96-98ish Penny walks into Southbank, I’m sitting down havin a cigarette, he asks if the board a few feet away is mine, he rolls the wheels and squeezes the trucks and says can i ride ya board? I say sure. He then casually destroys the place, all 30-40 skaters (inc sponsored and pro’s) sit and watch. 20 mins later he gives back the board, says cheers, see ya later, and literally walks off into the sunset.
My favorite part of Penny's style has to be "It's translatable to the Lamen". What I mean by that is....if u showed someone who knows nothing about skateboarding Tom Penny's skate part, they will show fascination and an understanding of how good Tom is. That's what I think it means when skaters say, Tom has the most naturally effortless style.
Random unicorn Tom Penny moment. This is in 1998. I was chilling at the London Southbank, the Mark Gonzales Video days half cab grind spot. Penny walks by, borrows a board and does a switch kickflip over the wall into the bank. Second try, while wearing Timberlands. Then he walks off.
My favorite part of Penny's style has to be "It's translatable to the Lamen". What I mean by that is....if u showed someone who knows nothing about skateboarding Tom Penny's skate part, they will show fascination and an understanding of how good Tom is. That's what I think it means when skaters say, Tom has the most naturally effortless style.
Had some great Penny experiences! I skated with Penny in HB high school park and on of the days, so relaxed and quite he ollie over the wall and casually went across the street and did a huge switch frontside flip over the 13 stair rail with a crack in front of it. That became the famous etnies ad. He also left a demo in AlBQ I was at to go skate a vert ramp. After smoking a huge blunt to his face with no one around he busted a massive shuv it to fakie on the very ramp with timberlands on and a massive swole busted wrist. He shortly left and went to a Mccolum school with steep banks and nollied, nollie cab, switch ollie and switch frontside flip over the stairs and handrail into the banks for fun with pure dream Penny style. Honored to have had these experiences with him.
I was lucky enough to be in Oxford 93-95 and Tom Penny was always around ripping the SS20 spine ramp and local area, even Northampton indoor park - same as Alex Moul. I think this is when he first burst onto the local UK scene getting coverage in mags and local vids. Such a talented skater with effortless style and always had people stop and watch him in awe. Absolute legend!
I’m 33 , watching Tom penny and John Cardiel changed skateboarding for me when I saw es menikemati and transworld sight unseen (also anthology ) . There was just a whole different feeling coming from them . Completely different energies but they are both savage warriors on the board 👌🤙👊 thanks Tom and John. Also big shout out to Brian Wenning , another street samurai 🙌🔥
I'm 30 and can agree 100% back when style was huge in skateboarding and Tom could do the hardest tricks on the most fucked obstacles and can be wearing boots and his beanie so far down on his face that u cant even see his eyes lmao stoned af just chillin insane board control and the best pop and flick in skateboarding
The funniest part is that I didn't hear him speak at all for 20 years and when I finally saw him speak in some youtube video he has this super booming voice that is so unexpected but strangely fitting. Like yeah of course somebody who tries to nollie backside flip from the deck into a vert ramp would sound like that.
I heard Penny was skating a mini ramp and the power went out, dark af. Penny just kept skating. When the lights came back on he was in the air mid Fronside flip , lands and keeps skating
Same!! He went to J Kwon one time and hands down, one of the nicest people I ever met. He even gave my lil cousin stickers and another kid a deck. Not to mention, he said hello and bye to everyone like we've been friends for years
Tom Penny story: a crew of us were in Barcelona, two of us went into temple bar that night. Standing outside having a smoke we got talking to a few other blokes from England, turns out they were on a stag do (bachelor party to our American readers). Among the revellers was on Ben Grove, if you don’t know the name, you don’t know British skateboarding. Ben asked if we’d seen any pros, we hadn’t. I said something along the lines of ‘I’m praying I see Penny’ he turned round and said ‘he’s in there’ (the bar). Me and my buddy went in an offered to buy the legend a drink, a strongbow (cider) is what he went with. We had a few minutes chatting. I don’t think it would be respectful for me to post the rest. Either way, meeting two legends of skateboarding in the same place will live with us for the rest of our lives.
