Bob Burnquist
Encyclopedia
Robert Dean Silva Burnquist (born October 10, 1976), better known as Bob Burnquist, is a Brazil
ian professional skateboarder
. In 2010 he became the first skateboarder to land a fakie
to fakie 900. This also makes Burnquist the 5th person in history to have ever landed the 900.
to an American father and a Brazil
ian mother. He became adept at skateboarding in São Paulo. As an adult he emigrated to North America
; he holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the U.S.
. Burnquist produced a flawless run, including multiple tricks that had never been seen before and, as a result, were unnamed. During the run, commentator Tony Hawk
went hoarse and nearly lost his voice while screaming in disbelief. Burnquist was rewarded with a 98, the second highest score ever given in any X-Games skateboarding event, behind only Bucky Lasek's score of a 98.50 the year before.
Burnquist's specialties are in switch stance skateboarding
and creating innovative vert tricks. He has always tried to find new ways to make his tricks more creative and more difficult. He has a signature trick called "one-footed smith grind". Burnquist has also been featured in the hit video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
, and appeared in all of its sequels with the exception of Pro Skater 3
, due to license restrictions as a result of his appearing in another skating game, X-Games Skateboarding, during that year. He returned as a featured character in the series starting again with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
and has since appeared in all the series' games following that.
In 2004, Burnquist made a guest appearance as himself on the popular TV series, Kim Possible
and also won a gold medal in the 2005 X-Games Best Trick vert
contest.
Burnquist is the only skater to go over a loop ramp with a gap in it (OP King Of Skate). Not only was the loop gapped, but Burnquist also did the gap switch. He is also the first skater to go through a loop while riding switch stance, and the first to go all the way around a full pipe just by pumping up to speed inside it. In 2000, Burnquist won the X-Games' best trick contest, with his famous fakie 5-0 with a fakie Kickflip off of the grind bar. He created a trick called "Burntwist", which is in the Tony Hawk's series
.
Burnquist completed a BASE jump after attempting a 50-50 into the Grand Canyon
. The first attempt nearly cost Burnquist his life after he missed the rail and fell out of control before regaining himself and successfully deploying his parachute. After some adjustments to the take-off ramp his second attempt went off flawlessly. This stunt was shown in an episode of the television show Stunt Junkies.
He formerly lived with professional skateboarder Jen O'Brien, and their daughter Lotus. He now lives with Veronica Nachard and their daughter Jasmyn (born 2007) in Vista, California
, where he has a world-renowned vert ramp
in his backyard. This ramp has been skated by dozens of famous skateboarders, including Colin McKay
, Tony Hawk
, Rune Glifberg
Bucky Lasek
, and Lincoln Ueda, and has been featured in hundreds of magazines and videos, including Tony Hawk's Trick Tips and Thrasher Magazine
. Burnquist's latest addition to his backyard skate-park is one of the world's few permanent Mega Ramp
s.
He had also started the Bob Burnquist Foundation to bring knowledge about organic farming
and gardening to schools, and was one of the founders of the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, a nonprofit organization that brings ecological
awareness to skateboarders, surfers and BMX
ers.
Burnquist was featured in a commercial for Aero choclate bars.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian professional skateboarder
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
. In 2010 he became the first skateboarder to land a fakie
Fakie
In boardsports, fakie is riding backwards with the tail facing in the direction of travel. When used in conjunction with a trick name, like "fakie ollie", it means that the trick was performed as it would normally be done with the exception of riding backwards. Not to be confused with "switch" or...
to fakie 900. This also makes Burnquist the 5th person in history to have ever landed the 900.
Background
Bob Burnquist was born in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
to an American father and a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian mother. He became adept at skateboarding in São Paulo. As an adult he emigrated to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
; he holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the U.S.
Career
Burnquist's biggest success to date came at the vert contest at the 2001 X-Games. Before his final run (the last run of the event) he was sitting in second place behind two-time defending champion Bucky LasekBucky Lasek
-Biography:Lasek started skateboarding at the age of twelve, shortly after his bike was stolen. After entering amateur contests, he was quickly noticed by Powell Peralta talent scouts in 1987...
