Remembering the First Gold Winner in X Game Skateboard Street
The first X Games took place in 1995. This was the era of the summer and winter games, of one event a year, of ‘90s-style ESPN coverage. In 1995, the X Games events took place in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island. Maybe because it was close to Bristol, Connecticut, home of ESPN? They wouldn’t hit California until 1997. That first year, Tony Hawk won Skateboard Vert which, yeah, of course he did. Back then, he was the king of the vert ramp, which was the star event of the X Games, because it was showier than Skateboard Street. While Hawk hasn’t ever been thought of as an elite street skater, he did take home the silver in 1995. The first gold for Skateboard Street, though, went to Chris Senn.
If you know your ‘90s skaters, you know Senn. Of course, it’s 2023 now, and most of the biggest names in skateboarding today weren’t even alive in 1995. That’s how it goes. Senn was 22 when he won X Games gold. He ended up winning three of them, and Thrasher named him the skateboarder of the year for 1995, which was like winning the Oscars of skateboarding back then.
Senn didn’t become a monolith like Hawk. These days, he lives in Hawaii and works as a tattoo artist. Skating is still in his blood, though. As I write this, 33 minutes ago he posted a photo on his Instagram of his signature Toy Machine deck. Basically, every YouTube video that pops up when you search his name is from at least a decade ago, and some of those are even labeled as “classic” videos. His sons are now skaters and are/were on the Blood Wizard team. Time marches on, but forever Chris Senn will be the first winner of the Skateboard Street event at the X Games.
