Behind the Scenes at the 2007 X-Games: Big Falls, Big Finishes and Big Parties

The players: skateboarders Danny Way, Pierre-Luc Gagnon and new media sensation Jake Brown.

While the meeting isn't anything special from what the friends might have on any other Saturday afternoon - to catch up and chat - today there is an ESPN camera crew to document the gathering. Just 48-hours ago, the rendezvous would be anything but newsworthy, but today it is a milestone for Brown, who friends have secretly nicknamed, "The Terminator" after he survived a 45-foot free fall during the Skateboard Air Big Final. He escaped with merely a cast on his broken right wrist and a minor fractured vertebra. Brown, who was recently released from the hospital, lifts up his shirt as if to show he is all in one piece.

"Dude, your video on You-Tube has like over 2 million hits," says Gagnon to Brown, who barely remembers the fifth and final jump that knocked him unconscious. The video of the fall quickly flooded the Internet and can be hard to watch for even the toughest viewers. But it has practically made Brown, who for the most part was unknown outside the skateboarding world, a house-hold name.

The meeting, which is kept quiet to avoid a rush of fans, is taking place just outside the back gates of the Home Depot Center on a sunny Saturday afternoon, while thousands of spectators inside have come to watch the many competitions. Around the events are hundreds of booths where companies have raffles, bands perform throughout the day, athletes sign autographs, skateboard companies have free give-a-ways and young, future X-Games hopefuls practice skateboarding in the kiddie park. Walking around in what feels like 100-degree weather it is easy to hear people still whispering about Thursday's fall.

Thursday began the way most X-Games do: Tattooed Metal Mulisha members and their high-heel wearing wives greet each other on the side of the BMX dirt park, set up where a basketball court would normally be. A correspondent for the Jay Leno Show - a tiny red-haired old lady carrying cookies - interviews Tony Hawk, who promises her a spot on his next video game. By 5pm the entire stadium inside Staples is filled with fans waiting to watch first hand the stunts they have only seen in movies.

Next to BMX park, sits an 80-foot tall Big Air ramp. Brown, was in first place with nothing to lose when he attempted a 720-degree spin across a 70-foot wide gap. It was then that he lost control attempting a 540, which shot the 5-foot-6 Australian out to the flat, swimming in the air during the freefall and landing so violently on the wooden deck that both of his shoes flew off. Medics rushed over while Brown lay motionless for minutes and all around athletes prayed, spectators were silent and ESPN officials began brainstorming what to do in the worse case scenario.

From the side of the ramp, just 10 feet away, a sigh of relief comes when spectators see Brown's hand move. Eight minutes later, in what can only be described as a miracle - Brown stood up, waved to the arena of fans cheering him and walked away leaving spectators and friends stunned. "I thought he broke both legs and was dead," said Gagnon just minutes after the event. While the fall might have looked out-of-control, Brown later said he was strategizing his fall up until the last second. He knew the smartest thing to do would be to spread out the injury by lying flat and rolling into it. Brown ended up with silver and Gagnon took bronze after Bob Burnquist nailed his final run, which he considered not taking after watching the fall. "I knew Jake would have wanted me to take the run," Burnquist said.

As any TV network would do, ESPN milked every minute of the story, showing replays multiple times on Sports Center - which would have been very unlikely had Brown been critically injured. Everyone including Good Morning America, the Today Show and Larry King wanted interviews with "The Terminator". Brown's friends, who visited him multiple times at the hospital, are still surprised by all the attention. While few will admit it, Thursday's frightening event helped hype the already growing popularity of the X-Games - which still had three more exhilarating days to go.

