674 Tony Hawk: Breaking Limitations and Creating a Legacy

“MY ONLY KEY TO TRUE SUCCESS IS HAVING THE CONFIDENCE.” Tony Hawk pushes the limits not just in his sport, but also in his business. His video games have become one of the biggest franchises in history. Spoiler: There’s even more coming in October. I felt so fortunate for Tony to come in and sit down on the. He’s an incredibly smart and dedicated person. Tony sat down with me to discuss how he has been able to be successful in his marriage as well as his business life. He also discusses if it’s more fulfilling to be relevant or innovative. He shares where his mind goes when the pressure is on for him to perform a huge trick, and how he was able to stay committed to his passion even when there was no money in it. This is a really powerful one, guys. You won’t want to miss it. Learn all about what it takes to break limitations and create a legacy, on Episode 674. Some Questions I Ask: Who was the most influential person in your life? (5:46) How old were you when you were bumped up in competition? (8:20) How do you stay committed to something when there’s no money in it? (10:11) What advice would you give to people who have a passion but can’t pursue it on a professional level? (13:36) How did you manage the emotions of success? (17:18) Did you ever feel like you weren’t comfortable in your own skin? (20:29) Do you feel like there was a time when you didn’t communicate well? (23:10) Do you feel like you still need to chase relevancy? (27:38) Where does your mind go when there’s pressure? (30:44) Did your video games take skateboarding to a new level? (29:42) You have a new game as well? (43:32) Do you goof around a lot? (45:09) What’s the thing you’re most proud of? (47:54) In This Episode You Will Learn: Why learning new tricks wasn’t cool (7:28) How Tony’s environment contributed to his success (9:52) The time when Tony thought he would give up skateboarding (12:01) How he handled the overnight success (14:57) How he manages his relationships and success (19:32) Why people shouldn’t show off on social media (21:17) The biggest challenge he’s had to overcome (24:44) How he’s able to raise his kids to not feel like they are riding off his name (28:46) What it’s like skateboarding in a loop (38:39) The thing Tony still needs to achieve (41:27) The thing he wants more people to know about him (46:53) Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 674 with the iconic Tony Hawk. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week, we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 0:31Lewis Howes?

  Jim Rohn said that "all good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine." And Tony Hawk has done that for this generation. He is one of the most recognized action sports figures in the world. And according to some marketing surveys, one of the most recognizable athletes of any kind in the United States. He is a pro skateboarder, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and so much more. His business skills have helped create a Tony Hawk brand that includes a billion-dollar video game franchise.

• 1:11Lewis Howes?

  That's right, a billion-dollar franchise, successful business such as Birdhouse Skateboards, Hawk Clothing, and a film production company. He has done some incredible things and he's paved the way for so many people. And I'm excited to dive into this. We talk about what Tony has learned about in creating a successful marriage and family and business life, how to navigate big career transitions when old income sources dry up, whether it's more fulfilling to have relevancy or to be innovative in your craft. Also, where his mind goes when it's time to hit a huge performance, a huge trick in front of the entire world,

• 1:52Lewis Howes?

  how he stays focused and present, and how to stay committed to your passion when there's no money in sight within the passion. That and so much more. I'm super pumped. Alright guys, I'm excited about this one. This is with the legendary, the iconic, Mr. Tony Hawk.

• 2:14Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness Podcast. We've got the legend Tony Hawk in the house. Good to see you, sir.

• 2:19Speaker 02

  Thank you, you too.

• 2:20Lewis Howes?

  Very excited about this. We were just chatting offline about how amazing it's been to see your career as a kid watching X-Game, watching you do the 900. It was like this monumental moment. And then the video game world blow up for you and just everything continues to blow up.

• 2:37Speaker 02

  Oh, well, thank you.

• 2:38Lewis Howes?

  Congrats on everything and congrats for being an amazing icon for What's Possible. I think you are a great symbol and Rob Dear Dick was just texting me saying how you push the limits constantly and you haven't stopped. And that's what inspired me to want to have you on and interview you because I'm all about how can we unlock our potential? And as a kid, I remember watching, I never skateboarded because I didn't have the coordination as you on a board. But I remember watching the symbol of what you represented and seeing you break your own fears and your limitations in your mind on the X-Games. And that was really powerful for me and I know for a lot of kids, so I appreciate you.

