Marco de Santi came to the US with $100 in his pocket and he spoke no English. It was both comical, inspiring and sad… Until he became a World Champion. And when skating died, Marco went to the Cirque du Soleil.

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Marco de Santi has the most interesting journey of any athlete I’ve had on the podcast. Born in a less than desirable situation in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Marco did what every kid does; he played soccer until he found skateparks. Marco quit team sports and headed to the USA at age 15, with literally nothing, to make his pro skating dream happen. While Marco eventually became a world Champion, inline was dropped by X-Games, and the organizing body of his sport didn’t include Marco in future events. So the first skater to land a triple was forced out of competition and into a life of LOVE, which he performs in every night with the Cirque de Soleil. It doesn’t get more rags to riches than this one.

TIMECODES: 03:30: Issues around his backyard vert ramp, growing up in Sao Paolo, and family life 10:00: Soccer, finding skating, stereotypes, roller rink skateparks, how does he pay to get to the US, and how does he stay 21:00: Not speaking English, meeting me, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and problems with judging 32:00: Mountain Dew, other sponsors, never wearing pads, and spending time at Woodward 34:00: The Yasutoko, the triple, and what’s cool about X Games 39:30: Rollerblade: Ski season may be over, but that feeling lasts all year with inline skating 41:30: Nerves, Silver at X Games, losing X Games, and then getting screwed by the ASA 47:00: Winning World Championships, all things Cirque de Soleil’s LOVE (skating, money, injury, perks), building his Vegas empire, and day trading 54:00: Inappropriate Questions with Hardcore Brazil, Carlos Pianowski.

Photos.

Cameron Card started to upload his collection of Mini DVs. One hour of raw clips each, full of unseen moments featuring your favourite skaters. Enjoy!

Can you believe I use to do this stuff all day every day? Here’s some raw footage of when I was filming for my HOT 102.R video part, and Tory Treseder was filming for a video part of his own. We made a trip out to California to visit friends and get clips. Enjoy! - Cameron Card.

Episode 02 - Filming for HOT 102.R, 2nd Regime Team Video

List of Skaters you’ll see in this video: Cameron Card, Tory Treseder, Chris Olpin, Jaren Grob, Chris Haffey & Jeff Stockwell.

Episode 01 - ASA Finals (2001)

2001 ASA Finals North Hills Mall. Fort Worth, Texas. AM warmups, Cameron Card rookie year finals Pro run, Best trick Vert, Best trick Street.

Mini DV picture: Juri.su, check this scan collection of video tapes!

Taig Khris started to upload videos from 1997-2001 on Youtube, featuring Lausanne, ASA Milwaukee, X-Games 1999, Palavas les Flots, Bercy 1997, World Team Challenge 2001, Hermosa & more.

Check the Taig Khris Youtube Channel.