Video summary
In this episode of Impact Theory, Tony Hawk, widely regarded as the greatest skateboarder and a world champion in vert skateboarding for twelve consecutive years, shares his philosophy on prioritizing progression over perfection. Hawk explains that while many athletes lose motivation upon reaching an apex or becoming number one, his drive was always intrinsic: to keep learning new tricks regardless of standings or style perception. This mindset allowed him to endure the sport's decline in the early 1990s when he and Birdhouse Projects faced financial struggles, even living off cheap food while skateboarding demos in parking lots until a resurgence led by the X Games revitalized the industry. His career highlights include winning nine X Games gold medals, landing the first-ever 900 on live TV just two months before launching *Tony Hawk's Pro Skater*, and appearing on *The Simpsons* as himself—a rare honor for an athlete at the time. Hawk discusses how he responded to severe injuries early in his career, such as a concussion that knocked out his teeth, by focusing not on mortality but on learning from mistakes and returning stronger. He contrasts this with many peers who quit after one injury or whose parents told them to stop; instead, Hawk relied heavily on the support of his father, who acted as their local chauffeur. When he later watched his son Riley skate for the first time, Hawk felt fear for him but recognized that Riley possessed a similar sense of limitation and resilience. He emphasizes leading by example in dealing with pain, noting that getting back into motion often speeds up healing, though he acknowledges that sometimes stubbornness overrides caution as one ages. A central theme of the conversation is intrinsic motivation versus external validation like fame or fortune. Hawk recounts how critics called him a "circus skater" for his lack of style and scrawny frame in the early days, but rather than being discouraged, these insults fueled his fire to prove them wrong by innovating new tricks that no one else could do. He teaches that finding something you love is crucial because enjoying your work daily constitutes success on its own, even if financial rewards are modest initially. This perspective helped him embrace business challenges like learning marketing budgets and point-of-sale systems, which seemed boring but were necessary to sustain his passion for skating during lean times. The discussion also covers the concept of grit and calculated risk versus blind repetition in achieving greatness. Hawk cites Andrew Reynolds as an example of a skater who perfected specific tricks through relentless determination rather than just falling over repeatedly; sometimes success comes from technical nuance, while other breakthroughs happen without rhyme or reason. He shares a personal story about being told his back wheels never left the ground during an ollie—a fact he only realized after filming himself—which shattered his confidence but ultimately taught him to commit fully to actions rather than doubting their possibility. This lesson extends beyond skating to business and life, where embracing failure as a learning opportunity prevents repeating bigger mistakes later on. Reflecting on identity and legacy, Hawk reveals that losing sponsors due to changes in the endorsement landscape forced him to confront who he was outside of skateboarding, realizing his value lay in fatherhood, running his foundation, and being an effective person regardless of income. He expresses pride in his foundation's creation of roughly 600 skate parks across all fifty states and its international work with Skateistan in places like South Africa and Cambodia to make the sport accessible globally. As he looks toward future phases involving Olympic representation from countries like Ethiopia and Cambodia, Hawk hopes to be remembered not just as a great skater but as someone who expanded accessibility for others while maintaining his core identity through continuous growth and perseverance despite adversity.
Read the full video transcript
All I ever wanted to do was to keep
learning new tricks. I didn't really
care about the standings or, you know,
the perception of my style or whatever.
My job was just to keep getting better.
And a lot of times when you see an
athlete or or an artist or whatever that
reaches a certain apex that they think
like this is the goal. I'm number one.
This is it. They lose all their
motivation because that that's all they
were trying to aspire to. And my
my motivation was always just to keep
getting better at skating.
Everybody, welcome to Impact Theory. You
are here, my friends, because you
believe that human potential is nearly
limitless, but you know that having
potential is not the same as actually
doing something with it. So, our goal
with this show and company is to
introduce you to the people and ideas
that will help you actually execute on
your dreams. All right. Today's guest is
widely considered the greatest
skateboarder of all time, often referred
to as the godfather of the sport itself.
