Tom Boyle, Rip In Peace

Posted on Friday, December 16, 2016 by Paul

You know those friends you have that you and your other friends tell story after crazy story about? For us that was Tom Boyle. He was constantly getting himself into situations. Unfortunately most of these stories were the result of his battle with demons he couldn’t shake. But to know Tom was to love him. Of course Tom was an incredible skateboarder too, with one of the most natural styles out. If his head was right he could do anything he tried. If it wasn’t it was another story. I’ll never forget not long after I met him we were at Woodward skating the outdoor vert ramp. He said he couldn’t concentrate because he thought a sniper might pick him off the deck from the nearby hills. Tom swore he’d been abducted by aliens. He might have been. One time he made me feel his heartbeat, wanting to know if I thought he was having a heart attack. But nowhere was Tom’s unpredictability on his board more apparent than it was at contests. During practice there were times he couldn’t land two airs in a row, could barely make it up to the coping in fact, but when it was time to do his run he’d throw down 20 walls like nothing. We called him the Wounded Sparrow and would debate whether it was an act or not. I don’t think it was. Through it all Tom was always humble, always funny, and always rad, and we’re going to miss him greatly.

Paul Zitzer