Wow, two skateboarding articles within just a few days found in the mainstream media.  You can’t beat that.  Tony Hawk, doing an interview with the other less significant LAT, the Los Angeles Times, talks about his upcoming video game with Activision.  Can you believe that he’s been in the video game, game, for about ten years now?  That’s crazy.  He’s released about a game a year I suspect. 

As you probably already know, video games generate billions of dollars annually and Tony’s games have definitely contributed its share.  Even shmo’s such as myself who usually could care less about video games got really into the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series.  I used to cut class to play Pro Skater at the Virgin Megastore in Hollywood for six hours straight.  I must say I got pretty good at it regularly scoring a million points.  That’s how savant I am. 

But those games didn’t just have a (positive) impact on me as a kid cutting class, but for thousands of skaters everywhere improving on their shred skillz.  You can’t deny that those games had some kind of influence on how skaters skate today with all the noseslide, to manual, to kickflip out renditions.  Sometimes when watching some of the videos today, I could swear I’ve seen runs reminiscent on Tony Hawk Pro Skater. 

Check out the article over at the LA TIMES.  If any skater were to reach a billion dollar net worth, it would have to be Tony.  He or Willy Manaloto Santos.  But not because of his skating, but for his acting chops.  That’s right, I have to give another shout out to my favorite skateboard film of all time, THE SKATEBOARD KID II. 

We’ve all seen the monumental EA trailer for the upcoming skateboarding video game SKATE 2 starring practically every single skater known to man, except for Tony Hawk.  I think he was busy that day dancing around in his briefs.  But basically, it looks like EA, in an attempt to keep video gamers (prepubescent and pubescent) enticed by a concept that may has lost steam over the past few years, came out with a sequel to SKATE.  This time with an extended storyline.

I’m not really into video games but that’s not to say that I’ve never been into them.  The only video games that have ever caught my attention have had storylines.  The first game I could ever remember being addicted to was a crappy game on computer game called LEISURE SUIT LARRY.  The only reason why I loved this game was because it was like a B-movie in the context of a video game. 

EA just released the second trailer for SKATE 2 over on TackyWorld giving you an idea of what you can look forward to.  This version of Skate looks great but I wished they added my favorite skate character, Officer Rivieri. 

Everyone loves the 80’s.  Who doesn’t love that decade?  The music was awfully awesome, the films were carefree and light, and the style.  You can’t beat the style.  Everything from the JHERI CURL to the PANTS was fresh and that decade can never be duplicated again.  Even people who weren’t born in the 80’s love the 80’s.  Just look at all these skate rats with long hair and tight pants.  The 80’s was the decade when words like brah, gnarly, and bodacious was born.

Quiksilver All 80’s Vert Jam just went down this past weekend and it was a who’s who of 80’s skateboarding.  Back then, skateboarding took on a life of its own and it’s great to see a lot of the skaters of that era are still involved.  Everyone from Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Jeff Grosso, and Christian Hosoi were all present.  Check out the footage from Shred or Die and check out Concrete Jungle for more photos.

Overall Contest Results:
1. Tony Hawk
2. Andy Macdonald
3. Bucky Lasek
4. Kevin Staab
5. Jeff Grosso
6. Christian Hosoi
7. Steve Caballero
8. Eric Nash
9. Eddie Reategui
10. Henry Gutierrez
11. Darin “Cookiehead” Jenkins

If you thought that watching TONY HAWK dance around in his tighty whiteys with a bunch of jocks while pretending to play music with toy instruments was cool, then you probably need to get your head checked.  That advertisement forced me to puke my Stovetop Stuffing dinner.  Okay, it wasn’t that bad but it was pretty disgusting.  The Heidi Klum spot wasn’t so bad though.  Although I would have rather of seen her sing a SEAL song. 

Well if you liked that ad, it probably was due to the fact you also love celebrities like Paris Hilton and PEREZ HILTON.  The new ADIDAS advertisement should be right up your alley.  Along with having many Adidas sponsored athletes, musicians, and artists, the ad itself makes all these celebrities look like commoners. 

