Jon Comer, a professional skateboarder from Dallas, Texas, died yesterday. Tributes have been flooding in for the 43-year-old who overcame great adversity to reach the heights of skateboarding prowess and inspire generations.
The multi-award-winning skateboarder was the first to turn professional with a prosthetic limb. At the age of four, a car hit him and ran over his foot three times. Doctors admitted there was nothing they could do to save it, so his leg was amputated.
Jon didn’t let that stop him and began skateboarding when he was 12, turning professional at 21.
Soon, he earned the attention and respect of skateboarding greats such as Tony Hawk, Mike Vallely, and Steve Caballero. The three legends all appeared in his award-winning 2004 documentary Never Been Done.
Predictably, tributes began pouring in following the news of his death.
Teresa Waters, in a Facebook post on the ATX Skaters page, stated that “a legend has passed” and that “he was humble, laid back and an incredible skater.” She continued to say that Comer had “encouraged me to realize how to skate bowls.”
Waters then spoke of a tutorial Comer had given her where she learned to unlock “so much skill in my skating.” She finished by stating, “what a loss to society.”
Chip Wright, also penning a tribute on Facebook, said Comer was “a Huge inspiration, great skater and always a true friend.” He went on to say he “thought for sure he would pull through,” perhaps indicating that Comer was battling an illness. Wright finished by saying, “Rip in Peace, my friend.”
Folks on Twitter were quick to express their condolences with most people focusing on how Comer was the “nicest guy” and how he inspired the whole skateboarding community. Many shared their personal stories of touching interactions with Comer.
Damn Jon Comer RIP
Watching his footy in 411 was really inspiring. He taught you that no matter what life throws at you, you can over come.
My heart goes out to the entire adaptive skate community who lost their hero, mentor, and friend today.
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— tCb ??????? (@thomas__barker) December 5, 2019
Jon Comer was the nicest guy, I was fortunate to get to know him a little. His impact on the skateboarding community was incredible and while today is a very sad day it’s been amazing reading so many positive stories about him from so many people.
Rest well, Jon
— Greg (@stopthewave) December 6, 2019
In an interview with Canada’s Faze, he stated how he was never one for wallowing in self-pity, and he gave the advice: “crap happens; get over it.”