- Title: 10 y.o. skater without legs goes viral after Tony Hawk shoutout
- Date: 17th September 2019
- Summary: ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (SEPTEMBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) 10-YEAR-OLD SKATER, MAXIM ABRAMOV, WHO DOES NOT HAVE LEGS, PERFORMING TRICK, SAYING TO HIMSELF (Russian) 'I AM ROLLING, I WILL BE SPINNING NOW' AND SINGING VARIOUS OF MAXIM AND HIS COACH, PAVEL MUSHKIN, PERFORMING TRICKS VIEW OF MAXIM'S BOARD AS HE PERFORMS TRICK MAXIM SKATEBOARDING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SKATER, MAXIM ABRAMOV, SAYING: "At first, I was just skateboarding on my penny board. And I accidentally walked into a skatepark. My mother thought that maybe if I got a coach, I could skateboard normally. So they bought me a skateboard and got me a coach. His name is Pavel Mushkin. He has 11,000 followers which is three times less than I do." VARIOUS OF MAXIM AND HIS COACH SKATEBOARDING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) COACH, PAVEL MUSHKIN, SAYING: "After that. overnight, Max became a world celebrity. Large numbers of fans, subscribers and just people wrote him personal messages saying 'Max! Oh my God! That's so cool!' because all skateboarders who are like Max, who are like him - Max is the only boy, the only child. That's what makes him unique. And also, his smile after each trick - he's just conquering everyone." COACH HELPING MAXIM TO CLIMB THE RAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SKATER, MAXIM ABRAMOV, SAYING: "I would really like to take part in the Olympics. Maybe I won't win, but at least I can take part. I would know how it feels to skate with the professional players, I mean professional skaters." VARIOUS OF MAXIM AND HIS COACH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) COACH, PAVEL MUSHKIN, SAYING: "Of course, he is a child. And it can be hard with him sometimes. He does not always want to try difficult tricks. I can see that sometimes he does not want to work hard. Sometimes when he fails ten times its easier for him to say 'Oh, I don't want it, let's leave it.' But now I can see that this fame gave him a kick. He started to try harder, to try more difficult things. He wants to do more tricks for others to appreciate it. And I think its great that it motivates him. Maxim is very cool!"
- Embargoed: 1st October 2019 17:52
- Keywords: Russian legless skater skater without legs Tony Hawk skateboarding
- Location: ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA AND INTERNET
- City: ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA AND INTERNET
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Sport,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001AX1RTQX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Russian 10-year-old skateboarder Maxim Abramov recently woke up to find thousands of new followers on his Instagram and dozens of personal messages from people across the globe after a video of him was re-posted by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk on September 12.
Hawk shared a video of Maxim filmed by his coach, Pavel Mushkin, with his 4.6 million followers calling the boy his 'new favourite skater'. When asked what he felt about it - Maxim - who is called Max by his coach and friends - said he couldn't describe the feeling before jumping with his hands.
Max's first skateboard was simply a way to make getting around easier for the boy who lost both his legs when his bed caught fire when he was just 18-months-old.
The tragic incident was widely reported in Russian media when it happened in 2011. Max's biological mother was eventually charged with neglect and lost parental rights as a result of the tragedy.
Max was later adopted by a family in St Petersburg and now he plans to become a professional skateboarder.
He says that at first a skateboard was just more comfortable than his prosthetic legs until one day he accidentally rolled into a skate park and was approached by a coach. Today he performs difficult tricks and is praised by his coach for being focused and tireless.
Pavel Mushkin says Max trains hard and takes part in all available competitions he can with the hopes of one day taking part in the Paralympic Games, although for now skateboarding is not part of the competitions.
(Production: Dmitry Vasilyev, Maria Vasilyeva) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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