WEBVTT - Tony Hawk 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:05.760 Welcome to the No Sports Report, a production of I 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:14.120 Heart Radio Entree Fork Media. My name is Jensen Carp 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:16.959 and I'm a sports fan, and I guess I like bowling. 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:19.800 I don't know. I'm so deep into this quarantine now. 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:22.479 Everything outside of my house sounds fun. I average a 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:24.480 one forty at best. But if you gave me the 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:26.720 chance to rent a lane right now, I'd play for 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:30.920 like six consecutive frames. Hell, anything even remotely close to 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:35.000 sounding like sports, I'd be in archery, croquet, duck, duck, 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.239 goose whatever. I'm dying here. So I've been talking to 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.920 athletes and sports industry professionals about what they're doing in quarantine, 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:44.320 helping to figure out if FAM is competing as much 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.880 as I miss watching it. This is the No Sports Report. 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:51.800 When it comes to skateboarding, no matter what aide you are, 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.319 one name comes to mind, Little Wayne. I'm kidding, it's 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:58.120 Tony Hawk. I know people say someone is the Michael 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.040 Jordan of their respective sport a lot, but Tony Hawk 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:04.440 truly is the Michael Jordan of skateboarding. The entrepreneur and 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:07.199 philanthropist built an empire around a sport he was vital 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:09.880 and taking mainstream, putting the X Games on the map, 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:12.800 and signing endless sponsorship deals, including one that put his 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:14.880 name on a video game that would not only change 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.800 the gaming industry but reportedly place his net worth above 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:21.280 Larry Bird and Charles Barkley combined. He was the National 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:23.520 Skateboarder of the Year twelve years in a row, a 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:26.080 two time X Games Gold medalist, a winner of more 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.399 than seventy events, the most in the history of the sport, 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:30.560 and the first person in the world to ever lay 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:33.560 in the coveted nine hundred, still considered the most memorable 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:36.720 feat in professional skating to this day. He's also the 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.039 first and only person to ever skateboard on the grounds 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:41.080 of the White House, which I don't see anyone doing 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:44.039 again anytime soon. On this episode, I talked to Tony 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:47.000 about the state of pandemic skateboarding, the upcoming return of 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:49.760 Tony Hawk pro Skater and Little Cooper from Georgia, and 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.960 that FedEx guy and some police academy for citizens on 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.080 patrol talk for good measure. Excited to have a legend 0:01:56.200 --> 0:02:08.440 on today's No Sports Report from Tony Hawk pro Skater 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:13.600 to except Press one, Tony, I wanted to ask first 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.920 where you were quarantined and with who. I am in 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.840 San Diego at home with most of my family, so 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:24.160 my wife and then three of our boys too, who 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:26.919 are home from college, and then my daughter is here 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:30.240 half the time. And uh, I'm either here at the 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.919 home or I'm at my ramp, which is pretty close 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.680 just down the street. I that is a lot of 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.200 kids to have in I feel like, if they're back 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.840 from college, you at one point we're empty nesting, and 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.240 now we were very close. Yeah, you are now a 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:48.720 frat house kind of. Yeah. They're getting a little more mobility, 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.440 a little more freedom now to see friends. And suddenly 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.440 it's like, wait a second, what just happened? Now we 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:56.960 have summer camp. Yeah. It's so weird because I remember 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.280 coming back for summers to my parents house while I 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.399 was in college, and you're like a grown ass man 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:03.360 getting to do whatever you want. And then you're back 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:05.480 under the roof of your parents. You're like, you can't 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.240 tell me what to do. Yeah, Well, luckily we have 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:13.080 enough room that they're relatively autonomous, and so sometimes, you know, 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:15.200 we get up in the morning, it's like, wait, how 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:17.880 late with these guys up? What was going on here? Right, 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.760 what are you guys doing to keep busy with everyone 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:26.000 in the house. Uh, well, for the most part skating. Honestly, Um, 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:29.200 I usually am traveling quite a bit for for what 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:33.160 I do, Like I do exhibitions, or I do charity work, 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.400 or I do speaking engagements, and all that obviously is 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:40.000 on hiatus. So I've just been Really it's been fun 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:41.880 because we've been able to spend time with the kids, 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.119 and I've been able to skate a lot more frequently. 