Tony Hawk is a thirteen-time X Games medal winner and he is now celebrating 21 years as a professional skateboarder. Although Tony doesn't officially compete any longer, he manages to stay in the limelight. He has been featured in almost every major publication, TV show, and movies. From designing skateparks with the help of the Tony Hawk Foundation, to writing an autobiography and the new Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 that was just released by Activison, Tony Hawk has done it all.
His latest and possibly greatest accomplishment is the creation of the Book Boom Huck Jam a traveling tour featuring the world's best skateboarders, BMXers and Motocross riders on a giant customized ramp, while live music rocks the house.
Check out the website for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4
Check out the site for the Boom Boom Huck Jam
Dan Epstein: How involved were you with the making of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4?
Tony Hawk: I was very involved. I would play the builds every step of the way. They would send me one every couple of weeks and I would make suggestions. It wasn't as much detail work as the previous ones because I didn't have to give them another crash course on skating. The first game I had to tell them what could and could not be real. Now they know a lot of the guys who make it now are actually skaters themselves. They get all the skating magazines and videos. The small details aren't as difficult.
DE: Did they videotape you wearing all the wires?
TH: I did that for the first game and they still use a lot of that. When they use new tricks they just take it right from videotapes.
DE: What do you think of all the amazing reviews?
TH: It's great. It is hard to outdo yourself when doing sequels. It's not just new levels and new tricks. But people get it. There's more playability.
DE: Do just skate fans play or do fat kids like me play?
TH: Originally it was just the skaters played it but then it really broke into the gaming community. Now it's everyone.
DE: Do you ever try some of the wilder moves from the game?
TH: Yeah though most of the moves are based in reality. When you get into combinations that's when it gets into unreality. There are also goofy tricks in there.
DE: Do you ever have a problem with frat boys actually coming after you?
TH: [laughs] Not anymore, a lot of frat boys actually skate.
DE: How did the Boom Boom Huck Jam come together?
TH: It was an idea to do a tour on an arena level and have the action be the focus. Usually when you do tours of that size it's all about music and the skating is the sideshow. I felt there was enough interest in our sport to make it the focus. We're getting bigger and bigger crowds and we're even sold out of a couple of venues on the east coast.
DE: This is a time when big shows like Lollapalooza either aren't around anymore or don't do very well. You must have been shocked when the Boom Boom Huck Jam did so well.
TH: We were shocked but we believed in it. I believed in it so much I put my own financial stake at risk and just hoped. The hardest thing was to convince people that it's not just a traveling X-Games. There really is a big show element with theatrics. Once we got going on a few shows it's really taken off.
DE: What are some of the bands that are at the shows?
TH: We have a different band each week traveling with us. On the east coast its Social Distortion. We're going south next week and it's going to be Good Charlotte. But we've had Offspring, Devo, and CKY.
DE: CKY must have been great. Did any of them skate on the ramps with you?
TH: They were pretty good. I think they were shocked at the size of the crowd. They're used to an older audience so they had a hard time not cussing on the microphone. Bam [Margera of Jackass fame] showed up for a show because his brother is in the band.
DE: Is there a lot of competition between guys like you and Mat Hoffman?
TH: That's the thing, the beauty of our tour is that's its not a competition. It's just us in our realm but just more relaxed because we're not being judged.
DE: I spoke to Mat Hoffman when he was on the tour bus. It sounds like it gets pretty nutty.
TH: It's a rock and roll tour. We've been having a blast. I think all the bikers and skaters are all surprised that they are the stars of such a big show. We're all so used to being the side attraction to state fairs and half time shows.
DE: Activision donated $50,000 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. How is that going?
TH: It's been great. We give support and resources to cities to build public parks in underprivileged areas. If there's a community that wants a park we try to give them funding. Also we try to help them build the ramps correctly. Some cities go at it and don't consult the skaters and when the facility finally gets built its not up to par. we've helped get about 50 parks get built.
DE: What's your favorite music to skate to? Is it AC/DC's TNT like the video game?
TH: It's anything driving and hard. I don't want to say it's one genre. At the shows there's punk, hip-hop and everything. Usually it's something that's fast and has a lot of energy.
DE: It looked you had a lot of fun in the jackass movie.
TH: It was. We actually did that during rehearsals for our show. They came to our airport hangar where we had all the ramps set up.
DE: Did you hurt yourself? Because I think you are supposed to with them.
TH: Thats usually the prerequisite. I got away clean but I almost got heat exhaustion from the heat suit. Bam ended up puking because he was so hot in it. They didn't show that because there was enough puke in the movie.
DE: You worked with both Tom Green and the jackass crew. Do you find them similar at all?
