Almost Athletes with Dude Perfect - Tony Hawk on Skateboarding vs. Trick Shots + Sports Video Game Draft (with Dude Perfect)

Episode Date: April 15, 2026

Almost Athletes is back with a loaded episode featuring Tony Hawk AND the Harlem Globetrotters! But first, the Dudes dive into a full Masters recap where the Dudes respond to Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley’s comments about them. They  make their NBA Finals predictions, debate whether Giannis is really a top 5 player, and reveal the official Squad Games Tour lineup. Then Tony Hawk joins the show to talk about his recently viral social post, how skateboarding has evolved since he started, and the mindset it takes to keep pushing in extreme sports. He shares stories about chasing the 900, reflects on raising kids around risk, and reveals the one trick he was never able to fully master. They finish things off with a nostalgia-packed draft of the all-time best sports video games. Later, Torch and Too Tall from the Harlem Globetrotters stop by to talk about how they joined the team, what tryouts and training camp are really like, and the challenge of balancing elite performance with entertainment. And finally, the Globetrotters face off against Cory Cotton in an epic basketball spin-off competition.  Check out Tony’s Charity: https://skatepark.org Vote Almost Athletes for Best Creator or Influencer Series: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-creator-or-influencer-series If you’ve got a question, hot take, or your own Almost Athlete moment, head to AlmostAthletes.com or call [phone]. Upload your own fan fails here: https://new.myharbourshare.com/agree/gSttAsmDbo6vYCfm3HBdjh?fbclid=PARlRTSARDo7VleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAafRqYdnXc6xTmfPMNERbnp5yfF-BqLSY3NCu2GQZSehgOTgD69fSBeTqTcAQg_aem_RWLUmW87bcZIif3zTrWKBg Head to http://RULA.com to find a therapist the easy way. Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at square.com/go/AA! #squarepod Head to http://policygenius.com/ALMOST to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save Head to http://shadyrays.com and use code: ALMOST for 40% OFF 2 or more polarized sunglasses. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:30 Full Masters Recap 17:25 NBA Finals Predictions 20:25 Is Giannis A Top 5 Player? 22:55 MLB Concessions Update 27:11 College Baseball 28:09 DP Tour Official Guest List 34:57 Tony Hawk Intro 37:00 Similarities Between Tricks & Trick Shots 39:24 Evolution of Skateboarding 43:20 The Trick He Couldn’t Do 46:00 Raising Kids/Grandkids 48:54 Tony’s Almost Athlete Moment 50:25 Tony’s Message to Kids Today 56:12 Skateboarding: Art or Sport? 01:01:05 Tony Hawk Pro Skater Video Game 01:04:05 Best Sports Video Games Draft 01:15:00 Harlem Globetrotters Intro 01:21:15 Tour Life BTS 01:28:46 Guinness World Records 01:31:39 Who Inspired Their Game 01:33:27 Basketball Spin-Off Competition 01:39:48 2-Minute Warning: AI Getting Out Of Hand What to do now: 1. Smash that LIKE button 2. Hit SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a DP podcast moment 3. Drop a comment with who YOU want to see on Almost Athletes next! Subscribe for more! ‪https://www.youtube.com/@almostathletes • • • • Almost Athletes with Dude Perfect is (almost) a sports podcast. Tune in weekly to hear the dudes’ hottest sports takes, great debates, interviews with your favorite athletes and entertainers, and hilarious BTS from all things Dude Perfect. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Follow along on all platforms. Listen to the pod on your morning commute or wherever it finds you: Apple: - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/almost-athletes-with-dude-perfect/id1834502483 Spotify: - https://open.spotify.com/show/55gaQm31JIbp6td7QtYsPU?si=6423db3118ac497f Follow Almost Athletes to keep up with the Dudes!: https://www.instagram.com/almostathletes https://www.tiktok.com/@almostathletes https://x.com/almostathletes_ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I had actually met with a couple of software companies a couple of years prior to connect him with Activision. And I had pitched a video game to them to which they just were incredulous. They said, why? I mean, literally one one guy said, skateboarding isn't popular. Why would a video game about skateboarding be popular? Welcome to Almost Athletes with Dude Perfect. A Wave original.

Follow the show on all social media at Almost Athletes. Like and subscribe to us on YouTube or listen and subscribe wherever get your podcast. we're your host I'm G I'm Spark I'm T yeah you are good to have you back dude

before we get into the weekend dude we have been nominated for a Webby award whoa yeah for best creator or influencer series

and we would love to have your vote voting is open until tomorrow night April 16th so click the link in the description and vote for us please please please

but that's after you give us the five star review wow five star review have we have we no I think this is the first time we've ever been up for a Webby, Ty. You'll recool with, like, the shameless plug there. He tripled pleased it.

He did. He did. He did. He pleased him. I thought that was a little much because I didn't want less please. Here's a deal. I've been listening to a lot of pods, and they just, they hammer their own stuff right off the get-go, dude.

Okay. Please, please. Please, please. Webys, Webbie. I guess we'll fall on a five-star. Webby Award vote. Here we go. Good to have you back, Ty.

First of all, you passed the smell test. It smelled delicious. Might be the coffee you're sipping. No, it's a fresca. Went with y' all red? tried it on, kind of loved it, and said, I'm going to rock it for the pod. So shout out Texas Rangers. I love you guys. Obviously, long-time fan supporter. A lot of great memories. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, personally, I saw the Blue Bonnet Jersey preview. I fell in love with that one.

Still love this jersey, though. Next year, dude. The hats are sick, too. Yeah, and the hat's kind of like multipurpose because it gets sand for Tyler, Texas. You never know. You never know. What an episode we have coming up, boys. First off, we're going to talk about the Masters. Y'all went. Can't wait to hear about it. what a finish it was, Rory, back to back. We're also going to have the goat of skateboarding. Tony Hawk will join us for an interview. And so will the original trick shot Masters,

the Harlem Globetrotters, stopping by, Loaded App. Plus, we're going to preview the NBA playoffs and give you an exclusive squad games tour guest preview. Loaded episode. Masters, boys, does it ever get old? No. Like going to the property? It's literally the best week of the year.

Well, it makes it so best. I mentioned this while we were walking the course. course, you just run in to so many people. Yeah. Like, like, Rory, Scotty. No, like people you haven't seen since elementary school. You're like, dude, this is crazy. Like, how are we connecting on Fairway, the 11th Fairway right now?

It's just crazy. So there's that. Obviously, just the aura around what, you know, what the Masters brings, man. It's just, it's number one, the most competitive golf tournament there is, the history behind it. the elegance to it, just all of it. It's just amazing. The scenes. Yeah, the no phones is just a nice, like, just plug out, you know,

just get away from it. I don't even like pimento cheese, but I find myself getting pimento cheese every day when I'm there. Yeah. I don't know. It's just something about it, and you combine it with a barbecue sandwich. You get you a Georgia peach ice cream sandwich at 9 a.m.,

because why not? Why not? For $4. Yeah, great prices. Reasonable pricing. They have held strong, and I commend the chairman for keeping those prices lower. Made the Wednesday presser. I was about to say that.

Speaking of the chairman, the comments, we go with it? Because all he did was re-urgitate the exact same feeling that as soon as that got greenlit, that we felt about it. It was like, we out. I think he said it in a classful way. Like, he was just saying, which I, if I'm the chairman, and I'm guessing he gets a bar. bunch of asks. Yeah. Not only from non-golf creators, but all creators now because we were a non-golf

creator. I think it was probably time to nip it all in the bud right then and there and just be like, hey, look, there's a tradition that we like to keep here. And maybe we cross the line a little bit. So let's keep the ass to a minimum now. We're going to keep this. I understand the criticism. I do too.

I understand it. But you also got to keep in mind that the video was created for us and for Augusta National. The video was created for non-golf fans, specifically the younger audience who is not into golf. And you can argue whether that was right or wrong. Did appreciate the chairman at least throwing out. He still likes us. He does like those guys, which I thought was a nice little ad. The second sentence was big.

The second sentence was big. But yeah, I mean, I get it. I do. Obviously, you just said it, Spark. But we had those same reactions like, golly, should we? Do we actually want to do this? Almost kind of felt guilty rolling up to the course. Like, you're all here, we're here to throw Frisbee's at Amen Corner.

But when Augustine National comes calling, you say, yeah. And you don't say yes. So no awkward interactions with Fred? No, everything, it's chairman, dude. Chairman Ridley, dude. Yeah. You should take that back. Yeah, I don't know him on it.

Y'all can maybe call us. No, everyone just calls him Chairman Ridley, man. Chairman Ridley, yes. Yeah. But no, it's, it is a year where, like, I do think, Like you can see, like, August is all about tradition. It is, you know, that's why I think I love it the most

because I went to Texas A&M, which is all about tradition. Yep. But they're trying to bring a new audience in. And, you know, with the merchandising, hot ticket item from the Mahjong set, that you could only get at Berkman's. Wasn't fortunate to come home with the Mahjong set, even though that was kind of our number one task item to us from the wives.

And you failed? We didn't, we didn't get it done. Yeah, we didn't. But there's so many people that are so mad at like the meat salad hat or like the Primento cheese hat. So many people that are mad that they're golf purist that are just like, bro, like, why are we talking? Why do you care?

Like, Augusta's trying to just bring in a new, you know, they're getting the most patrons they've ever had. Like after COVID, they've really tried to do it, bring in new people. I love what they're doing. So I understand Chairman Ridley's comments, like, they are trying to push the boundary. Maybe that's not the way they should have pushed their boundary. You know, and so, like, I get it. Like everything is fun.

But as far as the golf itself went, what a tournament. What a tournament, indeed. And the weather obeyed, too. Yeah, first time. So we've gone, what, the last, this was our fifth or six year? Sixth. Sixth year. And there's been rain every single year that we've been there.

First year where the weather actually looked great all weekend. I think the course in the tournament showed it. But we were talking on the way back, pretty substantial group of winners. You got Rory, Rory, Scotty, Romm, Hadeki. Yeah, Hadeki, then, DJ. Yeah. Like, from a, hey, some pretty high power champions in recent years. Like, I feel like we're due for some out of nowhere winners coming up.

I just don't think, I don't think it's going to happen. I don't, you will have your random willets. Yeah. Could have happened if Rory would have blown it and you would have had your Cam Young or, I really want Justin Rose to win it, man. I thought he had it. He's a deserving champion. He is.

He is. He's a runner up, man. You got to think his time table is running out for 45. So maybe next year. What are the oldest first time winner? Look, maybe next year if Rory's up by two and Justin's right there, triple bogey for the guy. Yeah.

Do you need a third or should we give your buddy one? Yeah. You know? Yeah. I was rooting for a playoff. No doubt. I mean, Scottie makes that putt on 17. I know.

He had two chances at the end, too. Oh, that would have been electric. Happy for Rory. I was definitely rooting for a playoff. I was rooting for J. Day or Cam Young, honestly, like the last day of the tournament. Cam Young even had so many ops in the back nine. Just to get that one or two. A lot of pars.