• 3:15Speaker 02

  Oh, thank you very much.

• 3:17Lewis Howes?

  Being a powerful part of my mental development as a child and a teenager. Who was the most influential person in your life growing up, would you say?

• 3:25Speaker 02

  Oh, that's tricky. I think it sort of evolved with different people as I grew up. But for sure, the beginning was my older brother because he was a surfer. He's 13 years older than me, but he was a surfer. And then he started skating when skating kind of just got going in the mid, late 70s. And I took a lot of cues from him, just in terms of doing something new, something different. And he gave me my first skateboard. So obviously that was hugely influential to me. And then once I started skating and I really dove into it, he kind of got out of it. He was in college and doing all, he was a writer. He cared, I mean, he still skated a little bit, but he was just more into a career at that point. And there was no career in skateboarding.

• 4:07Lewis Howes?

  Nothing. It was like a thousand people in the US did it maybe as like a hobby or something.

• 4:11Speaker 02

  Maybe, yeah.

• 4:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it was really small.

• 4:12Speaker 02

  Only a handful of skate parks. So when I really got into it. I was looking towards people to emulate. One of them was Steve Catalero because he was my size. He was actually older than me, but he looked a lot younger. And he was flying out of these swimming pools. And when I saw that in a magazine and I saw this guy, my size, literally flying, that was, that gave me the first, the first fire to be like, I want to, how does he do that? I want to learn to do that. And then I went to the skate park and I saw people doing it live. And I made it my mission to do that. And then as I got sort of, as I started learning moves and things, the, the person I took cues from them was a skater Eddie Alguera because he was the most innovative skater as far as I was concerned.

• 4:56Speaker 02

  At a time when skating was kind of really low in popularity. And learning new tricks was not cool. It was almost like you're a circus act.

• 5:05Lewis Howes?

  Why, why was it not cool?

• 5:06Speaker 02

  Because skating was more about the style and the raw power and, you know, and looking like you're surfing and it was this Dogtown and Z-Boys and, and people who do tricks were considered robots. That was truly it, like, oh, look at that robot. And I was this little kid, I didn't have the cool style and the big power. And I was like, I want to do that stuff.

• 5:25Lewis Howes?

  Tricks, yeah, yeah.

• 5:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, that looks awesome. So one of the first sort of pro level tricks that I learned was a frontside rock and roll because that was Eddie's trick. That was a signature move. Maybe three people could do it. And because I could do it, I couldn't do many other tricks, but because I could do that, they bumped me up classes of competition. And they said, well, he can do frontside rocks, so he belongs in the 3A division.

• 5:48Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 5:49Speaker 02

  And I didn't know if that was good or bad. It felt bad at the time because then I was competing against guys who were much better than me.

• 5:54Lewis Howes?

  How old were you then?

• 5:56Speaker 02

  Eleven, twelve.

• 5:57Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. And you turned pro at 14, is that right?

• 6:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, but, you know, that seems like-

• 6:03Lewis Howes?

  You're not making any money as a pro.

• 6:04Speaker 02

  You're not making any money, there's no, there's no ceremony. You basically check the box for pro in the entry form of the competition instead of amateur. That was it.

• 6:12Lewis Howes?

  That was it. You said, I'm a pro now.

• 6:14Speaker 02

  That's it, yeah. I was self-proclaimed professional.

• 6:16Lewis Howes?

  No one said, you're in a pro league now, or are you-

• 6:19Speaker 02

  No, it just meant that, it meant that I was competing against other skaters and I was competing for a hundred dollars first place.

• 6:26Lewis Howes?

  Right. And if you won money, then you're a pro, I guess.

• 6:30Speaker 02

  Yeah, so it was a hundred for first, seventy-five for second, and fifty for third.

• 6:34Lewis Howes?

  Crazy. This is the late eighties, right?

• 6:37Speaker 02

  Early eighties.

• 6:37Lewis Howes?

  Early eighties.

• 6:38Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, eighty, so, let's see, eighty-two, eighty-three.

• 6:41Lewis Howes?

  Got it, okay. I was born in eighty-three, so skateboarding was, skateboarding was nothing then. It was very small.

