| Jamie Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 11 1971 Dothan, Alabama |
| Residence | Encinitas, California |
| Occupation | Professional Skateboarder |
Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974) also known as The Chief, is a professional skateboarder and skateboard industry magnate from Dothan, Alabama. He started skateboarding at the age of eleven.
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Skateboarding career
Thomas was first sponsored (as a flow rider) by Real Skateboards which prompted him to move out to San Francisco with his friend Sean Young. While living in SF Jamie turned pro for a small short-lived company called Experience Skateboards. After that folded he rode for the San Diego-based Invisible Skateboards. Jamie moved to Southern California. In Southern California he started to film for Laban Pheidas' Invisible Skateboards, eventually being granted a coveted last part in one of their videos. After he left Invisible, Jamie joined Ed Templeton's Toy Machine He produced a video part in Welcome To Hell and his skateboard career began to flourish. Around this time he started his own company making t-shirts through Toy Machine's distributor Tum Yeto. This company later became Zero Skateboards.
Leap of Faith
The Zero video Thrill Of It All (1997) featured Jamie's attempt at what would be coined "The Leap Of Faith", an ollie grab down an 20-foot, 8-inch drop over a handrail at Point Loma High School in San Diego, California. His board snapped upon impact. Although Jamie never successfully landed the trick, he managed to walk away from it with both legs intact, thus garnering him a lot of exposure.
Video game appearances
Thomas was a playable character in the first five Tony Hawk video games, but Tony Hawk's Underground was the last game he was featured in.
Business interests
Thomas is the owner and president of Black Box Distribution, the parent company of Zero Skateboards, Mystery Skateboards, Fallen Footwear and $lave Skateboards. In 2006 he won a regional "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from Ernst & Young.[1]
Slap message boards controversy
In 2007, Thomas grew upset at the negative posts regarding himself, Zero skateboards, and the Zero team on the Slap message boards. He asked the administrators of the Slap message board to remove message threads, and they obliged, much to the ire of many members of the board.[2] Thomas has since tried to make amends by advertising on the site and directly responding to rumors and questions from posters.[3]
Personal life
Thomas is married to Joanne with two children and resides in Encinitas, California. He is also a Christian, with several board graphics featuring Christian imagery and scripture.[4]
Cultural References
Former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon wrote a song titled Jamie Thomas for his second solo album The Golden D in homage to his favourite skateboarder.
Sponsors
- Zero Skateboards (owner)
- Fallen Footwear (owner)
- Thunder Trucks
Select videography
- Toy Machine Heavy Metal (1994)
- Etnies High Five (1995)
- Toy Machine Welcome to Hell (1996)
- Emerica Yellow
- Zero Thrill of it All (1997)
- Zero Misled Youth (1999)
- Chomp on This
- Zero Dying to Live (2002)
- Zero New Blood (2004)
- Reason to Believe
- Thrasher King of the Road 2004
- Thrasher King of the Road 2005
- Thrasher King of the Road 2006
External links
References
- ^ http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/US/SGM_-_EOY_-_Road_to_Palm_Springs_2006_-_Thomas
- ^ http://www.theskateboardindustry.com/tsi/article.aspx?ID=295
- ^ http://www.slapmagazine.com/Mambo/forum/index.php?topic=11145.0
- ^ http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/industrynews/article/0,21214,707692,00.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSE/is_284/ai_n6095631
