Ben Pappas RIP

Remove this Banner Ad

sillius soddus

sillius soddus

Debutant
Feb 15, 2007
51
4
AFL Club
Melbourne
Probably a bit obscure posting this thread on bigfooty but one of Melbourne's best skaters was found dead today in the yarra. Ben Pappas had been wanted for questioning after his girlfriend was found dead last week. It looks suicide is the cause. Ben and his brother Tas were both in the top 3 vert skaters in the world in the late nineties. It's been reported he'd been battling a coke addiction for quite a few years. I worked briefly with Ben and he was super nice to everyone and an unbelievable skater.
It's so sad to see him gone.
 
Yes I heard this. Had a bit of a google and all the reports are saying how sad it is.

I'll take this opportunity to pass on my condolences. To the family of the girl he allegedly murdered.
 
A documentary was released last year about the Pappas bros. The doco looks really good, was wondering if anyone had seen it?

Has quite a colorful backstory which I was never aware of. Apparently Ben and Tas were (in the 90s) some of the best skateboarders in the world. They were rivals with the best of them, like Tony Hawk (now the household name for skateboarding), whom they rubbing shoulders with.

Tas beat him in a 96' vert comp and a few years later was screwed over at the 99' X Games, with Tas being refused the best trick contest, the same event Hawk landed a 900 the first time (which Tas was going to attempt).

Just tragic to hear about Ben and the hardship Tas has been through. Personally, I was a massive fan of Hawk (read his book, got into skating because of the game), but it makes you wonder what if Tas or Ben had been the first to land the 900 how different things could have been. Meanwhile, Hawk went on to fame and riches and seemed to cut him off.

Here's a clip from the doco:

 

Log in to remove this ad.

I watched it a few months ago, very good, very sad, and quite powerful.

I somehow found Tas on Facebook, I clicked on his account and saw that most of his recent post were about him and his family or bible quotes, so it seems like he is on track, which is good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top