• 6:46Speaker 02

  Let's put it this way, when I was, so I'm fourteen. I started winning a few contests. I had about six hundred dollars in the bank. I bought a moped, and that was a big deal.

• 6:55Lewis Howes?

  It was a huge deal.

• 6:56Speaker 02

  Huge, because I could get to the skate park on my own.

• 6:58Lewis Howes?

  Wow. You grew up in San Diego, right?

• 7:01Speaker 02

  San Diego, yeah.

• 7:02Lewis Howes?

  And so luckily it was a skate park near you in San Diego.

• 7:05Speaker 02

  I got very lucky in that the one park that was near me would, became the only one that remained in California.

• 7:11Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 7:12Speaker 02

  Yeah. I believe that if I didn't have that facility, I probably wouldn't have been successful, or, or been able to continue skating.

• 7:19Lewis Howes?

  Wow. So a lot of it was where you grew up, having the other influences around you that inspired you. Obviously you had talent, but if you didn't have the environment, you don't think you'd be where you're at?

• 7:29Speaker 02

  I don't know. It would have been, it would have been a struggle.

• 7:31Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 7:32Speaker 02

  There were some skaters that came from the east coast during that time that didn't have parks, but built their own ramps and would shovel snow off, and I didn't know if I had that kind of commitment to it. You know, I mean, I would have loved to have done it, but I don't know if I would have put that much effort into it.

• 7:44Lewis Howes?

  Sure. How do you stay committed to something? Because when, I guess skateboarding kind of died out for a number of years. Before you hit the nine hundred, it was kind of like dead, and then it came back a little bit. How do you stay committed to your passion when there's no money in something?

• 8:00Speaker 02

  I did everything I could to make ends meet. It was just sort of making compromises in terms of lifestyle and expense, and also taking any opportunity and just putting myself out there. I was hustling a lot in terms of trying to get random work and things like that, like through the early nineties, mid nineties.

• 8:21Speaker 02

  Anything that involved skating, or stunt work, or even camera work. I mean, I did camera work on a Frosted Flakes commercial because they wanted someone to ride on a halfpipe and follow someone. I wasn't getting the job of acting, but they knew I had the skill to do that. Editing videos, I mean, at some point, I at least had enough editing equipment that I could do projects that were outside of skateboarding. So I did random little businesses, and I was doing it for dirt cheap, but it was paying my mortgage. So that was pretty much it. And then whatever would allow me to skate, and I became the sort of go-to consultant for any skate, any production that needed skating in it.

• 9:03Lewis Howes?

  They would come to you and ask you, like, what looks good? What's the angle? What's the location? All that stuff?

• 9:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, basically. I was consulted on a co-commercial for Japan.

• 9:12Lewis Howes?

  But you weren't the skater?

• 9:14Speaker 02

  I wasn't, but every once in a while, they would need... Suddenly, I'd just get thrown into it. Because we do need another skater. You do it. Then I would start getting residuals, and then...

• 9:23Lewis Howes?

  Amazing. So they would hire someone else, but they probably weren't as good as you, right? They're like moms.

• 9:27Speaker 02

  Sometimes, yeah, but I just, you know, I wasn't the right stunt double type, or body type, or I wasn't Japanese in this case, so...

• 9:33Lewis Howes?

  Got it, yeah. Was there ever a time when it was a downtime that you thought you were going to give up skateboarding as like a profession? Or hopefully a profession, and go do something else?

• 9:42Speaker 02

  I kind of did around those years. Because I wasn't relying just on my skating to pay the bills. I was doing these other things, like I told you, and it was trying, for sure.

• 9:52Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 9:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, and we had just started a skate company, a skate brand, and we're trying to, I'm trying to support that, and I'm trying to keep that afloat, and with very little success at the time. But it was more, what I learned was that I would do this, the same thing I was doing, for free. Do you know what I mean? Like, I was getting paid for it. I was getting paid pretty well for it. And then my income, my salaries dropped off significantly, in some cases completely. And I realized that I just love doing it. I would do it for free any day, you know? And getting paid is just incidental. And then, as things came back around, it was suddenly like, I'm getting more money than I ever imagined. I mean, even today, I get paid ridiculous amounts to ride my skateboard, and I would just go do it for free any day.

• 10:37Lewis Howes?

  So that's what made you realize that you would do it for free anyways? You'd keep pursuing it just because you loved it?