Friday, for the most part, was uneventful at Staples Center. The skateboarding street was held at Home Depot Center, and needless to say the BMX Big Air Finals - yawn - is like watching a bunch of motorcyclists do the limbo in reverse. Okay, bad example but you get the point. Besides, things can be just as exciting when the competitions end. In addition to the events, the X-Games are known for having some of the best soirees of the year, where sponsors throw parties for X-Games athletes and ESPN elite - to the frustration of many athletes, who have early wake-up calls the next day for practice. The festivities kicked off Thursday night at the Standard down town, which was definitely the place to be since most of the athletes were staying there (just a few blocks from Staples) and could be found having a drink at the downstairs bar or walking around the lobby. Such was the case Thursday, when X-Games sponsor Paramount threw an exclusive party on the Standard roof with famed DJ Steve Aoki. A curly-haired Shaun White made a cameo with his new publicist, but said he was leaving early to get sleep. Other celebs and athletes in attendance included Gagnon, The Bachelor's Andrew Firestone, musician Dave Navarro, Actress Carrie-Anne Moss, motocross rider Carey Hart, actress Bai Ling, skateboarder Andy MacDonald and BMX rider Alistair Whitton. A few ESPN employees could be seen busting some moves on the dance floor while Gagnon and friends lounged by the pool in what was a relatively low-key night.

Friday's main bash was, perhaps, the party of the week - the annual X-Games party ESPN throws at the rented-out House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard. Athletes, celebs, ESPN employees and their guests danced for the third year in a row to Camp Freddy, the Los Angeles group featuring legendary musicians and special guests including Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro, The Cult's Billy Morrison, Velvet Revolver's Matt Sorum, Scott Weiland and Duff McKagan, Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell, Sex Pistol's Steve Jones, The Doors' Robby Krieger, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath and more. Lets just say that many ESPN employees were drinking a lot of Gatorade Saturday morning. But by noon, everyone was back to their normal self and ready to kick off an amazing day.

Saturday was all about breaking records, new tricks and upsets. Curly-haired English rider Simon Tabron stunned the crowd at the BMX Vert Final with back-to-back 900s for the first time in BMX history. The gold, however, went to defending silver medallist and four-time gold medallist Jaime Bestwick who landed back-to-back 540 tail whips, giving Tabron the silver, with the bronze going to Kevin Robinson."It's been a dream of mine since I learned the 900," Tabron said about landing the flawless back-to-backs. "The first thing I thought when I landed it was, 'Did I win?' I didn't, but I can't take anything away from Jaime. So it was an almost dream day then, I guess." Although the crowd seemed a little shocked he didn't win the gold, Tabron did make history and won the fans over.

Another crowd pleaser on Saturday was the Moto X Freestyle where Adam Jones secured gold with a backflip Cliffhanger and two tricks he recently created. "I invented them like a week ago," said Jones still out of breath after the event. "That really helped this week having two tricks that nobody else was doing. I knew this was probably the only year I would ever have an advantage like I had so I had to stick my runs." Nate Adams took silver despite having an injured finger and Jeremy Stenberg, known as Twitch, grabbed the bronze - a big comeback for the athlete who couldn't even walk a year ago. "I'm definitely excited to be out here tonight and battle with the best dudes in the world," said the Metal Mulisha member who's been riding since he was two. "I'm just pumped I got a medal. It's a big change from last year sitting out here in a wheel chair watching everyone ride. But this year I got to go compete and get a medal - so a bronze to me feels like a gold."

The Moto X Race later that day had a special surprise cameo from a cane-carrying Brown, who made a brief appearance between races at the packed-arena, where cheering echoes could be heard from inside the press center. The Moto X Race is also a favorite because the athletes are some of the nicest at the X-Games. Despite being tired after Saturday night's event, the medallists walked a half mile to the media tent - only to find that most of the media had left. But the athletes didn't complain, and were instead just excited about their win. "I've always felt like an outside because I never had my discipline at the X-Games and to finally have it and to be the first one is awesome," gold medal winner Ricky Carmichael said . "I can't describe how happy I am." Carmichael, who said three weeks ago he didn't plan to race next year, is now planning for an encore performance of his win as well as hoping to dabble in Step-Up and Super Moto next year. However, he will have to get used to the pressure and publicity that come with his gold medal status, something he was already trying to avoid before his win.

