10 Things We Learned From Tony Hawk On The Joe Rogan Experience
The Birdman landed on the JRE.
To many people, Tony Hawk is the embodiment of skateboarding. From his rise to prominence as a teenager during the first boom for skating in the early 80s, to earning a reputation for being one of the most innovative and decorated vert skaters of all time, Hawk has embedded himself in the public consciousness in a way unlike almost any of his contemporaries.
However, what really made the Birdman into the most recognisable extreme sports star in the world, was the insanely popular Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series that captured skateboarding culture and blended it with arcade-style gameplay, creating one of the most beloved franchises in the history of the genre.
So, with a remastered version of the first two games scheduled for release later this year, and anticipation for a serious nostalgia rush at an all-time high, combined with the recent news that Joe Rogan has penned a historic deal with Spotify there was no better time for these two to link up and do a podcast together.
Though Rogan is the first to admit that he isn't aware of all the nuances of the four-wheeled art-form, he and Hawk have a great wide-ranging conversation that is definitely worth a listen.
10. Matt Tomasello Does Some Crazy Things On A Skateboard
Despite being completely upfront about competitive skating not exactly being his forte when it comes to sporting knowledge, Joe did actually bring up an aspect of skateboarding that even appeared to catch Hawk off guard with how niche it is.
After all, by his own admission Hawk is the only pro skater Joe knows by name, so it was pretty surprising when right at the start of the podcast Rogan starts talking about videos where skaters are riding boards that are different from a conventional skateboard allowing a whole new dimension of possibilities to be opened up.
One of the main proponents of this entirely innovative subgenre is Matt Tomasello, who has starred in several viral videos showcasing his skills on the bootleg boards. For those that haven't seen this style before, even if you aren't generally a fan of skateboarding it's definitely worth a watch for the sheer ingenuity at work in both creating, and riding, the contraptions.