Joy, a Podcast. Hosted by Craig Ferguson - Tony Hawk

Episode Date: August 15, 2023

Tony Hawk is the #1 ambassador of skateboarding, a man who is, by definition, bigger than his sport. Now in his fifties, Tony is still pushing the boundaries of skating and continuing to invent new tricks, while his foundation, The Skatepark Project, has helped to build over 700 skateparks worldwide. Tony’s first skate deck is currently on display at the Smithsonian, and this unstoppable skater isn’t showing any signs of slowing down… even after a major leg injury. Tony talks to Craig about the pure passion of his craft, landing the first 900 while competing, the success of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise, and much more. Until the wheels fall off, enJOY! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life in marriage. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said, like, in my head for, like, 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez.

And on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad. And I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL

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These guys are not going to get away with it. The zombies are too popular. Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. and continuing to many other beautiful regions throughout September, October, and November. For the full list of dates, please go to my website, thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour, where you can also buy tickets or not. See you out there or not. My name is Craig Ferguson. This podcast is called Joy.

It's not rocket science. I talk to people I like about their pursuit of happiness. Here's Tony Hawk, a legend, an icon, maybe the icon of the skateboard world. Enjoy. How are you feeling, by the way? Are you all right like uh yeah thank you that that seemed like a much more loaded question yeah no i uh yeah i broke my leg about a year ago and how can you skate yes finally yes i went through a false start the first time because i got back too soon and the impact forced my bone to never reconnect it's like evil evil kenevil shit going on over this place. I mean, in hindsight, it's regrettable.

It's embarrassing. But I also was in denial of it. I thought that I was just going through a harder time. So about eight months into my recovery, I realized that it wasn't getting any better. I wasn't improving in terms of what I could do physically. And I went and got x-rays and realized that the bone was actually further apart than it had been post-surgery.

And went and got it realigned with a specialist and waited. And that was the key, just waiting. Do you have a different pain threshold to normal humans? Have you ever had it tested? No, but it's definitely been noted by others and friends and things. It's funny, I watched Till the Wheels Come Off last night.

I was looking at the spills that you were taking. I don't know the right terminology because I'm not scared. Is spill right? Yeah, slams, sure. Or falls or maybe hurties. I see some of the hurties. If you see bail, then that's more intentional.

Right. And what you were seeing there was definitely more unintentional. They were like, but even from the footage when you were a little kid, like everything just like slamming into this thing over and over and over again. Do you get immune to it? Is that what it is? It's not immune. It's more that there's an acceptance that comes with it.

Right. That I need to endure this for the sake of progression. And so that has always been my attitude. And so I didn't mind it so much. Right. Sometimes it's worse than others, but not that often. I mean, there's sort of this, I guess it's more like when you choose a life of skateboarding,

there's sort of a level of pain that you know there's always going to be low lying. Like all the time. But see, I envy you very much. Not about the money and drugs and fame and shit. I've had enough of that. But you knew your thing and you have your thing.

It's not like it was ever in any question because you said right there you chose a life of skateboarding. Or you didn't say you chose it, but you used your thing. It's not like it was ever in any question because you said right there, you chose a life of skateboarding. Or you didn't say you chose it, but you used that expression. Do you think you chose it or it chose you? Because like your dad at that point as well, because your dad was heavily involved in the...

Yeah, that's a good question. I would say that I chose a life of skateboarding early on, even when it was not, there was no path to success because no one had carved that path yet. But I loved what it provided me, so I just loved skating. But I would say later on, there was a sense of skateboarding chose me in that suddenly people were asking me to sort of be the spokesperson.

Yeah. And I was willing to do it, but it wasn't what I aspired to. What did you aspire to at the beginning? Just keep learning new tricks. It was pretty simple. But it's a funny thing, though, because, I mean, you're one of those people that's really difficult to have a conversation with that's recorded,

not because you're difficult, but because the people that are into your thing are so messianic about your thing that if I say the wrong word instead of spill, I say, or slam, I say spill, or like people get fucking crazy about it. And it's kind of like- I'd say less now than before, but I understand what you're saying, yes.