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:48.400 And um, we try to do stuff together, like we 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:50.960 try to have at least dinner together, and maybe you 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.600 watch a movie every couple of days. But like I said, 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.280 for the most part, these guys are are autonomous and 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:59.760 they're out surfing and hanging out, and we have to 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:02.280 make an effort to bring everyone together in one place 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:04.720 at one time. Yeah. I mean, considering you've been a 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.720 professional skateboarder since you were fourteen years old, this has 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:09.640 to be the longest you've went without going to an 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:12.520 event ever. Oh, for sure, this is the longest that 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.880 I've been home straight since I can never remember. But 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.480 it's it's been nice. Like I I it's funny. It 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.440 feels busier because there's a lot of things that I 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.040 do where I save up, say emails or interview stuff 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.120 for an airplane when there's no distractions. And I realized 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:33.320 just recently that I don't have those sort of pauses 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:35.160 to get on an airplane and do this stuff. And 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:39.000 it feels a lot more frantic because of that. Sure, yeah, 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:42.280 I mean we're on one big airplane ride kind of, 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:45.920 but because we have our kids trying to prioritize that 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.680 and to be present for them, And you know, I 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.120 realized that I am very lucky that my job doesn't 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:57.560 require me going to a place of business and that, um, 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:00.560 people are really challenged right now, and so I feel 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.599 lucky that I still get to do what I love. Obviously, 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:07.200 the income has strength, um, but I wouldn't have it 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.280 any other way. And I did see We've talked to 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.960 a couple of athletes over the span of this podcast 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:14.680 that have celebrated a birthday while in quarantine. What did 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:19.880 you do for this very strange year? We just had 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:24.760 a day at home, the kids were here. My wife said, oh, um, 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:28.440 someone wanted to talk to you and brought me into 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:33.960 a room where she basically had this surprise zoom party 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:38.960 with more faces and more people that I've ever seen 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:43.440 on one call. That was really fun, super chaotic, kind 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:47.040 of almost incomprehensible and in a lot of ways impossible 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.760 to communicate. But it was fun to see all the 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.400 faces looking at each other and just sort of laughing. Yeah. 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:57.359 I can't imagine how we've been able to like have 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:00.360 a zoom call with more than two people ever, Right, 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.200 So I would say this was about forty at a 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.680 time and people trying to actually talk to each other 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:11.960 and have individual conversations and it just was just noise. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:13.840 we do have to talk about the one TV show 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.720 that is still on the air. It's The Mask Singer. 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:20.360 You were a participant this year as the Elephant. I 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.120 was a producer on the first season, so so I 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:26.000 know what you went through. Tell people how painful that 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.880 costume was for you, You know what. I was kind 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:31.599 of lucky that my costume was a little more mobile 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.880 than the other ones. The only part that was difficult 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.520 was that I had to wear a helmet. Luckily, I 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:40.920 wore my own skate helmet, but I had to get 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.119 it really tied on my head and then the mask 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.880 was built around it. So by the end of the 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:52.159 first take. I had kind of a headache. I that 0:06:52.320 --> 0:06:54.320 is actually, to be honest, that is kind of lucky 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.920 because we thought in season one we thought we killed 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:00.240 Terry Bradshaw at one point, like he wasn't moving back age. 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.200 We figured out he was asleep. Not a joke, by 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.720 the way, But but you did have it easy if 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.160 that's the most you faced, and the people don't know 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:12.920 those things are constrictive. Yeah it was. It was really heavy. 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.040 And it's weird too when you rehearse, because you rehearse 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.320 with such freedom, and so we're doing all these wild 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.200 moves and stuff. And then when I finally got the 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:25.680 mask on, I realized that I have about of the 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:28.920 mobility that I did when I was actually practicing these dances. 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.920 And it really changed how I could do it and 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.280 how I could sing because I had to sort of 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.320 fit the microphone way under the mask and hold it 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:40.120 in a certain place to get the sound, and uh, 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.800 it just you know, it changed the whole dynamic. But 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:45.000 I had a blast. It was fun. I can't complain. 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.520 Was that just another example of Tony Hawk just challenging 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.600 himself to do something new? Yeah, it was. It was 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:54.080 way beyond my comfort zone, but um, I thought, why not? 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:55.840 You know it was it was? It was fun idea. 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.600 I sincerely had hoped that I would be out by 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:02.640 maybe the second song, because I didn't know how many 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:04.920 more I had in me, and so it was a 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:07.000 little disappointing to be the first out of my group, 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:08.720 but at the same time, I didn't expect to go 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:11.240 much further, so it was fun. Well, kudos to you. 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.640 Have you been able to keep in touch with skaters 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.880 the other guys from the Birdhouse teams? Sure? Yeah, we 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:20.320 have a big group chat going on and um, actually 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:23.960 one of our skaters, Clive Dixon, he was in the 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.840 X Games Real Street event, So that's an event where 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:30.280 you submit a video of of real street skating and 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:32.400 I think that's kind of the only part of X 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:35.079 Games that's happening right now. And he ended up winning 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:37.079 the fan favorite, So there was a lot of celebration 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:40.320 going on in these group chat. Yeah, he's he's killing it. 