I have a Penny story. I witnessed him do switch nose manual fakie flip on first try on a loooong tall curb. The noise that came out of my throat was total shock and confusion. At that moment I realized he was real and not a myth. He also did some other crazy shit like nothing.
I remember watching 411 Europe 1996 on VHS back in the day, my pop walks in during the part where Penny is skating that little mini outdoors, and he says “Man look how easy these grinds are” lol. I said nah, they look easy bc Tom Penny is doing them. Will forever be my favorite skater.
Tom penny and Alex moul were my childhood super hero’s. I was skating in cowley oxford UK. Not 15 minutes from Abingdon where they were from. And R.I.P SS20 skateboard shop 🤙🏼
I was living in Milwaukee. The Flip team, The Firm and few other teams were doing a Thanksgiving Tour. They happen to stop in Chicago. It was snowing. I made the drive at the chance of seeing Tom. Half way through the demo, Tom walks in a side door. Get mobbed slightly. He signed my Cheech and Chong tee and I got a picture. Cool dude. Doesn’t like being the center of attention at all. Very humble.
I met Geoff Rowley in CDG Airport Paris I was flying to New York and he was going to LA. He was wearing black converse all stars and he was on vans at the time...
Went to amsterdam for a week with tom and our crew from southbank around 96, sat in coffee shops every day not much skating went down (or anything else for that matter haha)
i really loved TomPennys skating since i started skateboarding in '92, later i even found out that i was born on a same day, month and years as Penny hehehe
Even trying nollie bs flip into a vert is so gnarly. Running forwards down a vert ramp is really sketchy, backwards is suicide and you know he probably did it with that effortless style!
Tom penny was a myth lol he legit would show up and fuck the whole course up or the spot that the homies were filming at and get like 10 tricks cuz u cant turn the camera off when ur filming with him... Such a huge impact on my skating and all my homies too everybody wanted to emulate his style lol I love tp! I always will cherish the days of watching him skate in the 90s and the 2000s
Around 1990 Tom was still real small for his age like 12/13 yo but he used to just appear everywhere, like in the evening at a mini ramp in Wendover c. 40 miles from Oxford which is where he lived. Never ever said a word just destroyed it and all you would hear for 10 minutes was “Yeah Tom!” FFWD to 2005 and I’m trying to find my seat at the Stussy 25th anniversary video presentation at the South Bank Centre and he’s sat 2 places away from me.
The brown es were always the coolest lol he looked like a rapper in a music video and my boy fucks the spot up and just cruises off like it was no thing and u dont see him again for like a year lol
Frontside flip in white Es and shorts over the HB police station massive 13 stair rail like 2nd-3rd try. That one always stood out to me. I went there a few weeks ago to look at it again and it’s shockingly big.
I probably stopped religiously watching 411 by the time that Kelly became totally obsessed but watching the flip team skate to come on Eileen in 8 I think is imprinted in my head. Not sure if I’d love the song the same without that skating being a part of my childhood. Penny was the first dude I saw just casually skating at that level. Only person I can think of that’s more current that kinda does the same thing is Antwaun Dixon.
Met him 3 times total... which as someone who grew up watching him was amazing, because he's like your favorite skater and you'd see pics in Sidewalk or Transworld or watch the video parts, but the prospect of meeting one of these top pros is like a pipe dream, right? Well as someone from the UK it is anyway lol 😆 But I was lucky enough to meet him at the Supra demo in Edinburgh and got him to sign my board, and then twice again at MACBA where he stopped and chatted for a while on the first occasion, and the second I actually filmed a line he was doing on the MACBA ledge with my phone, which I still have to this day and have never even seen online (I did share it with the CultOfTom guys so maybe it's on there somewhere) so if you want it hit me up and I'll send it to you... but yeah he was really friendly and just doing his thing as always lol. At the Supra demo he wasn't even skating so he just sat on the bog over-vert taco and watched for a while before the rain sent everyone to the pub 😅
Penny is the coolest dude. Every fucking pro skater and skateboard enthusiast in the world treats the guy like a legend, potentially even as a bigger legend than the likes of Mullen and Hawk. What a guy.
