Mister aggressive skater

In-line skates have long passed the stage of being a trendy gadget. On summer roller parades, everyone glides along, from young fathers with a baby in a stroller to glamour girls with well-developed calves. For the Greek-Frenchman Taïg Khris, skating is more than a pastime; he makes a handsome living from it. And besides that, he trains like possessed to become world champion in aggressive skating once again. An interview with a 28-year-old daredevil who has never been to school. In 1989, San Francisco was struck by a severe earthquake. The heavily damaged Embarcadero Freeway was closed to all traffic. For a gang of roller-skating fanatics, the deserted, rolling highway was paradise on earth. The Embarcadero disappeared, but the skaters kept meeting every week – and in ever greater numbers – for a night ride. Today, The Midnight Rollers Friday Night Skate is one of the hippest happenings in San Francisco. The idea of strapping on roller skates and taking over the city streets in a group for an evening caught on wildly. Roller parades popped up in places like Venice Beach, Barcelona (three times a week), New York, Berlin, Paris, Sydney, Rome, and Amsterdam (weekly, all year round). Brussels jumped on the bandwagon last year. The overwhelming success – 30,000 participants and over 100,000 spectators in a single summer – encouraged the organizers to arrange night rides across Belgium this past summer. Almost every evening of the week, a roller parade wound through a city somewhere. In Ghent and Liège, the score remained limited to bi-weekly participants. Koksijde averaged five hundred skaters. Namur and Hasselt have already shown interest. Brussels managed to draw two to four thousand skaters every Friday, wearing the crown. "Especially the cities where the police rode along and were involved in the organization did well," says Laurent Winneck of Belgium Rollers. "Unlike some foreign roller parades, where a clan of seasoned skaters takes the initiative and claims the streets, things went much more casually in Belgium. Besides die-hard skaters, many enthusiasts joined in too. Families with children, sometimes even with a baby in a buggy. The Belgian roller parades were a festive event that promoted in-line skating afresh as a leisure activity, sport, and means of transport. It also offered participants the chance to discover their city in a different way." Unlike last year, no roller parades will be run during the winter. The cold deters people. After a final parade in Brussels (September 19, during the police open door day) and Mons (September 21, Mobility Week), Belgium Rollers is folding up until next summer. Hasselt and Koksijde are almost certainly joining in again. Also Antwerp and East- "During a roller parade you can tear through the city at breakneck speed. That is sensational," says Taïg Khris. "It gives you a feeling of freedom. As a teenager, I felt like the ruler of the city when I could race through Paris traffic on my roller skates and leave cars behind. I fully master the technique, and because of that, there was little danger. But I don't recommend it to anyone who isn't firm on their skates. During roller parades, traffic is blocked off so everyone can participate. You just need to be able to brake." Taïg Khris now earns as much from skating as a manager of a large company. "I was six when we moved from Algeria to Paris. My father is Algerian, my mother Greek. I have Greek nationality, but on the chance to discover their city in a different way." Unlike last year, no roller parades will be run during the winter. The cold deters people. After a final parade in Brussels (September 19, during the police open door day) and Mons (September 21, Mobility Week), Belgium Rollers is folding up until next summer. Hasselt and Koksijde are almost certainly joining in again. Also Antwerp and East- myself as a Frenchman. I am French in mindset. With my brother, I often hung around at the Trocadéro near the Eiffel Tower, that's the spot for rollers. The atmosphere was incredible. Ramps or half-pipes (inline tracks in the shape of a large half pipe) didn't exist yet in the early 1990s. We didn't even do tricks yet; we amused ourselves with tag and other games. Roller skates became our favorite means of transport. Acting crazy, overtaking cars, holding onto buses: Paris was ours. Gradually we discovered more tricks. We learned to jump off stairs, we designed and built our first launch ramp ourselves. One day I jumped over three cars. When I was fifteen, a half-pipe opened right near my doorstep. I grabbed my chance. My brother was a year and a half older, and whatever we undertook, he was always just a bit stronger, faster, better. He was the best skater and athlete, he became French champion in in-lining at the peak of the hype, he acted in a couple of major movies. I was always second; the girls only looked at him. That was frustrating. The day I discovered the ramp, my brother happened not to be around. For a week I skated on the ramp like crazy, and when my brother came to look, I had such a huge lead that he quickly gave up. On the ramp, a new world opened up for me. With a friend, I practiced there every day. Even though there were no competitions back then and even though all the other friends kept having fun at the Trocadéro, where the girls also hung out. We had to manage without an audience. We watched videos of Tony Hawk and other famous skateboarders and tried to copy them on classic roller skates. I already dreamed back then of traveling the world and living off roller skating. But there were no sponsors yet, competitions were scarce and very amateurish. At eighteen, I hung up my skates and went to work in my parents' restaurant. It was misery all around, because the restaurant wasn't doing well. Right at that moment, in-line skates broke through in America. Classic roller skates, two times two wheels side by side, made way for speed skates (five wheels in a row, to gain speed) and in-line skates (four smaller wheels in a row, sturdier, suitable for tricks like slalom, jumping, and acrobatics on the half-pipe). When the first video showing the feats of in-line skaters on the half-pipe reached France, I burst out laughing at the clumsiness of those Americans. I could do much more with my classic roller skates than they could with their in-lines. In 1996, the major skate brands launched speed skates