Hosoi

Raised at the legendary Marina Del Rey Skatepark--where his father was the manager and the Dogtown and Z-Boys crew were his mentors--Christian Hosoi never questioned that he would become a full-time skateboarder. But no one could have predicted his meteoric rise to the apex of a burgeoning sport--or the spectacular way he would crash and then create himself anew.

A professional skater by thirteen, known for his rock-star flair and dramatic aerials, Hosoi was at the top of the world before he was twenty, engaged in the rivalry that would shape years of skating: Christian Hosoi vs. Tony Hawk. At the height of his celebrity in the late 1980s and early '90s, Hosoi was the highest-paid skateboarder in the world and made the most of his celebrity status, counting Hollywood's elite as his friends. But the kid who first got stoned at age eight later found himself smoking meth full-time. And as Hawk walked away with every accolade, Hosoi went underground.

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