Just couldn't get that birdie. Nobody really, really pushed Rory there. I mean, you got, you know, Sam Burns even early, got the birdie on one. And then he looked like me at first. go lakes after that and you had a couple other people push to j rose pushed then kind of fell off yeah people just don't understand when they look on tv because everything's manicured to perfection and it's just a perfect golf course they don't understand you have to be on the property to see it like it doesn't matter if you're center fairway like if it's not on the proper side to to hit you're you're in trouble

yeah like you're on your feet below your even if you're on the green and and green regulation does not matter. If you're on the wrong, you know, low side or high, like, you're in trouble. Like, it is that golf course, that's what makes it so fun. A true golf course, which I think is just amazing is like, Scotty Sheffler can go out there and struggle with it or shoot, you know, could shoot a 63. Your members who could be, you know, whatever, 15, 20 handicaps could go shoot low or struggle with it. That, to me, makes a good golf course. Yeah, and it's really tough to piece together four rounds there. two.

Yeah. Because you saw Scotty on the weekend, best player throughout the weekend, bogey free back to back rounds to finish it. Well, speak even saying that he played better than this one than when he won. That's telling. Yeah. But to your point, Garrett,

like the experience matters there, the layout of the course, all that. That's why you don't see, I feel like the random Danny Willits a ton of the times. It's like you have to go through your, you know. And that's why Rory's so good because he's,

he's played it is this his 18th or 17th time that you just get that. Now he's gotten a, I always think Rory's going to have a little bit. everyone's going to have trouble with that. They're going to double. You're going to have one hole that's like... It's really how you respond to the blow-up hole there because the blow-up hole is going to happen over 72 holes.

His hole is 11. He just can't happen Saturday, dude. Watered it. 11 just get 12. I can't wait for him to shrivel. Trying to hit the fairway, which is a tough tee shot, especially for a long hitter because you really got to risk it going over the trees. I'm bombed, man.

I'm a little depressed that it's over. Got to wait another 365 for that week. Well, like 361. That's the good news. More like 360. But, yeah, it was super fond. My kids, we order the taste of the masters. So, you know, your pimento cheese, your potato chips, your egg salad, cookies.

It's attention to detail, which is refreshing. To go out there and everything just be so well thought through. Like, it's stuff you don't even realize until almost somebody tells you, like, every little detail. I mean, seeing the, not being able to see cart pass from the T-box, like where they've got the media and stuff going. That's what I'm saying. And like, it's just everything about that place is so, yeah, so intentional, so well thought through that it's, you can't not go out there and just be amazed, astonished. I mean, it's unbelievable.

I want to run this organization like that. Well, I was about to say, funny enough, we walk into here on a Monday and it feels just the opposite of what the masters. Yeah. You don't know what's. We got a lot of work to do, man. Yeah, you don't know what's going on. With this win, though, is Roy in the conversation world number one? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I got to be. Yeah, I mean, was it Freddie? couples who said Rory could go win this thing for the next like four years? It was. He can't. Why?

Because next year now the conversation goes the pressure of winning three in a row. Yeah, but that's the same pressure that he had this time. Yeah,

no. I mean, it's just a new record. It is. It's not going for your first. But pressure, obviously, I mean,

it's a real thing. I'm taking the field. 18 T shot. Yeah, I'm taking the field next year versus Rory. That's fair. Tiger will be back.

you know. Fingers crossed. But he should be number one, I think. I don't know how the official world golf rankings work, but I bet it skyrocketed men number one. They get really tough when you talk about PGA, live and all the cross over there. Well, you got PGA now, Erronima coming up in May.

Then the U.S. Open at Shinnecock and the British. I don't know where the British has played this year. How about Rory taking a shot at our Texas course tournaments? He should, dude. He said, basically, they were saying, were you just saving energy for Augusta? Is that why you didn't play in the other tournaments? He was like, ah, I just don't really like the tournament in Houston or San Antonio.

I was like, yeah, that's fair. Same reason I don't play in those. Yeah, Texas is not the greatest golf state of all time, unfortunately. No, even the – he even took a shot at the PGA, which, I mean, it will, like, no offense to the winner of – I hope it's Spieth because that will wrap up the Grand Slam. So you can't say this about Speath, but let's say it's a random, you know, let's – a first-time major winner, like your only major win is at PGA Frisco? Yeah, that's tough.

It's still one more major than, you know, you didn't have. Yeah. I'd take it. I know, dude, but it's not, it's not, you know, errone. It's not a course with a bunch of history. Yeah. Before wrapping up, boys, aliens attack us. You can pick one golfer to make an eagle to save human civilization.

Well, what hole? It's a great question. I mean, I'd take him to Westridge. 100% genius, actually. Okay, Augusta. Okay, cool. I'm taking Rory to, he's gonna drive the green out of West Ridge. Yeah, I'm going, I'm going number two.

And yeah, I'm probably taking Rory. Dude, number two? Yeah, short par five downhill. Yeah, that's a tough one. It depends on the flag play. It's a Sunday pin. Oh, did you go 15? That's way, way riskier.

I mean, Rory played pretty well at 15. Yeah, I'm going number two all day. Yeah, I'm also going number two, Louis Eustazen, because I always think about it. Does it have to be a dog? Does it have to be Augusta? No, I mean, I guess not. To your point, though, if it's not Augusta,

you just go down the street to the little Muni and bring Rom with you. Yeah. Man, it's good to be. I feel like golf's officially kicked off, though, for the year. It's kind of a good year, man. I feel like you even got charged up.

A couple of egg salads. Pemento cheese, brother. Pimento cheese. I'm not an egg salad guy. Really? No. Should let them know it straight off the property there in Augusta, though? Like, hey, this isn't just your standard issue,

jack-in-the-box drive-through. Oh, no, no, no. But eggs. I'm a pimento cheese guy. We talk about Tyler's pimento cheese sandwich in his bag. Oh, yeah. Oh, gosh. You could have sold that on eBay for a large amount of coin.

This was kind of a... How long? Was it in the bag? This was a low moment for me. We are going... Was this Australia bucket list video? That feels right? I don't... It was overseas somewhere.

I don't know. I think we were actually going to New Zealand, so Australia didn't even catch this. But going to New Zealand, they're obviously very protective. They're an island. They're like, you're not bringing anything in or anything out. We're also during COVID. Protect this place. You guys got anything in your bags that we should know about? You bring in any, you know, more than 10 grand, fruits, livestock, whatever. We're like, no.

Bro, can't even have grass on your shoes. Yeah. Yeah. They're like, they're, like, if your boots are muddy, they're like, no, you got to clean them before you come in. So we're like, no, we're good. They got the dogs out there going through security. Boom. My golf bag goes through instant light up. Dogs are on it. They're like, we got something in here. This isn't new for you, though. You get stopped the TSA quite often. It's got a history there. I have a history with TSA getting stopped for hunting paraphernalia sometimes. Periphernalia sounds so insane.

Leftover in my bag. But I was like, I haven't taken my golf bag on a hunting trip recently, so surely there's no leftover ammo or anything in my golf bag. So I'm really confused at this point. Dog is like lighten up this bag. There is clearly something in here. And lady goes to unzip. I mean, you would think she was, there's a ball.

There's a ball. There's a ball. in this bag and we've got to be careful. Well, there was. Unzip it. And they, she with gloves, I think she had tongs at one point, pulls out this rotten, dirty, smelly-looking green package. And immediately I'm like, oh, my gosh, that is an Augusta egg salad sandwich that was not

from this past year, because I hadn't used this travel bag in a long time. So it was two years old, egg salad sandwich in this bag. And she's like, do you know what this is? And I'm like, unfortunately, I think I do. I remember seeing it. The dog got sick, threw up. No, he didn't. But that would have been wild.

It had like half I expected that. Dude, that would have been awesome. I remember it having like a mini frow of mold coming out of the packaging. Oh, it was so nasty. Those dogs were going wild. Oh, so gross. Anyways. I wouldn't watch you up for that personally.

I didn't think I was getting through after that. But they took it out. And I was like, sorry about that. That's on me introducing a new. mold into New Zealand. But we're good. We made it through and it was fine and everybody was safe. But it was a little bit of a... Just kind of make my tummy hurt a little bit. Yeah, we had to quarantine because of that. It was gross. Some people say COVID originated from your golf bag, possibly. Thankfully, it was after, so you can't draw that connection. But if there was a new one

after that, I wouldn't be shocked. Safe to say we didn't bring home any egg salad sandwiches in the golf bag this year. I left them all there. Left them all there. Good play. Good play. Well, it's fun, boys. Golf is good. I'll tell you what, God is good and so is golf. Yeah. Boys, NBA playoffs. They're starting this week. Kind of caught me off guard. Again, though, I want to double down

and reiterate just how beautiful, majestic this time of the sports year is. I'm telling you, dude. It's so good. It's arguably the best. It really does. I watched that magic game after the Masters,

and they were up by like 18, and then Celtics went on a 30 to 5 run or something crazy. They could not miss. I want to say this for the NHL, too. We're out thinking. ourselves when it comes to the playoff format. How so? To me, the NBA play-in is actually incentivizing teams to tank because when you allow

more than half the league in the playoffs, those teams who aren't in that are really prioritizing their draft pick, there's no incentive for them, in my opinion. The more teams you allow in, the more these bottom teams are like, yeah, we've got to sell. I don't know. It's just I didn't think there was anything wrong with the one through eight format one plays eight four plays five two verse seven three verse six and i wish the n hl would do that because now you're seeing a scenario where the dallas stars our beloved dallas stars are going to open the first round against the conferences three seed minnesota wild and it makes no sense to be like utah's playing nobody correct why why where's the incentive to go out in the regular season and earn that two seat for what you know it's not

yeah it's not the nchel is definitely not fair and uh it's you're you're you're and i understand The commissioner's like, we want good hockey right off the bat. Like, bro, I mean, they spent all year. They spent all year getting to this spot. Like, this is crazy to eliminate one of these teams this quickly. Correct. And now you front-loaded it where, yes, those series are going to be awesome at the start of the postseason. But in reality, the Western Conference Finals would look completely different if they went

with the regular formatting. So I feel the same way about the NBA. I just feel like once you invite too many people to a party, all of a sudden it's not as prestigious of a party. And you're just saying that's not the case for college football because there's no draft that teams are trying to keep in the back of their mind. That and the fact that there's just quantity.

There's a lot more teams than in the NBA. It's just too many. It's just too many. What did I say? Did I say Celtics and Celtics, San Antonio? Who do I say? I think you did say season and essay, which I think I was on the same boat, but I really wanted to see the Pistons make it. I think I had Pistons Thunder.

You had Celtics. San Antonio, which is good pick. That's trendy. Ty, if you had to pick a winner. I'll go, I'll go Nuggets, dude. Give me the Nugs. The Nuggies? Yeah.

Some Nuggies and Pistons. Okay. Wow. A little small market NBA finals. I'm here for it. No one's watching that final. Well, I mean, I want to be different, but. That's funny, dude.

Who knows? Oh, yeah, did see Doc out in Milwaukee. So Yonis is going to be the next head coach, it looks like. Wow. Do you think so? Well, if he coaches anything like he did that celebrity basketball game, think he could do well as a coach. Yeah.

He was coaching his socks off. Where is he headed, do you think? The honest makes me feel kind of like the, a little bit of kind of, I hate to say this because I love the Rangers, but it's true. Just a little bit of one and done. I don't know if he has that like.

But he got his one. He did. Now, granted, it took some injuries to get there, but they forget about those years go on. I just don't know, maybe pair him up with somebody, like, I don't know, he's just not a big market player to me. Call me crazy. Yeah.

