At the 1999 X Games, Tony Hawk became the first skater to complete a 900-degree aerial spin.
Twenty-five years later, he still attends board meetings every day.
“I skated yesterday and learned a new trick,” the 55-year-old icon told the New York Post in an exclusive interview.
But Hawk doesn’t just walk, he now talks too.
Along with fellow extreme pioneer and Bones Brigade member Rodney Mullen, he is embarking on a two-show “Darkslide and Secret Tape Tour,” and the pair will perform in New York City on Thursday, April 4th. The Beacon Theater will be stopping by the Moody Theater in Austin on Sunday, April 4th. 7.
“I’ve been friends with Rodney for 40 years, but I feel like we each have very different perspectives on our careers and success,” Hawk explained.
“He lived on a farm in Florida and grew up skating on concrete pads. I lived in a surf culture in Southern California and got into skating because my older brother was a surfer, but… We realized we had similar trajectories and motivations.”
On both shows, the legendary duo chats and shares rarely-seen videos.
“We have a lot of historical footage, things that were recorded when we were kids, things that we didn’t realize at the time but became milestones for our sport,” Hawk said. Ta.
“You can see Rodney’s first kickflip, my first aerial and spin. Some of them are floating around the internet, but as you’ll see, you can’t find them all in one cohesive place. .”
We will also answer questions from viewers.
“That’s probably going to be some of the most fun because it’s very spontaneous and improvisational, and we don’t do pre-prepared, rehearsed things that people ask us. Because I don’t have the answers.”
And although it’s not in the script, Tony wants someone to ask about Maren’s recent surgery.
“It’s no secret that Rodney recently had double hip replacement surgery and has started skating again,” Tony said. “I want to know what he does. Has he ever done a kickflip?”
Want to see Birdman and Matt chop it up live?
Here’s everything you need to know about Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen’s 2024 Darkslide and Secret Tape Tour.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Tony Hawk & Rodney Mullen 2024 Tour Schedule
A complete calendar with all tour dates, venues and ticket purchase links can be found here.
If these gigs go well, more shows could follow.
“We want to establish this as a format and move it forward in many cities,” Hawk noted. “This is really an experiment. Every time I talk to Rodney on the phone, I’m even more excited about it because we’ve been on the phone a lot this past week. So I’m having a good feeling.”
Rodney Mullen’s story
As we chatted, Hawk dropped an old story about Mullen.
“When we were new to Bones Brigade, Stacey Peralta lived in Santa Monica, so we stayed with him,” Hawk began. “One night he took us to eat in Westwood, where movie premieres were held and was a bit of a hotspot in the ’80s.”
“There are street performers there,” he continued. “There was no parking, so we parked a short distance from the restaurant and skated. Rodney started doing his usual amazing tricks. Suddenly a huge crowd gathered around him and other street performers I started leaving people behind and watching over Rodney.”
“People started throwing money at him,” Hawk laughed. “Then one of the buskers came and bit him to death. That was the end of Rodney’s show.”
“There were 13 of us all.”
Tony Hawk appears on “Saturday Night Live”
In January 2023, “White Lotus” star Aubrey Plaza hosted with musical guest Sam Smith.
Tony Hawk was there too.
The first skit of the night, “Miss Universe,” featured Hawk and the Property Brothers as judges in a parody of beauty pageants that, as Kenan Thompson quipped in the skit, “ranked women based on their appearance.” Appeared.
True to form, Hawke enjoyed his role and shouted every line.
“In the original script, I literally said my name,” Hawk said. “I went with it. I improvised a new line during rehearsal and they loved it.”
“Lorne was like, ‘Let’s keep Tony’s new line.’ Next thing you know, there’s an extra line or two. But then we learn how the sausage is made, and in rehearsal… We understand why things can go wrong. Some things work much better because we imitate that. And that’s the beauty of ‘SNL.’
You can see the silly four-minute sketch here.
Tony Hawk in “The Masked Singer”
A renaissance man, Hawke also appeared on “The Masked Singer.”
“They approached me to do the show, but I was a little skeptical,” Hawk said about appearing on the show in February 2020. “Then they started going through a list of potential songs and bands. I thought, ‘It would be cool to sing The Cure.’ I worked with a vocal coach for several weeks to perfect my range for the song. ”
“My dancing wasn’t the best. I think that’s what shut me down. I also think ‘The Cure’ is a little confusing for that kind of audience. They told me ‘Born to Be Wild.’ and I had them both in my pocket. And they wanted me to do Born to Be Wild first. Because we thought it would be more energetic and the dance would go a little beyond our common sense. ”
“But I ended up insisting that The Cure come first.”
Below is an unofficial video of the performance.
People who recognize Tony
Outside of skating, Tony Hawk may be best known for people asking him, “Is he…Tony Hawk?”
“(It’s) a daily thing,” he laughed. “The same thing happened again yesterday. I stopped sharing it (on social media) because people think it’s redundant and that I’m making it up. I’m just sharing my experience, so I think maybe someone will find this interesting.”
“It happens as often as a joke now,” he continued. “The meme has taken on a life of its own. If I don’t tell people it’s me, her daughter will go crazy. They didn’t ask.”
“It feels like a big deal, like, ‘Actually, I am.'”
Big concert in 2024
If you can’t make it to New York or Austin, there are plenty of big shows happening at nearby venues.
Here are just five tours we can’t wait to see this year.
• Blink-182
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Foo Fighters
• Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins
• Pearl Jam
Who else is on the street? For more information, check out our list of the 50 Biggest Concert Tours of 2024 here.