But it was funny watching, because I thought that the documentary about you and a lot of your contemporaries, Till the Wheels Come Off, that's what it's called, right? Till the Wheels Fall Off. Till the Wheels Fall Off, right? See, I said come off, fall off.

I've seen that actually in print. So yeah, don't worry about that. But I was watching it. And because I'm not in that world, I mean, I know of it, but I'm not inside it. And the athleticism and the grace and the style and the craziness of all of that, what you do is obvious to anyone,

even at a casual glance. But what I wasn't expecting to see is, first of all, the development of the world. I mean, that's like being around at the start of golf or something. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, in a lot of ways, sure. And then you and I think Mullins as well

get a very strong sense of I don't really think it's about the board and it hasn't been about the board for a long time I feel like it's something else it's like a search for grace it's like the way guys climb mountains or something yeah I would agree with you there I think that especially with Rodney and I

we were so hyper focusedfocused on new moves, new tricks, and we didn't know what the goal of that was. It just fed us. So we learned new trick and then move on to the next one, move on to the next one. And we didn't really think about that we were creating any sort of movement. We just had to do it. And then as we got older, that became, there's an argument that became more of a curse than a blessing because we keep chasing it to our detriment where even Rodney, I mean, you see him now, like, let's put it this way. Rodney walks through an airport and people come up with courtesy carts. So do you need a ride? Really? Yeah. That's the truth. Do you know what

I mean? People do that to me too, but I can't even ride a skateboard. Because he walks with such pain, but he will skate for three to four hours every single night on his own. That's interesting. So he's more comfortable skating than walking then? Absolutely. Are you that way too still i i would say before i got hurt yes now i i definitely have a little more hesitation in my skating because i should i'm still on the healing path but yeah also you like everybody else you get older you get older sure but i i feel like i think what wasn't really talked about in that documentary because it's nuanced and it's more my personal thing is that my style has changed quite a bit in the last 10 years in that I'm more focused on low impact skating. And I know what you saw there was pretty crazy and I did some crazy stuff and whatever, but, but really my focus, especially with tricks has been more technical. And so it's

more like board maneuvering and stuff that just is on the top of the ramp as opposed to 10 feet above it. Right. So it's funny because I don't, I can see the athleticism of it, but I don't understand how it's done. It's like if I watch someone play golf or swim even, you know what I mean?

It's like, I know how it's done. But like, I watch what you do and what Mullins does and what all these other guys do. I don't even know where you start with that. But you've created, you personally as well with the foundation have moved into this idea of expanding it. How many parks have you put together now? Well, we've helped to fund over 700 over the last 20 years. And I mean, that's my proudest work. And that stems from my experience at the skate park as a kid, because I got very lucky in that one of the last parks in the US happened to be in San Diego, pretty close to where I lived.

And that was never lost on me that I had that place to go. And I had that sense of community and I had that support group there. I mean it was my training ground but it was also just this place of belonging it was like where the kids went right it was I mean it was I found me there at all hours until they closed right when school was out but when I had a sense of success in a way to sort of help I don't know the, the industry or the skaters, that was my first go-to was I want to provide more skate parks because all these kids feel disenfranchised. They love skating and they're told not to do it because it's on public property or private property.

And it's a nuisance and it's noisy. And whatever else, but it's like, but they found something that speaks to them and that I think is a healthy outlet. What do you think it would have happened to you if you hadn't found Skate or it hadn't found you? I think I would have just been doing something really tech oriented because I was really fascinated with technology all through my teenage years. And I mean, still to this day, but I was an early adopter. Like I had one of the first nonlinear video editing systems. Really?

I did. Because I thought, I guess the answer I was kind of expecting was that you would have been lost without it. But it doesn't seem like... I probably wouldn't have felt as... Rich? For sure that.

I wouldn't have felt as validated or felt like there was something that I could do that really fed what I needed in terms of creativity-wise. Right. And so maybe doing video projects or something would have touched on that a bit, but I don't think it would have provided the same. It's an interesting form of creativity as well, creating tricks on a board. I mean, it's like painting with something that nobody's painted with until 1970 or something. Or do you think anyone will appreciate it? Well, yeah, I think people do appreciate it.