Celebrating 60 years of soles and stripes and they’re doing it with all the Adidas Originals friends including David Beckham, Kevin Garnett, Missy Elliott, and Mark Gonzales. They should have added a few more celebrities though.  Like FIDEL

Los Angeles’ KCRW looks to be tapping into the world of “Extreme Sports”.  Possibly because they are one the country’s leading extreme radio stations.  Not extremist, but extreme.  Just last week they had TONY HAWK as a guest on superstar rave DJ, Jason Bentley’s radio show.  There he discussed some of the most influential music and what it meant to him.  I was quite disappointed he didn’t have more skater-influenced music such as SKATER BOI by Avrile LeVigne, or BROH HYMN by Pennywise.

Anyway, Kelly Slater was the guest on this week on KCRW’s Guest DJ Project, which is a weekly program where they invite cultural icons to talk about 5 songs that have inspired them throughout their lives. Kelly Slater is the most successful professional surfer in the history of the sport, with eight world titles and a record number of pro tour victories.  Let’s hope he brings out the edgeness when it comes to surfing hard to some gnarly tunes.  He has a big passion for music, both as a listener and a player. He picks a track by a surfing buddy who happens to be a chart-topping musician, a Ramones cover song, a road trip tune from his childhood, and more. A new book co-written by Kelly, Kelly Slater: For the Love, is out on Chronicle Books.

Tracklist
1.) Jack Johnson- Upside Down
2.) Paolo Nutini- Rewind
3.) Jackson Browne- Running on Empty
4.) Pearl Jam- I Believe in Miracles
5.) Stevie Wonder- I Wish

Bobby and Gunther high five each other.

Gunter – Bummer brah! 

Do most of your weekends sound like this?  Well mine do.  After reading about Tony Hawk’s amazing weekend, I feel that I as a Snakeboarding citizen needs to do more for my community.  The Tony Hawk Foundation raised over one million dollars last Sunday at the Stand Up For Skateparks event in Beverly Hills. Those millions of dollars are going to help fund quality free public skateparks all over the country.  Now that’s making a difference.

Held at an exclusive estate in Beverly Hills, attendees included Tony Hawk, , BMX legend Mat Hoffman, Nomar Garciaparra of the L.A. Dodgers, UFC fighter Wanderlei Silva, Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, and others. The one-day action-sports carnival included games, activities, a special acoustic performance by Social Distortion, and a Vert Demo on Hawk’s personal ramp, where he was joined by White, Bucky Lasek, Andy Macdonald, Kevin Staab, and BMX riders John Parker and Dennis McCoy.

Every young lad at one point of his life must have a prominent role model figure that points him in the right direction when it comes to his diet.  Someone he can trust and look up to while for nutritional guidance and support.  Unfortunately some of your dads are too busy eating donuts and beer to give you any of that support.  So most of you I’m sure look to the media for a role model.  Typically an athlete or possibly an actor. 

Earlier in my life, I was looking up to POPEYE the Sailor Man.  I’d eat spinach like it was going out of style.  Fortunately for me I stopped admiring him or else I’d be some roided out crack head in the NAVY by now.  A few years later my attention focused to the WWF for guidance and my admiration for Hulk Hogan grew immensely.  After watching him every weekend telling me to take my vitamins, I new exactly what I needed to do.  Unfortunately for me, one morning I decided to take 12, thanks to the HULKSTER, and I basically passed out while playing.  Never listened to him again. 

Now, the kids of today have a new role model to look up to.  Shia LaBeouf.  But he doesn’t have vitamins out yet.  Well Tony Hawk Man-X does!  Tony is teaming up with NBTY Inc. (a vitamin company) to create supplemental children’s vitamins in the shape of little skateboard decks, wheels, and hawk skulls.  And they won’t be those crappy chalk-like vitamins.  These will be the gummy variety.  I’m going to order me a pack of these now! 

If you’re 11 years old and you want your mom to get you some of these, read the press release below. 

Ronkonkoma, NY (PRWEB) November 12, 2008 — Whether he’s busy shredding the halfpipe, working on his latest video game, touring the country with his Boom Boom HuckJam or making one of his numerous television appearances, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk is first and foremost an athlete. And athletes know the importance of good nutrition. However, most of Tony’s fans are boys ages 8 to 16 – not the most nutritionally conscious group around. So, Tony has joined forces with NBTY, Inc., a leading manufacturer of nutritional supplements and children’s vitamins, and created the Tony Hawk HuckJam brand of vitamins. These chewy “gummy” vitamins, shaped like miniature skateboard decks, skateboard wheels and Tony’s signature hawk skull, provide a good source of 11 vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, which bolsters the immune system*, and Vitamin B-12, a major factor in energy metabolism*.