He started skating when he was just
nine, turned pro at 14, and by his
senior year he was making more money
than his teachers. By the age of 25, he
had competed in 103 pro contests,
winning 73 of them, and coming in second
in an additional 19, giving him a top
two finish rate of almost 90%. But,
skateboarding remained a fringe, often
disrespected sport that saw him
routinely mocked and picked on. Many
told him that he should grow up and get
a real job, and despite being named
world champion of vert skateboarding 12
years in a row,
in the early '90s it looked like the
naysayers might be right. The popularity
of skateboarding seemed to disappear
overnight, and not long after that he
and his business partner had to
seriously contemplate shutting down
their fledgling skateboard company,
Birdhouse Projects, multiple times. But,
instead, he sold his house, tightened
his belt, lived off cheap sandwiches and
a $5-a-day Taco Bell allowance, and did
anything he could to make ends meet,
including skateboard demos in the Six
Flags parking lot. His commitment,
insane work ethic, and a love of
progression finally paid off, however,
in the late '90s when skateboarding had
a massive resurgence in popularity due
to the X Games. He once again rose to
prominence, dominated the sport, winning
nine X Games gold medals, and landing
the first ever 900 on live TV just 2
months before the launch of what would
ultimately make him one of the most
recognizable athletes on the planet, the
billion-dollar video game franchise Tony
Hawk's Pro Skater. Additionally, he's
won countless awards, appeared on The
Simpsons, and his foundation has helped
create roughly 600 skate parks across
all 50 states. So, please, help me in
welcoming the man whose first skateboard
now hangs in the Smithsonian, The New
York Times best-selling author of Hawk:
Occupation Skateboarder, the goat
himself, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.
All right, thank you. Hey, man. Welcome
to the show. Thanks for having me. Dude,
thank you for being here, man. So, as I
was saying before we started rolling, as
as a kid and then quite frankly into my
early 20s, I really wanted to be good at
skateboarding, so I had a skateboard.
That was my mode of transportation all
through college, but I was really bad at
it. And so, watching you, I was way into
the Bones Brigade,
um, and just really wanted to emulate
that. I was really terrible. And
researching you, you said that one of
the
like one of the key moments in any
skateboarder's life is the first time
they really get hurt and then how they
respond to that. First time I got hurt,
I stopped immediately. But how did you
learn to deal with that and really push
forward?
Uh, well, I think it was the the first
time I got hurt, I got it was pretty
severe. I got a concussion. I knocked
out my teeth.
Um, I woke up
pretty much in the ambulance. Wow. And
my first thought was not, what have I
done? This is crazy. It was like well,
how long do I have to stay on my
skateboard? That's crazy.
I mean it was immediately like how do I
get back? And also I remembered, you
know, as I came to, I remembered what I
had done and what mistake I had made and
I was thinking like well, I'll never
make that mistake again. You know, that
was that was really the thought process
and and I wasn't it wasn't a matter of
mortality or fear. It was just more like
and I guess I realized at that moment
well, I didn't I realized realized it
then but I realized it later that
that I wasn't really afraid to get hurt
in the for the sake of progression.
Um you know, I wanted to push through
and learn from my mistakes and and
endure
injury and pain to get to
these these goals.
And so I think that a lot of friends
that I had
they got hurt once and either they quit
or their parents told them to quit. Mhm.
What would you have done if your parents
had told you to quit at that point?
It's a good question. I relied on them
so heavily for transportation to the
skate park and support in that sense. Um
I probably would have tried to skate and
make a go of it however I could
but I don't think I would have been
successful at it because I really
uh
I had a lot of support from my dad. He
drew he was basically the chauffeur for
all the skaters in our area to go to
different parks around around the around
the Southern California area and so
um
if he weren't there I don't know other
dad would have picked up that slack.