I'd love to see a Tom Penny interview on the Nine Club so much, even if it was just over the z... conference call. I mean, that's really the only way it's ever going to happen with him, I think, unless they take a trip to Europe. That would be cool, too, a Nine Club demo tour at different curb spots around the world.
@@budsteppin I assume you're joking. If not, he's English! He has a gnarly booming voice, too. Oxford accents are like the coolest English accents, in my opinion. Maybe some people used to hate on him because of that. There's some stuff out there about certain pros who were really shitty to him when he first exploded on the scene. Not sure how true that is, but I've read a few things that sounded legit and kinda bummed me out. But they were all kids back then, and I assume they regret it now.
Nollie backside flip on flat is tricky. I can’t imagine adding a vert ramp into the mix, especially as your roll away. Would absolutely love to see that footage even if it’s not a make.
The timeline for the broken hand is mentioned as 1996. Can anyone confirm that? I thought it was 1994. I got a VX in '95 and my Penny footage from Dallas was on my camera before that. I could be wrong though and I've always wondered.
I remember now, he broke his hand doing an ollie-oop f/s 180 from the vert to the bank ramp by the back door at Jeff Phillips. That was 2nd tour through Dallas in 1996. Does anyone know if the 1st flip tour was 94 or 95?
What's with everyone telling stories about a time they met Tom penny? Weird. Anyway I was visiting Germany for the munster world championships way back in 92. Outside the arena was a crap street course and large mini ramp. I got on the mini, nodded to Tom coz we had met a couple of times back in England, he then absolutely destroyed the mini ramp and pretty much shut it down. In 92 he was still quite small,and it was era of massive baggy clothes, so the look on all these European and American skaters faces as this little kid lost in a sea of fabric, that no one knew destroyed the ramp. So good
90’s in Australia, penny is sitting in the corner of a skate shop, not signing autographs with the other pros , a friends girlfriend approaches him and he screams “ Get the fuck away from me! “
It’s Oxford init. It is a pretty posh place. That’s what I always thought was joke- maybe the most ‘hiphop’ 90s skater (if that makes sense) was a guy from Oxford haha
Was Tom Penny really so much better than the skaters of his time? I grew up skating in the late 90s 2000s. There were so many great skaters. I just never got the penny hype. What sets him apart?
Watch his stuff, dude had so much style and made every trick look so easy. He had an endless repertoire, you’d see him at a spot and he’d crank out 10 different tricks in a row in a fashion that made it seem a given. That was my era, so many sick skaters at the time but this dude hit different.
No one could do proper fs flips in the mid 90s, only illusion style. Well maybe Jeremy Wray but not many people. Anyway Tom Penny could do them switch and regular with more style than anyone, that alone made him mythical. Everything else was gravy. Reynolds started doing them a few years later and by end of the nineties lots of people caught up but give years in that period when everything changed so fast was an eternity
The ethnocentrism call is total bullshit. There has never been that in skateboarding, ya’ll smoking crack. Rowley knocked the doors down, Penny in tow.
Nah definitely true. Dydrek said if a Euro did it who was not known then it didn't count. That's why Lordz (euro wheel company) made that video called "they don't give a f about us". Bastien had incredible part in that movie but very few saw it outside of Europe
96-98ish Penny walks into Southbank, I’m sitting down havin a cigarette, he asks if the board a few feet away is mine, he rolls the wheels and squeezes the trucks and says can i ride ya board? I say sure. He then casually destroys the place, all 30-40 skaters (inc sponsored and pro’s) sit and watch. 20 mins later he gives back the board, says cheers, see ya later, and literally walks off into the sunset.
You still have that board, right?
My favorite part of Penny's style has to be "It's translatable to the Lamen". What I mean by that is....if u showed someone who knows nothing about skateboarding Tom Penny's skate part, they will show fascination and an understanding of how good Tom is. That's what I think it means when skaters say, Tom has the most naturally effortless style.
Dude that is an awesome penny story, dude is the GOAT
@@twillymantheoneandonly5587 *laymen
Mate, this absolutely did not happen other than in your dreams.
I was lucky enough back in the day to watch Tom Penny destroy Huntington Beach. So amazing!!