But I'm just saying, back then, especially with the creation, like with Rodney and I, when we were doing all these tricks, it was kind of considered a circus act. Well, it's got a bit of that in it. You know, I mean, when you guys was doing the tours with, you know, setting up in the arena with, you know, the ramps and the motorbikes. Right. It's a little bit of a traveling circus, isn't it? It's a little bit of a monster track.

Oh, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. But what I'm saying is, in our world, skating was a pretty small community. Right. We were the outcasts of that community because all we cared about was tricks. Everyone else cared about style and how much air they get.

And so Rodney and I were these outcasts. We were outcasts in an outcast activity. And so we didn't think there would be any accolades in that. We just loved doing it. Do you know, for a while, I worked with Mick Jagger on writing a screenplay that never happened. But because I was doing it, I was on tour with the Rolling Stones for a while and I got to see up close how the Rolling Stones work. And I was watching Keith Richards

who you remind me of a little bit. Because he would be quite happy if he was playing that guitar in a shitty blues band in a pub in london fine doesn't matter or if he's playing the enormo dome in san diego doesn't matter it's it's playing the guitar that counts yeah and is that the same for you on the board yeah so even when when you were doing the like when things were nutty when you're like you have your own plane and you you know like the crowds are crazy and the money's nuts and stuff like that. Was it all still focused on the board? Is that what kept you out of the druggy drinky world?

I believe so. Yeah. I mean, I definitely had my own vices and distractions through the crazy years, but always the priority was skating. And I think that even in my youth, when in the 80s, when we thought we were having unparalleled success and we were doing some TV stuff and movie stuff, I was always really focused on the skating because I saw my peers, some of them get distracted

and get caught up in the hype and get hooked on drugs. Right. And then they lost their abilities. And it was like, that was my very first example. Like, don't go down that route. That's what I thought. I mean, it's not something you can do when you're high is get on a board. Or is it?

I don't know. Can you? Maybe for a certain amount of time. Right. Do you ever give demonstrations? Do you ever get on the board and do crazy shit when you were messed up no no i think my it's funny i i remember the skate park i grew up at people would smoke weed in the parking lot not everyone but some oh come on everybody it's california the whole state smells of weed now well i was pretty

young too so i remember one day i was like oh i, I'm going to go join the crew. And then I came back to skate and I just couldn't get it together. I couldn't, you know, everything was, my timing was off. I kept almost, we call hanging up, which means like locking up on the coping where your board sticks. And I just thought, okay, I can't do that.

That doesn't work for me. And drinking is just out of the question when you're skating. So I think that was it. I think I'm beginning to figure out why I never get into skateboarding. But it's kind of interesting though because that is a real kind of positive thing.

If you're talking about all these skate parks for kids, if you can't do it properly when you're twisted on booze and drugs, you're kind of helping people stay away from it a little bit too, right? I hope so. For sure, there is the contingent that they equate partying with skateboarding and they do it

and honestly, it's probably more of a short-lived thing, but that's their life. I'm not trying to have some just say no campaign with the skate park. It's more that we want to provide them the outlet. Because when you started, it was basically it basically just dried out swimming pools, right? That was at the beginning.

Yeah, I got in at the tail end of that. So the Dogtown and Z-Boys, I knew of that crew as I started, but they were already, as far as I was concerned, much older. What is the evolution of it, if you can take me through it a little bit? So Dogtown, is that the very beginning? The beginning has, there's controversy but basically the first skateboard it is said was a roller skate that was dismantled the trucks and wheels were were nailed onto a two by four right and that was a skateboard and then a lot of the southern californ took that as, oh, that's surfing on a sidewalk.

So then they started developing actually shaped boards out of fiberglass and wood like surfboards were made. Right. And then they were trying to emulate surfing. Once the big drought hit in the 70s in Southern California, all these swimming pools were dry. And the surfers saw that, oh, that looks like a wave. And that's how we got to... Do you surf? I do, yeah, but not as actively.

And the reason I got into skateboarding is because my older brother was a hardcore surfer. And so he got into skateboarding by default because that was, if you lived in Southern California, you surfed in the 70s, you started skating. And that's how I got my first skateboard was his hand-me-down. Oh, wow. He must be very happy for you.

