The School of Greatness - 674 Tony Hawk: Breaking Limitations and Creating a Legacy

Episode Date: August 1, 2018

“MY ONLY KEY TO TRUE SUCCESS IS HAVING THE CONFIDENCE.” Tony Hawk pushes the limits not just in his sport, but also in his business. His video games have become one of the biggest franchises in history. Spoiler: There’s even more coming in October. I felt so fortunate for Tony to come in and sit down on the. He’s an incredibly smart and dedicated person. Tony sat down with me to discuss how he has been able to be successful in his marriage as well as his business life. He also discusses if it’s more fulfilling to be relevant or innovative. He shares where his mind goes when the pressure is on for him to perform a huge trick, and how he was able to stay committed to his passion even when there was no money in it. This is a really powerful one, guys. You won’t want to miss it. Learn all about what it takes to break limitations and create a legacy, on Episode 674. Some Questions I Ask: Who was the most influential person in your life? (5:46) How old were you when you were bumped up in competition? (8:20) How do you stay committed to something when there’s no money in it? (10:11) What advice would you give to people who have a passion but can’t pursue it on a professional level? (13:36) How did you manage the emotions of success? (17:18) Did you ever feel like you weren’t comfortable in your own skin? (20:29) Do you feel like there was a time when you didn’t communicate well? (23:10) Do you feel like you still need to chase relevancy? (27:38) Where does your mind go when there’s pressure? (30:44) Did your video games take skateboarding to a new level? (29:42) You have a new game as well? (43:32) Do you goof around a lot? (45:09) What’s the thing you’re most proud of? (47:54) In This Episode You Will Learn: Why learning new tricks wasn’t cool (7:28) How Tony’s environment contributed to his success (9:52) The time when Tony thought he would give up skateboarding (12:01) How he handled the overnight success (14:57) How he manages his relationships and success (19:32) Why people shouldn’t show off on social media (21:17) The biggest challenge he’s had to overcome (24:44) How he’s able to raise his kids to not feel like they are riding off his name (28:46) What it’s like skateboarding in a loop (38:39) The thing Tony still needs to achieve (41:27) The thing he wants more people to know about him (46:53)

This is episode number 674 with the iconic Tony Hawk. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Jim Rohn said that all good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will

take the next generation to a level we could only imagine. And Tony Hawk has done that for this generation. He is one of the most recognized action sports figures in the world. And according to some marketing surveys, one of the most recognizable athletes of any kind in the United States. He is a pro skateboarder, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and so much more. His business skills have helped create a Tony Hawk brand that includes a billion-dollar video game franchise. That's right, a billion-dollar franchise. Successful business such as Birdhouse Skateboards, Hawk Clothing, and a film production company. He has done some incredible things and

he's paved the way for so many people. And I'm excited to dive into this. We talk about what Tony has learned about in creating a successful marriage and family and business life, how to navigate big career transitions when old income sources dry up, whether it's more fulfilling to have relevancy or to be innovative in your craft. Also, where his mind goes when it's time to hit a huge performance, a huge trick in front of the entire world, how he stays focused and present, and how to stay committed to your passion when there's no money in sight within the passion.

That and so much more. I'm super pumped. All right, guys, I'm excited about this one. This is with the legendary, the iconic Mr. Tony Hawk. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness podcast. We've got the legend Tony Hawk in the house. Good to see you, sir. Thank you. You too. Very excited about this. We were just chatting offline about how amazing it's been to see your career as a kid watching X Game, watching you do the 900. It was like this monumental moment. And then the video game world blow up for you and just everything continues to blow up.

Oh, thank you. Congrats on everything. And congrats for being an amazing icon for what's possible. I think you are a great symbol. And Rob Dyrdek was just texting me saying how you push the limits constantly and you haven't stopped. And that's what inspired me to want to have you on and interview you because I'm all about how can we unlock our potential. And as a kid, I remember watching, I never skateboarded because I didn't have the coordination as you on a board. But I remember watching the symbol of what you represented

and seeing you break your own fears and your limitations in your mind on the ice games. And that was really powerful for me and I know for a lot of kids. So I appreciate you. Oh, thank you very much. Being a powerful part of my mental development as a child and a teenager. Who was the most influential person in your life growing up, would you say? Oh, that's tricky. I think it sort of evolved with different people as I grew up. But for sure, the beginning was my older brother because he was a surfer. He's 13 years older than me,

but he was a surfer. And then he started skating when skating kind of just got going in the mid, late 70s. And I took a lot of cues from him just in terms of doing something new, something different. And he gave me my first skateboard. So obviously that was hugely influential to me. And then once I started skating and I really dove into it,

he kind of got out of it. He was in college and doing other things. He was a writer. He cared. I mean, he still skated a little bit, but he was just more into a career at that point. And there was no career in skateboarding. Nothing.

It was like 1,000 people in the U.S. did it maybe as like a hobby or something. Maybe, yeah. Yeah, it was really small. Only a handful of skate parks. And so when I really got into it, I was looking towards people to emulate. One of them was Steve Cavallaro because he was my size. He was actually older than me, but he looked a lot younger and he was flying out of these swimming pools. And when I saw that in a magazine and I

saw this guy, my size, literally flying, that was, that gave me the first, the first fire to be like, I want to, how does he do that? I want to learn to do that. And then I went to the skate park and I saw people doing it live and I made it my mission to do that. And then as I got sort of, as I started learning moves and things, the person I took cues from them was the skater Eddie Alguera because he was the most innovative skater as far as I was concerned at a time when skating was kind of really low in popularity. And learning new tricks was not cool. It was almost like you're a circus act.

