mads leonard holvik I am not sure why they portray Tony Hawk to be an asshole. The attitude of Tony Hawk in this documentary is not the attitude of an asshole. I think Ben and Tas behaved like assholes at least early in the documentary. I get it that Tony Hawk was boring and sucked up to the money, but the way they behaved, why should they be given a lot of chances? I felt for Tas when Tony Hawk did the 900 that Tas had been rehearsing. Too bad, but it would not have happened if they had been behaving. If they wanted their company to succeed in the first place, they should have done other things than snorting coke all the time. I get it that the makers of the documentary probably thought that they had to make Tony Hawk a bad guy to make the documentary more interesting. But I don't agree. OK, now that I go that off my chest, I respect how honest the documentary is. The brothers are very troubled and it is easier to relate to this than Tony Hawks polished persona. Show me a person who has no demons, and I will show you someone who can not relate to this documentary. The last minutes of the documentary are really great, watching Tas work out in jail, he is in very good shape! Then it was touching to see the love he has for his family, and that there are still women who will stick by a man no matter what he has done, because she believes in him! Tas is a great father it seems, and can you imagine how much his child is loving it to be sitting on his shoulders while he skates down that street in the final moments of the documentary?

johnsonwill This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. I skated in my late teens through to Uni that led to a pretty wild inter-rail trip at only 17 around Europe and of course via Amsterdam to skate and watch the pros. Had a photo with pro Eric Koston on the train to Berlin from Amsterdam.I was not familiar with the Pappas bros but I am familiar with some of the other characters in this doc: Tony Hawk and Danny Way - my respect for those guys has completely left the building. I also won't touch another Tony Hawk skateboarding video game.Although the Pappas brothers are completely mental, incredibly stupid at times (pissed myself at Tas's attempt to smuggle in cocaine) and had massive egos. I couldn't help but laugh and relate to some of the scenes (not the drug smuggling though!) I also missed my times skating and still ponder on buying a new deck but realise that being a 35 year old guy, it just wouldn't be cool anymore.It was so interesting to see the 'dark underbelly' of professional skateboarding and I can completely see how these guys lost it. They were in the start of what has become incredibly commercial now (check out how commercial it is now, see the Street League competitions sponsored by Monster drinks.) Pappas bros had sponsorship money thrown at them, got to travel and compete, were partying constantly and most likely had skating chicks on their arms constantly. Of course they were going to go off the rails especially when they didn't really have a good mentor in the skateboarding industry or in their family. They were two Bogan brothers from Melbourne who were incredibly talented at everything they did. They made it in professional skateboarding, even in the commercial & corrupt X Games. I wish they had got into a team with more rounded skaters at that time, that might have grounded them. But there are so many skaters who lost it or are nuts. Check out what happened when some jocks offended pro Mike Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5TTMvY01Is - that was definitely a bad idea.Absolutely moving I laughed, I swore, I was gutted & I almost cried. It is completely tragic but don't want to let you know everything. Shines a light on drugs and mental illness. I am glad I saw this without knowing the end. Love skating until I die.

zif ofoz Rags to riches to rags ---- an all too familiar story!Tas and Ben Pappas, two Australian brothers, through their personal drive and commitment, become stars in Australia on the skateboard circuit. They both have talent and ambition to make it as a team. And they do! In Europe they reach the top and then the tumble begins. It's a sad story to witness youth gain so much then loose so much.If you are a skateboarding enthusiast this is a top documentary to watch. Director Eddie Martin doesn't hold back on anything while telling the ten years of Tas and Ben Pappas rise and fall. I wondered just how can two achieve so much even while indulging in drugs and other substances but their youth kept them going - youth passes by and they were unprepared for that fact.

bbstring I went into a cinema without a clue what I was going to watch! For the first ten minutes I was hesitant and didn't know if I would sit through the entire movie. I have no particular love for skating but can relate to that ethos from teenage years.In the end I stayed and began to enjoy the roller-coaster that this doc takes you on.The use of well sourced actual footage of their childhood/teenage days up to to the pros and after paints a vivid account and perfectly documented time line of their lives and careers. The added PTC's from Tas Pappas and others add that missing dimension and beautifully tie it all together in a classic doc style.Utterly compelling and keeps a great level of suspense. Really enjoyed this movie. NOW I like skating!