TH: I think they are all really creative. A lot of those guys grew up as skaters including Tom Green and living through the antics of skate videos and that segwayed into comedy for them.
DE: I asked Mat if he expected all this when he first got on the bike. He said, "I didn't expect anything. I just got on the bike."
TH: Yeah. At the time when we started the most successful skaters and bikers were maybe getting free equipment at best. They weren't rich or famous but they had the respect of their peers. We never expected anything from it. It's kind of ironic because in a lot of ways we're doing the same thing we were doing when we were kids but we have a bigger audience.
DE: What did you think of Stacy Peralta's Dogtown and Z-Boys?
TH: I thought it was great. It's a story that people who are interested in these sports should know about. It was a generation that influenced what I do.
DE: Is your book going to become a Disney movie?
TH: I don't know. There was talk of that but I haven't heard much. I've learned that when people talk about movies that you shouldn't expect anything for at least two years.
DE: You're going to be on The Simpsons this season.
TH: Yeah it was really amazing. Homer and I have a skateboarding competition. I lend him a board that does all the tricks for him. It's basically to win Bart's respect so I want him to win.
DE: Did you and Dan Castellaneta [the voice of Homer] have to wear all the wires?
TH: We just sat in a room and did the voices. I'm such a huge fan of the show. I would have given all my trophies just to be on that show.
DE: Mat and you once switched and you got on the bike and he got on the board. How did that go?
TH: We've done it a couple of times and it doesn't go very well.
DE: This has been a big year for you. You were in the movie XXX, Boom Boom and lots of commercials. A lot of people have been saying that you are selling out. How do you respond to that?
TH: I'm still doing the same stuff I've always done. I've had signature products since I was 14 years old. It just happens that now they sell really well. The definition of a sell out is that you're stuff is selling. It's always been available and it allows me to do what I do best which is skate.
DE: Are you a mentor to a lot of kids?
TH: I don't really consider myself in that light. I like to identify with skaters on the skating level. I don't want to put myself above anyone. If they ask for advice I'm happy to give it.
DE: If you're kids jump on the skateboard, what do you think of that?
TH: If they enjoy it. My oldest son is an avid skater. He has a lot of fun.
DE: What do you think of skateboarding in the Olympics?
TH: I don't know. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think its necessary for skating's legitimacy. I think it's more established than many Olympic sports.
DE: People don't throw javelins at parks in the city.
TH: [laughs] Exactly. There are more people skating than playing badminton. At this point the way the Olympics are going it seems that they need skateboarding more than skateboarding needs them.
DE: What's the next step for the sport?
TH: With things like the tour that was a big leap.
His latest and possibly greatest accomplishment is the creation of the Book Boom Huck Jam a traveling tour featuring the world's best skateboarders, BMXers and Motocross riders on a giant customized ramp, while live music rocks the house.
Check out the website for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4
Check out the site for the Boom Boom Huck Jam
Dan Epstein: How involved were you with the making of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4?
Tony Hawk: I was very involved. I would play the builds every step of the way. They would send me one every couple of weeks and I would make suggestions. It wasn't as much detail work as the previous ones because I didn't have to give them another crash course on skating. The first game I had to tell them what could and could not be real. Now they know a lot of the guys who make it now are actually skaters themselves. They get all the skating magazines and videos. The small details aren't as difficult.
DE: Did they videotape you wearing all the wires?
TH: I did that for the first game and they still use a lot of that. When they use new tricks they just take it right from videotapes.
DE: What do you think of all the amazing reviews?
TH: It's great. It is hard to outdo yourself when doing sequels. It's not just new levels and new tricks. But people get it. There's more playability.
DE: Do just skate fans play or do fat kids like me play?
TH: Originally it was just the skaters played it but then it really broke into the gaming community. Now it's everyone.
DE: Do you ever try some of the wilder moves from the game?
TH: Yeah though most of the moves are based in reality. When you get into combinations that's when it gets into unreality. There are also goofy tricks in there.
DE: Do you ever have a problem with frat boys actually coming after you?
TH: [laughs] Not anymore, a lot of frat boys actually skate.
DE: How did the Boom Boom Huck Jam come together?
TH: It was an idea to do a tour on an arena level and have the action be the focus. Usually when you do tours of that size it's all about music and the skating is the sideshow. I felt there was enough interest in our sport to make it the focus. We're getting bigger and bigger crowds and we're even sold out of a couple of venues on the east coast.
DE: This is a time when big shows like Lollapalooza either aren't around anymore or don't do very well. You must have been shocked when the Boom Boom Huck Jam did so well.
TH: We were shocked but we believed in it. I believed in it so much I put my own financial stake at risk and just hoped. The hardest thing was to convince people that it's not just a traveling X-Games. There really is a big show element with theatrics. Once we got going on a few shows it's really taken off.