Why was it not cool? Because skating was more about the style and the raw power and looking like you're surfing and it was this dog town and Z-Boys and people who do tricks were considered robots. That was truly it. Like, oh, look at that robot. And I was this little kid.

I didn't have the cool style and the big power and I was like, I want to do that stuff. Yeah, that looks awesome. So one of the first sort of pro-level tricks that I learned was a frontside rock and roll because that was Eddie's trick. That was his signature move. Maybe three people could do it. And because I could do it, I couldn't do many other tricks,

but because I could do that, they bumped me up classes of competition. They said, well, he can do frontside rocks, so he belongs in the 3A division. Wow. And I didn't know if that was good or bad. It felt bad at the time because then I was competing against guys who were much better than me. How old were you then? 11, 12.

Yeah. And you turned pro at 14, is that right? Yeah, but, you know, that seems like… You're not making any money as a pro. You're not making any money as a pro. You're not making any money. There's no ceremony. You basically check the box for pro in the entry form of the competition instead of amateur. That was it.

That was it. You said, I'm a pro now. That's it, yeah. I was self-proclaimed professional. No one said, you're in a pro league now, or are you... No, it just meant that I was competing against other skaters, and I was competing for $100 first place. Right. And if you won money, then you're a pro, I guess.

Yeah. So it was $100 for first, $75 for second, and $50 for third. Crazy. This is the late 80s, is that right? Early 80s. Early 80s. Yeah. Well, 80, so let's see, 82, 83.

Got it. Okay. I was born in 83, so skateboarding was nothing then. It was very small. Let's put it this way. So I'm 14. I started winning a few contests. I had about $600 in the bank. I bought a moped and that was a big deal. It was a huge deal. Huge. Because I could get to the skate park on my own. Wow. You grew up in San Diego, right? In San Diego, yeah. And so luckily it was a skate park near you in San Diego. I got very lucky in that the one park that was near me

became the only one that remained in California. Really? Yeah. I believe that if I didn't have that facility, I probably wouldn't have been successful or been able to continue skating. Wow. So a lot of it was where you grew up,

having the other influences around you that inspired you. Obviously you had talent, but if you didn't have the environment, you don't think you'd be where you're at? I don't know. It would have been a struggle. Really? There were some skaters that came from the East Coast during that time that didn't have parks but built their own ramps and would shovel snow off. I didn't know if I had that kind of commitment to it. I mean, I would have loved to have done it, but I don't know if I would have put that much effort into it. Sure. How do you stay committed to something? Because when, I guess,

skateboarding kind of died out for a number of years before you hit the 900, it was kind of like dead and then it came back a little bit. How do you stay committed to your passion when there's no money in something? I did everything I could to make ends meet. It was just sort of making compromises in terms of lifestyle and expense and also taking any opportunity and just putting myself out there. I was hustling a lot in terms of trying to get random work and things like that through the early 90s, mid-90s.

Anything that involved skating or stunt work or even camera work. I mean, like I did camera work on a Frosted Flakes commercial because they wanted someone to ride on a half pipe and follow someone. And I wasn't getting the job of acting, but they knew I had the skill to do that. Editing videos. I mean, at some point I at least had enough editing equipment that I could do projects that were outside of skateboarding. So I did random little businesses. And I was doing it for dirt cheap, but it was paying my mortgage. So that was pretty much it.

And then whatever would allow me to skate. And I became the sort of go-to consultant for any skate, any production that needed skating in it. They would come to you and ask you, like, what looks good, what's the angle, what's the location, all that stuff. Yeah, basically. I was consulted on a coat commercial for Japan. But you weren't the skater. I wasn't, but every once in a while they would need,

suddenly I'd just get thrown into it. Because we do need another skater. You do it. Then I would start getting residuals. Amazing. So they would hire someone else, but they probably weren't as good as you, right? Sometimes, yeah, but I just, you know, I wasn't the right stunt double type or body type,

or I wasn't Japanese in this case. Got it, yeah. Was there ever a time when it was a downtime that you thought you were going to give up skateboarding as like a profession or hopefully a profession and go do something else? I kind of did around those years because I wasn't relying just on my skating to pay the bills. I was doing these other things, like I told you, and it was trying for sure. Really? Yeah. And we had just started a skate company, a skate brand, and I'm trying to support that and I'm trying to keep that afloat and with very little success at the time. But it was more, what I learned was that I would do this, the same thing I was doing, for free.

Do you know what I mean? Like, I was getting paid for it. I was getting paid pretty well for it. And then my income, my salaries dropped off significantly, in some cases, completely. And I realized that I just loved doing it. I would do it for free any day. You know, and getting paid is just incidental.

And then as things came back around, it was suddenly like, I'm getting more money than I ever imagined. I mean, even today, I get paid ridiculous amounts to ride my skateboard and I would just go do it for free any day. So that's what made you realize that you would do it for free anyways.

You'd keep pursuing it just because you loved it. Yeah, and if I'm going to go, if I'm going to have to follow a different career to make money, I mean, I understand reality. I understand that at some point maybe skateboarding was not a key to a career, and I'd have to do something. Maybe I went into video editing. I learned how to use computers very early on, so I would always be the one called for tech support and stuff like that. So I felt like, all right, I have that skill set. I can go pursue that if I want to, but I always knew that even if I did that, I would always be the one called for tech support and stuff like that. So I felt like, all right, I have that skill set.