. Burnquist produced a flawless run, including multiple tricks that had never been seen before and, as a result, were unnamed. During the run, commentator Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
went hoarse and nearly lost his voice while screaming in disbelief. Burnquist was rewarded with a 98, the second highest score ever given in any X-Games skateboarding event, behind only Bucky Lasek's score of a 98.50 the year before.
Burnquist's specialties are in switch stance skateboarding
Footedness
Footedness, similar to handedness, is the natural preference of one's left or right foot for various purposes. While purposes vary, such as applying the greatest force in a kick or stomp, footedness is most commonly associated with the preference of a particular foot in the leading position while...
and creating innovative vert tricks. He has always tried to find new ways to make his tricks more creative and more difficult. He has a signature trick called "one-footed smith grind". Burnquist has also been featured in the hit video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
-Reception:The game was very well-received by most critics, scoring an outstanding 92 on Metacritic based on 18 reviews for the PS1 version. IGN gave the N64 version of the game a 9.1 out of 10 praising the gameplay for "genius control, combo system and design" despite little criticism with sound...
, and appeared in all of its sequels with the exception of Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, often abbreviated to THPS3, is a skateboarding video game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2001 for the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation. In 2002, it was published for the...
, due to license restrictions as a result of his appearing in another skating game, X-Games Skateboarding, during that year. He returned as a featured character in the series starting again with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
-External links:* on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine...
and has since appeared in all the series' games following that.
In 2004, Burnquist made a guest appearance as himself on the popular TV series, Kim Possible
Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
and also won a gold medal in the 2005 X-Games Best Trick vert
Vert (disambiguation)
Vert may refer to:*vert, the name of the green tincture in heraldry*Vert, is the pseudonym of musician Adam Butler*vert ramp, a form of half-pipe*vert , a competition in extreme sports, held on a vert ramp...
contest.
Burnquist is the only skater to go over a loop ramp with a gap in it (OP King Of Skate). Not only was the loop gapped, but Burnquist also did the gap switch. He is also the first skater to go through a loop while riding switch stance, and the first to go all the way around a full pipe just by pumping up to speed inside it. In 2000, Burnquist won the X-Games' best trick contest, with his famous fakie 5-0 with a fakie Kickflip off of the grind bar. He created a trick called "Burntwist", which is in the Tony Hawk's series
Tony Hawk's Series
The Tony Hawk's series is a computer and video game series endorsed by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and developed by Neversoft up until Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, and published by Activision. The series began with the 1999 release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.-History:The first game was...
.
Burnquist completed a BASE jump after attempting a 50-50 into the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. The first attempt nearly cost Burnquist his life after he missed the rail and fell out of control before regaining himself and successfully deploying his parachute. After some adjustments to the take-off ramp his second attempt went off flawlessly. This stunt was shown in an episode of the television show Stunt Junkies.
He formerly lived with professional skateboarder Jen O'Brien, and their daughter Lotus. He now lives with Veronica Nachard and their daughter Jasmyn (born 2007) in Vista, California
Vista, California
Vista is a city in north San Diego County, California. It was incorporated January 28, 1963 and became a charter city on June 13, 2007. Located just seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in northern San Diego County, the City of Vista has a Mediterranean climate...
, where he has a world-renowned vert ramp
Vert ramp
A vert ramp is a form of half-pipe used in "extreme sports" such as skateboarding.Another form of half-pipe is the mini ramp.Vert ramps are so named because they transition from a horizontal plane to a vertical wall....
in his backyard. This ramp has been skated by dozens of famous skateboarders, including Colin McKay
Colin McKay
Colin McKay is a professional skateboarder from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.- Biography :McKay graduated from Handsworth Secondary School in 1992....
, Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
, Rune Glifberg
Rune Glifberg
Rune Glifberg is a professional skateboarder who currently resides in the Leucadia district of Encinitas, California. Glifberg began skating at age 11 after a friend brought a board over to his house. In the early 1990s, Glifberg turned professional as a vert skater and made the trek across the...
Bucky Lasek
Bucky Lasek
-Biography:Lasek started skateboarding at the age of twelve, shortly after his bike was stolen. After entering amateur contests, he was quickly noticed by Powell Peralta talent scouts in 1987...