I feel that
1996 to 1997 was GOLDEN
Jealous lol I’d love to see him skate
Im addicted to Tom Penny stories
SAME! Here's a gem too:
ruclips.net/video/lbVds1MkQ1g/видео.html
I honestly can’t get enough of them
Can we just Zoom in to ANYONE who has a cool Tom Penny story? I could listen to this all day.
Random unicorn Tom Penny moment. This is in 1998. I was chilling at the London Southbank, the Mark Gonzales Video days half cab grind spot. Penny walks by, borrows a board and does a switch kickflip over the wall into the bank. Second try, while wearing Timberlands. Then he walks off.
The comment above yours is the guy who leant the board! Haha
Haha :) That bank is brutal by the way, it has a curb at the bottom.
So funny to read this after the comment above !!
Dope
My favorite part of Penny's style has to be "It's translatable to the Lamen". What I mean by that is....if u showed someone who knows nothing about skateboarding Tom Penny's skate part, they will show fascination and an understanding of how good Tom is. That's what I think it means when skaters say, Tom has the most naturally effortless style.
Had some great Penny experiences! I skated with Penny in HB high school park and on of the days, so relaxed and quite he ollie over the wall and casually went across the street and did a huge switch frontside flip over the 13 stair rail with a crack in front of it. That became the famous etnies ad. He also left a demo in AlBQ I was at to go skate a vert ramp. After smoking a huge blunt to his face with no one around he busted a massive shuv it to fakie on the very ramp with timberlands on and a massive swole busted wrist. He shortly left and went to a Mccolum school with steep banks and nollied, nollie cab, switch ollie and switch frontside flip over the stairs and handrail into the banks for fun with pure dream Penny style. Honored to have had these experiences with him.
I was lucky enough to be in Oxford 93-95 and Tom Penny was always around ripping the SS20 spine ramp and local area, even Northampton indoor park - same as Alex Moul. I think this is when he first burst onto the local UK scene getting coverage in mags and local vids. Such a talented skater with effortless style and always had people stop and watch him in awe. Absolute legend!
Yeah I used to bump into them here and there. I'm up north but got around a bit from 88 to 04. Loads of stories.
Amazing. Thanks so much for the stories. Lucky enough to see him skate regularly at Radlands. Will never forget his winning run in 1995.
Do you have any penny stories not many people have heard!?
Switch frontside flip is still one of the sickest penny moments. Dude does it PERFECT. Like it was regs
I’m 33 , watching Tom penny and John Cardiel changed skateboarding for me when I saw es menikemati and transworld sight unseen (also anthology ) . There was just a whole different feeling coming from them . Completely different energies but they are both savage warriors on the board 👌🤙👊 thanks Tom and John. Also big shout out to Brian Wenning , another street samurai 🙌🔥
I'm 30 and can agree 100% back when style was huge in skateboarding and Tom could do the hardest tricks on the most fucked obstacles and can be wearing boots and his beanie so far down on his face that u cant even see his eyes lmao stoned af just chillin insane board control and the best pop and flick in skateboarding
@@budsteppin yo got da right words man
My fav 3 skaters of all time, Cardiel, Penny and Hosoi. Lol
Hosoi, daewon and penny for me
I’m looking up that video right now 🤓
Penny’s Es shoe was a thing of beauty.
Those and the original Emerica Reynolds👌
Skating his mid-top Supras right now, and they're soooooooo comfortable. Wish I could find more.
ACCELS!!!
You know it !! Best fuckin shoes I ever had
I think we’re all in agreement with the Accels lol.
Penny just got back on es, hopefully they'll reissue them. 👍
The funniest part is that I didn't hear him speak at all for 20 years and when I finally saw him speak in some youtube video he has this super booming voice that is so unexpected but strangely fitting. Like yeah of course somebody who tries to nollie backside flip from the deck into a vert ramp would sound like that.
Weirdly enough alot of people in England have a deep ass voice like him
It's all about dad voice
Sounds like his balls weigh 20 lbs.