I can go pursue that if I want to. But I always knew that even if I did that, I would still find time to skate. Yeah. What advice would you give to people who have a passion, but maybe they're not able to pursue it on a professional level? Maybe there's not that big of a market for them. Maybe it's in a downturn in their industry. And they feel like they have to go work something else they don't love to make money. If you're following a passion for a business, you have to go all in and you have to

take that risk just to see it through, to see if it will work. And I think that the thing that people don't realize is that sometimes it takes way longer than you ever imagined. And a lot of times you have to learn different skills and different techniques and nuances that you never would have been interested in or cared about. And when I started the skate company, I didn't know anything about marketing. I didn't know anything about purchase orders or displays or retail or wholesale. I just wanted to make skateboards and have a cool team. But there were only three of us in the office. So I had to figure out how to do all that stuff. And at some point, I just embraced it. And it definitely was an advantage to me later on because I did understand those things. And when people are talking shop

about different brands and stuff, I know what they're discussing and I actually have valuable input. But a lot of people just want to do the thing they love and not really get out of their comfort zone. And I think that's the advantage and just learn everything about your craft. That's it, yeah. When skateboarding hit its kind of peak and then you did the 900 and then all this stuff kept rising for you and you kind of rose to fame overnight is what it seemed like from the outside. How did you handle that emotionally or mentally where you had all this news and press and attention, which seemed like overnight? So what you're speaking of was sort of my second wave of success. Yeah.

So I had already kind of lived through this first wave of success in the 80s, which was very strange because we were more applauded for our sort of renegade attitude and graphics and hairdos as opposed to our actual physical talent. And that died off very quickly. And licensing was like, it just meant that you signed a piece of paper and someone had the rights to your name and they just went crazy with it with really bad products. So I kind of learned a lot through that process. And then when it came back around again, I was at least prepared in terms of keeping my integrity and my quality control because I already had made these mistakes in the 80s. But what I wasn't ready for was the amount of attention that skateboarding got and me personally. I never signed up to be rich or famous. I never thought that was an option. No one had gotten that far.

Yeah. Do you know what it means? A lot of people get into sports, kids get into sports because they can make a career out of it. They can get the million dollar contract. And skateboarding was like, by the time you reach 18, you better find a job. You're out. You're old. You make all your money in the first three years. There was no money. Yeah. Maybe you make a hundred grand if there's like three or four people, maybe, right? Not even that.

I mean, truly, like when I said when I turned pro, you know, we're competing for $150. No one was making it. And if you're over 18 and you're trying to pay rent, that just doesn't work. We never aspired to be rich or famous. And so when that stuff came, it was very foreign. You know, when a lot of times people are aspiring to that, they get a taste of it, Then they lose their motivation because it's like, oh, I got everything I wanted. And I never was looking for that. So I was always motivated to keep skating.

And I think that's what saved me. A lot of my friends kind of fell off when they had those experiences with success because suddenly they were just caught up in the party and the hype. And they weren't skating anymore. And then you don't hear about them anymore. Yeah, that's it, and it's over. And so I got lucky in that, if nothing else, that success allowed me to skate more and skate better.

Right. How did you manage the emotions of it all? Like all the attention, all the interviews. I mean, greatest athlete in the USA, or the most well-known and all these titles. I think it was just more learning to treat everyone with respect. And that came from being an impressionable kid and seeing some of my heroes and some of them were jerks. Really?

Yeah, and that just crushes you as a kid. It's the worst thing that could happen where you meet these guys you look up to, your heroes, and they're not nice. And they discard you because you can't do anything for them. And I think that through the years, I just learned it from experience. You know what I mean? And also having my own kids and seeing them, how people treat them. And it's just more like, I'm so thankful to be here. I know I'm absolutely, like, this is one of the luckiest things that could have ever happened. And beyond any dream come true, and I don't take it for granted. Yeah. And I still don't.

Yeah. Did you feel like you went through a challenging time during that to manage it all, though? Or is it kind of— Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes it was easy to get caught up in the hoopla. The hype. Yeah, and also just in terms of being distracted

and trying to raise kids. I mean, I had to wrestle with that for years because there were things that I was choosing to do that absolutely were not priorities, but seemed like that's what you do if you're in this scene, if you're on the radar of talk shows and charity. Like, these guys want you to go to to france for a charity event over

the weekend why wouldn't you do that and at some point it was like well because it's not necessary yeah and and it's taking you away from your family and and you're just doing it because the attention's on you yeah what type of dad do you want to be one that's present, one that leads by example. And I feel like that definitely has shined through in recent years for my kids. Really? Where they see me, where I really do. Our schedule's crazy, and our kids are all over the place, and they're all different ages. And we are there for them in the important times and when they need guidance. them in the important times and when they need guidance.

When you were kind of growing in the fame and building the businesses and launching brands, how do you manage intimate relationships with your partners? Because you've been married a couple times. Yeah. How do you navigate managing? They're all different. The stresses were different at each time and the dynamic all different. The stresses were different at each time, and the dynamic was different. I am as much to blame as anyone, but they all sort of fell apart for different reasons. But a lot of it was because of my schedule and my fame and my choices.

And I accept that. And it wasn't really until recent years that I figured out that I'm comfortable in my own skin and that I don't need to be always doing something or be distracted. And that also, you know, the choices I make and the people I was with, the dynamic wasn't the best for a healthy relationship, yes. Did you ever feel like you weren't comfortable in your own skin? Yeah, I think so, especially once I got a lot of fame and a lot of money, yeah, because I didn't know

where I belonged. And like I said, a lot of people, that's what they strive for. And then once they get there, they think, this is where I belong. I should be having all this, the fancy cars and the big houses and be showy about it. And at some point, I was more disappointed that I ever followed that path.