But you're a lot younger than him. He's very happy that he can school me in surfing still. That's what he's happy about. Hello everybody, this is Craig Ferguson letting you know that my Fancy Rascal Tour resumes this August and continues all the way through November. For a full list of dates and tickets, please go to my website, thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world.

We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself, just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things, that feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell,

if you've come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get emotional with me, Radhi Devlukia, in my new podcast, A Really Good Cry. We're going to talk about and go through all the things that are sometimes difficult to process alone we're going to go over how to regulate your emotions diving deep into holistic personal development and just building your mindset to have a happier healthier life we're going to be talking with some of my best friends i didn't know we were going to go

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or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, it's funny that you're a lot younger than your nearest sibling, right? Yeah, he's 13 years older than me. Right. My son, my youngest son, is nine and a half years younger than his older brother. And when I was watching the energy of you as a young kid, it reminded me very much like my own son is very like that,

like a kind of 60-pound psychopath, really. I mean, just like... I had one of those, too. Yeah. They're kind of 60 pound psychopath really i mean just like and i had one of those too yeah they're kind of amazing i think it's something to do with being light as well see i was a i was a husky little kid yeah so if i fell it really hurt right if you're 60 pounds and you fall i think it hurts less maybe but but i think the light and fearless is is a scary combination yeah that's definitely i had i had one of the we have several children between my wife and I, but there was one that was, we called him a pixie.

Yeah. But he would try anything. Yeah. But almost to the point where he had no sense of mortality. Yeah, well, kids are kind of like that a little bit. Yeah, but he was on a different spectrum with that. Like off the charts a little bit. Do you think that you were more cautious as a parent

because you had gone through all of those injuries and and that the creation of that world as that world is forming i would say that i probably leaned more towards the other side of it in my early years of parenting because i was young i was i was 24 when my son was born and i was just joining him doing stuff and getting him into skateboarding and right you know he's going down big ramps and I'm pushing him into waves. And it was just more like, oh, I have this friend to do this stuff with. And it wasn't, I was trying to keep him safe as well. But I did think that he had a pretty good sense of his limitations.

And I was thankful for that. It wasn't until I had other kids that I realized, oh, they don't all have that self-preservation gene. It's funny that when you become a parent and just as you get older as well, because I was different with my older boy than I was with the younger one, but they are different too. They are. Yes. There's a lot of nurture and nature. Yeah. What do you think, like, because your dad was very supportive to you. At least I took that from the documentary that you and your dad were close and he was very

supportive, but the world was forming, the competitive, is it competitive? I guess it's competitive. Yeah, competitive skateboarding. But when I looked at that, the thing, when you first got to do the 900, right? Or when you finally cracked the 900, how many times did you do that that day,

that X Games to get to that number? Oh, I think that day was 11 or 12 or something, but it's funny that people focused in on that because there were plenty of other days where I tried it dozens of times. Right. But did you get it those days? Didn't get it.

Well, that's why, that's why they focus because the day you get it is that's the day. Right, right. But do you know what I mean? Like that was a relatively short duration of attempts for as far as I was concerned. So when people say you tried 11 times, I was like, yeah, that was nothing. I tried it hundreds of times before that, like thousands of times.

But something like the 900, which I'm not quite sure why it's, in fact, I don't know why it's called the 900. Why is it called the 900? That's degrees of spin. Right. So it goes around two and a half, right? So two and a half times in the air and then land. And you envisage that in your head first and you go through it in your head and you create it. You're like a painter does or a movie director does. Yeah. Eventually I did that. Yes.

When I first started trying it, it was almost 10 years prior to that event. And I really didn't know how to spin around that far, how to balance my body so that I could be in the position to get back down on the ramp. So I didn't have quite have the vision then it wasn't until a few years later when I actively started trying it and started figuring out that I could possibly get close. That's when I started visualizing it. And that's when the chase got accelerated because I was just all in on this trick. Right. So you, you understood that it was that's when I started visualizing it. And that's when the chase got accelerated because I was just all in on this trick. Right. So you understood that it was possible for you.

