Looking Back @ Tillman, Once the Fastest Dog on a Skateboard

SKATEBOARDING HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT ACTIVITY FOR MANY DOGS NOW

 

 

 

A little ode this time to a world famous bulldog who unfortunately left us too soon at the end of 2015. Tillman, who lived with the Davis family nearby Los Angeles, was not an ordinary English bulldog. No, for a long time he was the Guinness World fastest dog on a skateboard at 100 metres.

 

 

Ron Davis & Tillman in 2009

 

 

Only four years later, in 2013, his record of 19.678 seconds was broken by Jumpy, a multi-talented film stunt dog, who realised 19.65 seconds, also in L.A. You can see that here: 

 

 

 

Besides from many commercial appearances, this canine thespian, a border collie/blue heeler mix, also rose to fame in the movie business under direction of legends as Terrence Malick and Warren Beatty among others. While Jumpy had more versatile skills than Tillman, the bulldog had the better coordination on a moving board, as that was his favourite and nearly only pastime. But a new WR attempt by Tillman however failed because rainfall made the surface too slow. Now both dogs are in dog heaven. Jumpy passed away at the beginning of 2018, although he is survived by his puppies, his trainer Omar von Muller stated. Tillman for his part was ten years old when he died due to heart problems. CNN, NBC and CBS took over that news, as did many press media around the world. 

Here is what his boss uttered about his beloved dog on Twitter (@TillmanSkates): "I'm sorry to announce the world lost a true legend", Ron Davis wrote. "My best bud Tillman passed away last night, of natural causes. We spent 10 years making so many incredible memories skating, surfing and hanging out together. No words can truly describe how much he'll be missed. Thanks for all the good times, Tilly." 

Fan pages

Next to Twitter, the dog had his own blog, a Pinterest page and still has fan pages running on Facebook and Instagram called 'rideliketillman' where his owner Ron Davis shares sweet dog memories of his three bulldogs. On TV skateboarding dog stories are commonly used at the end of news bulletins as human interest stories. As such, television channel CBS made a short in memoriam video on YouTube about the dog who was known far and wide. Here it is:

 

 

Like stars do, Tillman had his ashes scattered in the ocean where he rode the waves before - because he did surfboard too - attended by all 'his surfing friends'. We all know videos of animals or pets score in the media or on platforms but how popular can you be as a dog? Probably a key element in the succes is what Ron Davis observed as "most dogs like to keep their owners happy". It also signifies they stay true to their passion. Or another saying "you get out of it what you put into it", which for Ron means that owners especially have to 'try' things out otherwise they will never know what their pet is gifted with. And then, inevitably, put a lot of training hours in it! So as popular Tillman was in his life, it was no surprise more than 10.000 people posted condolences and comments on his Facebook page after his passing. Picture it, most families of deceased, common humans by far don't get this amount of mourning reactions. Of course Tillman now has a Wikipedia page about him.

 

 

Dogs will eventually learn to steer

 

The young bulldog rose to internet fame in 2007 when a video showing him skateboarding went viral. This first YouTube video now has reached over 22 million views! Other videos remind us that on the hotter days Tillman went surf-, skim- or snowboarding. Not to mention the many surf dog contests he won. The more traditional dog tricks however did bother him less, his owner told. On TV the skateboarding dog made it beyond the news. He featured as a dog star in reality series Who Let The Dogs Out on Hallmark Channel, was in Greatest American Dog on CBS and did a few commercials. 

 

The dog skateboarding downtown L.A. for Mini Cooper was him. Also Apple picked up on the canine. Tillman even became the spokesdog for National Balance pet foods. In addition, many organisations invited or honoured Tilly as a special guest.

Succession

The digital revolution made it easier for dogs to break through. In traditional outlay somebody already imagined in 2006 what was about to happen later on. Francesca Simon wrote a children's book on this subject: Little Yellow Dog Says Look at Me. In this fictional story, the dog skateboards for attention. Just as Tillman, the little yellow dog makes a lot of people smile as he explores the urban world he lives in.

 

 © Orion's Children Books

 

Succession for Tilly or  'Pot Roast' as he was nicknamed, seemed to be ensured with 3-year old Peruvian bulldog Otto, who begin november 2015 skated through the legs of 30 people in Lima, yet another Guinness World Record. And of course Tillman was his great inspiration. Unfortunately Otto, also owner of a fan page, he too departed for the rainbow bridge at the end of 2019.

