Twenty years ago legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk completed a gravity-defying 360-degree ramp – The Loop.
The Loop is infamous for its difficulty and the 50-year-old has praised it as a “badge of honour in the skate world”.
Now that badge has just been earned for the first time by a female skater, Lizzie Armanto – take a look.
Congratulations to @Lizziearmanto on becoming the first woman to complete the infamous loop yesterday. She pulled it just after our @nextvr event ended. It was an inspiring display of fierce determination and skill, and we at @birdhouse are incredibly proud. pic.twitter.com/8ekbUrxkOr
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) August 27, 2018
If that spectacular trick wasn’t impressive enough, in the next video posted by Hawk he explains some of the history behind The Loop, which he first came across from pictures of failed attempts in a magazine.
My brief history of looping, made for BBHJ tour when we added one to the show in 2003. On Sunday at 3:30pm PST a whole new crew will be trying it for the first time. You can watch it live for free on any VR headset or on your phone through the @nextvr app. 🌀👀 pic.twitter.com/TrMacuwkrn
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) August 24, 2018
Hawk himself hasn’t completed The Loop for 15 years, last doing so on tour in 2003, and has injured himself many times trying it, once breaking his pelvis.
“It’s hard to explain it,” Hawk said. “If you’ve done it, you’ve checked it off the list. I’m not going to get the same gratification.
“It’s not like a trick you do and want to keep doing. And I have paid the price for it.”
Hawk’s latest adventure with The Loop was part of a live virtual reality broadcast in San Diego with NextVR, which allowed viewers to watch the skaters in 3D.
None of the skaters Hawk invited to try The Loop had completed it before, and included in the group was Felipe Nunes, a teenage double-amuptee – seen here practising with stunt pads.
Here’s Felipe Nunes getting a test run in preparation for our live loop challenge, tomorrow at 3:30pm PT, only in the @NextVR app. #HawkLoopinVR pic.twitter.com/Wn7sdooH4O
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) August 26, 2018
Hawk said they use pads “so people can start to get used to the timing and feel of doing it in its natural state”.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing and you go at it without ever trying it and there are no pads in place, it can be very dangerous,” he said.