• 10:42Speaker 02

  Yeah, and if I'm gonna go, if I'm gonna have to follow a different career to make money, I mean, I understand reality. I understand that at some point, maybe skateboarding was not a key to a career. And I'd have to do something. Maybe I went into video editing. I mean, I learned how to use computers very early on, so I would always be the one called for tech support and stuff like that. So I felt like, alright, I have that skill set. I can go pursue that if I want to, but I always knew that even if I did that, I would still find time to skate.

• 11:10Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What advice would you give to people who have a passion, but maybe they're not able to pursue it on a professional level? Maybe there's not that big of a market for them? Maybe it's in a downturn in their industry? And they feel like they have to go work something else they don't love to make money?

• 11:26Speaker 02

  If you're following a passion for a business, you have to go all in. And you have to take that risk, just to see it through, to see if it will work. And I think that the thing that people don't realize is sometimes it takes way longer than you ever imagined. And a lot of times, you have to learn different skills and different techniques and nuances that you never would have been interested in or cared about. And when I started the skate company, I didn't know anything about marketing. I didn't know anything about purchase orders, or displays, or retail, or wholesale. I just wanted to make skateboards and have a cool team.

• 12:01Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 12:01Speaker 02

  But there were only three of us in the office, so I had to figure out how to do all that stuff. And at some point, I just embraced it. And it definitely was an advantage to me later on, because I did understand those things. And when people are talking shop about different brands and stuff, I know what they're discussing, and I actually have valuable input.

• 12:21Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 12:21Speaker 02

  But a lot of people just want to do the thing they love and not... Really get out of their comfort zone. And I think that's the advantage and you just learn everything about your craft.

• 12:30Lewis Howes?

  That's it, yeah. When skateboarding hit its kind of peak and then you did the 900 and then all this stuff kept rising for you and you kind of rose to fame overnight is what it seemed like from the outside. How did you handle that emotionally or mentally where you had all this news and press and attention, which seemed like overnight?

• 12:48Speaker 02

  So what you're speaking of was sort of my second wave of success.

• 12:53Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 12:53Speaker 02

  So I'd already kind of lived through this first wave of success in the eighties, which was very strange because it was, we were more applauded for our sort of renegade attitude and graphics and hairdos as opposed to our actual

• 13:06Lewis Howes?

  Talent.

• 13:07Speaker 02

  Physical talent. And that died off very quickly and licensing was like, it just meant that you signed a piece of paper and someone had the rights to your name and they just went crazy with it with really bad products. So I kind of learned a lot through that process and then when it came back around again, I was at least prepared in terms of keeping my integrity and my quality control because I already had made these mistakes in the eighties. But what I wasn't ready for was the amount of attention that skateboarding got and me personally, I never signed up to be rich or famous. I never thought that was an option. No one had gotten that far.

• 13:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 13:47Speaker 02

  Do you know what it means? A lot of people get into sports, kids get into sports because they can make a career out of it and they can, they can get the million dollar contract and skateboarding was like, by the time you reach 18, you better find a job. You're out, like you're old.

• 13:58Lewis Howes?

  You make all your money in the first three years, in your two years.

• 14:00Speaker 02

  There was no money.

• 14:01Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, maybe you make a hundred grand if there's like three or four people maybe, right?

• 14:04Speaker 02

  Not even that. I mean truly, like when I, like when I signed, I turned pro, you know, we're competing for a hundred fifty dollars. No one was making, and if you're over 18, you're trying to pay rent, that just doesn't work. We never aspired to be rich or famous. And so when that, that stuff came, it was very foreign. You know, when, when a lot of times people are aspiring to that, they get a taste of it, then they lose their motivation because it's like, oh, I got everything I wanted. And I never was looking for that. So I was always motivated to keep skating and I think that's what saved me. A lot of my friends kind of fell off when they when they had those those experiences with success because suddenly they were just caught up in the party and the and the hype and they weren't skating anymore.

• 14:46Lewis Howes?

  And then you don't hear about them anymore. Yeah.

• 14:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's it. And it's over. And so I got lucky in that if nothing else, that success allowed me to skate more and skate better.

• 14:55Lewis Howes?

  Right. How did you manage the emotions of it all? Like, all the attention, all the interviews, I mean, greatest athlete in the, you know, in the USA, or the most well-known and all these titles.