 

Otto skateboarding through the legs of 30 people

There are enough bulldogs or other dog races to find all over the world whose owners want them too to get in the picture, whether they are called Buttercup, Cartman, Chowder, Churro, George, Max or Brutis. Their videos can be very charming. Here you find an example: 

 

 

 

 

 

Dogs skateboarding in the streets, at parking lots and skate parks, they're easy to find on the web. And it seems that skateboarding has now become an important sports activity for many dogs. Furthermore it is an excelllent exercise for every dog's physical health and confidence. You can't deny that's the influence of pioneer dog Tillman. But was he really the pioneer? One skateboarding English bulldog named Tyson already appeared in the MTV show Rob and Big which ran from 2006 till 2008, and has since been featured on many websites as the pioneer of skateboarding dogs. He too has his Wikipedia page. On that page there's no mention about his demise but bulldogs generally become no older than 12 years. 

 

 

Tyson, the pioneer skateboarding dog

This Californian canine even made it to The Oprah Winfrey Show - not bad for a dog - and was in two movie pictures. One of them was the 2005 Lords of Dogtown, a film about a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica among which legend Jay Adams. What's remarkable, Tyson and Tillman even trained together in 2008 at the Natural Balance camp where they learned to skate on a track in preparation of the Pasadena Parade and another time thereafter for the Rose Parade in the same town a year later. As real pro's the dogs had no eye for each other just for riding the skateboard :) 

 

 

In the 2008 YouTube video on that last training, Tyson's owner Jim Blauvelt says one year old Tyson started to skateboard around 2001-2002, so we give him the credit as the first one. It's just so funny to note these dogs shared the same obsession with the sport wanting to ride every day. And it is known that California definitely is skateboarding's Walhalla, also for dogs.

 

Cat on a board

Jay Adams, a Dogtown legend

But for good results, the dog needs to be handy and he must not be too big in size otherwise there will be no balance match with the small board. That's why you often see the wide bodied bulldogs, sometimes a border collie, a terrier or even a chiwawa skateboard. People just try this with their other beasts too, the internet learns us. On YouTube we even saw a cat jumping over an obstacle and landing back on the rolling board. Little in size, the dog pets are all fitted for the ride and basically with their lower centre of gravity even more than us humans. You can try to find a longboard if you're dog's bigger. Having the right skateboard for him is very important. This means the right size, light, strong and smooth to ride. The skateboard should only be a little larger than the dog. As well, the board in general must be wide enough for the canine. As soon as the dog has made progression and has started to really skateboard it is best for him to find a surface which is smooth to ride on. A snowboard, surfboard or a skimboard are wider and larger sized but this may take more time and effort as the holder of the pet probably needs to relocate. So that's only for the ardent dog owner. 

 

"Although it's not natural, any dog can learn how to skateboard" - Omar von Muller, dog trainer

Although it's not natural to the animal, according to renowned Colombian dog trainer Omar von Muller, any dog can learn how to skateboard. He teaches them with obedience and food or treat motivated training. "After the dog gets used to the board," he says, "knowing how to steer needs a lot of repetition." And loosened board trucks may help with that. The dog will then start learning to lean towards the side he wants to go. The only way he effectively will learn is by crashing or getting stuck. "It takes months of training every day," von Muller explains, "but the most important is that the dog has to be happy when he's doing it."

Attraction

It's a fact that so much people love seeing videos of  skateboarding canines on social media and on video platforms. In real life you will steal the attention of the passersby when your dog is riding on four wheels. He will easily be an attraction. But on the other hand, what's no different than with humans, is that the dog needs both interest and talent. These factors interact with each other to result in a long enduring passion or hobby. Otherwise all efforts will fail. And for some their primal obsession turns out into something big. Tillman was an active dog and he hated to be left out of activities. "Anything with a sense of thrill, he's all for it", said Ron Davis in 2014. Ron made it exciting for Tillman to do what the dog loved the most, as it happened that was skateboarding. So to conclude here's the movie of one year old Tilly with which it all began and which changed his pet life.

Tillman, riding a wave at the Surf City surf dog contest in Huntington Beach, California, in 2014 (© Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The GOAT on a skateboard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tilly, now in bronze, united with his board

 

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☆ Little Yellow Dog Says Look at Me (Little Yellow Dog series) Paperback, ‎Orion Children's Books Francesca Simon (Author), James Lucas (Illustrator), May 1, 2004

 

 

30.05.2022