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:42.400 He's I assume he's going to be Skater of the Year. 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:44.200 But I was wondering if maybe in the group chat, 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:46.720 Jaws is admitting to like baking his own bread or whatever. 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:51.000 H Jaws is an enigma. Um, you know he's sure. 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:56.320 He's like always on some some new projects. Uh and 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:58.960 uh playing the mouth heart and yeah, making his own 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.280 food and he's all out there skating quite a bit. 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.720 So Um, he hasn't given up that. Yeah, Like, have 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:07.800 you seen skaters adapting on social media during quarantine? Like, 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.160 is there anything you're seeing that's innovative because of the 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:13.680 restrictions we have from the pandemic. Well, I've definitely seen 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:16.080 people making use of their house in ways and I 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:19.480 never imagined, and in ways that either puts them at 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:22.640 risk or damages their their own property. But it's really 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.280 creative and it's fun to watch. I am surprised that 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.840 I haven't seen more footage of people out skating schoolyards 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.199 and stuff like that, because at its core, that's what 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.000 skaters do. They hop fences and they go skate. And 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.600 now of any other time is that stuff more available. 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.360 But I think that the the risk factor of getting 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.079 caught is a lot more. Now, Yeah, there's a kid, 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:46.120 This is for real. Is there's a kid who is 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.720 down the street from us, and he is hopping the 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.000 fence of the elementary school near us, and he's just 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.200 playing lacrosse against the wall, and I was like, that 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:57.400 seems like you could do that anywhere. Kid, right, Well, 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.440 maybe it makes him feel like a rebel. Maybe COVID 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.200 nineteen has postponed the Olympics, which was going to be 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.040 the first time skateboarding was included as an event. I 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:08.880 know it's somewhat controversial within the genre, but what is 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:12.720 your opinion on its inclusion. I think that, um, it'll 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.800 be good for the growth of skateboarding on an international 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:19.280 level in terms of countries finally embracing it and supporting 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.360 it that maybe have tried to discourage it in the past. 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:24.040 I mean, they're not going to reinmit the wheel. We 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:28.559 We've had skate competitions for the last forty years more so, 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.000 it's not like suddenly they're mold to get into something 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:34.400 it's not and it'll just get more exposures. So I 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:37.800 don't see the harm in it. I understand people's concern 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.360 that that somehow this is this is not the creed 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:45.080 of skaters that like to do stuff off beaten path, 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:47.920 kind of against the grain. But at the same time, 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:53.080 we've been having big international televised competitions for years now. Yeah, 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.480 will the team be like the US a dream team 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.280 or is it gonna be just are you guys gonna 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:58.800 look at and be like, these guys aren't the top 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.800 of US charts? You know? Oh? No, I think that 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.520 the teams are going to be the best. I'm not 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.520 part of that process at all, but I think the 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.520 U S team is going to be extremely solid, some 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:18.079 of the best skaters. Brazil is gonna be a serious contender. Australia. Um, 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:19.800 we will have a dream team, but doesn't mean that 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:23.240 we're gonna dominate. Amzing uh. Well, speaking of dreams, you 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:25.800 made a lot of kids dreams come true during the 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:28.600 quarantine with one of the biggest announcements in video game history. 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.400 It seems like the return of Tony Hawk pro Skater. 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.480 Did you expect that kind of response? I had high hopes, 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.920 I gotta admit, but um, I didn't expect it to 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:43.360 be such a phenomenon. No. Um. I thought there would 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:47.839 be a lot of reminiscing and and sort of retro nostalgia. 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:52.880 But it seems like there's a generation of people that 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.480 that was their go to video game and they are 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.520 still gamers, so they're just as excited for this new 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:00.960 release and I think the the more exciting thing to 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.360 me is that it's going to introduce our franchise to 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:06.880 a whole new generation. Absolutely, it is a remastering of 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.920 the first and second Games. I thought the coolest thing 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.760 when I was reading through this you took all the 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:15.680 original skaters, but you are now putting them in their 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.720 present day ages. So it's not like they'll be what 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:20.880 they were in ninety nine. This is now them in 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:24.400 two thousand and twenty, right. But also a lot of 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:27.960 that is because they all mostly still skate, and so 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.560 it's not like it's not like someone has retired and 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:33.720 and you know, gotten way out of shape and then 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:36.400 that's the that's the version of themselves we're putting in 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:40.160 there that you know, everyone is still active, healthy, and 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.319 I thought they should be presented the way that they 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:47.720 are and you'd be proud of it, I think, including myself. Yeah, no, 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:49.680 it's cool. I mean I I would look like a nark. 