And how do you So I big brothered for
this kid for a while and he because I
was into skating, he wanted to get into
skating. So bought him a board, took him
to the skate park and he's like the
target kid that you've been building the
skate parks for really underprivileged,
grew up in Compton and so it was a cool
thing for him to do and I took him to
the skate park, had him in helmets, pads
like the whole nine. And we were there
for maybe like 30 minutes, and another
kid fell and dislocated his wrist. And
so his wrist was like this up and back.
And I was like, "Oh!" I was freaking
out, and I thought
the kid that I was with wasn't. And so
he just kept doing stuff, but every time
like he would go down a ramp or
something like my heart would jump. Now,
as somebody who obviously has felt those
impacts, and you've broken your pelvis
and concussions, what was it like for
you watching Riley start skating for the
first time? Were you Did you struggle
with the fear of him getting hurt in a
way that you didn't with yourself?
Um
I did, but I also saw early on that he
had a good sense of his limitations. And
he like he I mean, he was very much like
me in the sense that he wanted to push
his boundaries, but also not risk his
mortality. I mean, he definitely got
hurt in ways that I didn't anticipate.
Um he uh
he broke both elbows me before he was
like 10 years old.
Oof.
You know, with full like elbow cast.
And uh
it that was hard to endure, but I'm not
going to I wasn't going to discourage
him. And also
he kept coming back to it. Did you help
him conceptualize dealing with pain and
fear? Because I've seen him skate now as
as a pro skater, and he's I mean, as I
feel with all pro street skaters
especially, just looks insanely painful.
And so he's got some sort of
relationship with fear and pain and all
of that.
just more by example. Um you know, we
have four other teenage boys now, and
they
they rely on me to sort of
assess their injury or to take care of
it because I've been through so many.
Um and I think it's just more leading by
example and and you know, showing that
well
I you know, I don't like to say get
right back out there, but but the more
the sooner you get out moving and stuff
this is faster it heals, really. I mean,
depending on the severity of the injury,
but but I think that that's key and um
I'm living an example of that. And do
you have any uh is there anything you
say to yourself, a mantra or whatever,
when you get hurt? Like, are you focused
on what you're trying to accomplish?
Um
yes, I mean, it's it's different now
that I'm older. I'm not I'm not trying
to take the risks that I used to,
obviously, and and there are times when
I just feel like, you know, my body's
not
in prime shape or capable of of doing
pushing this next limit, obviously.
Um but sometimes
the stubbornness overpowers that. It's
interesting though, you talk about that
internal drive, you're doing it just for
you. That really does seem to be the
hallmark of how you've been able to have
as much success. And I really do want to
understand like why you What is it about
you that led you to just keep going, to
innovate when the sport was dying, to
face people making fun of you when it
really seemed like it was over, but you
just kept doing it? Uh well, the thing
that I loved initially about
skateboarding is that it felt like it
was this empty canvas. Anything you do,
even if it's a little tweak, you made it
was a new trick. And so, it was like
there's this constant progression and
all I ever wanted to do was to keep
learning new tricks. I didn't really
care about the standings or, you know,
the perception of my style or whatever,
as long as I could keep learning these
new tricks. And so, as I was successful
in competition and and winning a lot of
the events,
my drive was just to keep getting
better. And a lot of times when you if
you see an athlete or or an artist or
whatever that reaches a certain apex
that they think, like, this is the goal.
I'm number one. This is it. They lose
all their motivation because that that's
all they were trying to aspire to. And
my
my motivation was always just to keep
getting better at skating.
Um and so,
you know, enduring sort of the naysayers
was probably helpful. You know, it
seemed like I was getting bullied at the
time cuz I did, you know, people people
like to
write me off and and say I'm a circus
skater and whatever. Because you were
doing tricks. Cuz I was doing tricks and
I wasn't focused on the style. I just
didn't have the the body frame for the
big gnarly airs and the flowy style, you
know, I was like the scrawny rat and
and I just figured out wait, I can
maneuver my board under my feet and in
the air and eventually got taller and
stronger and I could do it much higher
in the air.
