Category: Skateboarding

Lil Wayne is back with a brand-new episode of Young Money Radio on Apple Music 1. This week, legendary pro skateboarder Tony Hawk drops in to talk about his journey as one of the first celebrity skaters to break into the mainstream, the highly anticipated release of his video game Tony Hawk’s ‘Pro Skater 3 + 4’ coming this Summer, and his vision for the future of the skating world.

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Video | Lil Wayne & Tony Hawk: Skateboarding, Video Games & Stardom | Young Money Radio

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Tony Hawk talks to Lil Wayne about not fully living in the moment during the height of his success

Lil Wayne: Now, were you able to actually enjoy the moment or was it all moving too fast? If you had the chance to run it back, what would you do differently?

Tony Hawk: If I had the chance to run it back, I would enjoy the camaraderie more. I was so hyper-focused on skating, getting better.

Lil Wayne: Getting better. Yeah.

Tony Hawk: And then at some point, my sponsors expected the most of me from competitions because I was leading the competitive circuit. So, it just became like I was a machine and I’d go to the contest, I’d hide new tricks, practice all day. Then, I’d come in with a strategy. And even that was sucking the fun out of it. And so if I could run it back, I would’ve just took more chances and had more fun with all the people around.

Lil Wayne: Have more fun.

Tony Hawk: Because I do see videos of all the skaters back then, Grasso and Lance and everyone. They’re having so much fun.

Lil Wayne: So much fun.

Tony Hawk: And you just see me on the deck, laser focused like, “I got to make all the tricks.”

Tony Hawk talks to Lil Wayne about becoming one of the first celebrity pro skaters and brining skating into a mainstream culture

Tony Hawk: Things were wild, especially when our video game got released and suddenly there people just knew my name. Not just associated with skateboarding, but associated with video games. And I was getting invited to all these different events and talk shows and it was wild. And at some point, I was like, “Oh, these people don’t know anything about skateboarding.”

Lil Wayne: Exactly.

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Tony Hawk: And it’s up to me to explain it and to represent it realistically, fairly. It was weird because the video game was released, like you said. I was 31. I was already old for a skater in terms of what people considered skating then. And I was a vert skater, so it was like, “This dude? This old vert skater is going to represent us?” And I felt that, but at the same time I was happy to, because I embraced skating for all of it.

Lil Wayne: Every piece of it.

Tony Hawk: Hopping fences and for the renegade aspect. I did it because it set me apart from my schoolmates and my peers and people who played traditional sports. And I love that, that’s what it was. And it was the culture and the music and everything else. And so when I had a chance to be a spokesperson, I embraced it.

Tony Hawk talks to Lil Wayne about the upcoming release of Tony Hawk’s ‘Pro Skater 3 + 4’ and what fans can expect from the new game

Lil Wayne: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 drops this summer. Wait, it’s 3 + 4. What that mean?

Tony Hawk: It’s a remake of 3 and 4. With some new surprises in there.

Lil Wayne: Okay. Now, what are you most excited for in this release? What are some of the new features and surprises fans should watch for?

Tony Hawk: Oh, man. Well, I’m just excited that we even still get to do video games, to be honest. And once we released 1 + 2, that was in 2020, it didn’t seem like 3 + 4 was going to happen. There were a bunch of hurdles that we had to overcome, and the group that made 1 + 2 got disbanded, and there was just all these challenges. And then I’ll never forget, I got the call from Activision head and it’s like, “I think we found the studio to do 3 + 4. And I was like, “We’re really doing it?

Lil Wayne: Fuck yeah.

Tony Hawk: Amazing. Yeah. And now we’re pretty close. It’s going to be released this Summer. I can’t say much about it, but it’s the best of three, it’s the best of four and new stuff that I think people were going to be pleasantly surprised about.

Tony Hawk talks to Lil Wayne about the challenges of becoming pro skater then vs now and the future of skateboarding

Lil Wayne: Well, now what does it take to go pro now compared to when you were coming up and what new challenges do today’s skaters face that you didn’t?

Tony Hawk: Well, it’s just a sea of talent. So to rise above it, you got to do something truly special.

Lil Wayne: Yeah. Social media.

Tony Hawk: Either through competition or through social media. You could be as much of a personality as you are a good skater, and that could cut through the noise. I think it’s just you got to have a brand. I hate that whole idea, you got to be an influencer, you got to have a brand, but you can have a very specific style of skating, and if no one else can really touch it, that’ll rise above.

Lil Wayne: When you say that, it makes me think of… It made me think of little Ayssa.

Tony Hawk: Oh, Rayssa. Yeah, amazing.

Lil Wayne: Yeah, I remember she-

Tony Hawk: Her whole thing started with the heel flip in a tutu.

Lil Wayne: With the tutu.

Tony Hawk: Yeah.

Lil Wayne: That’s exactly what I was saying.

Tony Hawk: That was it. I didn’t know her name, but I reposted it myself. I was like, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I love it.”

Lil Wayne: Look, that’s beautiful. Exactly.

Tony Hawk: Now, she’s the best female street skater.

Tony Hawk talks to Lil Wayne about Stacy Peralta pioneering skateboarding content with Bones Brigade videos

Lil Wayne: Now, before there was YouTube, the Bones Brigade videos gave Skateboard fans a better looking to the world you guys created. Do you think you guys pioneered a lot of the sports content creating now?

Tony Hawk: I would credit Stacey Peralta with that.

Lil Wayne: Okay.

Tony Hawk: Stacy Peralta was the one who wanted to make skate videos. Right. When videotapes came out, when home videos just started, he started making skate videos.

Lil Wayne: Skate videos.

Tony Hawk: And people started buying them for VCRs. He was a pioneer in that whole movement. So, I credit him. And also the idea that he wanted to create this feature length movie about us chasing this mythical character. We didn’t get it. We were in because we trusted Stacy, but we didn’t know. We’re not actors, we’re skaters.

Lil Wayne: You didn’t know that it was going to be what it became?

Tony Hawk: Oh, no. I never knew that it would be endlessly quoted.

Lil Wayne: Yeah. It’s still the Holy Grail. Just so you know.

Tony Hawk: I look at it, it’s fun. And I’m still skating with those guys. It’s crazy. Cab McGill are at my ramp all the time. Lance is still skating backyard pools. Rodney is still skating at midnight. Tommy’s still cruising. It’s wild.