DE: What are some of the bands that are at the shows?
TH: We have a different band each week traveling with us. On the east coast its Social Distortion. We're going south next week and it's going to be Good Charlotte. But we've had Offspring, Devo, and CKY.
DE: CKY must have been great. Did any of them skate on the ramps with you?
TH: They were pretty good. I think they were shocked at the size of the crowd. They're used to an older audience so they had a hard time not cussing on the microphone. Bam [Margera of Jackass fame] showed up for a show because his brother is in the band.
DE: Is there a lot of competition between guys like you and Mat Hoffman?
TH: That's the thing, the beauty of our tour is that's its not a competition. It's just us in our realm but just more relaxed because we're not being judged.
DE: I spoke to Mat Hoffman when he was on the tour bus. It sounds like it gets pretty nutty.
TH: It's a rock and roll tour. We've been having a blast. I think all the bikers and skaters are all surprised that they are the stars of such a big show. We're all so used to being the side attraction to state fairs and half time shows.
DE: Activision donated $50,000 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. How is that going?
TH: It's been great. We give support and resources to cities to build public parks in underprivileged areas. If there's a community that wants a park we try to give them funding. Also we try to help them build the ramps correctly. Some cities go at it and don't consult the skaters and when the facility finally gets built its not up to par. we've helped get about 50 parks get built.
DE: What's your favorite music to skate to? Is it AC/DC's TNT like the video game?
TH: It's anything driving and hard. I don't want to say it's one genre. At the shows there's punk, hip-hop and everything. Usually it's something that's fast and has a lot of energy.
DE: It looked you had a lot of fun in the jackass movie.
TH: It was. We actually did that during rehearsals for our show. They came to our airport hangar where we had all the ramps set up.
DE: Did you hurt yourself? Because I think you are supposed to with them.
TH: Thats usually the prerequisite. I got away clean but I almost got heat exhaustion from the heat suit. Bam ended up puking because he was so hot in it. They didn't show that because there was enough puke in the movie.
DE: You worked with both Tom Green and the jackass crew. Do you find them similar at all?
TH: I think they are all really creative. A lot of those guys grew up as skaters including Tom Green and living through the antics of skate videos and that segwayed into comedy for them.
DE: I asked Mat if he expected all this when he first got on the bike. He said, "I didn't expect anything. I just got on the bike."
TH: Yeah. At the time when we started the most successful skaters and bikers were maybe getting free equipment at best. They weren't rich or famous but they had the respect of their peers. We never expected anything from it. It's kind of ironic because in a lot of ways we're doing the same thing we were doing when we were kids but we have a bigger audience.
DE: What did you think of Stacy Peralta's Dogtown and Z-Boys?
TH: I thought it was great. It's a story that people who are interested in these sports should know about. It was a generation that influenced what I do.
DE: Is your book going to become a Disney movie?
TH: I don't know. There was talk of that but I haven't heard much. I've learned that when people talk about movies that you shouldn't expect anything for at least two years.
DE: You're going to be on The Simpsons this season.
TH: Yeah it was really amazing. Homer and I have a skateboarding competition. I lend him a board that does all the tricks for him. It's basically to win Bart's respect so I want him to win.
DE: Did you and Dan Castellaneta [the voice of Homer] have to wear all the wires?
TH: We just sat in a room and did the voices. I'm such a huge fan of the show. I would have given all my trophies just to be on that show.
DE: Mat and you once switched and you got on the bike and he got on the board. How did that go?
TH: We've done it a couple of times and it doesn't go very well.
DE: This has been a big year for you. You were in the movie XXX, Boom Boom and lots of commercials. A lot of people have been saying that you are selling out. How do you respond to that?
TH: I'm still doing the same stuff I've always done. I've had signature products since I was 14 years old. It just happens that now they sell really well. The definition of a sell out is that you're stuff is selling. It's always been available and it allows me to do what I do best which is skate.
DE: Are you a mentor to a lot of kids?
TH: I don't really consider myself in that light. I like to identify with skaters on the skating level. I don't want to put myself above anyone. If they ask for advice I'm happy to give it.
DE: If you're kids jump on the skateboard, what do you think of that?
TH: If they enjoy it. My oldest son is an avid skater. He has a lot of fun.
DE: What do you think of skateboarding in the Olympics?
TH: I don't know. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think its necessary for skating's legitimacy. I think it's more established than many Olympic sports.
DE: People don't throw javelins at parks in the city.
TH: [laughs] Exactly. There are more people skating than playing badminton. At this point the way the Olympics are going it seems that they need skateboarding more than skateboarding needs them.
DE: What's the next step for the sport?
TH: With things like the tour that was a big leap.
*calms down*
That was fun.