• 15:05Speaker 02

  I think it was just more learning to treat everyone with respect. And that came from being an impressionable kid and seeing some of my heroes and some of them were jerks.

• 15:16Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 15:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, and that just crushes you as a kid. It's the worst thing that could happen where you meet these guys that you look up to, your heroes, and and they're not nice. And they discard you because you can't do anything for them. And I think that through the years, I I just learned it from experience, you know, I mean, and also and also having my own kids and seeing them, how people treat them. And it's just more like, I'm so thankful to be here. I know I'm absolutely like, this is one of the luckiest things that could have ever happened. And beyond any dream come true, and I don't take it for granted.

• 15:51Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 15:51Speaker 02

  And I still don't.

• 15:52Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Did you feel like you went through a challenging time during that to to manage it all, though, or is it kind of?

• 15:57Speaker 02

  Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes it was it was easy to get caught up in the in the hoopla and

• 16:02Lewis Howes?

  The hype?

• 16:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, and also just in terms of being distracted and trying to raise kids. I mean, I had to wrestle with that for years because there were things that I was choosing to do that absolutely were not priorities, but

• 16:14Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 16:14Speaker 02

  seemed like that's what you do if you're in this scene, if you're on the radar of talk shows and and charity, like, these guys want you to go to to France for a charity event over the weekend. Why wouldn't you do that? And at some point, it was like, well, because it's not necessary.

• 16:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 16:31Speaker 02

  And it's taking you away from your family and and you're just doing it because the attention's on you.

• 16:37Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What type of dad do you want to be?

• 16:40Speaker 02

  One that's present, one that leads by example.

• 16:44Speaker 02

  And I feel like that definitely has has shined through in recent years for my kids.

• 16:50Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 16:51Speaker 02

  Where they see me, where I'm, you know, really do. Our schedule's crazy and our kids are all over the place and they're all different ages. And we are there for them in the important times and when they need guidance.

• 17:05Lewis Howes?

  When you were kind of growing in the fame and building the businesses and launching brands, how do you manage intimate relationships with your partners or? Because you've been married a couple of times there.

• 17:17Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:18Lewis Howes?

  How do you navigate managing?

• 17:19Speaker 02

  They're all different, you know? The stresses were different at each time and the dynamic was different and they all, you know, I am as much to blame as anyone, but they all sort of fell apart for different reasons. But a lot of it was because of my schedule and my fame and my choices.

• 17:35Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 17:36Speaker 02

  And I accept that. And it wasn't really until recent years that I figured out that I'm comfortable in my own skin and that I don't need to be always doing something or be distracted. And that also, you know, the choices I make and the people I was with, the dynamic wasn't the best for a

• 17:59Lewis Howes?

  Healthy driving.

• 18:00Speaker 02

  For a healthy relationship, yes.

• 18:02Lewis Howes?

  Did you ever feel like you weren't comfortable in your own skin?

• 18:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think so, especially once I got a lot of fame and a lot of money. Yeah, because I just, I didn't know where I belonged. And like I said, a lot of people, that's what they strive for. And then once they get there, they think this is where I belong. I should be having all this fancy cars and the big houses and be showy about it. And at some point, I was more disappointed that I ever followed that path.

• 18:29Lewis Howes?

  Really? You're pointing to yourself?

• 18:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure.

• 18:32Lewis Howes?

  You thought you were being too showy or?

• 18:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, I was just like, why do you have to be on MTV Cribs?

• 18:36Lewis Howes?

  Right. I remember that episode. That was pretty funny.

• 18:38Speaker 02

  But you know what I mean, like, just to show off all the

• 18:41Lewis Howes?

  The cars and the house.

• 18:42Speaker 02

  The big stuff you bought, like, yeah, they know you have money. Do you know what I mean? It's just, it's like all the bling and all that stuff. None of that stuff matters in the end.

• 18:50Lewis Howes?

  When you see people showing that stuff off, maybe on social media, their cars or their house, do you feel like they shouldn't be? Or do you feel like?

• 18:58Speaker 02

  They can do what they want. No, I don't, I don't pass judgment on it. I'm just saying in terms of myself, it just wasn't important.

• 19:04Lewis Howes?

  Wasn't important.