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:51.960 I'd be like holding the board like hello, fellow kids. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.000 Like I would I feel like I come off. I 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:55.880 would want me to look younger because I'm like, that's 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:59.320 when I was cool. You guys all are cool even now. Well, 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.800 thank you Yeah. Uh, Jack Black was in the announcement video. 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.360 Does this mean he's in the game. No, But you 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:07.560 know what, he has been a huge fan of the 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:12.560 series from way back, so um, he was genuinely excited 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.560 to know about this happening. And it was funny. I 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:17.440 planted the scene with him because I had done a 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:21.800 video with him at his house um last year, and 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.480 while we were there, I had to whisper to him, Hey, 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:28.280 we are actually working on remastering the first games, and 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:30.880 he's like, I have to break that news. You have 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:34.480 to give that to Jablinsky, And so he was the 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.040 first one to get the info on It's so funny. 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.920 I mean I've been noticing too, like the nostalgia for 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:42.679 the game is very high, but I forgot how high 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:47.680 everyone's nostalgia is for the soundtracks. Yeah. I mean that 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:52.080 definitely was a surprising element to our games in terms 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:54.080 of the sort of impact and had I mean, I 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:55.959 was proud of the soundtrack, which I felt like it 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:59.960 represented the soundtrack of my youth in terms of skating 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:04.320 and punk music, and then that resonated with people who 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:08.280 played it and in a lot of ways shaped their taste, 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.040 some of them shape their taste in music for their 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:15.720 lives and so um, they were very adamant about getting 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:17.559 a lot of the original tracks in there. Yeah. I mean, 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.520 I every time I hear Superman by Goldfinger, it's like 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.360 my thumb gets a blister, Like it's all I only 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:25.760 know it from the video games, and I know that's 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:28.520 coming back, so I'm super excited. Yeah, I would say 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:32.040 that is the uh, that's the most identifiable song. Yeah, 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.520 for sure. When the game originally first came out, there 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.440 were tricks possible with the joystick that hadn't been performed 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.360 really in real life at all, and people thought were 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.680 never possible, And then now skaters do them in real 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:45.640 life that that still boggles my mind. The stuff that 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:49.200 I see people come up with, especially with the combos. 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.640 I mean, it is just HPS as far as I'm concerned. 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.560 And when we were doing those combos and when we 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:59.600 made those tricks available in the game, it was because 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.240 we thought this is just fantasy, and now they do it, 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.600 and now they do it. Yeah, did you approach the 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.640 remastering with that in mind too, or their new tricks 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:09.360 in the game that maybe we'll see in the streets 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.920 down the road. I think potentially always Yes, that's cool. 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:15.120 I'm now I'm down. I mean, I'm playing this no 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:16.680 matter what. But this is going to be one of 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:19.720 those everyone downloads on day one kind of thing. And 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.080 I get it, the nostalgia. This is my entire college life. 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.960 So I'm I'm thrilled. Oh well, I'm so thankful that 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.920 people have such a fondness for our series that they 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.400 want to see it come back. I'm thankful that Activision 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:38.320 was agreeable to to try and remaster it and uh, 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:40.400 and that they put Vicarious Visions on. I mean that 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.240 that really was That was the clinch, is that when 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.920 Vicarious Visions got ahold of it, they have such respects 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.960 for the original series and to keep it feeling the 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.320 same and the authenticity and and it was just the 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:55.240 right partnership. Yeah. You don't see them calling Tony LaRussa 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:57.320 to bring back Tony LaRussa baseball. This is this is 0:15:57.360 --> 0:15:59.760 a classic game with Tony Hawk. And I know there 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:02.840 was a documentary that was going around festivals before COVID 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:04.480 about the game. Are we gonna be able to see 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.800 that soon? I believe so. I think they got a 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:10.280 distribution deal. I am not directly connected with that either, 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.160 which is sort of hard for people to understand because 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:16.160 it was made by one of them guys who was 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:20.120 on the development team, so he was definitely qualified to 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.520 tell the story. And I heard they just got a 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:24.760 distribution deal. I don't know where it's going to end up, 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.040 but I hope that people get to see it. I mean, 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.120 when you first signed onto this game, I mean you 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:31.280 became a bit of a John Madden, which is like 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:34.840 you are a hundred percent the face of video games 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.240 for skateboarding, same way Madden is for football. Like, did 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:40.200 you ever think it could have been a phenomenon? No? 