Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Octobers OC Register news article on Supercharged

Free tacos at premiere of skateboard legend's movie

Tim Brauch, an Etnies team skater, is remembered in 'Super Charged.'

The Orange County Register

LAKE FOREST – Etnies will host the So Cal premiere of "Super Charged" – a movie dedicated to skateboard legend and Etnies Team rider Tim Brauch.

Brauch – a street-style skater – turned his childhood passion into the life of a champion.

On Friday Etnies will show Super Charged," – a documentary on the life and times of the late Etnies team rider. The free movie screening will be held outside at Sole Technology at 20161 Windrow Dr. in Lake Forest. If there rain the movie will be shown inside. There will be free tacos and drinks starting 6:30 p.m.

Brauch, from San Jose, skated for Etnies in the mid 1990's. He died in 1999 at age 25 from congenital heart failure.

He left behind a legacy in skateboarding, and in 2004 he was featured in the traveling Smithsonian Exhibit Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers which toured from October 2004 to December 2007 across the United States also featuring Hank Aaron,Michael Jordan, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Lance Armstrong.

Don Brown, senior vice president of marketing for Etnies, calls Brauch a perfect ambassador and inspiration for the sport of skateboarding.

"Tim's legacy is that he lived life to the fullest and was the best friend anyone could ask for," said Brown. "Tim created positive energy in every situation, skated harder, faster and more stylishly than anyone. He traveled the world skateboarding and left a good vibe with everyone he met."

Mark Waters, events group manager for Etnies, is also featured in "Super Charged" and spent a lot of time with Brauch and his family. Here is what he says about Brauch.

Q. How did he get his break into the industry?

A. Skating at a Sessions demo in San Jose — he asked the guys in charge if he could skate the demo and caught their eye. Sessions was his first sponsor and he quickly got on New Deal not long afterwards.

Q. What is the least known thing about him?

A. Tim was also an amazing guitar player and had a great ear for music. Tim was good at all sports — he'd constantly surprise his friends, even dorking around with a soccer ball, football or whatever, it was easy to see he was adept at lots of physical activities.

Perhaps one thing that only close friends knew that wasn't ever made public in any interviews or videos during his life was that Tim was an experienced bird watcher. Tim loved birds and studied them, and could identify all sorts of birds easily. He made more than a few of his friends laugh by calling out birds, even just passing by them in a car: "No way, there's a great blue heron!"

Q. How would he compare to skaters now?

A. Tim didn't compare well to skaters even during his time — his style and trick selection were unique, and the way he combined tricks was unlike anyone before or since. Tim was skating everything well with a powerhouse, charge-through-everything style throughout the mid-90s, as that style has become very fashionable in skateboarding today. If Tim were still skating today, he would be very much in the same position as the best of his peers: still ripping, still relevant, and still having fun on his skateboard.

Q. What message does the movie want audiences to leave with?

A. The movie is the story of a Tim's life, with skateboarding and its coincidental adventures as a central and common device. The message is that Tim lived life in an admirable way, touched a lot of lives in positive ways, and left a bright mark on everything he was involved in.

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