• 19:04Speaker 02

  I can tell you a lot of times when I see that flash on social media, I can tell that they're doing it beyond their means.

• 19:10Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 19:11Speaker 02

  Yeah, absolutely. Because when you see certain entertainers, you're like, they're not making that much money. Come on, that stuff's on loan. There's no way that's happening, you know?

• 19:20Lewis Howes?

  It's not totally hot royalties.

• 19:21Speaker 02

  But in their world, you gotta project that image and that's what counts. And I accept that.

• 19:26Lewis Howes?

  It's hard to live up to that though consistently, right?

• 19:28Speaker 02

  Absolutely, yeah, yeah. And, you know, I want to provide for our kids. I'm not trying to blow it all.

• 19:33Lewis Howes?

  Right, yeah. I don't know if you'll ever blow it all.

• 19:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, the video game royalties have dried up. But hey, we're working on a new one, so.

• 19:40Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, there you go. What's been the biggest lesson in marriage that you've learned while you drive to be, you know, follow your dreams and pursue your career path, your businesses, but also having a healthy, thriving relationship? What's been the biggest lesson or the biggest piece of advice you have for other people who are in that path?

• 20:01Speaker 02

  Be supportive and.

• 20:03Lewis Howes?

  She's smiling, yes.

• 20:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I think also just be open. Talk about the things that are, that are concerning you before they fester.

• 20:12Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:13Speaker 02

  Don't let them get to the point where they're so big that you can't talk about them. And then there's just the elephant in the room and the tension and the quietness that, you know, that will just kill relationships so fast. And ours is super challenging because, like I said, I have many priorities, not priorities, but many obligations. My priorities are our kids. And those things sometimes don't line up because gotta go do the thing that makes the money for our family to thrive. But we find time and we work really hard at it. It's work, but it's worth it. It's awesome.

• 20:44Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Do you feel like there was a time where you didn't communicate well?

• 20:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure. And I just didn't really understand. When I was a kid, my parents were from the 50s and they were not showing love outwardly. You know, I didn't grow up in a very loving home. It wasn't like they hated each other, but it definitely just

• 21:05Lewis Howes?

  They didn't show affection.

• 21:06Speaker 02

  Not at all, yeah. And to me, only through their actions, not through their words. So I didn't really grow up learning, understanding intimacy like that. And I never wanted to really embrace that because I thought it was gonna be too hard or I just didn't, I didn't know.

• 21:22Lewis Howes?

  You thought embracing intimacy would be too hard?

• 21:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, or just scary, or I didn't really understand

• 21:28Lewis Howes?

  It is scary.

• 21:28Speaker 02

  The process, yeah. And opening yourself up like that. And it just seemed like I had these sort of ridiculous notions of what marriage and parenting are supposed to be. And you do this, and you get childcare, and you do this, and this, and this. And this is how it works. You know, it was all like Ozzy and Harriet. And it was just such a lie.

• 21:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 21:47Speaker 02

  And to present, you know, you present this falsehood of contentment.

• 21:51Lewis Howes?

  Happy.

• 21:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's like Fakebook, you know? It's like, this is my life. It's not really your life. Those are the cool pictures of your life.

• 21:59Lewis Howes?

  It's like Instagram showing off the car.

• 22:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly, right, right. But that's not the core of it. And I feel like I've just come to understand and come to terms with the reality of everything and presenting it as real. And what you see is what you get.

• 22:15Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 22:16Speaker 02

  You know, there's no other facade of fantasy out here.

• 22:20Lewis Howes?

  What's been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome? Let's say in the last 20 years, 15 to 20 years for you personally? The biggest breakthrough that you've had to overcome?

• 22:30Speaker 02

  Honestly, I think it was in recent years. I started losing a lot of my endorsements. Just because of like the way that sponsorships work nowadays. It's all more based on your social media and they're all short-lived. And I was living through bi-year or multi-year contracts. And just by sheer coincidence, all of them sort of ended all at once.

• 22:57Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 22:58Speaker 02

  And it leaves you with a sense of not knowing your value. It's hard to explain, but it was like, all of a sudden, it was like, well, I haven't changed what I do, I'm not getting worse at what I do. Why is everyone bailing out? And I think that I had to wrestle with What is my sense of value? And how do I navigate these waters and still do what I love? And I kind of figured it out on my own, but very much like had to believe in myself more than ever.