Um but still I was, you know, I was
largely made fun of for for my lack of
style. Um but that only fueled the fire
for me cuz it was just like I'm just
going to keep doing this and hopefully
prove them wrong in the end.
Um and
I can't say why me except that I just
never wanted to slow down.
And do you think that internal driver
cuz so as I was going like one of the
notes you would say something and I I
would take the note over and over again
was the intrinsic motivation. Like you
were just there was something in you you
were trying to do. So the most
interesting part of your career to me is
when when it all craters and there isn't
big money left to be had. In fact,
you're now risking more and more money
hoping that it swings back up and you
kept saying like in that time there were
really two things that kept me going.
One, I did think that it might come
back, but then two, I just love skating.
And so I was actually able to make a
living doing something that I loved even
though I was just sort of getting by. Is
that something you can teach like and
and I'll frame it this way. The number
one question I get asked all the time is
how do I find my passion?
Um well, I guess what I learned through
those years and having come through them
obviously having another way of of
success is that
it it's it seemed like in hindsight it
seemed like a struggle, but it at the
time
I was still getting to do what I loved.
And so it wasn't about the caching in or
it wasn't about the perks and and the
extravagance is it was more like I get
to go skate for a living and I'm I'm I'm
paying the rent. I'm, you know, I'm
providing for a family. Barely, but it's
working. And I get to I I enjoy my work.
And that was it. And that's that's what
I've learned. And and then having come
through the sort of the not the fire,
but you know, this this huge wave of
success to come back to what I feel is
important to me, which is is the
skating. Um and that's what I enjoy the
most. And and it wasn't I wasn't ever
doing it
wasn't ever doing it for fame or
fortune.
Those were not my motivations.
And so, when people say, "No, what's
your passion?" Do
All I can say is is follow what you
really enjoyed doing and you'll be that
will be your success.
Because if you enjoy going to work every
day, that's the biggest success you can
that you can imagine as far as I'm
concerned. You can be hugely successful
financially doing something you don't
like and that just doesn't bring
happiness.
I mean, it's all it's all seems cliché
and it all seems kind of basic, but
it's definitely what I've learned being,
you know, through the ups the highs
highs and the low lows of a career.
It's interesting. So, I mean, yes, that
is cliché in the sense that that's what
people often repeat, but you've
certainly lived that. How do you help
people through the like where you can
see the sort of heartache of I want to
do
something that's going to be respected
externally, people are there are going
to be accolades, there is going to be
money,
um or even just like I haven't found
anything that I love enough. Do you find
that um
you fanned the flames of your own
interest in skateboarding or was it
purely just like from the moment you saw
people doing the airs in the pool, you
were like, "That's it." What I think is
is important that people people find
something they love and they're like, "I
want to do that. But, they don't realize
what all that encompasses, the wealth of
knowledge you need, even though this one
thing inspires you. And I think what I
learned through skating and then
eventually through business is that I
want to learn all aspects of that.
And that benefited me in the end because
as I did sort of struggle with
with skating's downturn, I had this
other skill set that I had developed
just through the interest of of what
everything else was in skateboarding. I
I never thought I would need to know
like
you know, point of sale and
net profits and um marketing budgets and
um
advertising, you know, and and I I just
embraced those things cuz I figured,
well, this is what I'm doing. And I And
I really should learn all those things.
And they might seem
trivial or they might seem boring, but
but that will give you the advantage in
the end. That's That's what
How do you motivate yourself on those
things where it's something that you
don't have the same intrinsic love that
you have when you're skating? How do you
get yourself going on something like
that? Um
just embrace the challenge.
I mean, I embraced the challenges of
skating all through the years and and
even some things in skating that didn't
really interest me. And so, I kind of
learned how to street skate by default
and it wasn't something that I was like
gunning to do or thought that that would
be my career path, but at the same time
I enjoyed it, you know, and and there
was still a sense of community with it.