Really? Yeah. Disappointed in yourself? Yeah, for sure. You thought you were being too showy? Yeah, I was just like, why do you have to be on MTV Cribs? Right. I remember that episode.

That was pretty funny. But you know what I mean? Just to show off all the big stuff you bought. Like, yeah, but they know you have money. Do you know what I mean? It's like all the bling and all that stuff. None of that stuff matters in the end. When you see people showing that stuff off,

maybe on social media, their cars or their house, do you feel like they shouldn't be? Or do you feel like... They can do what they want. No, I don't pass judgment on it. I'm just saying in terms of myself, it just wasn't important. Wasn't important. I can tell you a lot of times

when I see that flash on social media, I can tell that they're doing it beyond their means. Really? Yeah, absolutely. Because when you see certain entertainers, you're like, they're not making that much money. Come on. That stuff's on loan.

There's no way that's happening, you know? It's not totally hot. But in their world, you got to project that image and that's what counts. And I accept that. It's hard to live up to that though. Consistently. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I want to provide for our kids. I'm not trying to blow it all. Right. Yeah. I don't know if you'll ever blow it all. Yeah. Well, the video game royalties have dried up, but Hey, we're working on new ones. So. Yeah, there you go. What's been the biggest lesson in marriage that you've learned while you

drive to follow your dreams and pursue your career path and your businesses, but also having a healthy, thriving relationship? What's been the biggest lesson or the biggest piece of advice you have for other people who are in that path? Be supportive. She's smiling. Yeah, and I think also just be open. Talk about the things that are concerning you before they fester. Yeah. Don't let them get to the point where they're so big that you can't talk about them.

And then there's just the elephant in the room and the tension and the quietness that will just kill relationships so fast. And ours is super challenging because, like I said, I have many priorities. Not priorities, but many obligations. My priorities are our kids. And those things sometimes don't line up because you've got to go do the thing that makes the money for our family to thrive. But we find time, and we work really hard at it. It's work, but it's worth it.

It's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you feel like there was a time where you didn't communicate well? Yeah, for sure. And I just didn't really understand. When I was a kid, my parents were from the 50s, and they were not showing love outwardly.

I didn't grow up in a very loving home. It wasn't like they hated each other, but definitely just... They didn't show affection. Not at all, yeah. And to me, only through their actions, not through their words. And so I didn't really grow up understanding intimacy like that.

And I never wanted to really embrace that because I thought it was going to be too hard or I just didn't know. You thought embracing intimacy would be too hard? Yeah, or just scary. I didn't really understand the process. Yeah. And, and, and opening yourself up like that. And it just seemed like I had these sort of ridiculous notions of what marriage and parenting are supposed to be. And you do this and you get childcare and you do this and this and this, and this is how it were, you know, it was all like Ozzie and Harriet. And it was just such a lie.

Yeah. And to present, you know what I mean? You present this falsehood of contentment. Happy. Yeah. Yeah. It's like fake book. You know, it's like, this is my life.

That's not really your life. Those are the cool pictures of your life. It's like Instagram showing off the car. Yeah, exactly. Right, right. But that's not the core of it. And I feel like I've just come to understand and come to terms with the reality of everything and presenting it as real.

I am what you see is what you get. Right. You know, there's no other facade of fantasy out here. What's been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome, let's say, in the last 20 years, 15 to 20 years, for you personally, the biggest breakthrough challenge you've had to overcome, let's say in the last 20 years, 15 to 20 years for you personally, the biggest breakthrough that you've had to overcome? Honestly, I think it was in recent years, I started losing a lot of my endorsements just because of like the way that sponsorships work nowadays. It's all more based on your social media and they're all short-lived. And I was living through multi-year contracts. And just by sheer coincidence, all of them sort of ended all

at once. And it leaves you with a sense of not knowing your value. It's hard to explain, but it was like all of a sudden, it was like, well, I haven't changed what I do. I'm not getting worse at what I do. Why is everyone bailing out? And I think that I had to wrestle with what is my sense of value and how do I navigate these waters and still do what I love? And I kind of figured it out on my own, but very much like

had to believe in myself more than ever. Wow. Where I believe that what I'm doing is still relevant and what I'm doing still has resonance and that people hopefully are still interested in it. And I kind of figured out how to make those, I don't want to say make those ends meet, but fill those voids in terms of finances and in terms of being out there through my use of social media. Wow. And suddenly I found myself getting different deals because of what I was doing out there on social media and how I was presenting myself out there. It wasn't just social media what I was doing out there on social media and how I was presenting myself out there. It wasn't just social media, because I was absolutely skating as hard as ever.

And then I just started putting out video parts myself. And that was just a weird notion. It used to be, if you're in a video, it's because you're team made a video. And you're working towards that video, and it's a group effort, and you present it as the team video. And it was more like, I got to get busy,

get some tricks on video and make a video section and just put it out there. And luckily with technology now, you can. Right away, yeah. Right away, yeah. Do you feel like this, since these sponsors are looking for, you know, social media followers or they're looking for the younger guys that are coming up in this? Yeah.'s not lost on me either i mean i i know i'm i'm i'm the old skater dude i'm like the guinea pig for how far you can push this in terms of age and so that that was never a secret to me but but it did feel like all of a sudden like why all at once um yeah and and it was a lot of it was because our industry was struggling surf skate industry the companies they were all really having Hard times and that was you know, I was a byproduct of that. Yeah Do you feel like you need to chase relevancy still then do you feel like if I'm not?

