Malibu seventh-grader Tom Schaar finished sixth in the Skateboard Vert final last weekend at the nationally televised X Games, the latest step in his incredible young career.
By Jordan Littman / Special to The Malibu Times
After Saturday night’s Skateboard Vert Final at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 12-year-old Malibu resident Tom Schaar stood in disbelief.
“I just thought I’d be a normal kid,” he said.
Standing on the stage of the skateboard ramp with sharpie in hand, Schaar was signing autographs for dozens of fans after competing against some of the world’s best skateboarders at the X Games Los Angeles 2012.
It was clear at that point Schaar’s self-assessment was far off.
Schaar’s family tries to keep him as normal as possible. He goes to Malibu High School, where he is going into seventh grade this fall.
He also likes to hang out with friends and play video games and basketball, like any adolescent does.
However Tom is not quite your typical 12-year old, as clich/ as it may sound. He visits skateboarder Bob Burnquist’s house to train on his backyard Big Air ramp. He picks up skateboarding tricks from 15-time X Games medalist Bucky Lasek. But all of this is not in his head, nor is he acting out a fantasy while playing one of the Tony Hawk video games — he knows Tony Hawk, too.
Schaar is a professional skateboarder himself, and he can lay claim to something none of the aforementioned skateboarding giants have accomplished: He is the only person to land a 1080 — three full rotations.
He also just finished competing in his first X Games in the United States.
Despite being a kid competing amongst legends, Schaar himself did not expect much success at last weekend’s X Games in both the Skateboard Big Air and Skateboard Vert.
“I just really want to have fun,” he said Wednesday before competition had started.
Late Friday afternoon, fans filed onto Chick Hearn Court and more than a million tuned in live on national television to watch Schaar and the Skateboard Big Air semifinals. During an interview with ESPN, Schaar admitted he was nervous.
His parents, Nick and Regan, watched from the VIP section as their son dropped in from the 70-foot-plus high Mega Ramp, ready to make his mark on the 18th annual X Games.
On his first run in the second heat of the semifinals, he nailed a 900, earning 88.66 points. The night prior, he became the second person ever in X Games history to complete such a trick.
With only the top six advancing to finals, Schaar was tied for sixth place for much of his heat, until earning an 89.00 on another 900 to put him comfortably into fourth place overall. When his semifinal heat ended, Schaar had advanced to the finals.
Regan Schaar reached for a water bottle from her purse, watching as her son started warming up for the finals against skateboarding legends on national TV, when the magnitude of her son’s journey hit home.
She looked up and said, “Oh my god.”
In the finals of the Skateboard Big Air, Schaar took an early lead with an 89.33 on a 900 on his first skate.
A few minutes earlier, NASCAR star Jeff Gordon had tweeted, “Excited to see Big Air Final coming up #XGames. Pulling for the 12 year old kid!!”
Though he landed multiple 900s during the finals, Schaar was never able to land his backside 180, which indicates he is about to attempt a 1080. He ended the competition in sixth place, as Burnquist, 35, won the gold medal.
But for now, in his first X Games, Schaar enjoyed making the finals of his first event and captivated the world while he was at it.
“I was so happy about it because I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the finals,” Schaar said. “I am so excited about this, I’m speechless kind of.”
Schaar left the Big Air facility that night with his friends and family, away from the spotlight of his newfound X Games popularity.
On Saturday, Schaar continued his improbable X Games run. In the Skateboard Vert heats, Schaar fascinated the Nokia Theatre crowd and finished second in his group, the first out of four to compete.
He ended up with the fifth-best score out of the 16 competitors, and advanced to the finals for the second time at the X Games. When all eight finalists were introduced, Schaar’s name got the loudest ovation.
Schaar finished the event in seventh place overall, ending the X Games with two skateboarding finals appearances. Only two other skateboarders were able to do so the entire weekend.
“It’s been really fun and for my first X Games, it’s been amazing,” Schaar said. “I did a lot better than I thought I’d do, and I got to compete against people who I’ve looked up to ever since I was really a kid.”
Schaar is living any 12-year old’s dream. He is getting paid to participate in the sport he loves and is competing against the best in the world on a consistent basis.
While he was signing autographs for his fans after the Skateboard Vert, his final X Games event, Schaar’s proud family watched as he garnered attention from ESPN Brazil. By Monday morning, his sparsely used Twitter account was up to 1,243 followers.
It is fair to say Schaar is no longer a normal 12-year old. Even Tom acknowledges that he is now an international sensation.
But that does not mean life back home in Malibu will change.
“I don’t have any skating, events-wise, so I’m just going to chill for a while,” he said.
Perhaps Schaar can now return to being that normal kid he once thought he would be — at least until it is time to train again for the next X Games.
Tom Schaar Stats
Age: 12
Profession: Pro Skateboarder / Student
Height: 5’0”
Weight: 89 lbs.
Notable Stats:
– Gold Medal: X Games Asia 2012 – Skateboard Mini Mega
– Only skateboarder to ever land 1080
– Third-youngest competitor at X Games Los Angeles 2012