I like to do hot takes here anyways. So, yeah, y'all bury me in the comments. Come at me, dude. I don't think Janice is top five NBA player. Oh. You're entitled to your opinion. You're also... Yeah, you're going to hear about that one.

Yeah, I just don't think he is. You're entitled to get lit up in the comment section. I think a comment section. I think 48-year-old LeBron is better. Ooh. He's only 41 right now. He has room to grow into that role. I think he's in love with golf, though.

Braun's all eyes on golf, man. Yeah. He can't blame him at this point in his career. I'm in there. Luka goes down. Reeves go down. He's like, I'm heading to the first CBO. basketball player. Like the top five basketball, what determines it? Oh, I think there's,

that's a way to question. Currently playing in the NBA, what determines the top five play? Obviously, overall skill level, um, accolades plays into it. Team success. So I don't love the accolades because like at the end of the day, like is it per year or is it, I'm not, I'm asking per year. So the accolades don't really matter to me. I think Cooper flags are top five NBA player. Yeah, I don't think you're wrong with that. Now he doesn't have the accolades and he might not be next year. But this year, unbelievable. Yeah.

Like, I think he's top five. Yeah. Ability to create your shot and score. And defend. I think the, yeah, being two-way nowadays

is really a big thing. Yeah, for the longest time, a lot of people just, you know, shooting the perimeter, there's one-trick ponies. Nowadays,

it's like, you got to have all facets. We got Wimby, probably number one overall. Yes. We agree? I agree with that. Luca number two?

Yeah, when healthy. I mean, sure. Luca number two? SGA? Oh, you have to put SGA. Probably.

That's what I'm saying. We're already at three, and Yonis has names not even come up yet. I don't think he's the top five NBA players here. That's fair. When you talk it out that way and list your top five, he's on the outside looking in.

So my point is like, I don't know, like, do you trade all your picks and stuff to go get this guy? I don't know. Yeah, it's team-to-team type thing.

Definitely not with the Mavericks. And he was linked to Dallas for the longest time. But now with Cooper there, that would make about negative sense. Comment below where you think Janice is going and comment below who you think will be in the NBA finals like your pick, Ty. That's good.

Thanks, dude. Next, boys, baseball stadium food check-in. Since we went through this year's new baseball stadium foods, there have been a lot of new new entries, starting with the Colorado Rockies. Two-foot long. The Glazilla. Look at that bad boy. That's right up my alley.

That's a ridiculous dog, dude. Two feet, one pound. How many innings does it take you to dominate that dog? How do they even make that, dude? I don't even want to think about it. You know, my only complaint is I don't like the bun to wean or ratio. You're saying there's too much meat. The wean's a little big.

It's definitely sticking out. You're two bites of the wean before you even get to the bun. No, you make a good point. Yeah, it didn't get it blocked off in the back. It's like a haircut. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not buying that. 45 bucks, dude, no.

Yeah, you also expect a little bit more if you're paying 45 for a hottie, you know? Five inches of just meat. 19 inch bun 24 inches of dog I like it That doesn't make a lot of sense to me Wait what I

You foot dog so you got 24 inches 19 inch bun So there's a That's crazy Why not just make the bun the same size As your dog? There's a delta five inches I think I think you cut the five off

Yeah Yeah And you just call it You just call it the Glazilla anyways Even though it's just a 19 inch dog Who cares Nobody's complaining about the extra five That's like the twins

We're in a size 13 shoe Yeah It doesn't make a lot of sense Or then we're in an Excel shirt which they have been wearing a lot of. Yeah. And the Rockies, not the only one getting in on the fun. Our own Texas Rangers introduced a wearable ninth inning rally sombrero.

Got the chips on the noggin, the dip up top, all the fixings. How do we feel about this one, boys? I do. This is brilliant. Ty had a great idea. Ty, tell them about it. So I think one of our coworkers went and got the sombrero nachos, and I was like, dude, I love the idea of this.

But the problem is, not necessarily a problem. The win-win is if you can convince the guy sitting in front of you. Yes. To go buy the sombrero nacho and wear it. And then you get to just sit there and just off the top. You don't, because this is, this is cumbersome trying to dip. And you don't know what you're getting. You don't know what you're getting.

You don't like that. You want to be able to see it from the guy in front of you. And you've got it. So if you can convince the guys in front of you, hey, go buy a sombrero nacho. I got you. I'll take care of it. Just the chain. That's good.

So when you guys go now, you're not buying the seat next to your buddy. You're buying the seat in front of you. And you're just going to have a line. Line of sombreros. Brilliant. That's sick, dude. Yeah, you just got to have the friend that's willing to be the sacrificial sombrero guy. And you can dip and give it to them.

It's like a sombrero conga line. Yeah, correct. Yeah. That's how you do it. That's brilliant. But what if you're the guy at the top? Then, well, I guess you're great because you got nobody. Nobody.

Yeah, you're somberal. You want to be the guy at the top. You don't want to be front row Joe. But the guy at the bottom's got the best seat. Yeah, that's fair. So that's the tradeoff. You just have to go. go with your standard, you know, dollar hot dog with your big cahuna, and you're still having

a great ballpark experience. And I'm telling you, you don't want to be the guy that the foul ball, I mean, that guy's flinging. Oh, yeah. Bang, right there. Oh, it's by the end of May, we're going to have footage of some range of him trying to make a play. Are you allowed to do the wave if you're wearing the sombrero? Well, I'm an anti-wave in general. You're not allowed to do the wave without the sombrero. So with it, it's banned. We need to stop the way. It's a lifetime band if you do sombrero and wave. I'm a big fan of the sombrero. Also, also. called the rally sombrero. Do you have to be trailing, you feel like? No, no. You're not going to limit yourself. I mean, that's some revenue that you're

generating right there. Relatively cheap item that you can sell for a big ticket price. And I think you're really, you're really pleased with the quality that you get there, being able to break open the actual sombrero shell at the end and really dig into that nice soggy layer. You're a fan. Obviously. And you're really tapping into Texas, you know, heritage with the cowboy hat going on. Well done, Rangers. You know what I'm a sombrero. It's not a cowboy hat. You know what I miss most about baseball games? What? The lemon chills.

Yeah. Man, dude. I know the brand's kind of figuring out what to do next. Like, let's bring that back. Are you a lemon chill or strawberry chill? Strawberry, God. Strawberry. Okay.

I actually like the original. I like the lemon chill. I like the strawberry too, but if I got a choice, I'm going the lemon. Situational. Reading the game. First and third, nobody out. That's more of a lemon-based chill, you know. Nobody on.

Fresh inning, strawberry. Yeah. Yeah. I get that. Well, Rangers got a big one. Yeah, I did. Over the Dodgers. and look, I'm an Aggie through and through,

swept the longhorns. I saw the ball five. We swept them, dude. Now, granted, game three did get canceled, so we just won the first two, but still that's sweet. A sweep.

That's good stuff. So, Slosh's time in college station, first time back, didn't go so well. I forget about the whole Slosh. Yeah. Deal. Yeah.

So, that's going to be a ride with a while. Ours for the get-go, the next year. Bragging rights. It is. We did. We did. College baseball.

I mean, we've said this a long time. Undervalued. If you guys haven't watched college baseball, watch college baseball. Super fun, dude. I mean, high scoring games. Metal bats really help.

I mean, those. Just more action. More hitting runs, more small ball. You really get an authentic feel for baseball at that level. Fans get into it.

It's fun. It's good time. North Texas, please add a baseball program. All right, dude. Before we hit Tony Hawk, I think you wanted to say something, right? Yeah. Squad Games tour guests, official announcement time.

Before we bring in, Tony, we are thrilled to finally announce our full lineup of battle opponents for the squad games tour. 22 cities this summer. If you haven't already got tickets, this should be what pushes you over the edge. Some incredible squads that we're going to be going head to head against, larger-than-life battles throughout each show. We've got the Savannah bananas. That's going to be a tough one. We lost already to them.

We did, but I feel good about these new battles. I like our chances. Oh, you kind of put it. You kind of... Hey, that's the benefit of doing your own tour. You get to make the games, and when they make their own tour, then we go, they can make the games. We've got good, good, coming back for another round. Squeaked that one out in our first ever squad games.

Harlem Globetrotters, the original trick-shoters. What a great group. Yep, we'll talk to them later. And then the Trickshot All-Star Squad, featuring very... various creators from our Trick Shot World Championship. That video just launched. If you haven't checked that one out, great video. It's fantastic.

A great group of people. Shout out to the DP editing team. I was about to say it. For just continuing to blow us away. Continuing to blow us away? Yeah, I said that right. Yeah, you did. Took the words out of my mouth.

And yeah, we'll have some of our friends stop through along the way, including Mark Rober, Zach King, Tim Tebow, Ben Rufflesberger, Brandon Lake. I mean, it is everything you could ask for. go to dudeperfect.com slash tour to see which squads are coming to your city. Get your tickets today. They are selling out fast.

Denver Offisberger. That guy's just a competitive. He's a competitive freak if he wants to get it on the squad games tour. He is and he actually guaranteed a victory. To us? Yeah. No, no. For him.

With the squad that he's putting together. And I've heard who's coming with him. And I am actually a little bit nervous because he has, he has got guys specifically for the competition. For each event. So he's not going for the well-rounded approach. He's going experts in every category, which we're going to see how that plays out for him. Feels like a sweep.

We'll see. It could get away from us. It could get away from him. And he guaranteed it? And he guaranteed it. Well, I'm going to double down. I guarantee. They also win, Ben Rothensberger.

Tim Tebow, when you see that name, whoa, there's some star power, heavy hitter. Yeah. We got a work cut out for us. We do. You know, we could have just invited like blippy and probably taking care of business and four, but we want to test ourselves. even think about that. Yeah. It's interesting, too,

that a lot of these challenges were gauntlets thrown down on this podcast. What do you mean? Ben Rothlessberger, good, good. Like, Savannah Bananas, these are all people

we asked about how they'd fare. Somewhere Marquez Brownlee is irritated with us right now. No, we invited him. He had some conflicts. Well, he heard that there were no frisbee competitions, too, and I think that was kind of his final struggle.

It's going to be a fun show. I already got the doctors on standby. Really? Yeah, I'm going to need it, dude. It's going to be a long tour for us. Bro, I'm going to need the massages, the IVs. The chiropractors, the IVs, the peptides. A stunt double.

Stunt double. Might need a fake Garrett to attend a couple shows. There's going to be a section on the tour or two where we sit down and have a little almost athletes. Yeah, I'm going to need to sit down because my heart rate's going to be 180 for two hours. Yeah, the amount of like one-upping we're going to do to our own almost athletes. stories over the course of this tour. You're going to want to be there to watch Garrett pull a hamstring. It's going to be hilarious. Don't put that on me, bro. I'm kidding. We're only on Tony and not an Achilles.

Oh, God. Yeah. I'm cooked, dude. I'm cooked. Well, uh, Ty, thanks for joining us, dude. Ty's going to stay for Tony. Oh, dude. Don't try and kick me off. My bad, dude. I was trying to get Tony for myself, dude. Holly. It's been a while. Yeah, just give me one segment. Sorry about that, dude. You know, maybe I should leave. Maybe I, maybe it's time for me to Man. But hey, we got Tony Hot. Next. Spring is here and it's a great time of year for sports. We've got the NFL draft, the NBA playoffs, not to mention baseball, the masters, and training our interns for their first ostrich race. It's a big time for my kid sports too. And this year, I had to buy them all new uniforms and

cleats because they just keep growing. It's crazy how fast they grew up, gee. I feel like just yesterday they were babies and Uncle Sparky had a full head of hair. Well, unlike our hair, my kids are going to keep growing. And I want to make sure I do everything I can to take care of them. And PolicyGenius is there to help. Policy Genius is an online insurance marketplace that allows you to compare quotes from some of America's top insurers side by side for free. Finding life insurance is definitely at the top of my to-do list. And Policy Genius has thousands of five-star reviews, so I know I can trust them.