Yes. And the idea of as you're falling, as a human being is falling through space and you're still having a twist and you have an appointment to make with a board that you're going to have to meet that appointment or it's going to hurt or you're going to be embarrassed

or you're just not going to make the trek. Does the time slow down? Can you slow it down and think your way through it or is it not possible to consciously go through the trek? Does it have to be automatic? Does it have to be just there? That's a really good question. I don't say that time slows down.

It's more that there's a bunch of elements that have to come together and you know it as soon as you take off that this one has all those pieces. Right. So as you take off, you think I'm going to make it. I would say more often than not, you don't have all those pieces. So you take off immediately knowing this one's not going to work, but you have to go through the motion of it because to take off in that position with that much speed and not spin all the way through is the most dangerous thing you can do. So you just have to commit.

You have to commit. So what I'm saying is a few times I've done it where it didn't happen that day at X Games, but it's happened to me before and after that. If I don't get a hold of my board, I have to commit my body to that full spin because of the position I put it in upon the takeoff. And I learned that the hard way because a couple of times, my board got away from me and I just stopped.

And all of a sudden I was like, oh shit, I'm in space. I have no idea where the ramp is and where is it. And then I hit it on my back. Yeah. And then that's the worst case scenario. So I learned that even if it's not going to work, just go through the motion of it. And does it feel like there's anything you can do?

Like if you go off and you go, not everything is here, but if I just do something. You definitely, yeah. I mean, there's plenty of that in our cavalier attitude towards tricks, but also in that moment, if you're in competition, you're going to try to make it no matter what. So that's another, we call them, well, Hail Marys. It's like, you're going to just throw it down because this is the time it has to happen.

And if you're going to crash, it should be now. Do you know what I mean? If you're ever going to get destroyed on this trick because you committed to it, it should be in this format. Right, so at least stay within the bounds of the trick. Sure. Right, I get it. If you had been involved in the sport now,

like if you were, like, Tony Hawk is 12 years old today and you're getting involved in it. Does the sport now say to you, you have to wear this, you have to wear these, this protective outfit. You have, it's still the same as it was. No, it's, it's. So when I was growing up, the only way you could have any sense of success in skateboarding was to compete. Right. That's it.

There was no YouTube. There's no social media. The magazines were not going to cover you unless you went to this big event and probably did well. Even if you were doing new tricks and not placing, they don't care about that. Now skating is of age. It's way more diverse.

You can enter skateboarding and never have to compete and still be one of the most successful skaters that's ever been. Because you can do videos and sure you could have your youtube channel you could have your your you know you could have your big source you could be an influencer and a skater and it's just a totally different it is because of how much it permeated mainstream culture in that skateboarding is just more of an accepted form of art or sport or activity, whatever you want to call it.

What is it to you? To me, it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's a lifestyle. It's a sport. It's an art form. But to me, it's, it's my salvation. That's what I was going to say. It's almost like I got a sense of that from you. What you were saying is, is like, would you have to conform to some sort of team sport or uniform or something like that? Or

sure, equipment or your goals to be in the Olympics? Right? Yes, that's your path. And that's what you're going to have to adhere to. But you can just do it in your own voice and your own style and still make a go of it. Right? What about the idea of if it was an Olympic sport? When you were a kid? Do you think you would have gone that way? Sure, because that was the only... But doesn't that say, I don't know how it's graded in the Olympics. Can you bring a new trick to an Olympic display?

Yeah, yes. So it's kind of like gymnastics. You go, here's something nobody's ever done before. Absolutely, yeah. And people go, okay, wow. And you get your tens out of tens. Yeah, and also the judges are all well-versed in skateboarding, obviously. Right. And for them to see something new is going to probably, they're probably going to overscore you for it.

Right. Because they just didn't expect it. Right. Does it form like a routine? Like if you, I don't know how the sport's graded in the Olympics. The format of the Olympics is not any different really than what you probably saw in the documentary or in other skate events. You have a timed

run and you are judged on your difficulty factor, the speed, how you use the course and your consistency. The basic elements of it are all the same. It's funny though that talking about it as a sport, I mean there are guys who were

interviewed during the documentary when I watched it. I thought, this guy with the neck tattoos is never going to go to the Olympics. He's not even interested in watching the Olympics. Sure. And that was, in my day, skating was so counterculture that it was akin to punk rock music.