I heard Penny was skating a mini ramp and the power went out, dark af. Penny just kept skating. When the lights came back on he was in the air mid Fronside flip , lands and keeps skating
Saw him fs flip transfer between two ramps it was fucking gnarled.
Tiago is the nicest guy, we randomly saw him at our local spot and he immediately rolled up and introduced himself.
Same!! He went to J Kwon one time and hands down, one of the nicest people I ever met. He even gave my lil cousin stickers and another kid a deck. Not to mention, he said hello and bye to everyone like we've been friends for years
Tom Penny story: a crew of us were in Barcelona, two of us went into temple bar that night. Standing outside having a smoke we got talking to a few other blokes from England, turns out they were on a stag do (bachelor party to our American readers). Among the revellers was on Ben Grove, if you don’t know the name, you don’t know British skateboarding. Ben asked if we’d seen any pros, we hadn’t. I said something along the lines of ‘I’m praying I see Penny’ he turned round and said ‘he’s in there’ (the bar). Me and my buddy went in an offered to buy the legend a drink, a strongbow (cider) is what he went with. We had a few minutes chatting. I don’t think it would be respectful for me to post the rest. Either way, meeting two legends of skateboarding in the same place will live with us for the rest of our lives.
You from Oxford? Got some Penny stories myself.
@@southhour5241 I’m not mate. I’d love to hear some tho
I have a Penny story.
I witnessed him do switch nose manual fakie flip on first try on a loooong tall curb.
The noise that came out of my throat was total shock and confusion. At that moment I realized he was real and not a myth. He also did some other crazy shit like nothing.
Repeat stories are chill because some of us are newer listeners. Sick Tom stories Sir!
There’s been so much talk of Tom lately if he’s ever on the nine club it would be amazing.
Incredible stories guys... he’s been working on stuff behind the scenes still absolutely rips!!
no
Living legend. I used to bootleg film him at hb park. The best. Favorite skater
Myself and many others would love to see the footage.
I remember watching 411 Europe 1996 on VHS back in the day, my pop walks in during the part where Penny is skating that little mini outdoors, and he says “Man look how easy these grinds are” lol. I said nah, they look easy bc Tom Penny is doing them. Will forever be my favorite skater.
Tom penny and Alex moul were my childhood super hero’s. I was skating in cowley oxford UK. Not 15 minutes from Abingdon where they were from. And R.I.P SS20 skateboard shop 🤙🏼
TOM PENNY was better than your favorite pro is today......20 years ago. PERIOD.
Not sure why this popped in my head, but I need és Koston 3s to come back. Always wanted those
I have the Big Brother magazine with his interview from the midle 90's .
the one where they ask him
british, english,and penny related questions?
😄
I was living in Milwaukee. The Flip team, The Firm and few other teams were doing a Thanksgiving Tour. They happen to stop in Chicago. It was snowing. I made the drive at the chance of seeing Tom. Half way through the demo, Tom walks in a side door. Get mobbed slightly. He signed my Cheech and Chong tee and I got a picture. Cool dude. Doesn’t like being the center of attention at all. Very humble.
I met Geoff Rowley in CDG Airport Paris I was flying to New York and he was going to LA. He was wearing black converse all stars and he was on vans at the time...
Maybe he was trying to not wear down his Vans faster than he already was? 🤭😅
I could listen to Penny stories all night.
Tom has the floatiest syeeziest style
ever
he said syeeziest
Tsa had a wicked team, smolik, penny, Muska, senn, creager, barley, steamer, I’m forgetting some. Bring back TSA
All-stars of the era, for sure.
Creager was fucking sick. What ever happened to that guy?
Life in the fast lane
Think Brandon Turner was on TSA too
@@paulweaver7073 he’s still ripping, check his IG.
Went to amsterdam for a week with tom and our crew from southbank around 96, sat in coffee shops every day not much skating went down (or anything else for that matter haha)
i really loved TomPennys skating since i started skateboarding in '92, later i even found out that i was born on a same day, month and years as Penny hehehe
His legend story spread around the world that era 😊
Even trying nollie bs flip into a vert is so gnarly. Running forwards down a vert ramp is really sketchy, backwards is suicide and you know he probably did it with that effortless style!
