Jake Brown, the Australian-born skateboarder who crashed 45 feet at the Summer X Games four months ago in Los Angeles, is back on his feet and ready to confront the mega-ramp that could have killed him.
He suffered liver and lung contusions, a fractured vertebra, whiplash and a broken wrist, but managed to survive the nasty spill.
Last weekend, Brown participated in an event in Dubai after just five days of practice, making his dramatic return to competitive skateboarding.
He stopped by Rockefeller Plaza on Wednesday morning to talk about the crash and his return.
After his interview with TODAY co-hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, Brown chatted with producer Dan Fleschner about the comeback, his tattoos and why he can't seem to hang onto money.
Here's a transcript of the conversation:
DF: During the four-month recovery period you went through, has anything particularly strange happened because of the crash or has anyone surprising contacted you about it?
Jake Brown: Well, the Today Show is pretty crazy. I don't know how much crazier it could get than that.
DF: What was the toughest part of the recovery process?
Jake Brown: Just waiting. Waiting to heal. The bones actually have to mend before you can get back out there.
DF: Without skateboarding for those four months, how did you entertain yourself?
Jake Brown: There were a lot of good times. I had to fill the time somehow, so I had a lot of fun with friends.
DF: Any particularly good stories?
Jake Brown: There's a lot of stories.
DF: Any you'd like to share today?
Jake Brown: I don't have one in particular, not off the top of my head.
DF: Obviously, the physical part was difficult, but what about the mental side of things? Did you have any reservations about coming back?
Jake Brown: No, just the waiting game. Once I started skating again, my body was feeling good. So I knew it was just a matter of getting a few tricks back. I'm still only halfway through the process, but my confidence is still there, so that's good.
DF: You landed the 720 right before the crash...is there anything else you'd like to accomplish in skateboarding?
Jake Brown: The Maloof Cup is coming up, July 12-13. These guys are putting on an event and they're partnering with a couple of us to make sure it goes good. So I want to do good at that contest in Orange County. And I want to do good at the X Games.
DF: Are you buddies with the Maloof brothers? I see you've got your Sacramento Kings jersey...
Jake Brown: Yeah--
DF: What are they like?
Jake Brown: They're really cool. Been hanging out with Joe a little bit. He's into skateboarding, and it's pretty cool that someone of that magnitude is getting into this stuff.
DF: Why the Ron Artest jersey specifically?
Jake Brown: I wanted a Kings jersey and it just happened to be Artest. That guy's good.
DF: Are you into basketball at all?
Jake Brown: I'm into it a little bit, and Joe actually said he was going to invite us to some games. So I'll go down and watch some games with him.
DF: What can you tell me about your tattoos?
Jake Brown: I've got a boxing kangaroo, which I got right after the fall at L.A. Ink. Kat Von D did it. It's an Australian sporting flag and kind of represents Australian toughness. And then, I got burning money, because money's too crazy.
DF: Do you feel like you burn a lot of money?
Jake Brown: I definitely do burn a lot of money.
DF: What do you burn it on?
Jake Brown: I don't know -- everything. It just seems to fall out of my pockets.