and in-line skates on a large scale in Europe. In the Bercy stadium, right near my house, a major aggressive skating championship (skating in the ramp) was organized. I bought a pair of in-line skates – you weren't allowed to compete on ordinary roller skates – and I trained day and night for two months. I finished fifth. Three days later, I was on a plane, with sponsor contracts from Rollerblade and Club Med in my pocket, heading to demonstrations all over Europe. It was the start of a new life." INTERVIEW half-pipe or vert (high half-pipe) or sliding across a stair railing or curb (grinding). Mere mortals who roll around the Terkamerenbos for fun on Sunday are in-line or fitness skaters. Aggressive skaters prefer seeking out a skate ramp or heading to a spot in the city that they claim as their own. Such spots can be found, for example, in Brussels (South Station and Mont des Arts), Mariakerke (auction site), Antwerp (Meir), Genk, Hasselt (stairs at the OCMW), Waregem (football pitch), Maldegem (Hondiuspark), and Wielsbeke (Hernieuwenberg). Like skateboarders, they try out various tricks and figures with colorful names such as Ito 540, Bio-820, Crooked Rocket Air, Safety Stale Japan, Charlie Chaplin, Fishbrain Vert Slide, or Pormaar. Trying the Pormaar? Stalvert (steepest, like on walls) or locking a sole grind: on the ledge, pull your rear foot sideways and angle it so far that the side of that skate rests on the ledge or coping. The bottom of the skate points backward. At the 2001 X-Games, Taïg Khris was the first ramp rider to perform a double backflip during a competition. That year, he won everything there was to win: X-Games, Gravity Games, World Championship for a long time, World Team Challenge. In 103 competitions, he finished first 71 times, second 16 times, third 14 times. Taïg Khris is a phenomenon. He flies through the air while performing movements that would not look out of place in a circus or at an acrobatic gymnastics world championship. It looks dangerous, and it is. "Parents don't need to be afraid: on a ramp in a skate park, their child is in no danger if they wear good pads. What I do is of a different order." I push the limits of the sport. I'm working on a special ramp, 6.60 meters high, on which I want to set new jumping records and perform figures never seen before even in gymnastics. That's not without danger. Unexpected tears, broken bones: painful, not fun, but part of the deal. The day I break my neck, I'll sing a different tune. When I was younger, nothing scared me. Nowadays I am afraid. Threefold: what do you want to achieve, and how far are you willing to go for it? But my motivation is so strong that nothing holds me back. If you fight for something, you don't get anything for free. Life is an eternal struggle. The day I reach my limit, I'll stop. But for now, I feel I can still get better. I dream of even more records. I dream of figures never shown before. Inventing a new movement is a thrill I'll still enjoy fifty years from now." Last year, torn ligaments kept Khris away from the ramp. "It wasn't wasted time. I finally had time to manage my business better, to play piano, and to learn things that have nothing to do with skating. Life is so short (laughs). After my career as a skater, I'm not worried about my future. I'm going to try to make it as an actor. I'm already taking lessons now. The sport taught me to master and express my body perfectly. It also helps that as an athlete I learned to block out all emotion. But where there's a will, there's a way. I just can't stand being without a challenge. When I won everything there was to win in 2001, I lost motivation. But then came those two serious injuries, and now I want to prove that you can return to the highest level at 28. 28 is ancient in aggressive skating. My competitors are sometimes thirteen years younger. That's because extreme sports are so dangerous that you shouldn't think twice about it. Apparently, when you're young, you have less trouble with such a kamikaze attitude." "The aggressive skaters form a world apart, with their own clothing and music. But Taïg Khris doesn't belong to it. "Many people in the roller scene claim that skating is a lifestyle. That's their right. It might even be true in their case. But for me, it doesn't apply. I earn my living with skating; I consider it a 'real' sport like football or ice hockey. It used to be my biggest hobby and I was busy with it day and night. Now it's no longer a lifestyle. The clothing, the music, the way of dressing: I like many different music genres and clothing styles. I'm crazy about salsa. The scene held that against me for a long time. At one point, everyone was against me. But I proved myself on the ramp, and they couldn't ignore me anymore. Taïg Khris earns money like anyone else. "Just as well as a footballer at a big club. Sponsoring deals are the main source of income, but not the only one. Khris established Paris's largest roller skate shop, a company that builds ramps, an event agency, and a video company. In addition, he also started his own brand of skate shoes. His (self-designed) skate model is sold with a series of statements: 'I am not a follower' / 'I have never been to school' / 'They called me crazy' / 'Make sure you work', but I already have that. "I am completely self-taught, and I'm proud of it. My parents were super cool. My brother and I didn't go to school for a single day. My parents felt we should live in the present, not in the future. In school, you learn things that might be interesting, but rather 'for later.' An eight-year-old child doesn't want to get up at eight every day to drag themselves to school and sit still there all day long. It was very bold of my parents to give us so much freedom, but looking back, it worked. When you see everything I've achieved... What I did, many educated people never got to experience. I feel that twice over. I'm a man of the world. One day, Khris won't be able to afford crossing Paris on roller skates anymore. "I owe everything to my time at the Trocadéro, and I still think skates are a fantastic, fast, and comfortable means of transport. But business comes first. My phone rings two hundred times a day. The wind makes phoning impossible when you're on skates, so I call hands-free in the car. I don't allow myself any rest or vacation. I want to get the maximum out of my career. I'll rest on my laurels later."