Tom penny was a myth lol he legit would show up and fuck the whole course up or the spot that the homies were filming at and get like 10 tricks cuz u cant turn the camera off when ur filming with him... Such a huge impact on my skating and all my homies too everybody wanted to emulate his style lol I love tp! I always will cherish the days of watching him skate in the 90s and the 2000s
Met him at a flip demo at ollies skatepark Florence ky the parks gone now sick dude
Yuto's style reminds me of Tom Penny
When it goes back to regular 9 club again tom penny as the first guest back would be sick
Nah man, keep the mystery haha
both valid requests.
Tom had the massive following in new Zealand ✌
Around 1990 Tom was still real small for his age like 12/13 yo but he used to just appear everywhere, like in the evening at a mini ramp in Wendover c. 40 miles from Oxford which is where he lived. Never ever said a word just destroyed it and all you would hear for 10 minutes was “Yeah Tom!” FFWD to 2005 and I’m trying to find my seat at the Stussy 25th anniversary video presentation at the South Bank Centre and he’s sat 2 places away from me.
UK all day baby
seen penny sk8ng the vert ramp at radlands in 95 .. backlips and front flips out the coping no pads ...
Get penny on nine club..it gonna be history..
Carl Shipman!!! One of the best Thrasher covers ever.
Frontside flip in white Es
The brown es were always the coolest lol he looked like a rapper in a music video and my boy fucks the spot up and just cruises off like it was no thing and u dont see him again for like a year lol
@@budsteppin I had a pair of tan's with gum sole that eventually I colored darker brown panels for a sweet light n dark brown combo 👌
Frontside flip in white Es and shorts over the HB police station massive 13 stair rail like 2nd-3rd try. That one always stood out to me. I went there a few weeks ago to look at it again and it’s shockingly big.
@@PhilLayshioh premium steez 😁
This should be good
Tom Penny on the podcast would be insane
Tom penny is Sasquatch, I’m convinced
I probably stopped religiously watching 411 by the time that Kelly became totally obsessed but watching the flip team skate to come on Eileen in 8 I think is imprinted in my head. Not sure if I’d love the song the same without that skating being a part of my childhood. Penny was the first dude I saw just casually skating at that level. Only person I can think of that’s more current that kinda does the same thing is Antwaun Dixon.
Met him 3 times total... which as someone who grew up watching him was amazing, because he's like your favorite skater and you'd see pics in Sidewalk or Transworld or watch the video parts, but the prospect of meeting one of these top pros is like a pipe dream, right? Well as someone from the UK it is anyway lol 😆 But I was lucky enough to meet him at the Supra demo in Edinburgh and got him to sign my board, and then twice again at MACBA where he stopped and chatted for a while on the first occasion, and the second I actually filmed a line he was doing on the MACBA ledge with my phone, which I still have to this day and have never even seen online (I did share it with the CultOfTom guys so maybe it's on there somewhere) so if you want it hit me up and I'll send it to you... but yeah he was really friendly and just doing his thing as always lol. At the Supra demo he wasn't even skating so he just sat on the bog over-vert taco and watched for a while before the rain sent everyone to the pub 😅
Penny is the coolest dude. Every fucking pro skater and skateboard enthusiast in the world treats the guy like a legend, potentially even as a bigger legend than the likes of Mullen and Hawk. What a guy.
Hes on the forefront of fashion too, lol seeing how baggy pants are back in again.
I'd love to see a Tom Penny interview on the Nine Club so much, even if it was just over the z... conference call. I mean, that's really the only way it's ever going to happen with him, I think, unless they take a trip to Europe. That would be cool, too, a Nine Club demo tour at different curb spots around the world.
It'd be hard cuz he cant speak fluent English like that lol but it would be amazing for sure
@@budsteppin I assume you're joking. If not, he's English! He has a gnarly booming voice, too. Oxford accents are like the coolest English accents, in my opinion. Maybe some people used to hate on him because of that. There's some stuff out there about certain pros who were really shitty to him when he first exploded on the scene. Not sure how true that is, but I've read a few things that sounded legit and kinda bummed me out. But they were all kids back then, and I assume they regret it now.