Um and we were breaking new boundaries.
So, uh I guess that's one example of
something that maybe you didn't think
you're interested in, but if you're But,
if you're so laser-focused on just one
part of what you're doing, you kind of
miss the big picture and the other
opportunities.
Walk me through What is the process of
becoming great? Do you think people are
born great or do you think literally
they can work their way Someone like
Andrew Reynolds can
No, I think I think it's it's all about
the work you put into it, you know, it's
sort of the 10,000 hours theory. In the
case of Andrew Reynolds, you know, he
was the scrappy little sloppy skater.
Um but he was driven and he was his own
worst critic and it made him
perfect certain tricks that he was doing
so that they looked the way he imagined
them to look.
And now like
you know, I'm getting a little nerdy
here, but if anyone says frontside
kickflip, the first thing you think of
is Andrew Reynolds.
Um and that's just how it is because he
perfected this move, became his
signature, and he's great. He's great at
it. He's a great skater um because he
never wavered. He he never really gave
up and
didn't listen to any naysayers. And do
you see that process as being sort of
blind repetition? I I would never say
it's blind repetition. I think it's very
calculated risk, methodical approach,
and
I mean some tricks some tricks are just
so technical that you try it 100 times
and one works and there's no rhyme or
reason as to why that one was different.
But other tricks are just take a little
bit of of a nuance to get it dialed in
so you get it every time. And that is
more a matter of
of determination, I think. Not not blind
repetition, but definitely determination
and and the ability to recognize your
own mistakes.
So I wore this shirt grit
because looking at your career, that to
me is when I think about why I was never
good at skateboarding, it was because I
really wasn't willing to fall over and
over again. And quite frankly, I had my
heart broken at one point because
I was ollieing like a fiend. I thought I
was really getting good at it. And
somebody goes, "You know that your back
wheels never leave the ground, right?" I
was like, "Get out of here. That's not
like that's not possible." They're like,
"No, no, no, for real." I actually
thought they were kidding. So I said,
"All right, film me." And I I've got to
see this. I don't believe it. And so
they filmed me, and I do the ollie and
my back wheels never leave the ground.
And like my whole world came crumbling
down. And I was like, "How can this be?
Like literally, how can this be
possible? First of all, that nobody told
me until then. And that second, it felt
like I was really doing it." And between
like what it felt like to fall, which
seeing you land on your hip, I know how
much that hurts.
And I just needed to do it once to know,
"Yeah, I don't want to do that anymore."
Yeah. And then doing that, and what I'm
so curious, I want to know, time
machine, you go back, you're there on
that playground parking lot with me.
Could Do you have like magic words, a
way to frame it, whatever, inspiration
to get me to rethink about how I should
be approaching this to help me find that
thing you had, which was the love of the
progression or whatever? Like is there a
way to I really wanted to skate, Tony.
No [ __ ] like I really feel like
somebody with the right words could have
made me go, "Oh, like I have to embrace
the pain or whatever." Like have you
seen something work? Yeah, I think I
Well, I I think I could have helped your
technique, for sure. And And according
to you, if you were doing proper ollie
motion, probably just a little bit of a
foot shift would have gotten you into
the air a little bit. Um the thing that
I've noticed, especially having so many
boys, is that when I
give them a little bit of advice, if
they do if they truly do follow it, that
it they do the thing they're trying to
do.
Um sometimes they
they just won't
commit. That's it. You know what I mean?
They they just won't commit to the
thing. And they think that if they move
their feet and step back, the board will
somehow magically do the thing and then
come back to their feet. And And that is
the most frustrating part of just trying
to teach someone.
Because they just are their their own
worst enemy. They won't commit to this
thing fully. You know what I mean? I
Like I I
I can scream all I want. Like, you're do
Like, you have it. This will work if you
just commit to it. If you just believe
it's going to happen and you and you
decide you're going to land, it's going
to work. But, sometimes they just That's
the stumbling block. And And that could
be a metaphor for all kinds of things.