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He's built an empire through the iconic Tony Hawk's pro skater video game franchise, which introduced millions to skating. He's also the founder of Birdhouse Skateboards and the Tony Hawk Foundation, now the skate park project, helping build public skate parks across underserved communities. Please welcome the goat of skateboarding, the bird man, Tony Hawk. Yeah, baby. Wow, thank you guys.

I hope I could live up to that. Yeah, dude. How you been, Tony? Excellent. I still get to skate for a living, for the most part. We have a grandchild who's actually in the next room. And life is good. Thank you. Life is good, but you make us feel extremely old, Tony.

And you mentioned a grandson there. I think a lot of us just picture you 90s up, which actually brings me to your Instagram post that you had with the Goo Goo Goo Dolls, Iris. And I actually saw that over the weekend, man, hit me right in the heartstrings. It made me emotional. But job well done. That was awesome. I didn't think that would resonate so far as it did.

I might have been a little more prepared for it. I just kind of threw it out there. Like, oh, yeah, I hear some photos from the 90s. And it was like, oh, wow, that is like the biggest social media post I've ever done. That's awesome. We're like talking above six millie likes on that thing. Yeah, that's incredible. Yeah, it wasn't my heartstrings only that got hit by that.

So you mentioned, Tony, you're still skateboarding at 57. Obviously, do we have to tone it back a little bit at this stage of a little bit? I've definitely let some tricks go, you know. swallowed my pride on a few things that I used to be able to do and maybe maybe could still do, but the risk versus reward is not worth it. I guess where Gare's kind of at right now is his trick shot career. I think I'm yeah, the wrist just yeah, just, you know, I'm not going to do it anymore. Well, the rehab and just the rest that comes with going all out nowadays at our age, you know, it takes a little longer to get back up to speed. But there's a lot of parallels, Tony,

and what we do here at Dude Perfect with trick shots and what you did for the longest time, skateboarding, you know, the success, the precision it takes, the failure, the luck involved. Yeah, if there's one thing we know as skaters, and I'm sure you guys do, is the value of perseverance and the value of persistence and just not, not giving up. And even though it just seems like it's just so redundant and sometimes even hopeless, you got to keep trying. You just got to keep trying. And then as complicated as skateboarding has to become, nowadays, there are some tricks where it's like, I'm only going to do it once because I cannot go through that process again.

I feel like the consequences of skateboarding is maybe a little bit more drastic than the trick-shodding world. However, I will say our very first. Sure, but I feel like there were techniques in my past that took a long time to develop. And then I kind of got them more mastered. And so I could throw them into routines and exhibitions and things. but nowadays, especially with new tricks, they're just so, they're so difficult and so precise that it's like you're lucky to get one,

and if you get it on video, that's all you need. And I feel like that's definitely aligned with what you guys do sometimes. It's a young man's game out there. It is. So our very first video that we ever did, Tony, back in... We just hit 17 years. 2009.

Yeah, 2009. We obviously grew up watching Fantasy Factor, and Robin Big and all that stuff, which I know you had a piece in. And the very first video we ever posted was me skateboarding off of our roof. Unfortunately, I had the mindset to be a skater. I just lacked the actual skill set and skated off the roof and just bounced off the ground, essentially. And that was the end of my skateboarding career. Never made it past that.

Played a lot of Tony Hawk Pro skater, though, on the console and really enjoyed that. So, yeah, definitely, although I never really got into the skateboarding game, was still very influenced and enjoyed a lot of the stuff that you created and very appreciative of that. So, yeah, it's a huge piece. If you would have snapped your femur, though, you wouldn't have been as appreciated it. Yeah, yeah, the consequences, again, a little bit harsher in the skating world. Tony, just like in sport, skateboarding, you know, there's an evolution to it as time goes on. it seems like for the longest time in my childhood, you were trying to land the 900, and nowadays they're doing crazy things. Are you a believer like I am in sport where it's like,

if you are a legend across whatever generation that you would find yourself a legend in today's skateboarding, or there are things that they're doing nowadays that you're just admittedly like, maybe, you know, I couldn't pull that off. Oh, wow. Well, that's hard to answer. I think the, for me, I've always seen skateboarding evolve. And from the very beginning, I thought you can always learn something new. And that was what I chased for years. I mean, 40 plus years. So when I see what's happening now, I feel like we help to develop the building blocks

from what it has become. And it's not that I'm, I don't, it's not that I definitely can't do some of the stuff that's happening now. But also, it's more like, I'm just. just happy that I can see it, progress the way it has. And so it's more exciting to me. Yes, and some people say, well, there's 10-year-old kids. They could do 900.

I was like, and that's amazing because they know it's possible. And so that's what they strive to, that's what they strive for at an early age. But then they're going to take that and they're going to do something else with it, which is something that I've always admired about skating and skaters in general. It's just there's no resting on your accolades. And the fact that I get to be still skating, still active, but to watch this and to really bear witness to it has been so much fun. I mean, you know, the idea that skating is in the Olympics

and that it reaches places like Uganda and Ethiopia. And people, the general public knows what a kickflip is. Like all that stuff is wild to me now. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's more that what I see the growth of skateboarding, especially with being in the Olympics and being something that is more in the vernacular of mainstream, that people understand what a kickflip is these days. Like, all of that just seems absurd to me because when I was a kid,

it was the furthest thing from cool you could do. And no one knew or cared what a kickflip was back then. I feel like something that is kind of unique to things like, skateboarding and more of the extreme sports and maybe even a little bit of the trick shot stuff is kind of what you said when somebody does something that hadn't been done before it almost unlocks a belief that there's more out there that's possible i think well that that that's what i've always loved about it and and i do agree that if something has been done it's easier that's not easier but it just seems more viable that you can reach that's that goal because you know it's possible yeah

and doing the stuff that you're not sure as possible is risky, but also much more rewarding. But the idea that a kid can get into skateboarding now and knows that handrails are something to be utilized with a skateboard or that you could fly 10 to 15 feet above a ramp and spin three times around, they already know that going into it. So their idea is like, I'm going to get to those stages and then see what else is there. But it's always been like that. And so, you know, I'm not a commotion where I'm like, you guys don't understand how hard it was for us. You know, we had to learn the stuff on concrete. We didn't have phone pits.

We didn't have people spotting us. But that doesn't matter because we figured it out. Was there, is there a trick you haven't accomplished that you're like still working on? Or like, are you just trying to, when you go. skate, it's just pure pleasure. Yeah, these days I don't have, I don't have big directives. Sometimes I'll think of a new trick, but it's much more technical. It's not some high impact move.

It's more like, oh, I could spin my board this way and land in this kind of grind. And there's a very niche population that is even going to care about it or understand it. But it gives me, it still makes me feel creative. I think that the one trick that got away from me, I tried for years, was an Ollie 720, which is basically a double spin in the air without grabbing your board.

And I was so, I was so eager to see someone do it because I realized that window has passed me by that a few months ago I put a challenge out to the, the skate community. And I said, first one to do in all I 720, I'll give you 10 grand. And this kid from Japan, Al, came to my ramp and did it right in front of me. Wow. That's so awesome. That's incredible.

That's the 10 grand is what I've been saying. That's pretty cool. What was the trick that led to, was there one in particular that led to the majority of injuries or time off having to recover or anything? Was it that or was it something else? Well, I definitely paid my dues trying 900s over the year. I broke my rib and really threw out my back a few times. I mean, that trick is so abusive that you only get about 10 to 20 tries at it before your body's like, okay, we're not doing this today.

Wow. This isn't happening. But the one that really rocked me the hardest was doing the full loop ramp. Oh, yeah. It's something that I did. I figured it out. we actually built one and we took it on tour and we did it we did shows uh like five shows a week on this thing and then but you just can't you cannot take it for granted and you can't you can't be um

you can't sleep on it so to speak like i did it you know like it's doing it all tour and then one day I just kind of missed my timing and broke my pelvis got a concussion broke my thumb I mean just one fall on that thing is disastrous wow That's a nice thing about trick shots. You don't have to worry about that. You get as many attempts as you want. Right. Maybe a laborer.

Maybe shoulder surgery at some point. Well, you mentioned it, Tony. Obviously, there's risk, reward involved in just the nature that is skateboarding. Your head, shoulders, knees, and toes have been banged up over time. When it comes to you as a father and a granddad, how is the balancing act of supporting them, wanting them to push the limits, but also having their best interest in mind and maybe protecting them. Is that a tough balance? It's, but it has been all along. I mean, I, I have four children of my own and two step

children and, and I mean, they're all, they're all grown up now, but keeping them safe was always, was always a challenge, but also trying to let them explore, yeah, their limits and, and try to push themselves a little bit, but, but they're also different. I mean, there's definitely a lot of nature over-nurture, because one of the, one of the, my kids was absolutely psychotic. And we used to joke that you didn't babysat him. You went on death watch. Because he was always just getting into the most dangerous stuff and really had no

sort of sense of mortality. He got better as he got older and eventually figured it out and is a good skater too. But so having a grandchild, yes, we want, obviously, he's so precious. So we want to keep him safe. but we also have this learned experience from being parents to all these different kids that we're going to kind of let him figure it out. I mean, for instance, he has a little bike here, not with pedals, but he pushes around on.

And he finally kind of figured out how to coast on it. So I'm letting him do that, but I watched it. I was taking a video of him. And then I watched the video back, and I realized that I kind of let him go a little too crazy and he fell right off of it. You fell off of it and kind of rolled to the side. He didn't want to get back on it.

What was your background growing up? Did you play any other sports or was it always skateboarding from a young age? Like did you ever get into any other extreme sports or mainstream sports or anything like that? I played baseball and basketball when I was a kid. Okay. Mostly baseball because my dad, well, my dad was the coach of our team, which was problematic in a lot of ways. and then they appointed him president of the Little League of our region and that was the year that I quit to start to devote myself to skateboarding

so that was a tricky conversation to have with him that I know you're the president of Little League but I'm quitting Little League and then I played basketball but I never I just I was really small for my age so I didn't really really thrive in basketball. I mean, I was, I was quick and I could get around, but I, you know, I couldn't really reach the hoop or anything. Okay, Tony, on this show, we are obviously called almost athlete. Is there a moment in your youth career or skateboarding career where, you know, you just kind of had to wave the white flag due to an embarrassing moment or something like that, where it was like, yeah, maybe I'm maybe not cut out for this? I think it was probably more of basketball because I just

felt like I, well, I definitely wanted to score, right? And so I'd go and I'd go with, I'm going to score a basket this game. I'm going to score a basket. And I think I only actually got a couple. Maybe they were just free throws even. I don't remember, but I remember thinking like, I'm not getting any better at this, even though I'm so determined. And every time I'd go skate, I would learn a new technique or a new trick.