@@morgellon9449 lol I meant american... I know hes british mane but yeah he reminds me of like prez t from bloodline if u listen to grime
He currently resides in Chile
@@bovedli WHATTT?
Nollie backside flip on flat is tricky. I can’t imagine adding a vert ramp into the mix, especially as your roll away. Would absolutely love to see that footage even if it’s not a make.
Yeah just trying is so insane . How he managed to run out with out getting his legs tangled up and smashing into the flat bottom is beyond me
do a tom penny episode
never say never but i dont think this is gonna happen
I already know Tom's response: "WOT IZZ NAAN CLOBB?"
@@JonasPolsky 🤣🤣dumb
@@JonasPolsky
Are you from Bristol? Got that down to a tee.😂
Please get tom on the channel
Penny is one every 50 years
Penny on Nine Club would be ultimate.... I think we're ALL wondering if/when it will happen??!!
That’s like hoping Bigfoot will turn up for an interview on the History channel 😆
dude where the footage out
Tom Penny haunts us in our sleep
The timeline for the broken hand is mentioned as 1996. Can anyone confirm that? I thought it was 1994. I got a VX in '95 and my Penny footage from Dallas was on my camera before that. I could be wrong though and I've always wondered.
I remember now, he broke his hand doing an ollie-oop f/s 180 from the vert to the bank ramp by the back door at Jeff Phillips. That was 2nd tour through Dallas in 1996. Does anyone know if the 1st flip tour was 94 or 95?
What's with everyone telling stories about a time they met Tom penny? Weird. Anyway I was visiting Germany for the munster world championships way back in 92. Outside the arena was a crap street course and large mini ramp. I got on the mini, nodded to Tom coz we had met a couple of times back in England, he then absolutely destroyed the mini ramp and pretty much shut it down. In 92 he was still quite small,and it was era of massive baggy clothes, so the look on all these European and American skaters faces as this little kid lost in a sea of fabric, that no one knew destroyed the ramp. So good
90’s in Australia, penny is sitting in the corner of a skate shop, not signing autographs with the other pros , a friends girlfriend approaches him and he screams “ Get the fuck away from me! “
Are you serious why did he react like this?
Dead serious.
The vibe was "coming down"
Dude wants to be left alone. So leave him alone. What's the problem?
Problem?
Saw Penny live back then. The myth is true.
Roger's voice coming in like the voice of God. Lmao where is he
Tom has the weirdest accent like a posh mixed with Liverpool accent,amazing skating casual style, power, grace,skill.
It’s Oxford init. It is a pretty posh place. That’s what I always thought was joke- maybe the most ‘hiphop’ 90s skater (if that makes sense) was a guy from Oxford haha
Chad Bartie 🇦🇺
Was Tom Penny really so much better than the skaters of his time? I grew up skating in the late 90s 2000s. There were so many great skaters. I just never got the penny hype. What sets him apart?
Watch his stuff, dude had so much style and made every trick look so easy. He had an endless repertoire, you’d see him at a spot and he’d crank out 10 different tricks in a row in a fashion that made it seem a given. That was my era, so many sick skaters at the time but this dude hit different.
No one could do proper fs flips in the mid 90s, only illusion style. Well maybe Jeremy Wray but not many people. Anyway Tom Penny could do them switch and regular with more style than anyone, that alone made him mythical. Everything else was gravy.
Reynolds started doing them a few years later and by end of the nineties lots of people caught up but give years in that period when everything changed so fast was an eternity
Geoff Rowley
I'm a 30 year old kid 33 in fact
I’m gonna say Tiago is a good call but I’m thinking more Shane O’Neill. The style, technicality, his parts? Dude is like a robot.
The ethnocentrism call is total bullshit. There has never been that in skateboarding, ya’ll smoking crack. Rowley knocked the doors down, Penny in tow.
Nah definitely true. Dydrek said if a Euro did it who was not known then it didn't count.
That's why Lordz (euro wheel company) made that video called "they don't give a f about us". Bastien had incredible part in that movie but very few saw it outside of Europe
Obviously very different now but the Internet and social media changed things a lot and remove the power of us media to gate keep who was successful