Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - TONY HAWK Was a San Diego Latchkey Kid

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

Legendary pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk joins Seth and Josh on the pod this week! Tony talks all about growing up in San Diego, becoming a professional skateboarder at 14 years old, traveling the world in competitions, his family's annual trip, childhood memories of family road trips, and so much more! Watch more Family Trips episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlqYOfxU_jQem4_NRJPM8_wLBrEEQ17B6 Support our sponsors: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at meetfabric.com/trips. Policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions. Family Trips is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Theme song written and performed by Jeff Tweedy. About the Show: Lifelong brothers Seth Meyers and Josh Meyers ask guests to relive childhood memories, unforgettable family trips, and other disasters! New Episodes of Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers are available every Tuesday. Executive Producers: Rob Holysz, Jeph Porter, Natalie Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Coordinating Producer: Derek Johnson Video Editor: Josh Windisch Mix & Master: Josh Windisch Episode Artwork: Analise Jorgensen #familytrips #sethmeyers #joshmeyers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, Baji. Hey, Sufi. So we got a big family trip coming up. It's an annual trip. Yeah. A little added spice this year. We're going to go to a Steelers game. And I'm going to bring the boys.

That's the spice. But I haven't told the boys. Okay. What if they're busy that weekend? Yeah, that would be a huge problem. They're going to a different football team game. Football teams a game. So, but mom just wrote and was like, does Ash know?

So I guess maybe she doesn't know that I'm also bringing Axel. And she said, because we were going to write him a letter. And I'm like, I obviously need to call Mom to do a follow-up here. But I almost feel like, oh, maybe that would be the coolest way for them to find out if mom and dad wrote a letter to the boys. Yeah, because they've been doing some corresponding by mail. And it's as a kid, I remember, it was always very exciting to get a letter. If it's a letter that's like, hey, would you guys want to come to a Steelers? game.

If so, ask your dad if it's okay. Because then I can make it like that they got invited by the Pankas. Yeah. That's good. But that phrasing, I feel like, leaves it open to them being like, no. That's true. Yeah. Do you want to?

And they'll be like, no, we'd rather. There's something else going on that weekend. There's definitely not something else going on that weekend. It's not like Billy's birthday. I feel like if they're like, like, they're like, like, do you want to go to a Steelers game? By the way, my kids go to no birthdays. Oh, how'd you manage that?

Well, because we get out of town on the weekends, and they're all in New York on the weekends. Yeah. And so we just, we punish our children because we don't want to do that. Yeah. Do they other kids come to their birthdays? Do they have birthday parties? They do, and it's real sad.

It's just like a tumbleweed. Because, you know, kids keep score, you know, they know. They did. We did, like, a go-karty thing for Asch's birthday. So, you know, we obviously have to have a pretty cool party for a kid that, you know, never goes anywhere. Right. But yeah, but I'm very excited. I don't know why I haven't told the boys yet.

I guess it's because I just don't want to answer a thousand questions about it. Yeah. Part of me was like, should I just, like, literally pick them up at school with some Steelers jerseys and be like, we're going. But they wouldn't be able to process it. that so i'm going to have to give them a little warning but that's you know i mean we have talked about and we have friends who have done those kinds of trips yeah with their kids um i mean i'm always thinking about like the stanch fields uh yeah like christmas morning it's like we're going to hawaii or whatever they they do which is always sounds awesome it does sound awesome yeah um i'm also

like trying to decide i feel like i'm going to keep them there Sunday night after the game. I don't want to run with these two boys to the airport. We've done before. It's very stressful. Yeah. Also, like, what if it goes to overtime? Also, I want to kind of bask in one more night. Yeah. But that does mean that we're going to have to wake up at the Crackadonna Monday because they do have school. Do you think they are going to be good students on that Monday? Of the game? No, no. They'll be fine. By the way, all Ash, The lead's the league in yawning, as it is. Okay. I mean, we can't believe it. Like, you just, the minute he wakes up until we drop him off at the door of the school, he's basically just, it's like one long yawn. Is he an audible yawner? No.

Weirdly, Addie's the audible yawner. Okay. Which is a problem I have. So, Alexi, nothing breaks Alexi's heart more than when one of the kids has clearly inherited one of the traits I have. that irritates her. Yeah. So Addy was like, our dog Woody.

Yons all day and makes no noise. And in the morning, though, he's so vocal that he really will, like, be on your chest and be like, it's time to get up. And then he yawns in your face. And it's just like, ah,

ah, ah. Ash, who's just, again, it's a great reason, but it's not a great, outcome he stays up too late now reading like he's just obsessed with reading and he's you know he's he's he's into some books that he's just too excited to put down and uh but then so he gets up he's top bunk he comes down and then he just lays down on the floor and so if you walk in it looks like he fell out of his bunk and he's just like you because it's the craziest he's lying

down into the top bunk you're like it's time to go and he like walks down and then just lies down in the same position on the ground yeah um addie this is exciting addie told us this morning out of nowhere. When I grow up, I am going to be a mom, and I am going to solve crimes. Fantastic. And then me and the boys were like, huh.

And I was like, where did you even learn that crimes or something you could be solved? And she wouldn't tell us because she could tell we really wanted to know. And so she was just like grinning. And we're like, please tell us. And Ash was like, I'll give you a bite of my oatmeal if you'd tell us. And then she'd say yes.

And then he would give her bite of her oatmeal. And she'd go, nah, no, I'm just like talk. But we think there might have been an episode of Peppa Pig where Peppa solved a crime. Okay. That's our best guest. But it was... I like that right now, it's, in a way, you guys are trying to solve a crime. By the way, and Ash even said that.

He goes, you know what? We have to solve it, Dad. Yeah. I was like, yeah. Yeah. And maybe you're going to be a bunch of bumblers. And then Addy will give you. the uh yeah she'll she'll she'll sherlock homes us yeah um yeah but i can't wait i can't wait to tell

everybody about it um very very excited and you know um we might go to the the zoo in pittsburg which is a a zoo i remember being a big fan of yeah i mean i remember it being huge and maybe it's not a little i'm a little bit worried it's going to be cold oh well yeah it's going to be november which is uh you know i mean it'll be be fine though right yeah bring jackets no can do no can just going to wear your two tight steelers t-shirt and that's it yep we got to pick them up i'm gonna pick them up at school with no luggage i tell them surprise surprise some lycra this is uh we're we're talking to a guy that we were uh we were a big fan of not quite my boy's age but pretty close yeah Tony hawk

I mean, if there's better spokesperson or practitioner of skateboarding, I don't know who it is. Yeah. No, he's top of the pops. And we enjoy talking to him, and we hope you enjoy listening. Thanks, everybody. Family Chips with the Mice Brothers. Family Chips with the Mice Brothers. Here we go

Yeah Hello How's it going? Good, how are you? Thank you. Good. You know, we didn't talk about it when you were on the show

But people have told me over the years That I look a little bit like you Have you ever gotten in the other direction? I think we were wearing almost the same outfit too So that didn't help. It was. We definitely were. I certainly will say that nobody would ever say that

if they saw me on a skateboard. I don't think that would... Well, I'll take it as a compliment. I think you're younger than me. So I'm very happy anytime I get it. And Tony, I will, I would forgive you if you don't remember this, but years ago, I was on Mad TV and I pulled this up this morning. This is, uh, you and me in a sketch, uh, during your, the boom boom, boom, Huck Jam tour. Um, it was an Anna Nicole Smith sketch. We came out there.

Yeah, I still have that skateboard. It still, it still kind of gives me, I don't know, it gives me weird feelings when I see it. Is it the skateboard with the pink fluff around it? Yeah, it's literally behind my ramp, but every time I see it, I'm like, oh, did I really do that? And, I mean, like, she passed away, not long after that, and then her son passed away. I was playing her son who also passed away. I actually met him after we did that and tried to apologize and however I could. Yeah, it's not, I would say the sketch doesn't age well. No.

I mean, but seeing you guys, like being able to go and, you know, you had your whole sort of crew together and you had that. Yeah, we were rehearsing in a hangar in Riverside. Yeah, and had a full setup with like an insane half pipe and like these ramps that like just a pure like launch ramp. And it was incredible to be so up close and personal. Well, it's cool for us because we could summon TV shows there like you guys. Yeah, I mean, we were delighted to be there. I do have a question here, which is you said, oh, my God, that sketch is so traumatic. And when I think back, I have only bad feelings.

And yet you can't bring yourself to throw that skateboard away? It's just kind of, like, it's just sticking out and it's buried a bunch of stuff. And I would have to be like, okay, today's the day. But you know what? Maybe that, maybe when I get home, it will be the day. I wonder if you just had some, like, if you had some rule, which is like you'll never throw away a skateboard. No, no, no. Like, okay.

Yeah. Gotcha, good. It's more when I'm looking for other stuff. I see it. Right. How many skateboards do you think you've gone through

in your life? Oh, wow. I mean, I go through a board every couple weeks right now, so... Okay. Yeah. To the math.

It's a lot. Yeah. And when a board hits its two-week lifespan, is that because something breaks on it? No.

It'll start to get... We call it... It kind of gets soggy. Like, it loses its... Gotcha. It's not soggy, but it loses its pop. Like, you can tell

the timing is off. And, I like riding newer setups and I have the luxury of being able to get new ones all the time so yeah yeah not many people

ride them as often as I do or get new ones as often as I do but like a professional skateboarder if they're in a competition they're never using a board that's more than two weeks old probably not but they keep their trucks and wheels got through the years I do everything all at once

it's all gone yeah um complete setup so uh i think i'm i'm unique in that sense because i don't mind riding new trucks i'm always curious about you know you were i mean basically a professional athlete at an incredibly young age and i'm wondering like how much that hamstrung you having any sort of a typical childhood very much so yeah like i imagine you traveled all the time but did you ever go on on family trips or was it where you yeah okay Yeah, yeah. My dad, my dad was, he was in World War II. He was very traditional, you know, a child of the Depression. He was older when I was born. And so he liked to do these very, uh, cliche Clark Roswald outings. But, but he would get extreme with that. I mean, we would pile up in his VW van and drive to the tip of Baja with a collapsible tent behind us. Like it with no AC. Yeah, and you grew up in San Diego, yeah?

I grew up in San Diego, yeah. Or we drive to Yosemite or Yellowstone. So what's that drive? Oh, to Baja, days. Yeah. I would imagine. And so two siblings? I have three siblings.

Okay, and where do you, we're all older. Okay, and how much older? Well, my brother's 13 years. One of my sisters is 18 and the other one is 20 years older than me. Oh, wow. Gotcha. So you were really late breaking. I was not planned.

Let's put it that way. It's when I have three now, and it's so funny to think of, like, if we, because my youngest is four, to think that nine years from now, I'd say to my wife, like, we should do this one more time. Like, it's so funny to think. Yeah, there was no way they had that conversation. Right. It's not possible.

No. And my mom was 43. So in the 60s, 43-year-old woman having a baby was, I wouldn't say that people were encouraging of it. Yeah. But if it just happened, then what are you going to do? You then became like an athlete in an emerging sport that probably was made very little sense to your father. To be honest, he was very supportive. Oh, that's great.

because my other siblings had grown up in the 70s. My brother was a hardcore surfer. My sister was a singer out of high school. And he was just, he had a pretty rough upbringing. So he went the other way with his support for his kids. And, I mean, he was like my sister's roadie. He was driving my brother, Steve, to the beach at sunrise to surf, going to all the events.

And so when I found skateboarding, he just saw that I, finally found a sense of purpose and and he thought that was a good thing i mean i got i got hurt quite a bit and i actually got um one time i went to the doctor with i think with my second concussion maybe and um he pulled me into another room to ask me if there was something happening at home that i wanted to talk about oh wow which is the right thing for a doctor to do yeah it was yeah and i didn't know what he meant i didn't like i was so naive and i was so young and i was like No, my brother just moved to college. That's what you meant.

So when you would take a trip to Baja with this tent, how long would you be down there for? I don't know. Time was a foreign concept, I think, when I was like five or six. Okay. So the drives felt like they were a week long, but I think that he stopped. I actually have some photos,

so I know that we made some stops and did camp out a couple times along the way I mean it was outhouses and empty beaches and I mean it was I guess it was fun I was really young my brother got to surf I know that

did they were your brothers were your siblings your brothers and sisters did they feel like did they feel like of another set of parents with that age gap or were they at the age where they just sort of didn't pay that much attention to you one way or the other? I, no, they were more like cool uncles and aunts.

Right. You know, my brother would, like, he took me to see, he took me to see, what's his name? Famous comedian, Live on the Sunset Strip. Oh, Pryor. Yeah, he took me to see Richard Pryor, live on the Sunset Strip when I was, I don't know, 10, 9 or 10? I mean, that is the most fun uncle move.

Yeah, I mean, that's... He got me a subscription to the National Lampoon. He took me to see the cars. That was my first concert. You know, she was definitely like my cool uncle. And then my sisters were fun, supportive. My sister, like I said, she was a singer. She actually made a big career singing.

So she lived in L.A. She lived in Westwood. And so whenever we go... We live in San Diego. Whenever I go visit her, I thought I was, like, living in glamour and glitz. Even though she had three roommates and still trying to make it work. Did you, was that something you do a lot? Would you, as somebody who had older siblings, would you visit them when they moved away?

I would, yeah. I would mostly visit my sister because the only skate parks that were open at the time were in L.A. So I would go stay with her and go skate all the other parks in the area, Marina del Rey, Upland, Pomona, Reseda, Whittier. and there was only one park in San Diego and then my brother went to school in Santa Barbara so I would go up there and stay with him and that was the first time I ever smelled weed

Did you know what it was or do you just now? Yeah, they weren't trying to hide it. It was in the house. They were listening to Frank Zappa smoking weed. I knew what it was all about. Sure. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors.

Support for family trips comes from Airbnb. Hey, Buggy. Hey, Sufi. I love stagin welcoming homes that I book on Airbnb, but it's got me thinking, my home, you've been there. Yeah? Could do the same for someone else. I already put love into all the details of my home.

Well, your wife. Well, that's bad. Yeah, I know what I was going to say. I apologize. Everybody who's listening knows that's not true. Why not help someone feel comfortable and taken care of while they're traveling when I'm away from her home? I mean, the extra income you make, you could put towards an upcoming trip, splurge you've been eyeing, home improvement projects, really, whatever you want, it's your money.

And also, you know, our home, that's probably the right way to say. Sure. It's in a pretty cool place, just like your home's in a pretty cool place, where people are taking vacations anyway, and all of a sudden, they're like, hey, look at this. Yeah. I can book one of these on Airbnb. Yeah. And instead of the other options. McKenzie and I were just over in Ireland for some time, and we stayed at our favorite.

share of hotels, but when we got to dingle, we stayed at this lovely apartment, which used to be a music store right in the heart of town. And it was so nice to get home every night, sort of have our charming little living room, our very cozy bedroom. Also, in the midst of a big trip, it was nice to be able to do some laundry, which you can't do at a hotel. And it was probably our favorite place that we stayed. You know where I would book a house on Airbnb when I go to Ireland?

Where's that? Yeah, wherever the other side of the rainbow is. Yeah. Sorry, you left money. You left cash on the table, bud. Yeah. Your home can be worth more

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personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress. Let yourself run, lift, flow, and go. Explore the new Peloton cross-training tread plus at onepelleton.ca.ca. were they aware like how soon was your family aware like oh tony's like exceptionally good at this i would say probably it was a couple years in when i started gaining the interest of sponsors and i was only 12 at the time so it didn't it just didn't seem like some burgeoning career and skateboarding was very down in terms of popularity So, sponsorship means that I got some free skateboards sometimes.

That was pretty much it. And then when I turned pro, I was just filling out an entry form to a competition that I was entering. And instead of the amateur box, I took the pro box, and then I was pro. There was no handshake, there was no champagne, there was no contract, It was like, well, now you're competing against the bigger kids. When Powell Peralta, like when they sponsor you, was it after you went pro or do they just have like scouts? It was just before.

So I got sponsored by Powell Peralta because my sponsor at the time Dogtown went out of business. And I found that out because Stacey Peralta called me one day long distance in San Diego. And he said, hey, I heard Dogtown went out of business. And I said, maybe that's why I'm not getting skateboards from them. And then he said, I'd like to talk to you about being on the Powell Pearl, it's on the Bones Brigade team, which seemed insane at the time because the Bones Brigade was considered the most elite skate team. And I was, I was a little kid, I was pretty scrappy. My style was not well liked. In fact, I was openly ridiculed in the magazines, even though I was kind of moving up in the amateur ranks, and he saw something in me.

And I think that because he saw that in me, that gave me the fire to prove myself worthy of him putting me on the team. So I was definitely thankful for that. And then I moved up to the top of the amateur ranks within the first year of being sponsored by them. And then when I was 14, that's when I turned pro. And then I kind of wavered in the pro category.

I would get top five sometimes. Sometimes I wasn't in the finals. But I really learned how to be a more, diverse in my skill set and then finally kind of figured it out what was it about your style that people didn't like what's uh what's a skate style that's sort of yeah i think it was more the lack of style you know i just the way the way that stacy explains it he says i look like i was a puppet being maneuvered by a puppeteer well that's i feel like that's all uh like preteen kids in a way It's like the younger you are, the more of a marionette you are.

Sure, yeah, but there were other, you're right, but there were a couple of other kids my age that had style. And so it was like, oh, that guy looks amazing. And he looks like he's surfing. And I'm there just trying to get in the air, however, you know, by any means possible. And I kind of had to develop my own technique of getting airborne, which was not something that was tried and tried,

true or even even experimented with at the time where when people would do aerials they would reach down and grab their board before they get to the top and sort of leap with all their might to jump in the air and when you do that you kind of kill your momentum going up the wall of a pool I didn't have much momentum to begin with so as soon as I reached down like all my speed's gone. And so what I learned to do was what I learned how to OLLI at the top of the pool and actually grab my board at the peak, which was way more efficient just for me. Yeah. And ended up becoming sort of the de facto way to do it. But at the time, all the competitors and even the magazine said I was cheating. I was like, I can't win. I don't know what to say.

This is how I do it. Also, that is a tough. How is it a cheat? I'm not like my... My shoes aren't glued to my board. But I remember one time they said in the magazine, well, Tony Hawk, all he's into his air, so it doesn't really matter how he grabs his board. And I was like, yeah, but it allows me to grab all the ways. So I thought that was a good thing. Did you, would you travel a lot for the pro competition?

Was it sort of at the time isolated in Southern California, or did you go everywhere? Eventually. I would say within my second year, being pro then we started to travel um i would say the like the first big event that i went to out of state was in florida in jacksonville and when i was 14 that seemed like a world away it was did your parents come for that they didn't um they trusted stacey to to be my chaperone um and i remember getting freaked out because a big thunderstorm came through and i'd never seen lightning and thunder

like that. But eventually... It's so funny when you think, like, it's so terrifying to me to watch people like skateboard at the level that you skateboard. It's so funny to think

that you're like, I'm not going out in the rain. Oh, yeah. I call my dad. I was like, there's a lot of... He had lived there. And he's like, oh, yeah,

thunderstorms. Yep. Yeah. I guess you've never actually experienced one. Did they not come because they were, like,

just had to be parents to the other kids and were working? Do you think, like, Eventually they did start coming, which was weird because then it became, there was, it was in the years where I was a little more autonomous. I could drive and I could handle going on my own, but my dad saw in those years that there was no organization, there was no sanctioning body to these events. And he saw that there was still a thriving scene, even though it was kind of underground. And so he actually got some of the, the, the skate companies together and help help to put on events. So he was the organizer of some of the events through the years, which made it super tricky for me. Yeah. I imagine, you know, it's different

than like a band touring, but, you know, band culture has like there's a real sort of party aspect to it. I would imagine there's a similar thing in the skate culture. And then if your dad's around, was there a sort of push and pull of like, well, I'm in this hotel room with my dad, but also all my buddies. Well, no, I mean, I definitely, I made a pretty clean separation from him through those years where, look, I'm traveling with the Bones Brigade. I'm on their program, you know, I'll say hi to my dad or hi to my mom if she comes along when they're, you know, trying to tally scores or whatever, but I tried to keep it. I mean, that's how I kept my sanity. It's so funny to think of you saying to the Bones Brigade, like, good news, my dad's coming, he's super old and he was in World War II.

He's going to be a perfect fit. Yeah, there was not a lot of positive reinforcement about my dad being there. But to answer your question, it was more on the tour. On the tour as we were on our own. Gotcha. I mean, they would send one older pro,

and when I say older pro, I'm talking about someone that was maybe in their 20s to be the den father of that group. But it was chaos, and we're all 15, 16, and suddenly we're skating for crowds. And so to answer your question, that was like the band aspect. It was just more that I think I was lucky or I don't know how you're so obsessed that I never really let those distractions interfere with my performances because all I wanted to do was skate good. I always felt like I had to prove something. I always wanted to do my best.

and I saw my peers starting to kind of fall off because they got stuck in that cycle and they were distracted and it was for me it was like I got to skate I get it I mean it's such a even like most bands

aren't even that young so to think about the age you guys were at when you were getting all that attention and what was very likely as Josh said like a party atmosphere like I'm impressed that you managed to keep it together I mean I definitely

I indulged a bit but it was more that it was more that I knew like oh we don't have to skate tomorrow it was something like that

right right okay now we can go crazy but other other skaters my age were just going off and skating hungover constantly and I wasn't on that program could you tell

when a competition started could you tell like yes who party yeah who party yeah I think I remember someone actually, you know, it was a half-pipe vert competition. I remember someone asleep on the deck and then they called his name for his run and he got up and did a routine and then laid back down.

Yeah. Yeah. Tough days. Tough days. It was the 80s. It was the 80s. Back to when you were going up to Yosemite in the van or whatnot. Like were there a lot of camping? trips growing up. It seems like if you went to Baja and I forget with the other park you mentioned, maybe Sequoia, but like, was that a regular? Yeah, Yellowstone. Oh, Yellowstone, yeah.

Yeah. I only remember it a couple times. My dad was, he liked to do the, if it wasn't that road trip type of vibe, then he liked to do the sort of all-inclusive packages to Hawaii. So you're just with a bunch of random families

all packing in on the shuttle bus from the airport and all going to the same hotel and all going to the same louisle and all that stuff and he loved that stuff. Did you enjoy that stuff? I mean, I didn't, I had no, I didn't have anything to compare it to, so sure. Yeah, okay. I was going to say, like,

I think for most kids who are like the late fourth or even the late third, right, there's that moment where like your older siblings go away and then you have like this long stretch of time where it's just you and your parents, but probably based on your career, that like never happened. Um, it was, for a bit yeah, I mean, when we were home,

It was kind of like I lived with grandparents. Yeah. But they were still working, too. So I was like a latchkey kid, basically. What did your parents do? My dad sold musical instruments at wholesale because of my sister and her involvement with music. He just kind of started a business based on that. And my mom was an educator.

She worked at a community college. And eventually went to Flagstaff to get a doctorate. So she just kind of bailed at some point when I was about 16. I mean, she came back. Don't get me wrong. She didn't abandon this. But it was weird because then I was doing my dad. And my dad was, you know, he wasn't the most warm creature.

That's interesting. Because like, so he was supportive but not warm. Like I said, it's more he was a child of the depression. And he just, you know, it was more like. well he doesn't say it but he shows it right that's pretty good though i mean yeah or you know but he does shows it through his actions but yeah different love languages if we're using modern parlance very much so yeah yeah um were you were you san diego proper san diego yeah um a place called tirasana uh portofino where my dad was in the navy um and so when he finally uh was decommission

missions. He ended up in San Diego and he moved to this neighborhood that was almost all military families. Gotcha. So basically most of your friend group were all, had military parents. Yeah. Yeah. Or their dad was in the military at some point and then had split up so they were living with their mom in the same neighborhood. And was skating a huge part of that culture of those kids? Or were you sort of an outlier? I was an outlier There was a minute where it was kind of a fad

It was roller skating And then skateboarding was kind of a craze In the mid-70s And that's when I got my first skateboard It was a hand-me-down for my brother And I just used this transportation But a bunch of my friends were doing the same thing And then

One day I got invited to go With a friend to go check out the skate park In San Diego and I think that's when I really fell in love with it because I saw people flying around and it was like, I want to do that. However, what is that? Show me the way to that.

Yeah. I mean, like we grew up on top of a cul-de-sac on a hill in New Hampshire and I, like, in the magazine drive, I started getting thrasher. I was just like, let me get this magazine and bought a skateboard, but it was our hill was so steep that I could never get down the hill. So I just was on an island

on top of this hill and never learned how to do anything. And I see like little skate parks that like are good for kids. And I'm just like, oh, what I wouldn't have given to have one of these sort of locally because it does look so fun. It still looks so fun to me. And I know it is a ticket to, you know, a broken arm or whatever. If I tried it, if I try to start now, it's way too late. People would accuse me of being in the midst of a midlife crisis, and they wouldn't be wrong. But, yeah, to have a skate park to go to is just seems like it would be the best. I, well, so when I was growing up, I didn't realize it, but I was really getting into it at a time when it was just dying as an industry. And the skate parks were losing.

all their insurance. So the skate parks were just closing one by one. In fact, that one that one that one closed, not long after. I got lucky that my parents moved to a different part of San Diego when I was in high school, and there was one skate park left there in that area. But then all those other ones in L.A. closed, and eventually the one I skated at closed. And then people had to just buy, well, not buy. They had to build backyard ramps, steel wood from construction sites, guilty of

discharged and build half pipes. That's kind of how it was in that era. And, you know, the idea that there would, where were any skate parks was rare and seemed like just completely untouchable. And so when you say that, that there are skate parks now, I mean, that's pretty much what I devoted all of my charitable work to is trying to provide more skate parks because I feel like they give kids a sense of a sense of self and a sense of

confidence and validity that they can't find other places and I mean I'm in New York right now I just skated the Brooklyn Banks it only took me five minutes to get there and that is now a designated skate space it's wild yeah amazing I made the air of bringing my boys to there was a little skate park and this was when they were little and they were on scooters and they were wearing helmets and my son like

they were like just going down these little ramps and having the time of their life And then the second time they did it, my oldest is such a clumsy dude. And he just, like, wobbled. And I watched him like, I'm like, oh, he's going to eat it. And he ate it, like, scrapped. You know, he scratched up his face. He's obviously fine. But I was like, nope, that's the end of that.

You know what I mean? Like, I let him go out. I forced this before he was ready. And now that's the end of that. But did he want to do it again? No, that's the thing. I don't know if he'll ever want to do it. And his younger brother was there, and it was traumatic for him.

I do think our daughter, who is the only one with balance, I'd be very happy if she found her way into it. Yeah, I guess I think I learned early on that after my first big injury, when I was about 10, I got a concussion. I knocked out my front teeth. I was scraped up, and I literally woke up in the ambulance. I mean, you know, I don't know if you had concussion, but you are awake, but not really there completely. And when I finally got lucid, my first thought wasn't, oh, whatever. have I done, like, well, I'm never going to skate again.

My dad's going to kill me. My first thought was, wow, I got to figure out how to do rock and roll better. And I feel like that was a pretty defining moment in my life because I didn't want to get hurt, but I didn't mind getting hurt for the sake of trying to learn new things. Yeah. Well, my wife's an equestrian, and like, if you want to be an equestrian, you're going to fall off a horse. Yeah, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Right.

And then it's, do you, are you going to get back on that horse? Which I, we were recently in a conversation, and I was like, oh, yeah, my wife, she says, like, you just have to get right back on. And my wife was like, well, not always, like, not if you have a broken wrist or a concussion. Like, I was like, oh, okay, sure. But I know plenty of people at that same age. They got hurt, like, one time, and they're like, fuck that. Yeah. Josh has had a terrible luck as a skier, injury-wise, and you keep skiing.

Yeah, I love it. I love it, but, yeah. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Support comes from Fabric by Gerber Life. Hey, Bashi. Hey, Sufi. You know, running household can be a lot. It's a lot for you.

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Is that a half pipe in your backyard? Well, not until I was pretty successful as a skater, and I had the means. So you get a property that had room for one. So it wasn't your parents' house that you built something in the backyard? No, no, uh-uh. Okay. Yeah, I was just wondering what that conversation's like, because I know certainly so many kids in your era must have had to talk to mom and dad about it. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, luckily I didn't have to go through that. When I did buy a place, and I bought it with the intention of building a ramp on the property, and I designed the ramp. My dad loved the idea of the challenges that I put forth with it in terms of how to build corners out of wood. Because he was a bit of a woodworker foreman type of vibe. So he used to go to Home Depot every other day. Oh, and was it a family, a project? Yeah, he definitely, I mean, he was the one who figured out how to do,

because no one had done, no one had done a bowl made out of wood at that time. And he figured out how we would actually cut the radiuses, the transitions, and he had to do all the math, and then when you put a surface down plywood, and it comes around, like, when you have to do a radius like that, you have to actually cut these notches in, and he created all that. stuff on the fly it was really really cool yeah there you go yeah that's amazing i realize you when you're saying they shut down all the skate parks that's where there was this um i feel like at the time there was this stereotype and like you would see signs of like don't places where

public places where they didn't want kids to skateboard well still because they were yeah yeah but like i still parking lots yeah still see it but it's funny because then i i realized and get it ready for this i was like oh i remember that from that police academy movie and then uh i had forgotten that you were in that police captain movie. I was David's stunt double. You were David Spade's... For a week. That's unbelievable.

And then they fired me. What for? Because I was too tall. Oh. That is. I will say, like, I met both you and David Spade. That's a huge problem. Well, it was funny because when they hired me, they, you know, they were doing the casting

way in advance. And when they hired me, I wasn't as tall as I was. was when the movie started shooting, I just went through this crazy growth spirit when I was about 17. And then when I got there, I'll never forget the director was going, that guy is a terrible double. Like he said it so that he was pretending like he was saying it in a voice that I wouldn't hear, but definitely wanted me to hear. Right, like it was your fault. So we're there watching the dailies after the first couple days. And I remember him saying, that guy's a great skateboarder, but a terrible double. Yeah. And then

I was on a plane home the next day. That's really funny. I mean, it certainly seems like in a movie like that, that could be part of the joke. But, yeah, too late. Too late to make that argument now. I don't know. I feel like Police Academy was kind of Shakespeare of his time.

It was a Shakespeare of his time. It was all about the accuracy. The other movie that we used to watch, which is, I mean, talk about cinema. The Search for Animal Chin. Yes. Yeah. I'm surprised that it didn't win any awards.

Yeah. This was, I mean, it was basically just like a skateboard highlight video, but there was just the, just the loosest plot cobbled together. I mean, it was, it was, it was really, the plot was just a vehicle so that we could be skating this ditch in Hawaii and this ramp in, in Bakersfield, you know, that, that was the whole point of it. It was not dissimilar to, to a lot of pornography of the era. No, there needs to be a story. And the acting, the acting was on par with any porn acting too. When you watch the acting, you were like, trust me, a lady's about to show up. If I know anything about this level of acting, a hot lady's going to be here any minute.

Yeah, it turns out it's a swimming point. We put our trust into Stacey, and so when he fed us lines, we're like, are you sure about that? Yeah. And we just set them. It served with purpose. It did, yeah. when was the first time did you travel internationally

for the sport and when was the first time you did that? I got to go to Japan for a TV show that was basically the equivalent of that's incredible but only featuring kids. Yeah.

And I was let me get if I got this right. I think I was 16 at the time it was split you all the featured kids were to be 16 under or under 16 so they told me to lie about my age and say I was 15 on the show and they put up a ramp on a stage

and I skated a half-fite for this show in Japan and then they had a chaperone for me and I mean at the time being 16 not having traveled I mean I traveled to maybe Mexico but you know Japan just seemed like it seemed like I was living in a video game

it was crazy I mean I've still never been it's a bucket list for me Yeah, but to know now that you had been thrown off by a thunderstorm, I can only imagine how the culture of Japan. I got a little bit more used to traveling at that point in my life. Did you, do you remember it being a trip that you loved, or was it too overwhelmed? I loved it. I loved it.

I fell in love with the culture, with the technology. Everything just looked cool, and it was, you know, it just had that, I don't know. It was just, there was something there that I, and I love the food. I've always loved Japanese food, but to go actually there and eat it legitimately, natively, it's amazing. And I still like,

that's one of our favorite things to do as a family. In fact, if anything comes up with Japan, I know that I can't present it to any of my kids that, oh, I'm going to Japan next week. That's not the conversation that happens. The conversation that happens is we're all going, right? What day do we leave? What?

I mean, do you guys sort of stick in Tokyo or do you go out into the mountains? Both. Do you explore? Yeah, the last time we went with all the kids, we went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara. Have you guys heard of Nara? Where they have all these wild deer

that you can just kind of feed in a park but then they'll start biting you. Oh, well, it sounds like you can't miss. And they started biting my daughter. I started buying my, I think she was about eight at the time or nine, and she started screaming, hiding behind me, and that was the end of the Nara trip. Gotcha.

That's, we used to, we used to go to a park that we always called the duck park, and we would bring a loaf of bread to feed the ducks. But then once ducks know you have bread, they just keep coming at you, and it very quickly turns terrifying. Well, deer are convinced that it's in every pocket you have, so they just start biting every pocket. Yeah, ducks and deer Not known for their gratitude or patience

Did you You married your wife in Ireland? Is that accurate? And what was, why Ireland? She had a family lineage to this one manner Called a Dare Manor And she and I just went there one time To stay and visit.

I had to do something in Dublin And we fell in love with the place And so we just decided when we get married, we get married there. And a couple years later, invited all of, well, not all, but, you know, a very specific list of friends and family. It was funny. It's funny when you do a wedding like that, you think it's a destination wedding, so you're not, not everyone's going to come, so you can kind of make the list big. But everyone came. Yeah.

Yeah. I was just at a wedding in Ireland, and the exact same, in Ireland, and the exact same thing happened. It was like a second wedding for this couple, and they were like, we're just going to, like, go big because everyone's not going to come. And then I feel like every invite they sent was like, oh, yeah, we're in, we're coming. And they thought everyone would stay at this one manner, but it was like, no, we have to, a lot of you don't even have the option to stay at the manner. Yeah, but it was fantastic. I think, you know, especially, you know, when there's like that first wave of weddings in your life where everybody's, you know, young and stuff. And when you get like a late wave wedding

where like people are like, oh, we can't miss this. Right. You know, we don't have any weddings left, you know? I certainly don't. You're done. Yeah. Was it awesome?

It was awesome, yeah. And then we went back for our 10th anniversary just last year and brought our kids and it was a blast. Actually, that was this year. But geez, time flies. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. that's what do your kids our kids are finally i feel like they're maybe minor like nine seven and four and they're starting to get fascinated with the lore of our wedding i would imagine were your kids like excited to see the place that happened yeah well they were there so okay we already had kids and we got married um so but they were there they were very young um yeah okay they're there uh so we have five boys and one girl wow uh my oldest son is three And then... Did everybody come back for the anniversary?

Everybody came back, yeah. Oh, my God. Wow. It's very... I mean, the fact that you... It just speaks to the job you're doing as parents that all six want to come. I hope.

Or that's it. Those are the perks. That's all they care about. Right, right. They're like, we're going to do the travel, but like the rest of it maybe don't... And now, and we have a grandchild now. But they chose to leave him

with his other grandma and so he didn't come but we get to see him a lot he's it's it's so that's the most fun that's the coolest thing ever uh i i hope you guys get to experience it yeah that's really awesome i can only imagine yeah our parents certainly uh love spent a time with Seth's kids yeah yeah it's a highlight for sure yeah yeah actually we just went to Hawaii um and quickly realized that my wife and I were only there as roles, as the role of babysitters. Oh, right. Yeah. It's funny.

Which was fine with us, but, you know, there was no surf trips or, you know, surf outings or anything like that. It's also not, it's funny you say, like, you came to the realization, because I don't think it's a thing that we ask our parents either. We just kind of are like, and, like, we just hope it slowly dawns on them before it's too late for them to bail. Oh, no. No, we're not, yeah, we're not. This isn't our first rodeo in terms of knowing what is going to be asked. I remember a couple summers ago, my parents were visiting my wife and I, and we were going to a party.

And I just remember us being like, I just think Ash would love to play Uno with you guys. And like, as they're getting dressed for a party, and they're like, oh, okay. Yeah, or we're watching him late in the day. And it's like, he could just stay with you guys if you want. Yep. That can happen. Okay.

It is also like, I mean, we, you know, certainly my wife's parents are in charge of our kids more. And like we've given them that like, you know, it's like diplomatic immunity where like our kids want to go hang out with them for the night because they're going to like play by slightly different rules. I mean, they don't go crazy. Oh, no. There is a look that Ronan gets when he walks through our doorway. that is very much like, oh, it's fun time. Yeah. Game on.

This is my space. It's the worst is we have these long conversations, my wife and I, about like, what age, what movies are appropriate. We're like, I'd love to show them big, but there's, like, that weird scene where, like, he sleeps with a woman and, you know, and I'm just like, I don't want to have that conversation. And then, like, my son will come home and was like, well, Grandpa just showed me National Lampoon's vacation. I'm like, what? That's 45 movies. The movie is past the movie we're talking about. Yeah, I mean, even airplane, when you look at it from a Paris perspective, it's like, ooh.

Oh, yeah. Well, the 70s in general. We were talking about, like, I want, like, a radio edit of Bad News Bears. Oh, yeah. They love it, but I think I'm like, I think there might be like nine real bad moments. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. They go and buy porn. Yep. They buy porn. There's some, I feel like there's some race. Oh, yeah, yeah, yes, you feel like it, there is, yeah. Yeah, I haven't seen it at a good long time. But that's the thing, you haven't seen it a good long time and your memory serves.

Yeah, but it's all that, you know, I guess that was just our era, Caddyshack too, or... Yeah. But it's funny, so I'd say, you know, our kids are old enough now, but when they were a little younger, we showed them the jerk. And it's not even that it's inappropriate. It's just slow-paced. Yes, it is. And at some point, 20 minutes in, they're like, can we go do something else? Like, what?

Yeah. You don't want to watch the jerk? Like, what are you talking about? You realize it, and again, it's a classic, and I stand by it, but it is like, its pace is no longer a pace of anything for kids. Yeah, yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong. If it's on, if it's on, I'm watching it, but. Yeah, no kidding.

They're also all like a little bit. bit long like bad news bears i think might be like two plus hours like they were just like we're gonna tell the story um i think like uh like slap shots another one that like you rewatch it you're like i think it's like two and a half hours the best but it's also a lot about like the deindustrialization of like blue-collar towns you're like oh i forgot about all this part oh the uh those brothers are on cameo oh the hanson brothers oh really yeah yeah great yeah that's a good one that's a good one to There's a few people that might be getting those for Christmas this year. You're welcome.

This is, it is so delightful to talk to you, Tony. Thank you so much for making time for us. Yeah, thank you. Before you go, though, Josh has speed round questions. Uh-oh. Here we go. You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous, or educational?

Relaxing with the side of adventure. Sure. Great. What is your favorite means of transportation? Oh, my car. Great. Okay. That's like the only time I'm kind of surprised you didn't say skateboard.

Well, my car is the only time where I'm actually alone and I can listen to stuff and kind of just do my own thing. No one is asking that I have to do something at that moment. I mean, yes, I love skateboarding too, but usually when I'm skateboarding, I feel compelled to perform. Yeah. if you can take a vacation with any family alive or dead real or fictional other than your own family what family would you like to take a vacation with oh my god wow um that is that's just impossible i mean it would have to be the griswolds right yeah yeah yeah they're a classic they come up a lot they come up a lot yeah yeah um if you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of

your family, who would it be? Oh, I would get in so much trouble for this. Well, it would have to be my wife. Yeah, that's good answer. That's the one that you don't get in trouble for. Some people make a mistake, can I tell you a mistake too many people make, is they make it seem like if they didn't get in, if they weren't going to get in trouble, they'd pick someone else.

You know what I mean? Too many people are like, oh. Well, no, but then you're getting into Sophie's choice. Yeah, right, right, right. That's just way bigger problem. And I mean, I would default to Ronan, our grandchild, because he's our favorite grandchild because he's our only grandchild. It's our only grandchild.

Yeah, there you go. Good call. You were from San Diego. If you were the head of the San Diego Board of Tourism and needed to get more people to come visit the city, how would you pitch it? Wow. We're more than the zoo.

Great. All right. Very good. And there are, and there are, there are secluded beaches. You just got to find it. Okay, that's good. All right, great. Seth has our final questions. Have you been to the Grand Canyon?

Yes. Would you want a skateboard in it? No, my question was, is it worth it? Yeah. Okay, good. Yeah. I think it depends on what, um, what trail or hike you might choose. Because one of those might not be worth it, you know,

when you find yourself stuck out in the wild for five hours and ran out of water or whatever else. Yeah, that seems like decidedly not worth it. It's cool from the top. Let's put it that way. All right, perfect answer. It's definitely cool from the top. Thank you, Tony.

So great talking. Thank you so much. Great to see you. Yeah, you too. Thanks, you guys. All right, be well. I'm going to send you that Ann and Nicole Smithboard anonymously. Good, Josh would love it.

You could tell he wanted it. All right, thanks so much. Bye, man. Tony went to Bahia, hours driving south, his brother he went surfing, Tony went in and out of his brother he went surfing, Tony went in and out, Had a VW van, and his birth wasn't planned. Tony was with Dogtown, until Dogtown went first. Found out when Stacey called him and said, come skating with us. Tony was pro, was getting paid.

And he had joined the Bones Brigade The youngest kid around, coolest in the pack, Till he heard a thunder crack. I bought himself his own house, things were going good. Dad stepped up to help him make a bowl out of wood. Was a bad David's faith twin, never found an emotion. His children, especially to Japan. Be careful.

Out on the river, those deer will bite your hands. Those deer will bite your hand. Those deer will bite your hand. Those deer will bite your hand.