Putting out videos or if I'm not with these skaters or I think it's more It's more my pride than anything that is in terms of what I think is relevant So every once in a while, like I got to go to learn a new trick just because I feel like I'm really still doing it. Not because I want everyone to be like, look, everyone, I did something new. It's just more like for you. I got to feel good about what I'm doing. And it's not going to be some groundbreaking new spin or anything, but it's maybe a little thing that I thought of and figured out how to make my board move differently. And it's like, oh, it's a new trick. That's cool. And figured out how to make my board move differently and it's like oh

It's new trick. That's cool. What's the biggest fear for you right now at this stage your life? It's mostly just for the peace of mind for our children and giving them the opportunities to chase their dreams and Being supportive and and I think it's more that any of them feel slighted in terms of our time or support That's one of the hardest things to deal with because, like I said, we have kids. We have a couple. We have one in college. One's going to college. Two are at home, and they all have different interests.

They all have different priorities. And we want to be equally supportive to all of them. Of course. How do you raise kids with your fame and the financial success you've had? How do you raise kids to feel like they can financial success you've had how do you raise kids to feel like they can go out and do it on their own or not either living off of your name or what you've built and they still have the desire to chase their dreams how do you teach instill that first by the example

absolutely they've seen that I've sort of built this, whatever it is, this business or this success through my own actions and through my own perseverance and over the years and creativity and whatnot. But I think that they all want to stand out on their own, especially like my oldest son is a pro skater. He's living in my shadow, so to speak, in terms of what's expected of him. And he really found his own. A lot of pressure. It is, but he found a way to make it his own. He's a different style of skater. He's more street.

He doesn't compete. But he's learned how to be very creative and have his own following and his own style and his own, really his own vibe. And I'm really proud of him for that because I think my success discouraged him initially from skating. And so our other kids, they're excited to pave their own way. I think that's the best way of putting it. They all are motivated to continue their schooling. They're all motivated to find their own niche or career. And I'm really proud of how they are hustling for themselves. It's funny, like my oldest son, they definitely don't just rely on our money. Like my oldest son, when he's got downtime at home, well, not my oldest,

my second oldest, he'll be a DoorDash driver. Really? Yeah. Hustling. Hustling, yeah. And it's not hard, but obviously this party is like, how much are you really making with that? But at the same time, like, hey, I'm proud of you for working at it. Yeah, like, go do it. Yeah.

Learn how to be responsible. I'm curious about the way you think in the most challenging times during competition. I think of the 900 moment and watching you struggle and fail over and over and not land the trick over and over, and then you have one chance left. You had many moments like that in lots of competitions, I'm assuming, that just weren't captured like that, where the pressure was on, you had to nail the trick, or the moment. Where does your mind go in those moments when there is all that pressure to perform at the highest of your ability I think the first thing is telling yourself you

can do it that's my only key to true success is having the confidence so if I'm in that moment and I know I've got to absolutely put it all at risk, I feel capable of doing so. That's one of the first things that you have to, and if you go in with any sense of doubt. It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. And whatever the worst case scenario is that you think of, that's what's going to play out in the end. Yeah. So don't think of the worst case scenario.

Or this is it. If you're ever going to make this trick, I mean, like exactly with the 900, I have been trying it for years. I've been trying it on backyard ramps. Yeah, almost 10 years. And you never landed it in practice? No. But, you know, I was trying it on backyard ramps. Every once in a while I'd have my friend shoot video.

Like today's the day maybe. And I'd have him shoot video. And I definitely gave him my all. I mean, like I've actually, landed it a couple times, broke my rib on the bottom of the ramp. But I was there. And then when they started having best trick competitions through the year, and so a couple of them I tried 900s, but I don't know.

I just didn't – I wasn't feeling it that day or whatever it was. And then when the X Games happened and my spin was, it was more about the ramp. The ramp was ideal for that situation because it was kind of sticky and it was really big. And so big for what was big then. How small, right? Yeah, now we have 30-foot ramps.

So I started spinning it, and it was consistent, and I could spot my landing, and it was like, well, if you're ever going to really make it, this is the time to make it. And so it was the same mindset when I broke my rib. That was the one. I was like, I'm going to make it. This is the one I'm going to make. I'm putting it on the wall.

I'm going to commit to it. And I fell forward. You broke your rib. Broke my rib, yeah. But I did land. You landed. It got you. So it was there.

It was close. You knew you could do it. It was definitely in the back of my mind. It was there. It was definitely in the back of my mind. It was there. And so at the X Games, when I finally was committing to it, I was leaning back a little bit to compensate for that broken rib. And if you watch it play out, you'll see that the first couple I land, I was leaning too far back. Kind of falling on your knees, right?

Well, no. They were always on your knees. But instead of committing to my front leg and falling forward, I was more leaning back and I was shooting out. You've got to commit all the way to land it. Well, I had to find the balance between leaning too far forward and leaning too far back. And how many times did you fall before you— Ultimately, that's what happened.

I don't really know. I think it was 10 or 11, but I don't have many more each time I do it. Like, I only have generally about 15 or 20 in the bank before I'm exhausted or before I get hurt. And this was the last moment, the last chance. Well, not really. I mean, that— It could have gone longer if you had more energy. No, it was just that the time for the event was already over. Over.