It was like, we're not going to fit in. We're doing it our own way. Well, that's what I always associated with it, that it was kind of like a punk music. Right. We're not going to fit in. We're doing it our own way. Well, that's why I was associated with it. Right. It was kind of like a punk thing. Sure. And, and in that respect,

there's extreme versions of that where it's like, we don't want to do anything that is considered mainstream. Right. Or whatnot. But then if you, I was so young, I didn't really understand all of that narrative maybe. Right.

And I just loved what skateboarding was, even though it was different and it made me an outcast at school and it was just not the coolest thing to do. I just loved doing it. But also, I love the idea that I got to compete with all these people that liked the same thing. Right.

And it does seem quite supportive in an odd way that people are competitive, but not competitive in a way that you want to bring the other guy down. It's just like, I can't believe you did that. one girl that was absolutely the favorite to win, you know, without question, if she would have made her whole routine, she's going to win this thing. And she just kept missing this one trick. And she finally almost got it at the end, but still missed it. She ended up getting third. And when the whole, when the competition was over and they gave out the awards, all of the other girls lifted her up on their shoulders and carried her out of the venue. That's beautiful.

I mean, what other sport could you think of at Olympics where they're, they're all celebrating the third place person because they thought she was going to be the best. And that she tried. Do you get an amount of attempts in the Olympics? I guess just with the time constraint. No, not with that. That's that one.

It's a, I believe it's a 40 second routine. Right. That 40 seconds, that's it. If you fall in the middle of it, you're out. So the idea of doing

11 attempts at a 900 is not going to exist and you're never going to see that in the Olympics. No. Right. No, not at all.

But you are going to see it at the X Games still, right? Yes. Right. I hope so. Yeah, I think so. I hope that format continues.

Are you going to keep skating until the wheels come off of you? I mean, X Games still, right? Yes. I hope so. Yeah, I think so. I hope that format continues. Are you going to keep skating until the wheels come off of you? That wasn't my quote, by the way. No, no, it was Mullins. Yeah, I remember. In a sense, I think that I've definitely gotten a better perspective

on my limitations through this last injury I had. And that I don't expect to come back fully 100% and get back to the exact same type of skating I was doing before this happened. But I can find some happy medium there. And I can find something

where I'm still considered a professional. I could still probably put out content or whatever it is of some sort of progress in skating. But I'm not moving the needle necessarily. It's just more of the, it's more personal goals. Can you envision a time like, you know,

like they do the senior PGA tour? Sure. And that's already, that already exists. Right. So you get like a yellow jacket, color and tie. And it's funny because there,

there have been a few events in recent years. Uh, in fact, there was one in particular called Bola in bondi in australia right and they had this this big bowl event every year they had the pro division then they had the master's division which is basically older pros and then they had the legends division okay super old pros like me but legend is better than senior well legends yeah i feel like i'd rather be considered legend than a master. Yeah.

But at the same time, and also, the masters division, like those guys are still pretty much pro skaters, so I wouldn't have wanted to be in that division anyway. It's like, there's guys who are younger

and faster than you and here they come. It's more like, I would say it would be more like the pros are sort of 30 and under. Right. The masters were like 30 to 45-ish. Right. And then all of us old guys right the masters were like 30 to 45 ish right and then all

of us old guys legends yeah i mean i i love the idea is there any generational kind of get off my lawn part of it like do you look at kids who are coming up now and the the boards are better and the helmets are better and then no i mean i would say there's a sense of jealousy that they have the resources to, let's say, try their first 900 into a foam pit. I would have loved that option. I didn't have that. But would you have gotten to be a legend? If you land in foam, you're never a legend.