• 23:29Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 23:30Speaker 02

  Where I believe that what I'm doing is still relevant and what I'm doing still has resonance and that people hopefully are still interested in it. And I kind of figured out how to make those, I don't want to say make those ends meet, but but fill those voids in terms of finances and in terms of being out there through my use of social media.

• 23:55Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 23:56Speaker 02

  And and suddenly I found myself getting different deals because of what I was doing out there on social media and how I was presenting myself out there. It wasn't just social media and because I was absolutely skating as hard as ever. And then I just started putting out video parts myself. And that was just a weird notion. It used to be if you're in a video, it's because you're team made a video and you're working towards that video and it's a group effort and you present it as the team video. And it was more like, I gotta get busy, get some tricks on video and make a video section and just put it out there. And luckily with technology now, you can.

• 24:33Lewis Howes?

  Right away, yeah.

• 24:34Speaker 02

  Right away, yeah.

• 24:35Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like this, um, since these sponsors are looking for, you know, social media followers or they're looking for the younger guys that are coming up in this?

• 24:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, and that's not lost on me either. I mean, I know I'm I'm the old skater dude. I'm like the guinea pig for how far you can push this in terms of age. And so that that was never a secret to me. But it but it did feel like all of a sudden, like why all at once?

• 24:59Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, yeah.

• 25:00Speaker 02

  And and it was a lot of it because our industry was struggling, surf skating industry, the companies, they were all really having hard times. And that was, you know, I was a byproduct of that.

• 25:10Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Do you feel like you need to chase relevancy still then? Do you feel like if I'm not putting out videos or if I'm not with these skaters or with these guys?

• 25:18Speaker 02

  I think it's more it's more my pride than anything that is in terms of what I think is relevant. So every once in a while, like, I gotta go learn a new trick. Just because I feel like I'm really still doing it. Not because I want everyone to be like, "Look, everyone, I did something new." It's just more like, I gotta feel good about what I'm doing. And it's not gonna be some groundbreaking new spin or anything, but it's maybe a little thing that I thought of and figured out how to make my board move differently. And it's like, oh, it's a new trick.

• 25:46Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. What's the biggest fear for you right now at this stage of your life?

• 25:51Speaker 02

  It's mostly just for the peace of mind for our children and giving them the opportunities to chase their dreams and being supportive. And I think it's more that any of them feel slighted in terms of our time or support. That's one of the hardest things to deal with. Because like I said, we have kids, we have a couple. We have one in college, one's going to college. Two are at home, and they all have different interests, they all have different priorities. And we wanna be equally supportive to all of them.

• 26:18Lewis Howes?

  Of course. How do you raise kids with your fame and the financial success you've had? How do you raise kids to feel like they can go out and do it on their own? Or not either living off of your name or what you've built, and they still have the desire to chase their dreams? How do you teach and instill that?

• 26:38Speaker 02

  First by example, absolutely. They've seen that I've sort of built this, whatever it is, this business or the success through my own actions and through my own perseverance and over the years and creativity and whatnot. But I think that they all want to stand out on their own. Especially like my oldest son is a pro skater. He's definitely had, you know, he's living in my shadow, so to speak, in terms of what's expected of him. And he really found his own.

• 27:07Lewis Howes?

  A lot of pressure.

• 27:08Speaker 02

  It is, but he found a way to make it his own. He's a different style of skater, he's more street, he doesn't compete. But he's learned how to be very creative and have his own following and his own style and his own, really his own vibe. And I'm really proud of him for that because I think my success discouraged him initially from skating.

• 27:30Speaker 02

  And so our other kids, they're excited to pave their own way. I think that's the best way of putting it. They all are motivated to continue their schooling. They're all motivated to find their own niche or career. And I'm really proud of how they are hustling for themselves. It's funny, like my oldest son, they definitely don't just rely on our money. Like my oldest son, when he's got downtime at home, well, not my oldest, my second oldest, he'll be a DoorDash driver.

• 28:03Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 28:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 28:04Lewis Howes?

  Hustling.

• 28:05Speaker 02

  Hustling, yeah. And it's not hard, but obviously there's part of you that's like, well, how much are you really making with that? But at the same time, like, hey, I'm proud of you for working at it. Yeah, like, go do it.