How else does that play out? Do you see
things like that in business? Like, do
you Is it just commitment or are there
other roadblocks that people have in
their own lives?
it all it all comes down to risk.
And And your willingness to take risks.
You know, that that's for sure a thread
that I can say is is equal in
skateboarding and in business for me and
and what I learned growing up is is that
I'm willing to take a risk for the sake
of progression or for the sake sake of
success and it doesn't always work, you
know, I've definitely had failures and
big financial failures.
Um, but I learned a lot, you know, and I
think the other thing is you have to
embrace those failures. You have to
embrace those mistakes.
you mean by that? How do you embrace a
failure?
Well, basically
you have to learn
that that approach didn't work and you
don't want to do it again, obviously,
and and that
um
if you hadn't had that failure
you might have made a much bigger
mistake later on.
You know, doing the same exact thing.
Getting into business, which has been
more like sort of life instructive,
skateboarding or business?
Um, well, I I uh
I use all the lessons that I learned
from skateboarding in my business, so
I'd say definitely skateboarding in
terms of
what it taught me about persevering and
believing in myself and
uh not listening to the the haters.
Let's talk about that. That's actually
really interesting. So, first of all,
you're getting hated on when you're
pretty young. Like, how did you
inoculate yourself from that?
Um, it's funny cuz I I I tell the story
I you know, sometimes I do public
speaking and I tell the story about how
the the amount of criticism I received
as a kid with my strange style, and
obviously, you know, super skinny, and
just like I just look like a giant pad.
Um and the the strange what they called
a circus tricks that I was doing, I was
getting a lot of flak even in the skate
magazines, which was was like skating is
already this outcast activity of, you
know, misfits, and and then suddenly say
I found my people there, and then I'm
being ostracized from them for my style.
So, I'm like living in this little
bubble of
of uncertainty
and unlikability. And so,
I learned that at that time like well,
don't listen to them. I'm doing what I
love. I have because I had a couple
friends that were kind of on in the same
mindset. They were young, too. They were
more into the tricks, and we would just
skate together, and we would bounce
ideas off each other, and we would all
come up with new tricks that we enjoyed
doing, and that's all it took was a
small community of people sort of having
each other's backs. You you had a lot of
conviction, and it becomes easy to stand
up for yourself when you That's actually
not true. It's hard as hell to stand up
for yourself anytime. But certainly
easier if you have a conviction. But how
the hell do you get a conviction? Like
when you're 14, and I've seen the photos
of you when you first started skating,
and you really did look hilarious. Like
you were so skinny. Yeah.
And I just remember at that age like
how do you get above like what people
are saying, especially bigger, cooler
kids? You know, even if you've got a
couple other kids that are your style,
like that would definitely help. But how
did you How did you turn those like I
think this is cool into like this is so
cool, I'm going to stand up for it? And
really truly, can you pass that on? Like
how do you teach your kids, which just
comes back to the kids? Like is that
something you teach your kids? Like
without just saying stand up for what
you believe in? Like
I think I think it was more that I did
get a few example well, a a few boosts
of validation through the years. And do
you have anything else in your life
other than skateboarding that you feel a
similar draw to grow and improve and get
better?
Um
no, not in that sense. I mean if
anything it's fatherhood.
I'm always learning. I'm always learning
to be more effective, to be better and
you know, sometimes it's hard because
Riley was sort of the the litmus test
and I obviously could have done better
in a lot of ways and been more present
um and I'm still learning a lot as I go
and I've come through a lot of
uh chaos and and turmoil just in terms
of success and relationships and things
like that and and I think my wife and I
have a really good handle on what they
need from us and how we can be effective
without being overbearing. And what is
the key to being a good parent?
Um
listening
and uh taking interest, being present.
And when I say present, I don't just
mean like in the same room on your
phone,
you know, which is super easy to do and
I fall into that trap, too.
Cuz it's sometimes, you know, we'll be
around all around a table and everyone's
just staring at a screen and
sometimes we just have to
all right.
Mhm. Phones down. Let's Let's talk.
Other than your children, I'm going to
completely take them off the table, what
is the coolest thing that's ever
happened to you?
Uh
that's a good question. Um
I think
being on The Simpsons was definitely one
of the biggest coolest things that could
ever happen because The Simpsons is such
a
it's such a um touchstone of pop culture
Mhm. and
what the mainstream
um audience is is understanding and
looking at and the fact that they made
an episode that focused on me was one
thing, but the idea that I was going to
play my own voice. It always seems like
if The Simpsons has a character and it's
not that character's voice, you're
you know, that's the opposite. That's
the opposite of cool. Right.
That means they're trying to diss you.
But but the idea that that they, you
know, invited me and they based this
episode around me and Bart, um it was
this huge honor and it still is to this
day. I mean, like I said, it was I
watched The Simpsons
from when it was on Tracy Ullman. Mhm.
What about getting your board up in the
Smithsonian?
Um that is a huge honor that I never
imagined or fathomed would
that they would be interested in such a
thing. And the the fact that I've lost
so much stuff through the years and
given away so much stuff and and thrown
stuff away that somehow I held onto that
board, you know, that it didn't I mean,
through my first five or six years
skating, it didn't have that much
meaning.
Right. But but I always kept it for some
reason.
And then, um
they contacted me about about donating
to the Smithsonian. And I called my
brother cuz I it was actually his board.
He gave it to me. It was his
hand-me-down. So, I had to call him for
permission.
I said, "Steve, they they want to put
this board in the Smithsonian." And he
said to me, "That's where I thought it
always belonged."
Woah. Um and that was To me, that was
more validation than anything. Mhm. The
fact that, you know, my brother who got
me into skating, gave me my first board,
thought that much of it.
Um that we both went to DC and handed
over in white gloves.
cool.
pretty cool. So, a year ago, a little
less, I guess,
we did a 24-hour live here where I was
on camera for 24 hours. I was answering
people's questions. And
you know, doing obviously a lot of
talking. At the end of it, I felt pretty
good. And then I had, 2 days later, I
had to fly to London and I had another
9-hour Q&A. And at the end of that, my
voice felt different. There were certain
notes I couldn't hit.
And it freaked me out because I'd always
taken my voice for granted. I'd never
thought about the fact like, what would
this look like if I couldn't speak? And
then it didn't go away and didn't go
away. And then I started feeling like
pressure in my throat and it was getting
really weird and like it made me ask
I realized for the first time that my
voice was a part of my identity and I
never realized it. And so suddenly I
felt like a different person and a less
person if I wasn't going to be able to
vocalize. And so my mind just starts
running away and I start thinking like
not only who am I without this, but like
what do I actually do? Like how do I run
the business, right? So I know at one
point you weren't skating a lot in the
business and you were focused more on
the marketing, but then ultimately you
realized I need to go back and skate.
Yep. Like have you thought at all about
like who am I without this and what do I
do?
Um well, I I honestly went through that
a couple years ago. Um my wife can
attest to this, but I started losing
sponsors all at once. And I mean like a
group of them. And it was all it wasn't
necessarily because of anything I was
lacking or doing. It was just more of
the business and and the the way that
endorsements were working at the time
that it was just like there's no more
yearly contracts, you know, everything
is more short, social media based. But
but they all came crashing down at once.
And I struggled with it. I struggled
with my sense of value. I struggled with
yeah, who am I? What is I thought this
is what I was doing. I thought this is
my purpose, my this is my living. And um
it it took a while for me to really come
to terms with
I love doing this regardless.
Um but also even if I'm not doing this,
I'm still effective as a person in terms
of
as running a business, uh being a
father,
uh
you know,
having value, having being interesting.
Like all those things were were things
that I had to accept about myself
because
this this thing that I
took for granted for the most part that
I knew and loved and that I had done for
for 20 years as a career or more 30
years as a career was suddenly
coming to not a screeching halt but
definitely a slow.