Yeah, but I would have maybe kept my front teeth. Yeah. Do you think you've spent a lot of money on dental bills over the years? Yeah, I did. I knocked my front teeth out when I was 10 or 11. That was my first big injury. And then knocked them out about five times since. Is there no kind of mouth guard you can wear or something like that? You could. I mean, I think I've passed that time in my life. But also the cool thing, and I say this a lot,

but the cool thing about getting new teeth is you get to pick the size and the color. So where are you losing the swings? It's silver lining, yeah. So where do you think it goes now then? It's a sport. I don't even know if I buy that it's a sport. Well, I think it's more than just a sport the definition sure if that's if you're looking at the competitive side of it but also

there's just this whole counterculture art form to skateboarding that has no interest in competing so I feel like it's it's a big umbrella it is I suppose the closest thing I mean it's nothing like this physically but it is kind of like golf in the sense that some people play it and it's really important to them to win, and some people play it and they play against themselves. And they play, or just to be social. Right, or that's who they hang out with. Yeah, exactly, yeah.

There is a whole population of skaters that are like my age that they love to go skate curbs. Sunday morning, 8 a.m., that's their crew. They go and skate the grocery store curbs because they're painted red and they can grind and it's low impact and they're still skating. Do you ever go and do that? Yeah, but my style is so steeped

in what we call transition, that I'm pretty clunky on curbs. Like it's probably more dangerous for me to skate a curb, honestly, than the 14-foot ramp. And do you still have a ramp at home? I have the ramp that you saw in a documentary. I was riding that yesterday. Really?

Yeah. So you are back on. That's my happy place. Oh, yeah, absolutely. So if you have a row with your wife or something, you're like, ah, God, you go out there and you... I would say it's definitely my way to center myself, yes. What happens if you can't get on the ramp you can't get on the board i'll let you know when i get there it's never gonna happen i'm sure it'll happen uh maybe

they'll maybe i'll just get a smaller ramp get a smaller ramp or maybe just uh start wearing more foam like wearing a foam suit that might be a good look do you think that like the journey that skateboarding has made do you think it it's good do you think it's good for it do you think that like the journey that skateboarding has made do you think it it's good do you think it's good for it do you think it's healthier now than it was then it's much healthier now than it was then yeah i mean there's definitely the the naysayers that say like oh all this corporate because there is a lot of corporate yeah all this corporate involvement and and we don't belong in the olympics and sell out and blah but I still think the core of skateboarding is what it always has been. And that is a self-expression and something that is very creative, very innovative, but also so diverse that you can't define it as just one thing.

Yeah, it beats me. I don't know how to define it, but I'm shocked by the not shocked i'm impressed and delighted at how different the mindset is from one border to the next it's a very individual and i think that it's even more diverse and inclusive now than it used to be i mean the mindset to be a skater in the days that i started you had to be very committed to it and almost like obsessed with it to the point where you didn't do anything else or know anything else because it just wasn't accepted. And so you had to be stubborn and very resilient to all the criticism you get from the outside people. The stubborn thing is quite interesting, the obsession that you kind of need. I have a friend who became a very, very, very successful guitarist.

And he started when he was very young, obviously. And he said, you have to be obsessed enough, the expression he used was to achieve escape velocity. That you have to be so obsessive, you have to go to it four hours a day when you're 12 years old in order to get that, to make it become something else. So you're not like,

a guy playing a guitar at a party. I think it's the 10,000 hours idea. Is that what they say, 10,000 hours on the board? Is that right? I mean, that's what they say about anything that you become an expert at. You need to put in your 10,000 hours.

But I think that, I never thought of it that way. It was just, I was obsessed with it. As soon as the school bell rang, I had to figure out how to get to the skate park. And I would be there until either it closed or my mom got off work.

She worked at a community college as a night teacher. So I had that going for me that it wasn't going to be polite. Do you still feel that way? Is there still a moment in the day where like, if you talk to me and everything, I'm fucking tired of this guy I just really like to get on the

boat no but it but it's definitely let's just put it this way it's much more scheduled right for me now where I know the guy have this window of the day and

I better get there or I'm gonna it's gonna pass me by right so you get there and then you get to the early bird special at the legends of skateboarding restaurant

you're on to something there all right Tony it's a joy to talk to you And then you get to the early bird special at the Legends of Skateboarding restaurant. You're on to something there. All right. Tony, it's a joy to talk to you, man. Oh, I appreciate the invite. Thanks very much. We'll see you next time. filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez. And on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame

athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts, or your listener questions, and more. The more is punch each other. Listen to the Amber and Lacey Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen, okay?

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