All This Mayhem – DOCUMENTARY REVIEW

“A documentary about 2 pioneer skateboarding mavericks who made the sport what it is today. In “All This Mayhem” you’ll see them win it all and lose it all in… Drugs, rock & roll, and ramps, a tragic lesson that left behind a secret legacy…”

All This Mayhem (movie poster)

I feel a sense of pride to say I was a teenager in the 90’s… It was a stellar, reckless time when youth fearlessly waged against rules and punk rock music and skateboarding imploded on the scene like a bat out of hell.  Transworld Magazine, mix tapes, and bongs adorned every skaters coffee table from Canada to Australia. It didn’t matter who you were, you were part of a world where you could say “fuck it” to the systems that enshrined and consistently tried to conform you. Skate free and long live individuality! But like any golden-age these glory days have set-sail… Left behind is a trail of fractured skateboarding mavericks that made it possible to walk around with a board today and not be arrested for practising the sport… If you can relate to this “All This Mayhem” is a documentary for you.

“All This Mayhem” is the trying story behind: Tas & Ben Pappas (AKA the Pappas brothers)… You should know these names… You should know them because they were the golden boys of skateboarding. “All This Mayhem” opens up their world when the brothers at the age of 15 (Ben) and 17 (Tas) crossed the pond parent-less and literally took shit over with their vertical skills. These little aussie’s did circles around the best (yea that includes Tony Hawk…)

Tas was a loose-lipped, fearless renegade and Ben had more of a calculated approach. I remember their faces gracing the pages of all the best skate magazines, plastered in “Globe” “DVS” & “XYZ Company” ads, sponsors out the ass and, underground cult like fame- they had it all seemingly…

But what happens when young boys reach high levels of success, fame, and money when they’re balls haven’t even dropped…? Like the Pappas brothers- they got caught-up, fucked-up large, and lost it all; including, Ben- his own life and Tas- his American born children…

“All This Mayhem” is Tas’s tale; his side of the story… Why did he leave a scene he owned and solely conquered? Why on that day that Tony Hawk hit the “900” at the X-Games was Tas sitting on the sidelines, defeated and not knocking wheels like he should be? What happened to the idols of so many? You’ll get the gnarly answers with this movie and much more…

This documentary was released in 2012 but with NetFlix bringing it to light, so many people can now, in 2015 appreciate it. “All This Mayhem” is the world of per-commercialized skateboarding recounted by the boys who themselves invented the national phenomenon… It’s Tas’s story; it’s honest, it’s brutal and if you feel like it’s one-sided, then suck it… Tas has never had the chance to give his side, this is his vindication.

Tas is still a legend to my generation- but he’s also a man who lost his father, his best-friend and brother Ben, his kids, and even his freedom. He never splashed fake smiles to ESPN, he never bulked down to Tony Hawk’s cornering of the skateboarding marketing machine, and he never sprayed fire all over his shit to make it seem cooler- he was a ball busting, no bullshit skateboarding staple that deserves his day.

TAS PAPPAS- Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 Photo: Rob Meronek. Related Article: X-Games 11 Day Three: Vert.

WATCH “ALL THIS MAYHEM” it will move you, it will change how you look at skateboarding and – it will make you a better person for realizing we all make mistakes… But we can also chose to learn from them.

R.I.P Ben & Lynette… May angels lead you in    

Follow this link to purchase documentary: http://films.vice.com/all-this-mayhem/

Follow along folks!

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