"Just leading up to the X-Games there seemed to be more and more commercials," Carmichael said. "And then I saw one of myself and it said 'Judgment Day.' It was like, damn! So I just quit watching it. I just turned the channel." But Carmichael might not be able to do that for much longer. The X-Games has helped bring Moto Cross into a new light. "The whole environment and the buzz around the X-Games is incredible," bronze medal winner Kevin Windham said. "When you sit back and think about how many people are on the edge of their couches doing the same thing as all the people here at Home Depot it is just É it's really good." But in the end, the riders say the X-Games are really just about having fun. "As much as it is a big deal, you don't feel like there is a whole lot of pressure," silver medal winner Grant Langstrom said. "You feel like you are just out there doing what you love to do."

Sunday truly lived up the promise of saving the best for last. In what was possibly a perfect finale to the weekend, the biggest celebrity of the X-Games, Shaun White, took gold in the Skateboard Vert Final - the most popular event of the X-Games. "This is crazy for me," said White wearing a bandana around his curly red hair. "I almost broke down when I saw my whole family. They know what this means to me. It's one of those things where I've always wanted to be a skateboarder." The win secured White as the official poster boy of both the summer and winter X-Games. "I pretty much disappointed myself in my performance at X-Games last year," said White who failed to land the much anticipated 1080 last summer. "At this point it hit me that I'd never had a season in skateboarding like I've had in snowboarding."

While White has won six Winter X Games gold medals and an Olympic gold medal for snowboarding, Sunday's win was his first gold medal for skateboarding. "I was just trying to land runs," said White who fell on his first two tries. White wasn't the only rider having trouble. All 10 skateboards fell during their first of three runs and in the end only 8 of 30 runs were perfect. "It wasn't the easiest day to land things," White said. "There's a bit of wind, it's outside, it's bright lights, it's just difficult." His third and final winning run included a string of 720s, 540s, Mctwists, and multiple faky-to-faky tricks sending the crowd screaming and girls yelling "I love you Shaun" to the 20-year-old known as the "The Flying Tomato." When asked what sport he would conquer next, White joked, "Oh my gosh, uh, Extreme Frisbee."

The X-Games was also a tale of successful comebacks for athletes like Gagnon, who was knocked to silver after Whites flawless run. Gagnon, however, couldn't be any happier with the results. "Getting a bronze on the mega ramp and a silver here definitely means a whole lot," Gagnon said minutes after the win. Just last year he was forced to watch from the sideline while recovering from a leg injury. "We have just been skating so hard, me and Pierre this year - especially after his injury - and really trying to get in shape again," said Mathais Ringstorm who took bronze. "It was just good to be back."
Ringstorm was the first rider of the competition, making him also the first rider to fall. "That was my whole plan because I was the first skater so I figured I'd drop in and fall and mess with everyone's head," Ringstorm said joking. Gagnon had a better explanation. "The guy that fell the first time was Mathais, but the guy that stuck the second run was Matt Storm," said Gagnon to a group of laughing media. "That's Matthias when he's shredding it. The guys a different rider, and that is Matt Storm."

While White's win may have been the picture perfect finale to X-Games 13, the true finale was the Rally Car Race, the only other event of Sunday, which ended in a champagne-soaked medal ceremony. The Rally Car Race gained extra fans from spectators who stuck around after the skateboarding competition. "The X-Games highlights sports that are sometimes in the shadows and its such an amazing program that you can't help but watch," said gold medal winner Tanner Foust, who was a stunt driver in movies suck as "The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Dukes of Hazard." "It can take sports like these and elevate them to the top."

Travis Pastrana, who made the headlines with last year's legendary double back flip at the X-Games, now commits nearly all of his time to rally car racing. Although he was disqualified in a semi-final heat for crossing into Foust's lane at the finish, Pastrana later took bronze in the third place heat with Ken Block securing silver. "We were right about dead even coming in," Pastrana said. "I thought he might be a little bit ahead. I just totally overcooked that corner a little bit and completely ran right through the barrier and over their car."

Despite the close finish, there were no hard feelings after the race, only smiles and celebration as Pastrana and his co-driver sprayed champagne on the riders standing on their race cars and the media huddled around. As the lights around Home Depot began to turn off and fans slowly trickled out the gates, the medallists enjoyed the last moments on the course as the exciting weekend came to an end. "It was a big finish," said Foust with his gold medal hanging around his neck and champagne dripping from his hair. "That somehow always seems to happen at the X-Games."