All This Mayhem: Former world champion skateboarder Tas Pappas faces mistakes of past as new documentary tells brother's tragic story

Updated

At a popular vertical skate ramp in western Sydney, a group of talented young skateboarders watch in awe as 38-year-old Tas Pappas flies weightlessly off the walls.

To the kids he's a hero, a former world champion who pioneered spectacular tricks and revolutionised vert skating in the 1990s.

But ask Tas Pappas to describe himself, and there's a pause.

"A work in progress," he says.

In 1998 Tas Pappas became the world's number one skateboarder. He won the title in a competition against America's Tony Hawk - and he won it skating with a broken rib. In the same year his younger brother Ben was ranked number two.

It was a dream come true for the two brothers from St Albans in Melbourne. They had grown up in a violent household, and Tas had been sexually abused by a family acquaintance. Their incredible talent on the skate ramp gave them a ticket to a new life and new adventures. But the dream was shortlived.

In America the Pappas boys were living a rock star lifestyle – complete with fame, parties, and lots of drugs. Tas says he often did tricks on the ramp while tripping on acid.

"I just thought I was superhuman, I could just feel the way I was moving," he reflects.

"Looking back I probably would have done it better sober. I was just young and dumb then, that's all there is to it."

In 1999 the dream turned into a nightmare. On a trip back to Melbourne, Ben was caught trying to smuggle 103 grams of cocaine in the sole of his shoe. His conviction meant he could not return to the United States, which effectively ended his professional skateboarding career.

Life for Tas Pappas was also unravelling.

His bad boy image did not fit with the commercialisation of the sport, and he was blocked from key competitions. His skateboarding injuries and continued drug use were taking its toll.

By 2005 he was married with two children and struggling to make ends meet. The violent upbringing of his childhood had returned – but this time he was doing the hitting. An assault on his wife Colleen landed him in a San Diego prison. A breach of parole led to a deportation order.

Just when it seemed things could not get any worse, Tas got a phone call from his father. His brother Ben was dead.

Ben's drug use had become worse back in Australia. The loss of his skateboarding career had led to depression, and a heavy addiction to heroin. In March 2007 the body of his girlfriend Lynette Phillips, who was also a heroin user, was found weighted down at Dights Falls in Melbourne.

The state coroner found that Ben had killed her before taking his own life.

Tas was devastated and used drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. Incredibly, in 2008 he also attempted to smuggle cocaine into Australia – a drug-affected decision that landed him three years in prison. Arguably the prison sentence saved his life.

"I needed jail big time. Jail was good, I mean it was painful and I hated it, but it was good," he said.

"I couldn't just piss off and get a shot of speed or a shot of smack. I was just stuck in the cell with nothing else to do but train."

While he was in jail, an old Melbourne skateboarding friend, Eddie Martin, approached him about making a documentary about his and Ben's life. He was wary, but keen to own up to the mistakes of his past. He also had a very important motive.

"I want my kids to see it, and that's part of the reason I decided to be so honest," he says.

"There's nothing anyone can say about me now. I've admitted everything. I'll take ownership for all my shit actions, and just pray to God that I keep getting shown mercy and hopefully my kids come back to me."

The Pappas brothers documentary, All This Mayhem, is currently showing in Sydney and Melbourne.

Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, melbourne-3000, australia, vic, nsw, sydney-2000

First posted