any measure, but his (their) talent sure was. From early on, Tas dreamt of dethroning the king of skateboarding, the one and only Tony Hawk. At the age of 15, Pappas headed for the US with his big dream, doing so again at the age of 16.
At 17, he was living there. In 1996, Pappas did the unthinkable (at least to many outsiders): he beat Tony Hawk at the Hard Rock Café World Championships. And he did so with a busted rib. With the fame came drugs, and coupled with an attitude that didn’t play well with others, he found himself on the outside. Those familiar with the Pappas story will know how deep and dark (and ultimately tragic) it goes, and that this blurb gives it little justice. For those not familiar, check out the 2014 doco All This Mayhem. Tas will appear at The Karova, Ballarat on December 17 for what is sure to be a fascinating night of story and Q&A.