I mean, even just the most basic thing. But I remember my dad saying he picked me up a. the park one time because I would be there until it would close. He picked me up at the skate park and he said, I said, oh, I feel like today was my best day of skating. And he said, well, you say that every time. I was like, well, yeah, that's the point. I'm getting better at it. But he was supportive. I just mean that I could tell that I had measured improvement. And I didn't feel that way about other sports. So I can't say there was a distinct moment, but it was definitely a feeling I had.

Well, safe to say, Tony, I think you made the right choice. I don't know, maybe you're a multi-time World Series winner, Cy Young Award winner, but I think you made the right choice there with skateboarding. For the kids nowadays who are interested in skateboarding, a lot of times in skateboarding you may see a fall off after the young teenagers. What would you say to somebody who's an avid skateboarder who's wanting to push that into a young adult's age? What would you be your vice? Well, I would say, firstly, just do it because of the enjoyment it brings you.

Don't do it because the goal is to have fame or fortune. Because even if you do get some taste of that, it can't be fleeting. And it also can be a motivational killer because, okay, that's it. You've reached the status of professional or whatever it is. And sometimes people aren't motivated to go further with that. And so I feel like you just have to keep challenging yourself. And don't worry about how you compare. don't worry about if you have accolades or not,

because the idea is that you're enjoying it. And it can be at any level. I would also say that if you love skating and you love the community of it, maybe being pro isn't the thing. Maybe it's just that you can be part of this really fun group, and you can do something else with it. You can do graphics.

You can do video. you can do team management or whatever it is, but that keeps you in it. What's your favorite sport outside of skateboarding to like watch, participate in? Probably watching is snowboarding because I've been doing that ever since it was invented pretty much. Is there like similarities? Like if you're a good snowboarder, should you be a good skateboarder? Does that translate? Not really?

It translates a bit just to the balance. on the board and feeling comfortable with speed momentum. But when it comes to real tricks and aerials and things, it's such a different technique to get airborne with a board strapped to your feet and one that

you can't really lean in the way that you do on a skateboard. And I only, speaking from experience, like I suck in the half-pipe and I feel like I should be much better. That's a scary thought for somebody who's never been in a half-five.

If Tony can't handle it, I don't think I ever have a prayer. Yeah, well, I mean, I'm okay in it. I just, like, I don't have the right technique. I don't have the right, the right launching approach that I should. And I feel there's part of me that's like, why I should be able to go like at least six or seven feet above this thing and spin. And I just can't. I mean, I feel like you should accept that. I'm not trying to rekindle any kind of career.

But, and I do, I love surfing too. I mean, I'm so amazed at what serving has become because it's emulate skateboarding now with the kind of aerials they're doing. Yeah, that's amazing. That's a good point. So Sean White, because Sean White's a pretty good skateboarder, right?

Like, he can do half-pikeets. He was a pro, yeah. Yeah. He's a special kind then. Yeah, but if the bird man's worried about technique and launch, then that tells me something, I shouldn't be in that half-fight, man. I'm not saying, like, there are definitely some people

that have a great crossover ability. Um, uh, it's funny though, because when you see them, if, if you see, if you see someone out on the streets or on the half-up, you can tell if their, if their main sport is snowboarding, you can just tell by their style. Hmm. And it's not a bad thing. It's just, it's just obvious to skateboarders. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. I think one thing that has always intrigued me about the extreme sports is the fact that there has to be some kind of creative aspect in your brain too. You know, football is just pretty. dumb down. It's 100 yards physical contact, you know, but with skateboarding in some of these extreme sports, you almost have to visualize it, you know, beforehand. Would you say that's a key part to boarding is having the brains for it as well? I think so. Yeah, I think just the,

I mean, a lot of skateboarders that I know, I mean, just through the years have been very artistic, creative people. They're musicians as well. They're artists. They're photographers. and so because it is an individual pursuit and it is kind of just done in your own style and your own approach to it. Even though, yes, it's subjective in competition. It's still art against art. And so I feel like there's such a creative force with skateboarders. And even if you look at fashion, you know, like Supreme is one of the biggest fashion brands.

That's a skate brand. That's how it started as a skate shop. but I think that to be a skateboard yeah you've got to think outside the box you've got to think about how can I use my strengths to make this trick my own and now

there are so many more outlets to show what you do I mean when I skated the only way that you were recognized was in competition that's it there was no video there was no YouTube there's no social media

and there wasn't there wasn't a big push to show people just out on the streets. There is now, obviously, but I just feel like I grew up in the age of what was your ranking? And to move up in ranking, you had to learn new tricks. So that became my big focus was I just want to learn tricks. And a lot of people, they gave me a hard time about my style because they just said he's robotic, He's trick-oriented, and I was like, that's all I got. I don't have the style that's cool. Would you say skating is more of an art or a sport?

I think it's both. Like 50, 50, 50, 50, art? Sure. Well, I think it really depends on the individual and their approach. There are plenty of people that are hugely successful skateboarders that don't compete. So they don't see it as a sport. That's fascinating. But then there are the Niger Houston's, you know, that,

that their whole thing is competing and being super consistent and having strategy. And so it really just depends on where you fall in that spectrum. You mentioned competition. We're a competitive group of guys. And, you know, as time goes on, it gets a little harder to itch that scratch. How do you itch that scratch that is, I'm sure obviously you're a highly competitive guy, but at this point in your life, how do you go about that? I just, I think I've, well, I've learned to tone it down a bit because I'm old.

And I did learn the hard way that I'm not Peter Pan. I mean, four years ago, I broke my leg in the worst, one of the worst ways, for sure. I brought my femur, you know, compound fracture with the bone coming out of my hip. And even in those moments when it was super painful and I was immobile, I kept thinking, oh, I'm going to give back to it. I'm going to get back to it exactly how I did. And then at some point, through my recovery, realized, oh, this is not ever going to be the way it was.

I'm, you know, I definitely have to embrace my age and my position here. So nowadays, I just set little challenges for myself. For instance, I'm skating the other day, and I learned, I relearned backside hurricanes. And that is a trick that is straight out of 1985. um you know it's not it's not something that is going to be a sports center highlight or be a viral media clip but that was fun for me and that was enough for that day so i'm just i'm just trying to put it in context uh take you back to 2001 tony uh at winter x games my college roommate just go

to show how small the world is won a bagel bites uh sweepstakes got a thousand dollars and got to come hang out with you his name's brian Monroe. I've got the picture to prove it. Funny enough, he went to high school with these two. That's so funny. Do you have any recollection of this hangout? And if the answer is no, will you please say yes just for Brian's sake? Okay, let me see if I had, was it, that was, uh, winter X games, right?

Winner X games, oh one. He went out there with his brother and mother. That's incredible. Yeah. Okay, I'll tell you why I remember it because, um, well, that was my obligation to Bagel Bites was to show up the Winter X games and be at a booth to do meet and greet. So that was the reason I was there. That's awesome.

What a great partnership. We got to get a bagel bites deal. I know. I got to do something with them about like six years ago, like sort of a redux of my original partnership. It was super fun. I'm still a fan. I'm still a fan.

Yeah, along that same line, who are some of your favorite partners throughout the years that you feel like help enable the sport or like looking back you're like man that was actually really big for either your personal brand or the skating brand like some of your favorite partners partnerships over the years um well that one for sure i i think uh just because they allowed me to highlight skateboarding in in all of their marketing you know highlight skateboarding for what it really is yeah um which was important to me um and they helped uh i mean honestly mcdonald's helped to build a bunch of skate parks when I had a partnership with them. But for sure, the biggest partnership,

brand endorsement I ever had and the one that is probably the reason I'm even here with you guys now is with Activision. Doing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, I mean, that changed my life completely. And in the same vein of bagel bites, they allowed me to portray

skateboarding authentically, not some version of what they wanted to put out there. They, they, they, I had final approval of everything. Um, the, the, the, the, the, the, the challenges, the music was great. The music soundtrack. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, I mean, that's definitely the one the most proud of and the one that resonates and has the most, um, the most longevity. Do your kids still play the game or anything? Yeah. Well, my oldest son is actually a character in it because he's a pro skater. That's awesome.

And so, uh, what they do. Yeah. I can beat him though. Did you ever think when that first discussion was starting about Tony Hawks Pro Skater and all that buildup was coming? Did you ever think that it would have the life that it's had? No. And multiple iterations and all the success that's come with it? Not a chance.

When I first, well, I had actually met with a couple of software companies a couple years prior to Connecting with Activision. And I had pitched a video game to them to which they just were incredible. They said, why, I mean, literally one guy said, skateboarding isn't popular. Why would a video game about skateboarding be popular? To which I didn't really have a good answer. So I kind of stopped having meetings after that. But eventually, Activision contacted me and said,

we want to do a skate game. And so I said, okay, I want to make a game that skaters will appreciate and may inspire them to buy a PlayStation. That was my goal. And so as the game was getting released, they felt there was a buzz in the air. They had given some preview copies to outlets, and they started talking about,

what do you want to do for number two? And I was like, number two, what are you talking about? They said, well, we think that this one's going to do well, so we want to work on what would be next. And that was probably, that was the moment that I thought, oh, we actually, did something that resonates beyond skateboarding. Yeah, I mean, for me, I think it's, I think skateboarding, I, you know, I tried,

I tried to get into it. I just wasn't talented enough. It was partly because my mind was telling me, don't do this. Right. You didn't have the mindset. The reason why golf games and skateboarding game, it gives kids the ability to do things that, you know, they wish they could do, but at the end of day, it's not going to do it. It's not going to be a good golfer.

I say honestly, like the game allows me to do 900 still. So I love it. It's super fun. There you go. Live vicariously through the game. That's good. I still play the game on Switch. Yeah, same.

Do you take great pride in just the spotlight that brought skateboarding? Because there's not a friend that I had growing up that didn't play. And some of us were boarders. Some of us were not. But I think ultimately we can agree that it put a spotlight on skateboarding. You take obviously a lot of great pride in the fact of how you move the needle forward and just Yeah. That was.

never the intention, but absolutely. There is a generation of contemporary professionals these days that started skating. They told me because they played the game. That's cool. And I mean, that's the biggest compliment I could ever ask for. And ironically, they were

playing the game and doing all these impossible combinations of tricks to get points, right? But they thought that was based in reality. So when they became pro skaters, they've made it reality. I mean, if you watch the combinations that people do now, so much of it was only possible

in our video game 20 years ago. That's cool. All right, Tony, before we let you leave, we've got a game. We're going to do the best sports video games of all-time draft. We're all fans of gaming here at D.P. So we feel compelled to play a special game

with one of the goats of sport video games and do a draft of the best sport video games of all time. I hope I know all the references. It's only fair Tony has the first pick. First pick of the draft. Okay, I will, I have to say, based on feedback I get from my own social media, which, yes, it could be considered a vacuum, but the game that people most want to see

remastered of our series is Tony Hawk's Underground. Okay. And somehow that game resonates with this very specific generation. And I appreciate the people. people are so passionate about it. So I'm going to have to go with that on their behalf. So are we bringing it back or? There's no plan as of now, but I'm going to, I'm just going to plug it in here.

Yeah. I'm trying to manifest it, okay? Yeah, I love it. I love it. I guess my pick will be NFL Blitz. Yeah. That's what I was going to go. Were you really?

