Chris Cole (born March 10, 1982) is a professional skateboarder. As of September 2019, his sponsors are: Fallen Footwear, Monster Energy, Bones bearings, Cult Crew, Thunder, Spitfire, Reign Skate Shop, Stance, Kershaw Knives, Grizzly Griptape and GoPro. Chris Cole is a professional skater from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Career

Cole gained attention following the completion of a number of difficult tricks: 360 flip and Switch Frontside flip down the staircase at Wallenberg High School in San Francisco, California. Backside 360 Kickflip down the Carlsbad gap in Carlsbad, California. But most notable a Backside flip, Switch Frontside flip and a Backside 360 ollie down the "Love Park" fountain in Philadelphia as seen in his Transworld In Bloom, and Fallen Ride the Sky Video Parts.

Cole's other past sponsors include World Industries, Axion Footwear, Tensor Trucks, Ezekiel clothing, Speed Demon Bearings, Enjoi, Circa Footwear, eS Footwear, Omit Apparel, but the most significant were Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear.

In May 2013, following a bet between Cole and professional skateboarder Mike Mo Capaldi, Cole became a team rider for the Glassy brand—Capaldi and Cole, who are teammates on the DC Shoes team, agreed that Cole would join the Glassy team if he lost to Capaldi in any contest. The pair competed in the Battle at the Berrics 6 contest on May 18, 2013 with Capaldi being the winner; however, as of July 9, 2014, an announcement had not been made regarding the new sponsorship arrangement and Cole does not appear on the brand's "Team" page.

A segment on Tony Hawk's RIDE Channel, published on July 6, 2014, asked Cole—who was riding a blank, black-colored skateboard deck at the time—if he knew of any possibilities for his next skateboard deck sponsor and he indicated that he was not aware of any options at the time. On June 27, 2014, Cole posted an announcement of his departure from Zero on the social media platform Instagram, without a corresponding reason; however, a reply from the Zero Instagram account thanked Cole for his "loyalty & dedication." Prior to the release of a limited edition series of 666 "Chris Cole" skateboard decks—Cole confirmed that the decks were not related to any brand, including a potential one of his own—that he officially parted ways with zero on July 1, 2014, which is displayed on the decks in Roman numerals. In May 2015, Chris became a member of Plan B Skateboards

Company owner

Cole is the co-owner of Reign Skate Shop in Philadelphia, U.S. and a former shareholder of the Zero skateboard company. Cole parted ways with Zero in June 27, 2014, after three years as a shareholder and 13 years as a team rider.

In an October 2014 interview, Cole clarified that he was a "silent shareholder" with Zero, meaning that "any of the shares that I [Cole] had were contingent upon the actual sale of Zero. And that never happened and it’s not gonna happen ... There was absolutely no payoff and I’m not a shareholder any longer." Cole was the founder of skateboard clothing company Omit Apparel. Started in 2011 and based out of Irvine, California, US, Omit Apparel ceased to be an operational company in late 2012 and Cole's sponsorship deal with DC Apparel was announced in April 2013.

Cole is also an avid BMX rider and co-owns Cult, a BMX company that sponsors a team of riders. Team members include Chase Dehart, Dakota Roche, and Chase Hawk.

Awards and contest appearances

Cole was awarded Thrasher Magazine's "Skater of the Year" accolade in both 2005 and 2009 (a feat achieved by only Cole and Danny Way). He has also received the "Reader's Choice" award from Transworld Skateboarding magazine. Cole's team, Zero, won Thrasher Magazine's "King of the Road" contest three times consecutively and he won the gold medal at the X Games on two consecutive occasions. Cole has also been victorious in other contests, including Back to the Berg and the DC Copenhagen Pro. In late June 2013, Cole won the gold medal at the Street League Skateboarding contest at the Munich leg of the X Games. Cole came first place in the second round of Battle at the Berrics, the flatground competition run by The Berrics.

Maloof Money Cup

Cole was victorious in the first three rounds of the Maloof Money Cup and, in the wake of his winning run, the event owners, the Maloof brothers, offered US$1 million to the first person who wins four Maloof Money Cup titles. As of July 9, 2014, a further announcement on the offer had not been made.