Jackson Shapiera
Name: Jackson Shapeira
AKA: Jacko
Current Sponsors: Sector 9, RAD wheels, Venom Bushings, Ronin Trucks
Disclaimer: These pages have been maintained to celebrate the OG Hopkin Skate Team 2006 - 2013. If any information (current sponsorships) needs updating, please let us know, if you want this page taken down please contact Hop.
Jackson was there from day one. He wasn't the first person on the team, he was number 2. Here is a bit of trivia, the first sponsored skater was Fitzy.
I first met Jackson at the Cam Jam, basically an Sydney Old School skate event. I was on a corner taking photos he was busting out these huge slides and blowing everyone away with steez. Later he showed up and competed in some slalom events and did quite well. I was into slalom and wanted to grow the scene, so I did a deal with Jackson in 2007, I would pay for his traveling and equipment if he could kick some old man butt and win some slalom events. Jacko didn't let me down, he was soon the best slalom skater in Australia. By the time of the 2008 Newtons Playground, he was full on into downhill and it was the start of the Hopkin Skate Team.
Jackson and I have a great friendship. We both learned so much about racing and longboarding together. Me on the business side, and Jackson on the skating side. He really was the inspiration for some much of what we did at Hopkin: team, racing, events and business.
Hop's favourite Jacko story
There are so many, hard to pick just one, it would have to be Jacko no brake run of Mt Panorama I told Concrete Wave:
Over the years skaters tamed Mt Panorama, but in the early days there was a lot of respect for the speed and corners. It was Jackson that decided he was going to do a run without braking – no slides, no footbraking. He told no one, he had worked out the line. The commentator on the mountain was Striker, and his words always boomed across the mountain on the PA. He had a TV with a live feed so he could follow the skaters down the mountain. Where he stood he could see skaters going into our crash corner – Forrest Elbow, and break to set up a good line going into Conrod Straight.
This time Jacko pulled out his no brake run. He’d warned me today was going to be a special day. And Striker called it to add to the emotion of watching it. From the start, Striker was yelling about how he love Jacko’s aggressive skating on the mountain, when Jacko tore through the Esses, Strikers voice went up an octave. Did you see that, Jacko is screaming through this course. Through the back straight, skaters would brake to slow and set up for Forrest Elbow, but Jacko was doing these massive carves, not sliding, but setting up his perfect line.
Striker by now was in full colour mode, spit was going everywhere, he was just trying to find the words to describe what he was watching. Jacko hit Forrest Elbow, found that perfect line, you could see he was going to conquer that mountain or die trying. His wheels sticking, his body leaning and fighting the physics. It was going to be close, the hay bales were getting larger, his wheels starting to break as he slowly started drifting towards doom. He held his nerve. Held his line. Striker was now melting down. Never, never, never, it cant be done.
Jacko grazed past that last haybale, it was so close it looked like he skated through it. Did not change the line, did not fault, did not break tuck, just straightened, breathed out, adjusted for a small wobble. First full speed, no brake run on Mt Panorama. My heart was pounding watching it. Striker passed out screaming, I think he forgot to breath.
Skaters were just watching in disbelief. For me, this is what defines skateboarding. Skaters doing the impossible. You don’t often see that happen in front of your eyes. A few years later, everyone is railing Mt Panorama, even the groms bomb it without breaking. But there had to be a first, someone to prove the impossible to be possible.
Where is he now?
Jacko has lived in North America since 2013. He has just married and is returning to live in Australia. He is still the fastest Australian skater, he proved that at Mt Keira this year (2016).