I mean, just the countless memories you have like the arcade with the boys playing NFL Blitz. NFL Blitz. That's a good pit. Another arc side of the draft right in front of you gets taken. That was a great game. I'm going to go, I feel like I got to go here, spent, again, like Garrett, tons of hours playing it, the backyard sports video games series. Backyard baseball. Backyard baseball in particular. That's what I'm going with for first pick. Too bad you couldn't put Tyler Tony's backyard baseball. Tony's just holds more weight. Yeah, I know. Tony got your name in the title. I can't say Sparky's PGA tour right here. No. But I will go with a classic N64 Mario Kart, man. Mario Kart some of the best Mario. That's a sport?

That's a sports video game. Yeah, it was racing, right? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, you're right, it is racing. That's tough to compete with. Same vein, I'm going to go Need for Speed Underground. Wow. So you're going to go Need for Speed and Mario Kart.

Yeah. Okay. What do you hear, it's Ty? I guess James Bond, 007 would not be considered a sports game. No, that's a good, great pitch. You could argue, it's a competition game. Are you talking about Golden Eye? Yeah, Golden Eye.

Yeah. Classic 64 again. Yes. That's a man who's hell of gold. I can tell. Oh, Starfog. Can I go StarFox? No, Ty, pick his sports game. No, it's not sports game. I'm just, I'm just reminiscing. Okay. All right, same. Give me, I feel like I can't go double, double baseball here, but dude, how are you not going to put like college football or something? I know, I know, but you got to pick

a year with that too, and then it's like, I just for context, our main competition in terms of video game sales through the years was Madden. Okay, so should we stay away from that or is that a No, I don't care. I'm just telling you. That's my only point of reference. I'm going to go MLB the show. The good call. Okay.

I'm going to go MLB to the show. Two baseball games. I'm going to stay in the same genre and go NBA jam. Oh, really good. I mean, that's still, if you can find one, it's still being played endlessly. Yeah. All right. Tony, you got two picks now to end it for you.

NBA 2K. That's, NBA 2K. Let's see. NBA 2K. and well, I got to throw Madden in there just to pay respects. That's a good draft right there.

That's a heavy hitting list right there. I guess for my last one will be, I'm going to have to go PGA Tour. I think it was, it was 06 was my favorite. PGA Tour 06, yeah. I think that was Tiger Vision. I think that was a Tiger Vision.

Is that the Tiger Vision? Yeah, that's where I was going to go. No regard for human life. So old that I played PGATs who are on the Commodore Amiga. There you go. Wow. Wow. That's incredible.

Belistellos. I really wanted to go in the golf realm here. Can I go Golden Tea? Yeah. Golden T's an arcade game. I'll go Golden T. Yeah. So the national championships this weekend.

We're online. They're still hitting it hard. And I will wrap up the draft with it's back. College football. College football is back. The playoffs there. The transfer portal. Yeah.

That's it right there. Boys, I think we did really well here. Yeah, for no game game bank either, just off the top of the dome. The recap would be Sparky took Mario Cartney for Speed Underground and NCAA football. T-tone took backyard baseball, MLB, the show in Golden Tea, Gare, NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, PGA Tours. And Tony went with his own, Tony Hawk's Underground, NBA 2K and Madden. Man, I've got to probably take Tony's list over all of ours. But Gare with a little juicy list himself.

Well done, boys. Yeah. That's fire. Now I'm sure we left something out there. Comment below what we left out there. What consoles, Tony Hawk's Underground? Is it original PlayStation? What was the, no, we're into, I think we're into PS3s by then.

Okay. Okay, so it's still readily available that you can play and I'm guessing. Yeah, that was 2004. Sorry, I'm not, I'm not the best historian with consoles. You have like in on open. But also, in full disclosure, I had them all through all the years. and I would even get advanced versions of them so that I could test games

and so I don't have a really good timeline Do you have unopened versions of every game like on a wall or anything? I think so, yeah. Yeah, don't worry, it does. I do, I actually have, it's funny you ask that because I don't have it here. I just went through a bunch of like archive stuff

and I found a beta version of Tony Hawk's Proving Ground that just has the, like it was, a burn DVD. Wow. That's like an archaologist. That's incredible. So if anyone has modified 360 from that year, we can play it.

Yeah. Yeah. If I go buy a skateboard today, like right after this, what am I going to tell them? What do I need? Is there any special lingo I need to tell them? No, I would say get something

a little wider, just if you're starting out. So something like 8.5 maybe, eight and a half inches. And my best suggestion is to tighten your trucks when you start out skating. Because if you put your trucks on out of the factory settings, they're going to be super wobbly. And then you might be discouraged from skating because you're going to get wheelbiter

is going to turn too sharply. That's my best advice. But hey, if you want, get a birdhouse deck. There you go. There you go. All right. I'm going birdhouse debt. And that where do you, can you buy those at like any skate shop, I'm guessing?

Or hopefully. Or just go online. I can't speak for all of them. Hopefully most of them. Or on a website, brightoutescapboards.com. All right. Go to the website.

All right. Cool. I'm going to go by a skateboard. My recommendation would be to get indies and bones and bones pairings, even though that's all more higher. And stuff is going to last. There you go. And a couple ice packs.

Yeah. I don't think you're going to get that grace alone. There you go. There you go. That's all the need. Well, Tony, we greatly appreciate the time. Even though you may not mean to be a great follow on the social content. tent side, you're a great follow.

One of my favorite pieces ever was all the people who didn't believe it was you or didn't recognize you. It still happens every day. I mean, just, I was dying laughing the first time I saw that. Just yesterday, just yesterday I had to show my ID to pick something up. And my legal name is Anthony. I've never gone by Anthony. And the guy looked at the ID and he's like, oh man, I thought you were Tony Hawk when you walked

up. That's good. And then he said, he said, Anthony is so close. And I got, too, that's me. I said, Tony is short for Anthony. And he's like, ah, so close. And he had me back in Ivy. That's incredible.

Oh, we got to get you back out there in the marketing game. I don't know. I kind of like it, though, too, that you go under the radar a little bit. That's so good, man. I mean, it's more people don't expect me to be older than they were playing as me on the PlayStation. You know, I was sort of cemented in time there. So it's okay. It's fun. Yeah. I love it, man. Well, thank you for the time, Tony.

Appreciate it. Yeah. Honor and privilege. See you, buddy. Yeah. Okay, see you. Have you ever thought about going to therapy and talk to yourself out of it? Maybe you thought it was too expensive or you couldn't figure out whether your insurance would pay for it. Or maybe you just didn't think you had enough time. If this sounds familiar, then Rula can help. I thought you were asking me directly there, Sparky. But with Rula, you can find a qualified therapist in five minutes and have your next session as soon as tomorrow. That's faster than I can get a regular doctor appointment or a tea time. Rula makes it easy to get quality care with therapists who take insurance and have openings.

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That's RU.L.A.com to find a therapist the easy way. You know what I've been thinking about lately, Garrett? If every single player who was on the Brooklyn Nets or Washington Wizards will be in the NBA next season? Yes, but no. Actually, I was talking about my shady rays sunglasses. How are my shady rays? Basically the same quality as the $200 sunglasses I used to buy? That's a great question because I love mine.

They feel every bit as premium as the expensive brands I've owned. the difference is. I'm not stressing out about them. I wear shady rays on the golf course, on the boat, even at the Masters. And whatever happens, happens. Because if I drop them in a water hazard, they replace them. Knocked them off the dock. They replace them. Sit on them. They replace them. That's right. Lost or broken, they send you a new pair with their lost and broken protection. And they're actually premium. Polarized lenses that cut glare, super clear optics, durable frames with solid hinges, clean, classic style that look sharp without trying too hard. And get this, they've got over 300,000 five-star reviews and millions of people have switched.

So if you're outside, on the water, in the sun, driving every day, get shades that actually perform. Go to Shadyrays.com to grab a pair today. We've teamed up with Shadyrays to bring you an exclusive offer. Head to ShadyRays.com and use the code almost for 40% off two or more polarized sunglasses, Try for yourself the shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people. Our guests are currently on a 100-year tour with a never-ending schedule, and they're joining us as one of the featured squads that will be competing against on the squad game tour this summer.

Together they hold multiple Guinness World Records. They are members of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters. Give it up for Cheryl Torch Torch, Tours, and Lucius Too Tall Wednesday. I appreciate so, man. Thanks for having us, man. Thank you for having us. Well, yeah, thanks for coming out. We did just go through a little competition.

I won't tell the viewers how that ended. They can watch it online themselves. They already know, Gare. They already know. And in case you guys have been living under a rock and don't know who the Carlin Globetrotters are, we're going to play a little video to see what they do. Cool, awesome.

This is Torch. Hi, Torch, I see you. Oh, casual. Oh, Splash Town. I was dead for that one. Torch-Code. That one's pretty sick. Different kind of tricks.

This is actual game footage. Actual game footage right here. Oh, I love the slides. It's a throwback uniforms, too. Oh, do them dirty. Yeah, it's not a travel because she slides without the ball. That's true. It's important.

That's true. You know, I was going to say travel, but no, shit, it's not. It is not. It is crazy. There's more traveling in the NBA than in Globetrotters. It's truly crazy. I would agree. I got to ask, because how long have you guys been a member of the Harlem Globetrotters?

So I've been with the team now going on nine years. Nine years? Same nine years. No way. Year. So 2016, 2017? 17? Okay.

We filmed with the Globetrotters back in 2014, 2013. Early. Yeah, Biggie. And then Sparky just got back from the All-Star game and played with Chris Staples and Bree Green. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We were also part of the squad. So that was pretty fun.

So, like, what made you all interested in, like, joining the Harlem Globetrotters? I mean, I feel like all our stories are different. You know, I had took a break from basketball to deal with some health issues. So I felt like if I can't play the game, then me inspire it and get back in a different way. So I started coaching, ran into a former Harlem Globe Charter referee

who had been watching me, just dribble and play with the ball in between games. And he was like, man, I think you'd be a great female Globe Charter. And I was like, man, I don't know how to do any tricks. He's like, you'll learn the tricks, but you're a great basketball player. I can see that. So literally gave him my YouTube link

and sent it to the scout, nine years later, 50 countries, six Guinness World Workers later. Let's go. Yeah. 50 countries. Myself, I played in college, played a little bit professionally, and then I did a movie in 2016,

2017 with Kyrie Irvin, Uncle Drew. So I was a point guard. Oh, sick. To him, so I got a chance one day to play pickup with Kyrie, and I can shoot the ball really well. You cook them? Yeah, so, man, definitely the best ball handling

in the NBA, so all I do is catch and shoot. So myself now, A. Guinness World Records, 48 different states, 25 different countries. And I've been alongside my teammate right here and it's been a blast. No way. So, okay, what is the tryout like for the Globetrotters? It's like any basketball trial. All our trials were different. I know for me, it was only like

eight guys there, eight guys there, so come in, you show ball handling, you show shooting, you play one-on-one, you play three-on-three. If there's enough guys and women in there, we play five-on-five, so you got to have that basketball background. And then any personality tricks that you have, you have that opportunity to show it to as well. So for me, I sent in just bunch of videos just handling basketball. And it was like, listen, we want you to do everything on command. So I can dribble up to three balls at one time. So they was like, we want to see you do that on command.

So when we were doing our video earlier, you mentioned the words training camp. Right. That got my attention. We've never done training camp. And maybe I think we probably should. Yeah, I think maybe you may. No, you guys actually have training camp. Yes, yes, definitely.