To help make a big splash for the release of Tony Hawk HuckJam Gummies, NBTY, Inc. rolled out the vitamins nationally. There are two sizes available – a 60-count bottle and a 180-count bottle. Both will contain three great-tasting flavors of gummies: orange, cherry and grape. So whether you’re a parent looking to give your teen a better handle on nutrition, or a seasoned boarder ready to hit the skatepark, Tony Hawk HuckJam Gummies are a great source of the vitamins and minerals that help keep a body coming back for more. Send an email to info@sundownnutrition.com to find out more about Tony Hawk HuckJam Gummies.

I know what you’re thinking.  Just because Tony Hawk rocked out in a room full of tight whitey-wearing jocks doesn’t make it a landmark moment for skateboarders let alone skateboarding in general.  That was an embarrassment to tell you the truth.  You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to do what those guys did.  “Risky Business” is definitely not one of Tom Cruise’s best.  They should have done something out of “Top Gun”.  Now that would be classic. 

Actually the Skateboard got inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this week.  It is truly a great honor to finally have the “toy” that many of you use as a form of expression, means to make cash, taxiing your friends around, and a way to get to the mall, in good company.  The skateboard will sit along side such classics as the Hula Hoop, Silly Putty, and George The Animal Steal. 

The stick (the stick???), the baby doll and the skateboard are the latest inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Legendary skateboarder and Guitar Hero extraordinaire Tony Hawk donated a personal skateboard for the display.  Strong National Museum of Play inducted the latest members Thursday. All three toys were honored for their role in America’s youth.

“I think that the three were chosen because, of course they’re all classic toys; they’ve been around for generations – the stick since prehistoric times and its used for both practical and imaginative uses. The baby doll because it really does bring out the imaginative play and creativity and it brings out the nurturing role in all of us, and the skateboard because it’s without rules,” said Susan Asbury, associate curator.

What’s the Bonnie Hunt show?  I don’t know either but I just checked Youtube really quick and it looks like it’s just a poor man’s Ellen show or something along those lines.  But The Bonnie Hunt show was fortunate enough to have Tony Hawk as their Extreme Guest today.  You can’t beat Hawk Man X when it comes to Xtreme.  Tony was there to promote his new video game “Tony Hawk’s Motion”.  Instead of giving the game away to all the audience members like they do on Ellen, Tony is giving the opportunity to those out there who really want the game to get a free copy.  Just go over to the Bonny Hunt website to see how you can get your own copy of “Tony Hawk’s Motion”.  Then check out other parts of her site.  I’m sure it will suit you.
 

Tony Hawk is still definitely one of skateboarding’s most influential people.  I mean how can’t he be?  If I were to look around my bedroom right now, I would see the markings of Hawk Man-X all over it.  In my entertainment center, there are several video games with his name on it.  I’ve got some clothes featuring the Hawk Man –X insignia.  And the creepiest thing of all, I’ve got a Hawk Man –X cardboard cut out that my friend gave to me.  That’s actually in my garage. 

Well Tony Hawk made a trip over to a local Los Angeles radio station KCRW to speak with old school Raver DJ Jason Bentley to share his play list that represents the soundtrack to his life.  You would think that he would make the visit over to KISS FM to visit Ryan Seacrest, but nope, he’s gone indie.   Then probably got influenced enough to start a band. 

Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk unveils music that has personal meaning to him – from his days at the skate park and as a high school outcast to grueling exhibitions tours and the soundtrack for his first video game. He tells KCRW DJ Jason Bentley about artists he keeps on heavy rotation AND the perfect song for a skateboard video. Tony’s 5th Annual Stand Up For Skate Parks charity event is November 9, 2008. The Tony Hawk Foundation raises money to build skate parks in low income areas.

Tracklist

1.) Devo- Gut Feeling
2.) Dead Kennedys – Police Truck
3.) Frank Black – If it Takes All Night
4.) The Clash – Safe European Home
5.) Nine Inch Nails – 1,000,000

Go over to KCRW to check out the transcript.  Readwhat each song means to him.