And um
it it took a lot of
self-reflection to get through that and
realize that I still want to do it even
if I'm not getting paid as much as I
was. So what is that next phase?
Um
well definitely I'm I'm hugely proud of
what my foundation has created and
accomplished over the
last 15 years um of doing public skate
parks in low-income areas and and
working on a uh more international level
with Skateistan funding projects in
South Africa and Cambodia.
And um
the Olympics are going to come around so
that's exciting to me. I feel like I
could
not just advocate but but be part of the
the international accessibility of it.
There's going to be a skate team from
Ethiopia. There's going to be a skate
team from Cambodia. That stuff excites
me because we never imagined that there
would be any
interest of of skating or or any sort of
scene and they're going to have Olympic
teams. You know, they're going to have
like
top-notch
athletes.
And that's amazing to me. And uh that's
what gets me really excited. What's
That's That's not necessarily what's
next for me but that's what's next for
skateboarding
and that's huge. All right, before I ask
my last question, where can these guys
find you online?
Uh well I'm on all the social medias
Tony Hawk @tonyhawk.
Um
in fact I had to
had to wrestle uh
my um
Instagram handle
away from someone who was squatting on
it. Really? I was I was the first
athlete on Instagram, but when I went to
join someone already taken Tony Hawk and
wasn't posting anything and
and then they wanted money for it.
Yeah.
Sounds about right. How did you get it?
Yeah. Uh I think someone from Instagram
It was It was Kevin Systrom saw that I
was on it and I was gaining a following
under a different name and he said,
"Hey, do you want your name? I noticed
that someone squatting on it." And
within like a minute I had it.
That's awesome.
Yeah. That's awesome.
All right, my last question. What's the
impact that you want to have on the
world?
Um
I I I hopefully someone that
uh made skateboarding more accessible.
You know, someone that that brought it
into the sort of main I don't want to
say mainstream, but but a bigger
audience.
Um and
but selfishly I just want to be known as
someone that was a good skater.
I think you've got that down pat.
thank you. Awesome, Tony. Thank you so
much for being here today.
Guys, hey, I can't imagine a world in
which you didn't already know Tony Hawk
coming into this, but I'm telling you
that you don't know the real Tony Hawk.
The guy, watch him fall over and over
and over and get up and keep going and
watch some of the innovative stuff that
he's done, which is absolutely insane
from doing the loops to um him having
fun skating in zero G was a lot of fun
to watch, but the real innovations,
things like the 900 being the first to
do that, the the win percentage of
almost 90% like
that's never going to be paralleled
again in human history. I mean, it's
absolutely insane to me and watching
somebody that has that level of grit and
perseverance to me is is astonishing,
especially because it's something that
I've tried and I know how bad it hurts.
And I think that there really is one
thing, as he said, that separates people
that go on that do extraordinary things
from people that had the talent and the
ability, but don't go on to match that
and that is how do you respond the first
time that you get hurt? And if that
moment breaks you and turns you away,
then you're never going to be able to
accomplish what you want. But if you can
come to some sort of understanding
relationship of what you're trying to
accomplish, that you're going to have to
get past that fear, that you're going to
have to learn to deal with that pain,
and that
if you can wake up from a a brief coma
in the back of the ambulance and not be
thinking about, well, I'm never doing
that again, but instead saying, I'm
never going to make that mistake again,
and I'm going to land the trick the next
time, then you can do anything you set
your mind to. And that to me is the most
inspiring example that anyone can set.
I think it goes without saying that he
will be remembered as somebody who was a
great skater, but beyond that, I think
he'll be remembered as somebody who
showed just how far you can go if you
persevere. So, my friends, stick with
it, grind it the [ __ ] out. All right, if
you haven't already, be sure to
subscribe, and until next time, my
friends, be legendary. Take care.
Johnny, thank you again, man.
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