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James Chris Cole (born March 10, 1982) is an American professional
skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...
. As of September 2020, his sponsors are
Fallen Footwear Fallen Footwear is an American skateboarding footwear and apparel brand founded by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas in 2003, after leaving Circa. The company which was out of the market for almost two years (2016–2017) has now been acq ...
,
Monster Energy Monster Energy is a brand of energy drink, energy drinks that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. In 2022, Monster Energy had a 30.1% Market share, share of the American energy drink market, th ...
, Bones Bearings, Cult Crew, Thunder Trucks, Spitfire Wheels, Stance, Kershaw Knives, Grizzly Griptape,
GoPro GoPro, Inc. (marketed as GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video editing software, video-editing software ...
,
Indian Motorcycles Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.
, cbdMD, Remind Insoles, and most recently
Zero Skateboards Zero Skateboards is a skateboard company located in Carlsbad, California, United States. The brand was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Jamie Thomas, and distributed by his Black Box Distribution company. In late June 2014 ...
.


Early life

Cole was born in
Statesville, North Carolina Statesville is a city in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The population was 28,419 at the time of the 2020 census. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. It is part ...
but moved to the
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
area at a young age. He grew up in
Langhorne, Pennsylvania Langhorne Borough, formerly known as Attleboro, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,643 at the time of the 2020 census. The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough but also broadly ...
.chriscobracole.com/biography


Career

Cole gained attention following the completion of a number of difficult tricks: 360 flip, Switch Frontside flip and Backside 360 ollie down the staircase at Wallenberg High School in San Francisco, California. Backside 360 Kickflip down the
Carlsbad gap Carlsbad High School is a public high school in Carlsbad, California. History As an aftermath of World War II and the subsequent baby boom, Carlsbad's population skyrocketed and there became a sudden need for more schools. In 1955, voters in O ...
in
Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...
&
Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.
Amphitheatre in Sydney, Australia. But most notable a Backside flip, Switch Frontside flip and a Backside 360 ollie down the "Love Park" fountain in Philadelphia as seen in his Transworld In Bloom, and Fallen Ride the Sky Video Parts. Cole was formerly a member of the G-Spot Skate and Snow team, before being sponsored by
Enjoi Enjoi is a skateboarding company that specializes in manufacturing Skateboard, skateboard decks. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is distributed by Dwindle Distribution. Founded in 2000 by Marc Johnson (skateboarder), M ...
and
Zero Skateboards Zero Skateboards is a skateboard company located in Carlsbad, California, United States. The brand was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Jamie Thomas, and distributed by his Black Box Distribution company. In late June 2014 ...
. Reflecting on the early stage of his career, Cole stated in a 2009 ''Thrasher'' interview:
I really like Enjoi. The brand is a breath of fresh air. I was on the East and detached from any team member so I was kind of a guy who rode the products, but not on the team. Especially 'cause they are a group of friends. I hung out with Marc Johnson a couple times. He was totally cool. I have always been a huge fan of his, so that was great.
Cole's other past sponsors include
World Industries World Industries is an American brand that offers skateboarding products, accessories and clothing. The company was founded by Steve Rocco in 1987. In 1988, Rocco was joined by skater, Rodney Mullen, and then Mike Vallely in 1989. As of 2014, ...
, Axion Footwear, Tensor Trucks, Ezekiel clothing, Speed Demon Bearings,
Enjoi Enjoi is a skateboarding company that specializes in manufacturing Skateboard, skateboard decks. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is distributed by Dwindle Distribution. Founded in 2000 by Marc Johnson (skateboarder), M ...
, Circa Footwear, eS Footwear, Omit Apparel, but the most significant were
Zero Skateboards Zero Skateboards is a skateboard company located in Carlsbad, California, United States. The brand was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Jamie Thomas, and distributed by his Black Box Distribution company. In late June 2014 ...
and
Fallen Footwear Fallen Footwear is an American skateboarding footwear and apparel brand founded by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas in 2003, after leaving Circa. The company which was out of the market for almost two years (2016–2017) has now been acq ...
. In May 2013, following a bet between Cole and professional skateboarder
Mike Mo Capaldi Michael Capaldi (born March 27, 1990), popularly known as Mike Mo Capaldi, is a professional regular-footed skateboarder who gained popularity following his video part in ''Forecast'', a video produced by professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez ...
, Cole became a team rider for the Glassy brand—Capaldi and Cole, who are teammates on the DC Shoes team, agreed that Cole would join the Glassy team if he lost to Capaldi in any contest. The pair competed in the Battle at the Berrics 6 contest on May 18, 2013 with Capaldi being the winner; however, as of July 9, 2014, an announcement had not been made regarding the new sponsorship arrangement and Cole does not appear on the brand's "Team" page. A segment on
Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...
's RIDE Channel, published on July 6, 2014, asked Cole—who was riding a blank, black-colored skateboard deck at the time—if he knew of any possibilities for his next skateboard deck sponsor and he indicated that he was not aware of any options at the time. On June 27, 2014, Cole posted an announcement of his departure from Zero on the social media platform
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
, without a corresponding reason; however, a reply from the Zero Instagram account thanked Cole for his "loyalty & dedication." Prior to the release of a limited edition series of 666 "Chris Cole" skateboard decks—Cole confirmed that the decks were not related to any brand, including a potential one of his own—that he officially parted ways with zero on July 1, 2014, which is displayed on the decks in
Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...
s. Cole is perceived as an "ambassador" for skateboarding, representative of the generation that he is a member of, and he explained his perspective on the matter in an October 2014 interview:
When I started getting asked to talk about skateboarding in front of people, I found that my love for skateboarding wasn't the same as everybody else's. I have a skate rat mentality, much like the kids that are out there skating, and less like the older, more jaded people that get paid to do it. I love it so dearly, and I feel like the people that get paid to do it and represent it in the public eye, they should really love it too ... I also just wanna live a full life and it not to be all about just tricks at spots ... Who should represent this sport? Someone that dedicated their life to it and loves it.
In May 2015, Chris became a member of
Plan B Skateboards Plan B Skateboards is a skateboarding company based in San Diego California, United States, founded by Mike Ternasky, Danny Way and Colin McKay. PlanB has been manufacturing and selling premium skateboard hard goods and apparel since 1991 . Hi ...
. In September 2020, Cole rejoined Zero Skateboards.


