Tony Hawk is still the top name in skateboarding nearly three decades after he became a mainstream name.
The 58-year-old skating legend had been around for years as a professional skateboarder, first doing so as a teenager in the early 80s in Southern California. However, it wasn’t until he became the first person to hit the 900 skateboard move — 2.5 rotations in mid air — at the Summer X Games in 1999 that Hawk’s name became a household name.
The move occurred at the perfect time as his Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game series was released on game consoles later that year, becoming one of the best-selling video games franchises of all time. In fact, it has sold over 1.4 billion copies in its lifetime and continues to this day with remakes and re-releases on the current generation of video game consoles.
The most recent release in the video game franchise saw the remake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 — originally released in 2001 and 2002 — released in the summer of last year with new modern skaters — such as Jamie Foy and Zion Wright — and a recreated soundtrack.
While Tony Hawk’s Underground — the sequel after the fourth release in 2003 — still needs to be re-released, Hawk expressed a desire to continue the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise with brand new versions if Activision is open to it.
“I don’t have an answer for you on that, but I am open to to ideas,” said Hawk in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports on if more games will be released. “I’m definitely open to a conversation with Activision if they want to bring back the next series or do something new. I think the next game that would be in line for a remaster would be Underground, and I know a lot of people ask about it, so it’s in their court.”
Tony Hawk on Having New Ideas and ‘Maps’ for Potential New Game in Series
The last original game to be released in the series was Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 which was released back in 2015 on the previous generation of consoles, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
When asked if he has original and new ideas popping in his head for a potential new release in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise, Hawk said there’s “bits and pieces.”
“Yeah, bits and pieces,” said Hawk. “It’s hard to ignore the idea of a remaster, but I feel like there are all kinds of things that we could do, especially with new maps and maybe even new controls. I don’t know.”
He said he never imagined that the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game series would be relevant nearly three decades later and calls it one of his “greatest joys” during his lifetime.
“Never,” said Hawk if he imagined the series being relevant nearly 30 years after its release. “When we were doing, it just seemed like a great experiment, and we felt lucky that Activision was giving us no guardrails when we were designing it in terms of how we how we used emotion, who we included in it, what kind of music. All that stuff, they really gave us free rein, and we were doing it just because we thought it was fun. And little did we know it resonates so wildly and so widely that it would become more of an institution. Nowadays there’s people that say, ‘Oh, this song sounds like it should be on a THPS soundtrack.’ That’s that’s one of the greatest compliments I could ever get.”
Tony Hawk on How He Stays in Shape With Qunol
While Hawk is still well known for his video game franchise, he’s keeping busy these days with his partnership with Qunol, a well-known dietary supplement brand. Hawk — who admits he skates differently now at 58 compared to his younger days — said Qunol helps him stay in shape.
“I’ve been partnering with Qunol for years now, and I’ve been using their product for about 10, so I was already buying honestly their CoQ10 way before I was working with them, and it’s helped me immensely,” said Hawk. “Between that and the turmeric for inflammation and the magnesium for joint health, it’s a big reason why I’m still able to skate at all at 58.”
He details what the “Move Like a Champion” campaign with Qunol is about.
“We are doing the ‘Move Like a Champion’ campaign because I think, especially at my age, movement is hugely important,” said Hawk. “It doesn’t have to look the way it did when you were young. Mine certainly doesn’t. The way that I skate, the way that I’m active is much more low impact, but equally as important. We’re trying to encourage people to get out there and move, keep it moving.
“Whether you’re dancing, walking your dog, chasing your kids, chasing your grandkids like me, we’re encouraging people to show us how they move,” Hawk continued. “So show us how you move like a champion. Record a video of yourself, tag and follow Qunol on any of the social networks, and we are going to be picking videos and giving away prize packs, including Qunol merch and Birdhouse skateboards, signed Tony Hawk gear Yepa helmets. Just keep it moving.”
Tony Hawk Offers Update on Future of Activision Pro Skater Games