Got it, yeah. So they were just allowing me to keep trying it. Got it. And it wasn't like—I didn't think it was going to count for the competition. I just want to get done. Right. And that's the mindset of skating. You know, it wasn't for the glory. It was just like, I'm going to finally get this trick. I'm finally in the mud. I finally can do it. And I never thought that they're going to put it on TV. I never thought that they're going to, they would let me win after the time had run out.

Because that just never helped. When I learned 720s, which is a double spin, I literally learned on a backyard ramp in Stockholm, Sweden in 1985 with three people watching me and no video. That's what I was used to in terms of learning new tricks. That's the scenario. So all of a sudden it was broadcast live on ESPN. It was like a SportsCenter highlight. I wasn't ready for any of that, nor did I expect it.

You just wanted to learn a trick. I would start walking through airports at that time, and people would stop me. Tony Hawk, 900. And I was like, how do you know? Why do you care? Yeah, it was iconic. It was iconic.

After that moment, when you were still competing, how were you able to work through the pressure of competition without like, oh, I've got to land the bigger trick and the bigger trick? Well, I always have that in my head. I've got to step it up or I've got to do my best. Do you feel like you were able to thrive under the pressure better with the pressure and the attention or better without it then? It all depends.

I got to the point where when I was truly just in competition mode, I would get to the point where I would practice so much that I would have a really difficult routine dialed in, so it just seemed like robotic to me. It was almost boring. You'd done it so much in practice. Did so much, yeah. And then I would have this handful of tricks in my back pocket that if I needed to step it up, I could do a harder trick here, here, here.

But generally it was the same line, the same routine. And it wasn't until after that, when in 1999, when I, you know, I always said it was going to be, I didn't always say, but that year I decided it was going to be my last year of competition before the year started. So when I made the 900, it was like, oh. Now it's just beginning. Good out. Oh, it was the out, yeah. Yeah, that was it. It was like, okay, we end on a high note.

Right. And I did a couple contests after that, but I knew at the end of the year that was going to be it. But then it allowed me to start doing exhibitions. And that's when I created the Boom Boom Huck Jam tour, which was skateboarding, motocross and BMX. And it was our sports as entertainment. And in doing so, I found a new way of skating shows that I hadn't explored before. And that was really exciting. And honestly, those were my best years of skating. Like I was skating way better in those shows than I was in any competition.

Yeah, because I was loose. And even though, yeah, we were doing routines and we didn't want to fall, but if you did fall, you could get up and try again. And the crowd liked that. You can't do that in a competition. Right. You know, generally't do that in a competition. You know, generally you can't invest trick competition to an extent, but they really liked that aspect. And we were creating really complicated routines of incorporating everyone all together. And it was more like I found this new, this new avenue of performing and it was a

blast. Wow. It was that kind of like pre-Nitro Circus then, right? It was, yeah. Yeah, actually, we went to the first live Nitro Circus show. And I've actually said this to them, so it's not a big shock. They stole your idea pretty much, yeah. Well, no, it wasn't that. It was that we had big half pipe

in the middle of the arena floor. We had a motocross track that went around the outside, jumped over the half pipe, and then jumped over the half pipe. We had a motocross track that went around the outside, jumped over the half pipe, and then jumped over the half pipe. And then we had this giant ramp that came in from the ceiling, and then a jump for us to go over the ramp through the middle. And then this 20-foot quarter pipe. It was like this, it was about $2 million worth of ramps that filled the floor. We went to the first Nitro Circus show, and it was basically the roll-in and a jump and a landing in an airbag. And they were filling arenas left and right. Crazy. And I was like, is that all I had to do? Yeah. Just make a really big jump into the

airbag. And every year we'd step it up. Like, okay, we do that. All right. Now we have the loop. So I'd have the same company build us a loop. Oh, my gosh. And the loop is five minutes of the show. Because once you see someone going around the loop. You're like, all right. Yeah. Trick's over.

Next. Yeah. So it's different. Right. How hard is that, going in a loop? Seems almost impossible. It's funny. It's not.

When you do it, what it takes physically is not hard at all. It's not, when you do it, what it takes physically is not hard at all. The mindset of not hitting a ramp and turning around is so hard to get through. And I see plenty of people who really want to do it, and they never can make that turn in terms of understanding that you're riding one track and you're not coming down the same side. You know what I mean? As a ramp skater, your instinct is once you get here turn around and go back Uh-huh, and so when you finally

right when you finally Determine that it is this sort of carve and it's not a trick. That's when it works Mm-hmm. That being said one false move and break your pelvis like I did. Oh my god I'm curious about the video game explosion because when your games came out, this is what, in the 2000s, right? Early 2000s when it came out. This kind of took skateboarding, it seemed like for me, on a whole new level of awareness. Is that right? Around the world? Yeah, Yeah, for sure. I think, if nothing else, it created a fan base for skating that hadn't existed before in terms of the people that used to love skating, I would say in the 80s, early 90s, were only skaters themselves. There was no one watching from at home thinking like, cool mctwist yeah i didn't watch before that

yeah it just wasn't because i didn't skate and they didn't understand it and so i think what our video game allowed them to do was to appreciate the dynamics of skating and the difficulty of it and then suddenly there was a this fan base of people who played our games that suddenly understood trick names and understood locations and got to know some of the figures. And it was crazy. It was crazy how it exploded and suddenly we were thrust into the spotlight

and it inspired kids to start skating. That was probably the best byproduct of our video games is that it really inspired a few, not a few, thousands of kids to pick up skateboards and try it for themselves. Did the industry in general get bigger then? Yeah. Like clothing and gear?

Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Really? Mm-hmm. And you had a lot of those brands as well. Oh, yeah. Well, our Birdhouse brand was definitely the one that was affected the most positively because up to that point, we were still kind of struggling with the brand

and keeping it alive. I'd say from the years 92 to 97 we're very trying. And then in 97 it started to turn and then the game hit and… Blew up. Yeah, blew up. What's the thing you've still yet to create or achieve that you haven't done yet? Oh, that's a good question. I've never been able to work on some sort of either TV or movie

that truly captures the spirit of skating beyond like Dogtown Z-Boys era. And I think that that's long overdue. I know Jonah Hill is working on something. I have something in the works. It's more of a comedy of sort of an older school group of guys that are trying to skate, you know, ones that were skating in the 80s and whatnot. But I feel like there's room for something in between there that really has a lot of heart. A TV series or a movie? I think a TV series. Yeah.

Have you seen that new, uh, karate kid show on YouTube? Have you heard of it? I heard of it. Yeah. It's like the karate kid comeback. Now they're older and they're like competing against each other. Okay. The actors. And, uh, maybe there's something that would like the old time skateboarders do like a series. I don't know. Maybe that's the comedy. Yeah. I think that that's what I mean. I feel like when you're doing with all the old school guys, that leans more towards comedy. But I feel like something that does take place within that era that was very sort of experimental in the 90s.

But that being said, I am working on a Broadway project with Mark Mothersbaugh that is a reality where we bought the rights to a Nick Hornby book called Slam about a teenage skater who about a teenage pregnancy but the kid skates and we want to bring live skating and Mark's music and the story to Broadway and I feel like that is that is something really exciting to me because it feels like something that's very unique and it's going to be a fun challenge. And, I mean, for me, it's the dream team.

Like Mark Mothersbaugh, I've just been a huge Devo fan and all of his soundtrack work through the years. And then I've read all of Nick Hornby's books. Wow. It's pretty exciting. You're already working on that? We're working on that, yeah. Wow. That's cool. You've already working on that? We're working on that, yeah. Wow. That's cool.

You've got a new game as well for the... Yeah, a mobile game I'm working with. I'm working with Maple Media. We're doing a mobile skating game. For the iPhone or Android or... Both, yeah. Yeah. That's going to be out in October.

It's not yet named. I mean, I know what the name is, but they're not announced yet. But it'll be out there. It's pretty cool. I think we've done really well name is, but they're not announcing it yet. But it'll be out there. It's pretty cool. I think we've done really well for the limitations of a phone. Okay, cool. So if we searched Tony Hawk in the App Store in October, we'll find it.

In October, yes. Gotcha. Or if we follow you on Instagram, I'm sure you'll be announcing it. Oh, yes, yes. You'll be promoting it everywhere. Absolutely. What's the question you wish more people would ask you about? it everywhere. Absolutely. What's the question you wish more people would ask you about?

What you've covered in terms of balancing family life, you know, that's something that people don't try to dive into. It's not really the big celebrity type of stuff, but I think it's important. So I feel like you really covered it. And just in terms of trying to give guidance to others who might be getting into those kind of situations where, you know, at some point you have to really embrace your responsibilities as well as your success. Yeah. I think the reason I asked that is because there's a lot of driven entrepreneurs or people that are passionate about their career, the businesses that they're creating who listen or their passions. And sometimes we can get caught up too much in the passion and not enough in the connection with family members.

And also just learning to play. That's a huge important thing that people forget about. They get so caught up in the day-to-day and the kids and the school and the work. And then it's like, you got to remember to goof around. Do you goof around a lot? Yeah, with the work, and then it's like just, you got to remember to goof around. Do you goof around a lot? Yeah, with the kids, for sure. Yeah. Kids probably make you goof around

because you got to play with the toys with them. Yeah, yeah. And we've become the go-to house for the VR. So that's been pretty fun. That's cool. It's sort of a hazing process when people come. You got to put on the VR. Really?

Put you in the scary game. Oh, man. Just so we can video their reactions. How scary is it? Well, some of them are way too scary. But some are really fun. Really? Yeah.

And that's another thing I would love to do is make a VR skating game. But at this point, I'm not having any leads on it. And also, it's tricky because if it's really it's if it's a reality-based skating game and you're really skating it's probably going to cause motion sickness so i i'm very motion sick like any type of spinning i get dizzy and nauseous i went to disneyland a few years ago with my girlfriend we went in a simulator it was the first ride we went on it was a simulator i think it was a star wars And I literally started sweating profusely. My whole body was in 15 seconds. Oh, you went on Star Tours. I think that's what it was. Yeah.

I was sitting there. I took the glasses off instantly. It didn't help. It was like I was so gone. I was in the nurse's office for the next six hours of the day. It was like so embarrassing. I always want to do rides, but when they go upside down and do crazy stuff, it's like I'm done. I don't know what it is. I don't know how to train myself to get beyond that. Yeah. I've sort of had to not force but strongly suggest my daughters to do that.

