Our Aussie Hope
At only 19 years of age and with four years of freestyle football experience under his belt, Chris Beavon is near veteran of the sport in Australia.
Hailing from Newcastle, Chris won his passage through to the World Street Style Finals in South Africa as the top ranked Australian at the Red Bull Street Style Finals at Bondi in July 2009. With an unparalleled passion for his craft, it is no surprise that the man they call ‘Bevs’ cites Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney as a key inspiration for his passion and commitment.
“Freestyle football is a massive part of my life, for me it’s more than just a hobby. It’s something that separates me from everyone else, it makes me different and gives me a way of expressing myself. I love freestyle football, it’s something I’m going to be doing one way or another for the rest of my life.”
“It means everything to me, Street Style is the highest level of freestyle football and I feel honored to be able to compete against the best in the world. As far as expectations go, I’m just happy to be there, if I could make to the last 16 that would be amazing.”
Chris hopes to emulate the success of his icon and 2008 Red Bull Street Style World Champion Arnaud “Séan” Garnier.
You can watch the Street Style final live here: Red Bull Street Style
The Event
After 221 national qualifying tournaments featuring over 5000 competitors, the best freestyle footballers from 60 countries across the globe have managed to qualify for the Red Bull Street Style 2010 World Final under the blazing Cape Town sun. Now, the best of the best will be focussing on making it to the Last 16 in order to be able to showcase their skills in front of the Castle of Good Hope on Cape Town’s Grand Parade on Wednesday.
Former Dutch international and football superstar Edgar Davids: “I have been observing the sport for quite a few years now. The level here is just incredible – we can look forward to some amazing tricks over the next few days. These guys are capable of doing things with a football that seem to defy the laws of gravity. Any footballer would love to be able to pull off these tricks.”
The freestylers from Australia, America, Trinidad & Tobago, Greece, Germany, France, Nigeria and 53 other countries were up bright and early at seven o’clock in the morning to begin the tough ascent to what is a truly unique battleground to complete one final training session at dizzying heights. “Any mistake controlling the ball would have sent it sailing down a 669-metre vertical drop to the bottom of Lion’s Head,” explained Germany’s representative, Timo Löhnenbach. “The difficulty of keeping the ball under control in such a tight area and the breathtaking views pushed us all to the limit. It was a really incredible experience.”
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