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:44.200 I I really thought that the game was going to 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:47.320 be embraced by skaters and maybe inspire them to go 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:50.760 buy a PlayStation. And because you know, I thought we 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:55.440 we represented skating well. It had an authentic field, tricks, soundtracks, 0:16:55.480 --> 0:17:00.480 skaters locations, and skating was not that big at the 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:02.320 time when we released it. You know, it was on 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:05.040 the way up, but it but it hadn't really hit 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.400 the mainstream, and so I think it was just sort 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.720 of the perfect storm. People were looking for something else. 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:11.959 They found that this was fun to play even if 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:15.000 you don't skate, and then skating was starting to take 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.199 center stage like with the X games, and it just 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:20.960 exploded from there. And the gameplay, Man, the gameplay was 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:22.439 just so easy. It was like a pick up and 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:25.040 play kind of thing. Yeah, I mean, that's that's what 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:26.919 drew me to it in the first place. When I 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.000 went to Activision the first time and played their sample, 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.080 it was intuitive. I was immediately doing all these and 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:35.200 kick flips and I and it was like, Oh, this 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.000 is this is how we should do it after this 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:45.720 more with Tony Hawk. Right now, Feeding America is working 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:49.200 tirelessly to ensure our most vulnerable populations, like students who 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:52.680 were out of school, the elderly individuals whose jobs are impacted, 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.560 and low income families continue to have access to food 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:59.080 and other needed resources during the COVID nineteen pandemic. The 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.080 Feeding America Food Bank Network is committed to serving communities 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.840 and people facing hunger in America, and their greatest need 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:08.320 is donations and support of local food banks. This podcast 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:10.600 is committed to donating a portion of the proceeds from 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.879 the show to Feeding America, and we hope that you 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.200 can join us in this effort to find out how 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:18.640 you can help Feeding America dot org. Backslash COVID nineteen. 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:27.479 Now here's the rest of my chat with the legend 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.760 Tony Hawk. One thing that you have really gravitated towards 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:34.560 during quarantine is charity. You normally do a ton of philanthropy, 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:36.520 but you've really turned it up over the past six months. 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.399 Let's talk about what foot the bill is. But the 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:42.840 bill is a Van's Shoes initiative where they're trying to 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:46.359 help any of the skate shops or businesses that are 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.640 related to skating, uh stay in business through the through 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:52.280 these lean times and so a lot of skate shops 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:55.760 were shuttered. And so what they did was they would 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:59.359 do a unique design for that skate shop and if 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:02.439 you bought that shoe, then the proceeds would go to 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:06.639 the shop. Um and I I got to nominate a 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.520 skate shop here in San Diego called with Carl's About Pipelines, 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:13.280 who is actually my first skate shop sponsor. So um 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:16.760 they used a picture of me from the eighties with 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:19.439 a with Carl's About Pipeline sticker on my board that 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:21.639 I used to always run on my tail. That is 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.000 very cool and they're still in business as far as 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:25.919 I can tell. And I think they're going to be 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:28.720 open for legitimate business here in the coming weeks. So 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:31.320 I was thankful to be able to help. That's very cool. 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:33.040 I mean you are new to the Van's family a 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.320 bit correct, I am, yes, uh, just the last couple 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:38.400 of months. And are you planning on having your own 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:42.120 shoe advance like a Tony Hawk signature? Um? Not at 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:46.359 the time, No, but I'm open for discussion. I listen. 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.480 I I look at you as I say, he turned 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:50.840 a video game into a phenomenon. I'm saying, you get 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.439 your own air Hawk like I. I see it as 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.480 a possible Jordan move, you know, after watching the last dance, 0:19:56.960 --> 0:19:59.000 you know what. I'm happy just wearing the old school 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:00.960 high tops two I've and those are the first skate 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.399 shoes I really had as a kid, so it's funny. 0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:06.440 When I put them on, it really sent me back 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.240 to that time, and I got used to him right away. 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:10.959 And it would be a miss of us to not 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:14.840 talk about Cooper from Georgia when we are having this conversation. 0:20:14.960 --> 0:20:17.600 You are a day out of trending on Twitter and 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:21.480 all sorts of Facebook posts about this FedEx guy for 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.360 people who didn't uh see it. A FedEx guy post 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:26.080 a video about an eight or nine year old kid 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:28.119 who ran up to his truck and said, listen, I 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.120 need you to send something for me. He brings back 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:33.200 a beaten up skateboard that just says to Tony Hawk, 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:35.879 he doesn't have a box or any sort of postage. 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:38.480 So this guy posted on I guess it's at that 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:43.080