I know. And it's very important because, like I said, when I made the team, I didn't know how to do any tricks. So training camp is learning how to hop, spin the ball on your finger, transferring it to a kid's finger. There's a lot that goes into training camp to prepare you to be a globecharter

because it's more than just playing. Now you're entertainer too. So you've got to find your personality. And so that week allows new players, especially to get comfortable and find yourself and learn how to hop and learn how to really be a globechider. Absolutely.

What was the hardest balance, figuring out how to turn on the personality switch while you were seriously hooping? or the reverse of it, like trying to do all the tricks live, which the harder to figure out. I think it's the first thing you said, because for me, I'm such of a serious hooper

when I play. So definitely it's being able to turn on that entertain a switch, but then when it's time to play for real, have their competitor spirit to as well, because fans want to see both. Can you entertain? Also, can you be competitive to as well?

Yeah, I mean, I remember as a kid going, and that was, I love basketball. Still, it's my absolute favorite thing to do. And when I showed up at the games, I remember thinking, even as a young kid, I was like, oh, they're just going to be messing around the whole time. And then when y'all get serious and you're going hard as a kid, I remember thinking that was the coolest thing,

because y'all kept flipping back and forth between these just splashing half-court shots like it's nothing, like we just saw out there live, and then just absolutely going hard at the generals. So it was cool. Like, I thought it was unbelievable to see you basically manage both of those sides of the game, the personality side and the hoop side. Yeah, I would totally agree. As somebody played Division I basketball, super competitive. that switch.

Because, you know, as a competitor, you know, you miss a shot. You're going to show it on your face, right? But the kids are watching you. Right. So I think that's the hardest challenge as a Globe charter to turn it on and turn it off. Like, I almost didn't sign the contract because they were like, you don't smile enough. Like, you're good, but you don't smile enough. You have to smile, like, do it all.

So as years go on, you get better with that. Like, at the end of the day, those kids are just going to remember how you made them feel, that you acknowledge them, that you smiled at them. Not that you missed a shot, right? So for us, it's all about going out there and having a good time. I think the biggest thing to help me was a couple of years ago. I think I had an amazing game. I hit my trick shot pre-game.

Hit like five, six, fours, set a couple threes in the game. And the kid came up was like, man, you really play awesome today. I was like, really? Tell me the best thing you're like, your dance moves, man. They were awesome. I was like, okay. You didn't see none of shots. You didn't see none conscious out there.

Yeah. So we also go on a tour. and you guys are going to be at a couple stops this year, which will be competing against you guys. I don't know whose idea that was. But we do some, like, battle, you know, we do competitions live. And there have been many times where, like, you lose, like, a, you know, you lose like a heartbreaker.

And you're just like, you're so angry. You know, you're just like, I want to win. But then you're like, there's 10,000 people watching me. So maybe I should, like, act like, you know, small. mile and I don't care. It is funny because we got all our chatter going on backstage, right? Because just like y'all, like you're on tour for a long time. We're not on tour as long as you guys don't get it twisted. You guys are on another level. But we'll have like there was a streak where Cody had lost a lot of tour shows in a row, right? And I'm sure it's happened to me too, but I remember a specific time.

And we're all talking about it backstage. And so when you're out there live, and like he's got a shot and he's in the finale and all goes down. Like you said, you're so into the moment. And when you lose, you're like, hot. You've got all these kids sitting around and you got to just put on a smile and remember that it's all good. Yeah, for sure. I feel like the hardest moments for me in my Globe Chatter career where like my first year and my second year because you miss a shot or you shoot an airball, you're in your head. Totally.

I don't sleep at night. Like I'm like, how did I? You know, I've hit a game winner in Madison's Wear Garden. I shot an airball TD garden. So one thing I've learned is just like never too high, never too long. At the end of the day, we got 100-something games. You're not going to play your best every day. Like, too tall say he may hit 10-4s in a row,

and then the next game, not hit any. But you still know who. you are. You know, you're more than just that shot. For sure. You're entertainer. You're, you know, you're a role model. Kids look up to you. So we learn that early on, like, don't get too high, don't get too low, don't get harder yourself, like, because that can happen. I can only imagine him losing. And you know, you begin to rethink, like, man, am I this good? And you just can't do

that. Yeah. I'm going to have to remember that when we play you guys on tour. I'll think back to this interview. I'll be like, all right, yeah. All right. So tell me this. We have our own ways of kind of chilling out before our shows. When we go out on tour for us, we play golf, and we try and line up as many cool courses as we can play, and that's kind of our thing in the morning. Kobe and I will go get on one of those little lime scooters and kind of rip it around the city

and kind of get a feel for it, and those are kind of the things that we do before our nighttime show. What do y'all do? Y'all travel all the time. What's kind of y'all's go-to-things to help you chill before the games? You said one of the things right there was get on the Lyme schoolers. I know, we're going to get ready to go to Europe. So for me, I like to get lost a lot of time,

Especially now with technology, easy to find your way back to the hotel. So for me, I just get on the school and get lost. Just try to see the different places in the city, try different foods. Get into, she didn't got me into coffee. So just trying to coffee. So different places, man. So I'm a big history guy. So going to the Colosseum in Rome, seeing the founding Rome, seeing the president house in Germany.

So I just like to just see different parts of the city. Because as a kid, I used to just touch the globe and be like, I'm going to play here one day. And now to be able to do it, it's just awesome. So how many people travel with you guys, like on a, when you go on tour? Like, how big is the squad? So Globe Chalmers, we have 10 generals they have around like nine, 10 players at time. There's around 20 people. Yeah, so we're around there.

And how long, when you guys, when the tour season starts, how many, how many stops? Over 100, for sure. You're going 100 nights. Yeah, because we start Christmas, we leave our family Christmas Day, and we won't be back home until the end of May. And sometimes we play two games in one day. Two games in one day and at least four to five games a week. So if we have a double game, we play at 2 o'clock,

then that game in around like four, then you got the break in between there, then doors open again at 5 from Magic Pass, and then we got to do it right over again at 7. And then sometimes right after that it's a playout. So we have two games playing one city and then have to leave that night to head to the next city. And you all bus it?

Mm-hmm. Yo. Do you guys sleep on the bus? Oh, yeah, for sure. I still haven't been able to figure out how to sleep on a bus. It's awful. You've tried all the things. I can't do it, man.

You've tried everything. Yeah. I've tried literally everything, and it's just like, and then I wake up and I get too stressed out because my whoops says I'm moving the whole night. I didn't sleep one minute. And I'm like, dude, I'm going to die. I'm going to die on tour. Internationally, we have the sleeper beds.

So we'll go up on top of the bus and we'll sleep. but it's still, I mean, for me, nine years now, I used to get up early, early on in my career site. See, now it's all about rest. Yeah. So you ask me what I'm doing, I'm resting. But the younger players, they get out. As they should, but as you get older and you've been in it,

you understand the importance of sleep. When it's your third time in Rome? Yeah, yeah, eight-time. Favorite stop you've ever been on? Ooh, I love London. I love the UK. Australia's beautiful, too, but I love the culture in London, the food, the fashion,

you know, I'll lose sleep in London. So for me, Spain and Portugal. Awesome. Those are my two favorites. Yeah, mine's Atlanta and... Dude, so many good spots in the SEC tour. Yeah, we haven't been overseas yet on tour. We tried to during COVID and got all jacked up.

But that's a lot of fun. So you guys are familiar with some of our battles. You guys looking forward to, like, competing against us? Absolutely, definitely, man. I watch y'all on YouTube all the time. I was telling you guys, especially when we was doing different tricks, just the amazing things that y'all can do, whether it's basketball, golf, frisbee,

just how creative y'all are when y'all come with these different shots. I don't know if it was me, I would take a lot more time probably because basketball is my thing, but definitely. If I was on a golf course, I'm digging holes in a whole type of time. Yeah. Well, we don't have to do it live. That's the trick in our world. That's wild.

All right, I got to get y'all's take on the Savannah bananas. Okay. All right, got to know. All right. They're kind of scooping in, in my opinion, kind of doing a baseball version of the Globetrotters. Obviously, all credit to them. What are y'all's thoughts on watching kind of their rise and everything going on in Banana World? Yeah, no, I love it.

I'm trying to get tickets. It's so hard to even get a ticket. And I live in Atlanta. I love what they're doing. I mean, again, another organization that's inspiring kids who, you know, want to be entertained and they love baseball. So I'm all for it. I love it, actually. I think it's smart.

Baseball, in my opinion, unwatchable. I'm the guy from the dudes that. So I'm very pro. Speed up the game. And if you've got to do a backflip to get somebody to watch the game, I'm there for it. Listen. Well, yeah, I mean.

I'm just being honest. It's just crazy to think that y'all started in 1926. And still just, you know, going on tours for six months out of the year, which is just. Yeah. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy to think about.

So, you know, we'll see how banana ball is. I mean, I'll be dead, but, you know, in a hundred years from now. Yeah, they got a long way to go. They got a long way to go. But it has to be kind of, you know, you know, flattering that, you know, people are looking at the Globetrotters and trying to take their spin on it. Yeah, they're being innovative with it. They'll be a different. I definitely want to get tickets.

One of the guys I know Jackson Olson plays for him. We know him as well. Yeah. So our tour schedule goes so different. I'm like, but any chance I get off, I want to try to make it to a game because I only get to see the stuff that he puts out on social media. All right, let's talk about World Records. Okay.

What's the favorite one? Like, what's your one you're most proud of? Probably my first one. Okay. It's hard between the first one and the last one. Because the last one, I am the only one that has a non-basketball Guinness World Record. That's a Harlem Globetter. So that's kind of historic, but the first one was historic, too,

because I was the first female Globetter to set a Guinness World Record. And it was a move that I learned as a young girl that had been doing since Annette. one days, you know, that spin move that you guys see earlier. Yeah, we got one right there. Yeah. So that one was pretty cool, you know, like, when I joined a team, it was like, you know, looking through the history books and like, man, all these guys got Guinness, where's the love for the ladies?

And ladies had got attempts. Let me not say that the ladies didn't get an opportunity. I guess it was just meant for me to get that. And, like, it's been cool. So I got six of them. So that first one and the last one. Okay. What was the non-basketball one?

So the last one I did was in the UK in London. Okay. And it was, I had a Guinness World Record book on my head and the most stand-up sit-downs in a minute. What? And I got like. And with balancing the book on the head. Which was kind of crazy because I always got the torch bun. And I couldn't put the bun up, right?

With the book, there's no way. You know, so I had to put my hair down and it was a whole thing. But that was pretty cool. No way. Yeah. I had another one, but somebody broke that one. Fastest time to put a ping pong ball in a cup, like two points. six seconds, but somebody broke that.

I have the Guinness World Record of hanging clothes on a clothespin. Yeah, you have to put, yeah, I'm pretty proud of it. We got some fancy stuff. Ty broke a bunch of pencils. Yeah, we're same level. Yeah, same level. What about you?

Myself, that's a Guinness World Record I created in honor of my dad. I was my dad two years ago, but it's the most two ball bounces with one hand, so I got a dribble two basketball simultaneously, and I got 310 dribbles in a minute. And the other one is, which I didn't think it was that difficult at the time

is the most layups in three minutes. So I got 66 layups in three minutes. Oh, just back and forth? Yeah, it is? Oh, no, so you got to retreat back to the free throw line. Yeah. Oh, so I got to retreat back to the fritholeon. So I got to go back and get my other one

because T.js, he broke the one in a minute. So I got to come back and get that one. I got to get that one. You mentioned N-1. Yeah. What were, I mean, I grew up watching N-1. Who was like your favorite? Hot sauce.

