The Young Years
By Rome Torti
I remember the first time I saw Shane, this little guy with pants and shirts five times too big for him, at the now turned to rubble Nexus Skatepark. He must have been all of 14, nollie backside lipsliding down the rail every shot, and even at that time, outshining every other kid at the park. Shane told me years later, although I couldn't remember it, that I had actually met him a couple of weeks before that. He also told me that the same night I met him he copped an accidental elbow to the face from my brother Dave, which left him with a gushing blood nose.
It wasn't until a couple of years later that I started skating with Shane on a regular basis. He called me one morning and asked if I was keen to shoot some photos. Now at this time I still had my old camera set-up, usually just shooting friends of mine skating kerbs. I'd get the odd photo run every now and then in a magazine, but I was definitely not at the point where people could trust me to get a gold photo of them jumping down a multiple set of stairs.
That day Shane ollied a never before skated seven-flat-seven (no, not Varsity), filmed about eight tricks on a picnic table, did a frontside lipslide on a kicker to power-box set-up and pulled this massive frontside 180 that was at the end of his Northern Lights video part. From that day onwards I knew that Shane was something special.
I've seen him go through his phases, from his baggy "Mudgee" rat rags, to his trusty Defiant hat - which he would never leave home without - to skin-tight girl's pants ... then sometimes to not wearing any pants at all. More recently, which is what felt like his real calling, there was the bright T-shirts, headbands and, of course, the biggest smile around.
Shane enjoyed his life the way that we all should, on or off a board. His attitude and demeanor was infectious. His short life affected more people positively than most of us could imagine, and I feel honoured to say that I was his friend. Not a day will go by that the memory of Shane Cross won't be floating through my head and there won't be a day that I, and so many others, won't miss him. Wherever Shane's soul has gone I know he's skating and smiling, and that's exactly what he would want us to be doing. He was the best there has been, the best there was, and the best there will be, but the best part about that is he didn't have a clue; he just wanted to skate and have a good time with his friends. The world will miss you for ever Shane, peace out.
Words from the family:
Megan Cross
As Shane's little sister he always watched over me and protected me, a lot! The nights will be so lonely without you. Shane used to call me up in the middle of the night no matter where he was and I'd be fast asleep. He ring and say "I need a ride home". It would be one in morning and whenever Dad found out he would say to him, "Come on, she's got to go to school the next day". But most of the time I used to sneak down the steps and push my little car down the driveway so I wouldn't wake anyone up. I'd race over, pick him up and bring him home. Some of the time he'd want to go straight back out, so yeah, I'd take him out...
Shane, you are every colour in the rainbow to me and I will miss you for all the days in my life. Peace out lad.
Something Special
By Matt Hooker
During the early years of our friendship Shane's comedic personality and effortless skating made a huge impact on my life. A constant source of amusement and always up for anything, Shane made even the bad days seem fun. At one stage Shane was big on smacking my butt. So big in fact that we placed a $100 bet where he couldn't touch my arse until the New Year. Being mid-October at the time, he folded within minutes only to immediately shout "Double or nothing", to which I of course accepted. Shane ignored the undeniable temptation to touch me for the next two months and won the bet fair and square, only to say, "Don't worry about the money". We've had our fair share of bets between us, but I can't remember any money ever changing hands, it was just for the little thrill we all get from having a punt.
We seemed to be making sponsor tapes every two weeks for a while with some of the cheesiest music ever; a reflection of the music Shane actually listened to at the time. Years later he had become one of the most musically orientated people I know, with respectable knowledge about just about any genre of music. From Biggie, to Jim Morrison, to Beyonce, Shane seemed to know the lyrics to just about any song ever written.
Since snorkelling from the age of two on the Great Barrier Reef, I have only ever seen three octopuses in their natural environment. The most recent was with Shane. He declared, "I just found an octopus!" I didn't really believe him at first, but sure enough he'd found one, a special find that few get to witness first-hand, just like Shane.
Most people's biggest threat when snorkelling is sharks, but for me it was Shane. Now Shane had some bizarre fascination with my nipples, and I accept that, but it's strange to think that while 20 feet underwater staring curiously at some weird creature on the ocean floor, someone would grab your nipple, making you laugh and gasp for air as you try desperately to resurface. While still recovering he would pop up and calmly ask, "What were you looking at?"
As time went by Shane's skating ability could only be matched by his infectious personality, love for his family, life and good times. I recently told Shane how proud I was of what he has achieved. He modestly said "Thanks man" - typical of the legend he had become