Part of his famously flashy wardrobe included a cross which he is seen wearing at multiple points during his skating career, including at some of the darkest moments.

Obviously, for starters, the man’s name is “Christian”. Upon reflection, one thing that especially stands out to me is the way in which his story breathes life into the notion that “God is sovereign”, as He seems to be present in Christian’s life long before Christian, or anybody else for that matter, ever recognizes it (i.e., preveniently). Rising Son offers a beautiful portrait of “the same old story of Jesus and his glory.” But his profound and sudden conversion to Christianity came as a totally wonderful surprise to me (as life on the other side of death always does–though I guess it probably shouldn’t since it’s been my experience too). Going in, I knew about his skating, and I knew about his (not so surprising) downfall. The film tracks Hosoi’s rise, fall, …and resurrection. His reign as the king of vert lasted throughout the bulk of the 80s and into the 90s, but the lifestyle caught up with him, and, in 1999, Christian was caught with over a pound of methamphetimine in an airport. At his peak, he was the richest skateboarder in the world. Hosoi was one of skating’s first “rock stars” and helped define 80s fashion he was the first guy to sport multiple swatch watches on his wrist, which is still one of my favorite quintessentially 80s fads. “There are none nearer to God in this life than these haters and blasphemers of him, nor any sons more pleasing to him and beloved by him!” (Martin Luther)īecause of my adolescent love of skateboarding, and thanks to Netflix instant streaming, I recently watched Rising Son: Christian Hosoi, the documentary about the rise and fall of skateboarding legend Christian Hosoi.

Christian hosoi 80s