Vans/Hard Rock Cafe World Championship of Skateboarding award presented to Tim Brauch

Description (Brief):

Vans/Hard Rock Cafe World Championship of Skateboarding award presented to Tim Brauch. Born with a heart defect, Brauch never let anything hold him back from enjoying life. Inspired by his dad’s love of skateboarding, Tim Brauch (1974-1999) began his career in the late 1980s. He rode for the Sessions team early in his career and picked up sponsors Vans, Independent and New Deal. In 1992 Santa Monica Airlines (SMA) gave Tim his first pro model and shortly after Tim established the Este line of shoes and clothing with his friend and fellow skater Salman Agah. Using the “Es” from Salman and the “Te” from Tim to form “Este”, they were among the first pro skaters to branch out into the shoe and clothing market. At this point Tim left Vans for Etnies footwear and in the mid 1990s switched to Santa Cruz skateboards. In 1998, Tim won the Vans Triple Crown Street Competition although his career was cut short, passing away suddenly of cardiac arrest at the age of 25. His family holds the Tim Brauch Memorial Contest each year to celebrate Tim’s love of skateboarding. They have also established the Tim Brauch Memorial Fund which promotes skateboarding as “a safe, healthy and fun activity.”