Pro skater, rallycross racer Bucky Lasek surprises fans at Innoskate in Sioux Falls

Dominik Dausch, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·2 min read
Pro skateboarder Bucky Lasek, center-left, gives an autograph to a fan at the Innoskate festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Friday, July 8, 2022. The Baltimore skater visited the state to the surprise of many attendees while representing his rallycross race team under Subaru.
Pro skateboarder Bucky Lasek, center-left, gives an autograph to a fan at the Innoskate festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Friday, July 8, 2022. The Baltimore skater visited the state to the surprise of many attendees while representing his rallycross race team under Subaru.
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If you played "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" on the first Playstation, you might remember pulling a Kickflip McTwist or Benihana with Bucky Lasek, one of the game's OG skaters.

As it turns out, the legendary Baltimore skater made a pit stop at Innoskate Sioux Falls Friday, surprising long-time skateboarders and entertaining those just entering the sport.

Skaters visited Lasek at the Schulte Subaru booth — he races rallycross for the Japanese car company — where he gifted Bucky Lasek brand stickers, gave out autographs and took photos with the fans.

Bucky Lasek poses for a photo with a fan at Innoskate Sioux Falls.
Bucky Lasek poses for a photo with a fan at Innoskate Sioux Falls.

Lasek, who is a 10-time X Games gold medalist, told the Argus Leader he initially received the invitation from Schulte Subaru to represent his racing brand, but when he heard about the idea of the skateboarding festival — to merge innovation, creativity and the fun of the board sport — he knew he needed to stop by and "spread the love."

"Innoskate gets kids into skateboarding," Lasek said. "Back when I first started skateboarding, we were doing everything ourselves — building ramps, building pipes. But If I didn't have skateboarding, I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably be back in Baltimore."

One Sioux Falls skateboarder, Pedro Quick Bear, 19, recognized the pro skater from the video games.

"I played him in '[Tony Hawk's] Proving Ground.' I couldn't believe he is here,” he said. “The guy is a legend. It was an honor to meet him."

Bucky Lasek, left, talks with an Innoskate attendee near the Schulte Subaru booth.
Bucky Lasek, left, talks with an Innoskate attendee near the Schulte Subaru booth.

Jason Hanson, general manager of Schulte Subaru, said Lasek's visit all came together so quickly.

"Our owner Mike reached out and asked if he'd like to come to our booth and check out the cars. We didn't know if he'd show up, but he did. It was awesome," Hanson said.

During some downtime, Lasek scoped out some of the Subaru vehicles at the lot, including a replica rallycross WRX STI driven by Travis Pastrana and Australian co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino. The pro skater also spoke to festival attendees at an Innoskate panel during his time in Sioux Falls.

Dominik Dausch is the agriculture and environment reporter for the Argus Leader and editor of Farm Forum. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook @DomDNP and send news tips to ddausch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Skateboarding legend Bucky Lasek visits Innoskate Sioux Falls