, and Lincoln Ueda, and has been featured in hundreds of magazines and videos, including Tony Hawk's Trick Tips and Thrasher Magazine
Thrasher magazine
Thrasher is a monthly skateboarding magazine founded in 1981 by Kevin Thatcher, Eric Swenson, and Fausto Vitello. It regularly publishes articles , skateboard photography, interviews with professional skateboarders, interviews with and reviews of musical groups, skatepark reviews, and miscellaneous...
. Burnquist's latest addition to his backyard skate-park is one of the world's few permanent Mega Ramp
Mega Ramp
A Mega Ramp is the informal name given to any large-format vert ramp structure used in freestyle BMX and skateboarding. The name distinguishes a second generation of ramps which became increasingly popular during the 1990s-2000s transition years...
s.
He had also started the Bob Burnquist Foundation to bring knowledge about organic farming
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
and gardening to schools, and was one of the founders of the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, a nonprofit organization that brings ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
awareness to skateboarders, surfers and BMX
Bicycle motocross
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
ers.
Videography
Burnquist has been featured in many videos including:- Es Menikamati
- Anti Hero's Self Entitled Video "Anti Hero"
- Anti Hero's First Video "F***tards"
- The Firm's "Can't Stop"
- Flip's "Extremely Sorry"
- Viva La Bam
Burnquist was featured in a commercial for Aero choclate bars.
Contest history
- 1st in 2011 X GamesX Games XVIIX Games XVII was an action sporting event which took place from July 28 – 31, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Venues for the event include the Staples Center, Nokia Theater and other areas of L.A. Live. The games featured the sports of Moto X, skateboarding, BMX, and rallying...
Big Air - 1st in 2010 X Games Big Air Rail Jam
- 3rd in 2010 X Games Vert Best Trick
- 2nd in 2010 X GamesX Games XVIX Games XVI was an action sporting event which took place from July 29 – August 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum...
Big Air - 2nd in 2009 X GamesX Games XVX Games XV was the fifteenth annual X Games. It was an action sporting event which took place from July 30 - August 2, 2009 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center...
Big Air - 3rd in 2009 Maloof Money Cup
- 2nd in 2009 X GamesX Games XVX Games XV was the fifteenth annual X Games. It was an action sporting event which took place from July 30 - August 2, 2009 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center...
Big Air Rail Jam - 1st in 2008 X Games Big Air
- 1st in 2007 X GamesX Games XIIIX Games XIII took place from August 2–5, 2007 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center. It was broadcast on the ESPN networks, EXPN.com, and ABC.Events included:...
Big Air - 3rd in 2006 X GamesX Games XIIX Games XII took place on August 3-6, 2006 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center, Home Depot Center and Long Beach Marine Stadium. It was broadcast on the ESPN networks and ABC-Moto X Best Trick:-Moto X Freestyle:-Moto X Step-up:...
Big Air - 1st in 2006 The Coolio Games
- 1st in 2005 X Games Vert Best Trick
- 1st in 2003 X Games vert doubles (with Bucky LasekBucky Lasek-Biography:Lasek started skateboarding at the age of twelve, shortly after his bike was stolen. After entering amateur contests, he was quickly noticed by Powell Peralta talent scouts in 1987...
) - 2nd in 2002 X GamesX Games VIIIThe 8th X Games were held in Philadelphia in 15–19 August 2002. The events included Moto X , Skateboarding , BMX , Wakeboarding , Aggressive Inline and Speed Climbing .- Moto X...
vert doubles (with Bucky LasekBucky Lasek-Biography:Lasek started skateboarding at the age of twelve, shortly after his bike was stolen. After entering amateur contests, he was quickly noticed by Powell Peralta talent scouts in 1987...
) - 1st in 2001 X Games vert
- 1st in 2001 Slam City JamSlam City JamSlam City Jam, the North American Skateboard Championships, was scheduled to return to Vancouver, BC in May 2008, but it has been postponed to May 2009 for unknown reasons. Debuted in Vancouver in 1994, Slam City Jam is the longest-running skateboarding event in North America and is among the best...
vert. - 1st in 2000 X Games Vert Best Trick
- 1st in 2000 Slam City Jam vert.
- 1st in 1995 Slam City Jam vert.
- 4th in 1996 Gravity Games Jam vert.