Hot sauce. I mean, it was hot sauce and then, you know. Professor. Ayo. Yeah, Ayo, I'll often say. Ayo, hot sauce. Hey, oh, it was tough. Like, hot sauce would do things.

I'd be like, I got to rewind that back. That's when I had the, like, just, rewine. He's just so shifty. And by rewind, she means back in the day, we had these things called VHS. Yeah. You kind of wait a little bit. They kiss these days. Yeah, they don't know anything about that.

They don't know about it. Yeah. Yeah. Hot sauce was definitely my favorite. That one documentary on Netflix. Oh, yeah. Incredible. Who were some of your role models?

Like WMBA, NBA players that you watch growing up? So for me right now is Steph Curry, just the way he – I'll tell kids all the time. The thing that intrigues me so much about him is just how he moves without the ball. I know he can shoot it extremely well, but I know a lot of kids that I work with if the train is, it's his stamina, how long he can run forward. And being at his age, it's still in his 30s,

to still be able to play 29, 30 minutes a game and still have the energy and the strength to get the ball up from 32, 33 feet away to knock down shots. It's amazing. And then lastly, one of my favorite players that just retired is Chris Paul. Yeah. Definitely. So those are guys that I try to mirror my game after, and I just think they play the game the right way. Yeah, that's cool.

Do you have any? For me, Alan Iverson, growing up, short point guard, just played with so much heart. And he always remained himself. No matter the success, he stayed. true to who he was. And obviously the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan, we all know that, right? Like seeing Mike, his competitive nature, just a dog. And I just, I love that.

I'm super competitive. I mean, Tuto, let me know. I might be the most competitive globe charter there is. You guys have no idea. I tell you. Don't get on that ping pong table. Or pickleball. I was trying to be a friendly game, but it did turn drive for me.

Yeah, I mean, Steph does the little night-night, but the original was the Alan Iverson stepover, you know? When he stepped over the guy, I mean, just absolutely. You get in trouble for that now, but that's just the best. Yeah, that was the original night night right there for sure. You guys want to do a competition? Absolutely. We don't have to. I was thinking, I'm out, because I can't even do it.

But ball spinning. Okay. So you guys are both ball spinning experts. Okay. So, but. This guy. I'm physically capable of it. Don't sleep on them. Don't sleep on them.

Don't sleep on them. So just have a little spin-off. All right. Okay. He can't do any of like, you know. He's just very, you know, he's very static when he spends. But, you know, it's still. Maybe we could teach him something, though.

Yeah, but yeah, I mean, maybe you give him some pointers. What's the longest have you ever done? I'm sure y'all can do it essentially forever. The longest I've ever spent the basketball, but I want to say it was 23 seconds, I think, 23. Is there like a, what's the Guinness World Record for that? There's got to be. I don't know. I bet it's crazy.

Look that up, Graham. What's the Guinness World Record for spinning the basketball on a finger? And not tapping it, right? No, tap. That's happening. One spin. You can just do forever. One spin, 23 seconds?

One spin. One spin. It's like, get it going and just let it around. Four hours, 50 minutes spinning. Yeah, for sure. Oh, yeah. He kept it going. Could you do that?

Let's my own. 4 hours. Wow. Oh, 11 minutes. Oh, 22 seconds. Dude. 11 minutes, 22 seconds. Oh, is that continue?

That's continuous. One spin? There's no way. That's consistent. Yeah, there's no way. Using only one hand to maintain the spin. Yeah, he's tapping it. Oh, so he's the sole.

Oh, he's got to be doing. You've got to be doing, yes, he's doing this. Now, I can do, but I can't keep it going for 11 minutes, though. You don't know. That is a long time. That will hurt. That's easy. I think you got that.

Definitely got a cramp. I think you got that. I'm telling you. That might be up there. You said 23 seconds? So the biggest thing I always tell people when you're spinning is have. Yeah, you want to get you a good spin. Get you a good spin.

Then last, it's the nail. So I know a lot of time people spend the bar. They like to keep it on their feet too. I buy my nails, man. So I can't spend. You're out. I'm already out, dude. You got to go nail.

Dude, don't, hey, don't show them here. We're going to try to... They don't need tips for me. So I'll give you one light, spin. We'll see how long. Y'all can stand up too. You all have to sit down. Let's see.

One good. One good spin. Oh. Let's see. I get one good spin. We don't want to hit no lights up there. Oh, we're good. What?

No, those are both kids. Okay. Dude. She has a really good spin going right now. Yeah, she's locked. Okay, we should let's all start at the same time. Yeah. Oh, we can wait.

We can wait. It's cool. We're all going to do a big toss. All right, so here's the game. Let me set it up for the viewers and the listeners. One spin, Corey, so you can't keep spinning the ball. And we're going to see who can last the longest. I think I know the winner here, but I'm not going to say anything.

I got to stop watch. I'm going to say. It's once the ball hits the finger. Once the ball hits the finger. Once the ball hits the finger, absolutely. If I magically, I'm magically, when do I immediately become a Globetrotter? Get a 10 day.

10 day, let's go. That's not bad. Honorary. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine. I can't be real unless I go to training camp. All right, I'll count you guys down. You ready, coach? In three, two, one, go for it.

No, no. Corey's out. Good job. Good job, get. Try you get your game. I'll try it again. Yeah, we'll go until I get it. All right, here we go.

You guys ready? Yeah. Corey, the real question is, are you ready? Not really. Okay, I didn't think so. Here we go. Three, two, one. Yeah, nice, score. That's going to last about four seconds. Go. Those balls are with it. No way, dude. We got eight. We're ten seconds in.

Why, they lose momentum so quick. Let's see if they can beat my double. Probably. No way, dude. That's unreal. That's unreal. I'm right there last thing. Okay, now I will say the fog is a, it's a fog warning today, so I think the air is a little dense here. All right, I'm requesting one more.

This is Corey gets to keep trying to spin it while theirs is a single spin. Let's see if he can do it. I'm not that company. All right, ready, get set, go. I got that. Oh, that's a good one. I don't think I get any credit for that. What I am, though, is I'm a one-trick pony, so after...

I would do less talking and more focus. Yeah, dude. You gotta teach me a trick. Oh, no. Oh, that's cool. Oh, that's cool. A single hand one is not. Hey, Cork, do a single hand one.

Hey, Cora, do a single hand one. That's not. Okay. Oh, he recovered. All right, okay. Oh, there you go. Okay. All right, you got to teach me one trick.

I got nothing. One trick. Only thing I've ever done is the, you know, I've done that every once in a one. Oh, golly, dude. Why, so I'll teach you one of my, um, ball handling ones. So, definitely. Kids love.

this one is when I go in a circle this way right here one two like this so it's really push push push just one dribble so at the same time when this ball coming up you're throwing it over it's like juggling a little bit okay throw it over you got that yeah he definitely doesn't have this now good yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah there you go there you go there yeah yeah yeah man, it is. Too Toll and I are going to be scooting all over the tour. We're just going to be ripping the lines. I'm ready.

All right, so tell the viewers how they can come and watch, how can they come and watch you guys? Is it just go to Harlemglobchartage.com? Absolutely. Absolutely. Right now on our 100th year tour, you want to check us out, go to Harlem Globetrotters.com. You can get programs, t-shirts, headbands, wristband,

band, all Globet, Globet, try to get there, but also check us out on our socials right there at the website as well. Come on out, check us out. We'll be a city near you. Awesome. guys. Well, it was an honor to have you guys in studio. Best of luck. And, uh, you know, I would start training, you know, the dude purpose quad games. It gets a little heated out there. And I'm not, we're not playing horse, okay? Okay. We're doing like things that you guys have never

done before just so we can have a chance. So you think we've never done it. Yeah, well, you know, we got a lot of tape on your basketball. We don't know about their football school. Apparently we've got some ping pong in there. All right. Well, thank you to Torch and Too Tall. Catch us with the Globetrotters on tour. summer. You can get tickets at dudeperfect.com slash tour. See you guys then. Safe travels on y'all's tour. Thank you.

Well done. Thank you to the Globetrotters and Tony Hawk as an action-packed episode. We're not worthy, but they were great. Looks like our show is coming to a close. Wait, where's my whistle? Where's my whistle? There we go. Our producer slacking a little bit, you know? Yeah, I was almost.

no rant which brings me a little bit to my rant Oh is it the producer? No, just the fact that I feel like, you know, as a culture We can We can use

benefit from things But let's not put all of our eggs in one basket And AI's getting out of hand It is. People just to do the minute task Around the thing is just people are using A, let me pull up Claude real quick And I'm like, bro, I just need a simple answer

Nothing against AI, just use it Responsibly. responsibly. Just like anything. Yeah, I feel like we're reaching a phase here where a lot of people are coming a little overly AI dependent. Yeah, we've got a group downstairs in our office calling themselves the Claude Dogs nowadays.

And I'm like, hey, you've got to have some personality with your AI. For instance, the guy just won the, we had a little Masters Fantasy League. And look, he put in, he put in all the things and said, Claude, tell me who I should draft. He ends up winning it. and it's like, dude, look, I'm glad you got the victory there, but like, just pick your picks, dude. It's an AI asterisk, for sure. That doesn't, you don't need to use AI for that.

That's my whole point. You just, there's things in life you do not need AI for picking a bracket just to win a fun competition. Bragging rights. It's ridiculous. Yeah, I would keep my lips sealed on that if I was to use AI to build me in my master's line up. So is it like now amateurs basically that no nothing about sports can just go on to AI and have that, have AI fill out. Well, that brings me to the second part of the rant. Jared, funny you say that the lack of ball knowledge going around is tough. And I want everybody to be included into the

sports conversation. I think that's great. But with that being said, is I feel like I'm at home having to eat some really, really bad sports stakes that are just begging me to reply. And I don't. Well, look, I got to just go ahead and come. I got to come clean here, okay? Because, you know, I get railed in the comments quite often. Sure. I would put my ball knowledge up there versus pretty much anybody in the comments. Legit.

Anybody in the comments, come at me. I have to say things like, oh, yeah, dude, I think Bo Nicks and Denver Broncos could win seven games versus the Rockies because look, if I sit here and tell you what you already know, which is, of course they can't. Is that interesting?

Fair. You're stirring the pot. You're self-admitting to stirring the pot. I have to stir the pot, dude. Like, we can't have two guys that just agree on everything. Like what? That's not fun. That was one of the problems they forecasted in here, Garrett's mean, you were so like-minded. But anyways, I agree. Don't use AI for ball. Just watch sport and enjoy it. And just have fun with it. Don't use AI. We're dangerously close to like asking AI to wipe us and stuff. And that's just gone too far. that probably should happen for at least my kids i worry about me too you know not the most i'm not the

best wiper of all time so so that you know we'll get on this next show is a bidet a robot we'll hit that next week we'll hit that next week looks like our time's up we'll be back next wednesday with an all new episode follow the show on all social media at almost athletes like and subscribe to us on youtube or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast five stars is much appreciated appreciated Share your favorite episode with the friends. Almost Athletes with Dude Perfect. It's a Wave original. Thanks for tuning in.

Have a great week. Pound it, Noggin. See ya. Wave.