Company owner

Cole was a co-owner of Reign Skate Shop in Fairless Hills, PA, and a former shareholder of the Zero skateboard company. Cole parted ways with Zero on June 27, 2014, after three years as a shareholder and 13 years as a team rider. Cole explained:
I have had so many amazing years on ZERO. I can't explain to anyone how awesome these years have been. With a heavy heart, it is time for ZERO and I to part ways. My decision has absolutely nothing to do with the partnership with Dwindle. I believe that partnership will do great things. Hold tight to see what the future holds … Where we're going, we don't need roads …
In an October 2014 interview, Cole clarified that he was a "silent shareholder" with Zero, meaning that "any of the shares that I
ole OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...
had were contingent upon the actual sale of Zero. And that never happened and it's not gonna happen ... There was absolutely no payoff and I'm not a shareholder any longer." Cole was the founder of skateboard clothing company Omit Apparel. Started in 2011 and based out of Irvine, California, Omit Apparel ceased to be an operational company in late 2012 and Cole's sponsorship deal with DC Apparel was announced in April 2013. Cole is also an avid
BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...
rider and co-owns Cult, a BMX company that sponsors a team of riders. Team members include Chase Dehart, Dakota Roche, and Chase Hawk.


Awards and contest appearances

Cole was awarded
Thrasher Magazine Thrasher is an American skateboarding media brand founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello, who also founded Independent Truck Company, and officially launched as a skateboard magazine. Since the 1990s, Thrasher has expanded i ...
's "Skater of the Year" accolade in both 2005 and 2009 (a feat achieved by only Cole, Tyshawn Jones, Danny Way, and Jamie Foy). He has also received the "Reader's Choice" award from ''
Transworld Skateboarding ''Transworld Skateboarding'' (''TWS'') is an international magazine on skateboarding that was based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The publication also ran an accompanying website and video production company. In February 2019, the pub ...
'' magazine. Cole's team, Zero, won ''Thrasher Magazine''s "King of the Road" contest three times consecutively and he won the gold medal at the
X Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Mo ...
on two consecutive occasions. Cole has also been victorious in other contests, including Back to the Berg and the DC Copenhagen Pro. In late June 2013, Cole won the gold medal at the
Street League Skateboarding Street League Skateboarding (SLS) is an international skateboarding tournament series. The league features professional street skateboarders competing for the largest monetary prize in the history of skateboarding, and was founded by professiona ...
contest at the Munich leg of the X Games. Cole came first place in the second round of Battle at the Berrics, the flatground competition run by
The Berrics The Berrics is a private indoor skatepark owned by the professional skateboarders Steve Berra and Eric Koston. It is also a website providing content filmed in the skatepark, as well other skateboard-related media. The facility's name is a port ...
.


Maloof Money Cup

Cole was victorious in the first three rounds of the Maloof Money Cup and, in the wake of his winning run, the event owners, the Maloof brothers, offered US$1 million to the first person who wins four Maloof Money Cup titles. As of July 9, 2014, a further announcement on the offer had not been made.


Video games

Cole has appeared in the skateboarding video games '' Skate'', ''
Skate 2 ''Skate 2'' is a 2009 skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title '' Skate It''. It is the sequel to ...
'', ''
Skate 3 ''skate 3'' is a 2010 skateboarding video game, the third installment in the '' skate'' series and the sequel to 2009's '' skate 2'', developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It was released worldwide in May 2010 for PlayStati ...
'', '' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD'', '' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5'' and Session: Skate Sim .


Personal life

In mid-2024, he was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife, Christine Flannigan. Since these accusations surfaced, all Chris Cole products have been removed from Zero Skateboards' website. , Cole lives in
San Marcos, California San Marcos ( ; Spanish for " St. Mark") is a city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 94,833. It is the site of California State University San Marcos and ...
. Cole is currently dating comedian
Whitney Cummings Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, Cummings moved to Los Angeles. She appeared in the lo ...
.


References


External links

*
Reign Skate Shop official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Chris 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Statesville, North Carolina Sportspeople from Langhorne, Pennsylvania American skateboarders X Games competitors