Natas Kaupas was born on March 23,1969 and is an American former professional skateboarder.
26 Facts About Natas Kaupas
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Natas Kaupas grew up in South Santa Monica, California, in the area known as Dogtown, and is of Lithuanian descent.
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In 1983 Natas Kaupas won a local Santa Monica surfing contest and received a Santa Monica Airlines skateboard as a first place prize.
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Natas Kaupas approached Engblom about becoming a member of his skate team, which did not exist.
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Natas Kaupas honed his street skateboarding skills by utilizing his surroundings, preferring not to ride ramps or parks.
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Natas Kaupas then perfected this trick by riding up the side of walls without using his hands.
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In 1984 Thrasher Magazine photographer and skating commentator Craig Stecyk took a photo of Natas Kaupas riding off a wall which featured on the cover of Thrasher Magazine's September 1984 issue.
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At this point, Natas Kaupas was regularly skating with such notables as Mark Gonzales, Julien Stranger and Jim Thiebaud and pioneering what would be known as 'street skating'.
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At 16, Natas Kaupas impressed Engblom when he arranged a manufacturing and distribution arrangement with the much larger company, Santa Cruz Skateboards.
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Natas Kaupas stunned the crowd by attempting a board slide down a handrail.
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In 1987, Natas Kaupas had his debut role in the Santa Cruz skateboarding video Wheels of Fire.
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Natas Kaupas attempted to explain his name as being the masculine version of the Lithuanian female name 'Natalija'.
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Later in 1987, Natas Kaupas had become such a well-known figure that shoe company Etnies offered him his own pro model shoe, an entirely new concept in the skating world.
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Natas Kaupas was able to use his artistic talents, which he later incorporated in SMA skateboard designs.
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In 1989, Santa Cruz released a follow-up video to Wheels of Fire entitled Streets on Fire, in which Natas Kaupas played a greater role.
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Natas Kaupas' stand-out performance in the film was a new trick where he ollied up onto a fire hydrant and performed a 720 degree spin on top of it.
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The 'Natas Kaupas Spin' was incorporated into the Tony Hawk's video game series.
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In 2005, Natas Kaupas received the Legend Award at the seventh annual Transworld Skateboarding Awards.
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In 1991 fellow pro skater Steve Rocco, who founded World Industries skateboards, approached Natas Kaupas about starting his own line of skateboards.
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Natas Kaupas would become an outlet for Kaupas to employ his graphic and artistic talents.
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Natas Kaupas was asked to assist with the first issue of the Big Brother skateboarding magazine, which was owned by World Industries.
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Natas Kaupas received a call from Larry Flynt Publications who were interested in launching a new magazine entitled Rage and needed an art director.
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Natas Kaupas left shortly afterwards however, again losing interest after a change in tone of the magazine.
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Natas Kaupas then found work in design and art with clothing companies Quiksilver and Element Skateboards.
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In 2004, Natas Kaupas started a new board company, Designarium under the manufacturing and distribution of NHS.
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Natas Kaupas has commissioned artists to interpret his original Santa Monica Airlines Panther graphic into their own vision.