Known as the "Leap of Faith," the stunt was featured on the skateboard company Zero’s seminal 1997 video Thrill of It All, and immediately made the sport’s history books. Overnight, the guy behind it, Jamie Thomas, a 22-year-old from Dothan, Alabama, became an industry celebrity. Two years later, he was immortalized as a character in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, the sequel to which featured a level with a gap named after his famous slam at Point Loma High School. Back in real life, other skaters began gathering at the location hoping to best him. Some results are now online, including footage of Richard King, who broke his leg after plummeting like a rock to the concrete.

In comparison, Thomas’s attempt is masterful. As he approaches the handrail separating him from potential oblivion, he crouches and calmly executes an ollie melon. Then he descends. For what feels like eternity—actually just over a second—he hangs in the ether, floating on four wheels. An aura of tranquility surrounds him. Everything is silent except for the sound of photographer Grant Brittain’s camera. It’s all going perfectly. But as Thomas nears the tarmac there’s something amiss; his feet are an inch or so too close to the middle of his board. On any other day, such a small error would be inconsequential. But at this height, the impact is magnified a thousand-fold. As he lands, his board snaps, and his body folds like a tin can. Yet as he falls, he still maintains an air of grace, tumbling onto his shoulder and sliding out of frame with finesse. In the background, onlookers begin to cheer. A legend is made.

In 2005, the school built an elevator on the site, ensuring that no one would ever throw themselves down the drop again. Unlike the famous El Toro stair set, or the Carlsbad gap, with which countless skaters made names for themselves by doing bigger and gnarlier tricks than those who came before them, no one will ever throw themselves down the Leap of Faith again. The spot belongs solely to Jamie Thomas.