iStockphoto / zorandimzr
Tony Hawk is a living legend. He’s one of the greatest skateboarders of all time. Tony Hawk Pro Skater was one of Activision’s most successful video game franchises in history. Tony Hawk‘s the owner of skate company Birdhouse and he was the first skater to ever land a ‘900’ in competition.
I still remember where I was when Tony landed that 900 too. I was at my grandmother’s house on Siesta Key, glued to the TV at the height of skating’s popularity in the X Games, and Tony was determined to land that trick. It took him TWELVE attempts before landing it. On the first 11, he’d wipe out, pick up his board, run up the ramp and start over.
It’s definitely the only vivid memory I have of watching skateboarding on TV.
Flash forward to today and Tony Hawk’s a 51-year-old father/CEO/entrepreneur who still has more sway in the skating industry than anyone else I can think of. He sat down with the YouTube team from WIRED to film this video where he breaks down the ’21 Levels of Skateboarding’ which is basically 21 tricks ranging in difficulty from easiest to nearly impossible.
For this clip, he’s only discussing Flat Ground (ollie, kickflip, etc) and Ramp tricks. No grinds or slides. The clip is moderately long but well worth your time if you’re a Tony Hawk/skating fan:
I’ll be honest, I haven’t stepped foot on a skateboard that wasn’t a longboard in years. I haven’t even pulled my longboard out of the garage in at least a year. I’ve been slacking hard on my skating.
Did this get me motivated to get out there test the pavement again? Kind of. Sorta. Maybe. Probably not. Because I remember how quickly my skin disappears when I smash that asphalt.
This was a cool clip though and I’d love to see more of Tony Hawk in pop culture.