Tony Hawk: Legendary professional skateboarder, first to land the 900, founder of Birdhouse Skateboards, and namesake of the billion-dollar Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game franchise.
What this episode covers
Tony Hawk traces his rise from a bullied, hyper-determined kid who found identity in skateboarding to becoming the world's number-one ranked skater by 16. He discusses the commercial collapse of skateboarding in the early 90s, the competitive burnout that nearly made him quit, and the perfect-storm moment in 1999 when he landed the 900 at the X Games just as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater launched. He recounts turning down a $500K royalty buyout right before the game became a billion-dollar success, calling it the best financial decision of his life. The deeper thread is personal: how obsession and fame disconnected him from his family, and how therapy helped him confront a fear of intimacy inherited from emotionally distant parents.
The guest's own work
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Activision
“and then we released uh what became Tony oxpro skater in September wow”— Tony Hawk
Birdhouse Skateboards
Tony Hawk
“we have birdhouse skateboards birdhouse apparel is actually its own uh subsidiary”— Tony Hawk
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Pink Floyd
“it's almost like Pink Floyd The Wall it's just I was building a wall around everyone around myself”— Tony Hawk
Madden
EA Sports
“to have that kind of success especially in video games is reserved for someone like Madden or Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto”— Tony Hawk
Call of Duty
Activision
“reserved for someone like Madden or Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto I mean it's you know to have it be your name was wild”— Tony Hawk
Grand Theft Auto
Rockstar Games
“reserved for someone like Madden or Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto I mean it's you know to have it be your name was wild”— Tony Hawk
Big reveals from this episode
- Activision offered Tony a $500,000 buyout of future royalties right before the game launched, which he turned down.
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is said to have generated around a billion dollars in sales for Activision.
- It took Tony 12 years of on-and-off attempts to finally land the 900 trick.
- The epiphany that let him land the 900 was shifting his weight to his back foot mid-spin and splitting the difference.
- Tony admits the fame era left him feeling hollow and emotionally unavailable to his children, prompting a turnaround.
- In therapy he realized his compulsive behaviors stemmed from a fear of intimacy rooted in his upbringing.
- He started Birdhouse at 24 thinking it was his way to bow out of the spotlight, not a launchpad.
Worth remembering
- Tony's IQ was reportedly measured at 144 and he was in gifted classes, once expecting to become a math teacher.
- He hid his skateboard in the bushes behind his high school because carrying it got him hassled.
- By age 25 he had won 73 of 103 professional contests entered, finishing second 19 more times.
- His parents were 45 and 43 when he was born, so he felt almost raised by grandparents.
- His father Frank founded the National Skateboard Association, which sanctioned most events of that era.
- Tony emailed Neversoft asking to add the 900 to the game; Joel replied 'way ahead of you, you fucking rule.'
- A whole generation of kids has asked Tony if he was named after the video game.
- He bought a skateboard Kurt Cobain hand-painted for a bag of weed and $20, recreated 500 copies for charity.
- Tony broke his femur the year before this interview and was still recovering.
- He decided to stick with vert/half-pipe skating after spraining both ankles on tour, realizing street skating was unsustainable for him.