Yeah, because she always is very hesitant about, let's just go. What if? What if? What if? I'm 50 years old. No, what if something's happening to me? Yeah, that's always is very hesitant about, let's just go. What if, what if? Like, what if? I'm 50 years old. No, what if something's happening to me? Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

What's the thing you want more people to know about you that they maybe don't know? I don't know. I never really think in those sort of lofty terms. I'm just thankful to be here. Yeah. And all this stuff that I've been able to do and experience and people that i get to meet like it's beyond any dream you know when people say is this that you live in the dream like i never imagined this this dream didn't exist we're creating the dream

it's insane and it's just it's super fun the one thing you might not know me as i'm tired you're tired yeah because our schedule's insane you're nuts. You're going to Detroit right after this. You're traveling all the time. Yeah, I'm taking a red-eye to Detroit to skate there tomorrow. That kind of stuff where people don't see. They think it's all glamorous. It's a lot of work. Yeah, you're being carried through town and being feathered.

It's just like, no. You're tired. I'm getting off of red-eye and I'm going to go rent a car and maybe take a nap and then go to the skate event. But that's my choice. I can't complain. It's what affords all these things, yeah. And what's the thing you're most proud of, would you say? That managed to raise really stable, fun children through all this chaos and commitments and, you know, the fire of success.

Yeah. That truly they're grounded and appreciative and that they treat people well. It's a great quality, yeah. Yeah. A couple of final questions. This one is something I ask everyone at the end of the show. It's called the three truths. So I want you to imagine that you've achieved everything you want.

You've had the relationships, dreams. The kids have grown up and done everything they want to do. And you get to decide when it's your last day. It could be hundreds of years from now. It could be whenever you want it to be. Your last day here on earth, right? Yeah. You choose. It's a happy moment. But for whatever reason, all the things you've created, you've got to take with you. So you can't really leave anything behind. You've got to take it all with you. But your family gives you a piece of paper and a pen and they say, well, you write down the three things you know to be true. From all your experiences and lessons, the three lessons you would leave

behind are truths. And this is all we would have physically, tangibly to be reminded of you, besides our memory. What would you say are your three truths? Wow. Easy questions last time. besides our memory, what would you say are your three truths? Wow, easy questions last time. Got to warm you up for it. Three truths. I think people deserve respect. You have to believe in yourself.

And you should help others that can't help themselves. Do you feel like you're doing a good job of helping others? Yeah, through my foundation, I do, absolutely, yeah. Yeah, that's great. You work with a lot of kids in your foundation, right? Yeah, we help provide public skate parks in low-income areas. And so we help people get the resources or jump through all the right hoops for them to get a park built in their area. And we've been doing it for 16 years now and helped to fund almost 600 parks.

So I feel really proud of that, of our work there. And, I mean, I guess that third truth would be somewhere between that and you've got to give back. Yeah. Be of service, yeah. Be of service, yeah. If someone wants to donate or they want to nominate a location for your foundation where can they go to support that yeah tonyhawkfoundation.org all the info is there we have we literally have a guide to public skate parks getting a public skate park in your area it's not we don't we try to empower communities

that are already trying to help themselves so we don't just say like we need a park in x city and we'll go build it and we get all the glory we want to empower the community so that they feel like they have a sense of ownership and pride. They take care of it and yeah. Yeah, and also that they're the ones that did the groundwork for it. But we're giving them the map in order to get it done. Yeah. And where can we connect with you personally or online

or where do you hang out? What social media platforms? Tony Hawk and all platforms. Are you on Instagram mostly or Facebook? I spread it across. Facebook is weird with all their algorithms. Things kind of get buried. It seems to be less contraction there unless you want to pay for it.

And I'm not one to pay for it. So if you find me there, that's great. But I think, yeah, my Instagram is probably my go-to and my stories. Cool. Insta stories. Yeah. We'll check you guys out. Yeah, because I find myself in absurd situations.

You're just like, I have to film this. Crazy, yeah. I mean, just like last night we went to The Spy Who Dumped Me premiere and found myself between Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon with their poster behind them like, this is cool. Get in the shot. Yeah, right.

So we'll check you out there. We'll make sure to follow Tony on all those platforms. Before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Tony, for being an incredible inspiration to so many people.

For me as a kid growing up and watching that one moment in time and then watching everything you've been able to do afterwards, it gives a platform and an opportunity for me to see

this is a model that I could live for my life and lots of other people. Well, thank you very much. Yeah, I just want to acknowledge you for your generosity, your kind heart, and your humility. I think I love the fact that you say, you know what, I'd be doing this anyways, even if the money wasn't here. I know you have obligations and things you've got to show for, but the fact that you love your art and your craft and your sport that much is truly inspiring. Oh yeah. I still, still selfishly, the fact that we get to build more escape parks, I get more places to skate. There you go. All over the world. I love that. This is the final question. It's what is your definition of greatness? Huh.

Pushing boundaries while still being approachable. Love it. That's my best one. Love it. Tony, thank you, man. All right, sure. Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it, brother.

There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did. Make sure to share it with your friends. Spread the inspiration. The best thing you can do today is to listen and consume and learn something new for yourself and develop your mind, develop your ability to grow, to think differently. And then you've got to spread the message. You've got to share the journey with other people.

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Text a friend the link. It's lewishowes.com slash 674. It's all about breaking limitations and creating a legacy. Tony Hawk has done that. Again, every single week, our goal is to bring you the most inspiring individuals in the world to help you unlock your greatness, to bring you wisdom, information, stories, tools, resources to support your life each and every day, to get you clear on the vision for your life, your dreams, your goals, and really the meaning of your life. What is the purpose and the meaning of your life that brings you the ultimate fulfillment? Why are you here? We're

answering these questions, we're giving you solutions, and we're hopefully creating the incredible experience for you each and every week. I love you so very much. And as Jim Rome said, all good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine. Think about that. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. សូវាប់បានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា you