Meet Tom Schaar, 12-Year-Old Skateboarding Prodigy

He may only be 12, but Tom Schaar is already a big name in the skateboarding world after landing the first ever 1080 spin, and more recently, becoming the youngest ever X Games gold medallist.

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7Ms4Imt4dkM.

He may only be 12 years old, but Tom Schaar from Malibu, California is already big news within the world of skateboarding.

A heady few weeks has seen the youngster achieve one of the “holy grails” of the sport, by becoming the first person ever to perform a ‘1080’ (three full rotations whilst airborne).

The feat, which Tom has pulled off several times since first performing it in March using a “mega ramp” at Woodward West in Tehachapi, California, drew plaudits from such skating luminaries as Tony Hawk.

As if breaking a new boundary within the sport wasn’t enough, Tom also grabbed headlines earlier this month in Shaghai after becoming the youngest ever X Games champion.

Tom once again managed to pull off a 1080 to win the Skateboard Mini MegaRamp title, beating a stellar list of top names that have defined the sport in the process including Andy MacDonald, Bob Burnquist and last year’s champion Pierre-Luc Gagnon.

We caught out up with the double Guinness World Record holder recently at Skatelab, the skate park in California where he honed his prodigious skills, to talk about his amazing achievements and what the future now holds for him.

Source: guinnessworldrecords.com