• 28:17Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 28:17Speaker 02

  Learn how to be responsible.

• 28:19Lewis Howes?

  Hmm. I'm curious about the way you think in the most challenging times during competition. You know, I think of the 900 moment and watching you struggle and fail over and over or not land the trick over and over, and then you have one chance left. You had many moments like that in lots of competitions. I'm assuming that just weren't captured like that, where the pressure was on, you had to nail the trick, or the moment. Where does your mind go in those moments when there is all that pressure to perform at the highest of your ability?

• 28:50Speaker 02

  I think the first thing is telling yourself, you can do it. That's my only key to true success is having the confidence. So if I'm in that moment and I know I've got to absolutely put it all at risk, I feel capable of doing so. That's one of the first things that you have to, and if you go in with any sense of doubt.

• 29:13Lewis Howes?

  It's not gonna happen.

• 29:13Speaker 02

  It's not gonna happen. And whatever the worst case scenario is that you think of, that's what's gonna play out in the end.

• 29:19Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 29:19Speaker 02

  So.

• 29:20Lewis Howes?

  So don't think of the worst case scenario.

• 29:22Speaker 02

  Or this is it. This is, if you're ever gonna make this trick, I mean, like exactly with the 900, I have been trying it for years. I've been trying it on backyard ramps. Yeah, almost 10 years.

• 29:31Lewis Howes?

  And you never landed it in practice?

• 29:33Speaker 02

  No, but you know, I was trying it on backyard ramps. Every once in a while, I'd have my friend shoot video, like, today's the day, maybe. And I have him shoot video, and I definitely gave him my all. I mean, like, I've actually like landed it a couple of times, broke my rib on the bottom of the ramp, but I was there. And then when they started having best trick competitions through the year, and so a couple of them, I tried 900s, but. I don't know, I just didn't, I wasn't feeling it that day, or whatever it was. And then when the X Games happened and my spin was, it was more about the ramp. The ramp was ideal for that situation, because it was kind of sticky and it was a lot, it was really big. And so, big for what was big then. Now we have- Now it's small, right? Yeah, now we have 30-foot ramps.

• 30:17Speaker 02

  But, so I started spinning it and it was consistent and I could see, I could spot my landing and it was like, "Well, if you're ever gonna really make it, this is the time to make it." And so, it was the same mindset when I broke my rib. When I, that was the one, I was like, "I'm gonna make it, this is the one I'm gonna make. I'm putting it on the wall, I'm gonna commit to it," and I fell forward. You broke your rib? Broke my rib, yeah, but I did land. You landed and got you. So it was there. It was close, you knew you could do it then. It was definitely in the back of my mind, it was like, "Well, it's there." And so, at the X Games, when I, when I finally was committing to it, I was leaning back a little bit to compensate for that broken rib. And if you watch it play out, you'll see that the first couple I land, I was leaning too far back. You're falling on your knees, right?

• 30:58Speaker 02

  Well, no, well, it wasn't, they're always on your knees, but, but instead of, instead of committing to my front leg and falling forward, I was more leaning back and I was shooting out, but- You gotta commit all the way to land it. Well, I had to find the balance between, between leaning too far forward and leaning too far back. And how many times did you fall before you- Ultimately, that's what happened. I don't really know, I think it was, I think it was 10 or 11, but- Oh, man. I don't have many more each time I do it. Like, I only have generally about 15 or 20 in the bank before I'm exhausted or before I get hurt. And this was the last moment, the last chance? Well, not really, I mean, that, that- It could've gone longer if you had more energy? No, it was just that the time for the event was already over. Over, got it, yeah. So they were just allowing me to keep trying it. Got it.

• 31:43Speaker 02

  And it wasn't like, I didn't think it was gonna count for the competition. I just wanted to get it done. Right. And that's the mindset of skating, you know, and it wasn't for the glory, it was just like, "I'm gonna finally get this trick. I'm finally, I'm finally in the mode, I'm finally can do it." And I never thought that they're gonna put it on TV. I never thought that they're gonna, they would let me win after the time had run out. Because that's just never how it was. You know, when I learned 720s, which is a double spin, I learned it on a, I literally learned on a backyard ramp in Stockholm, Sweden in 1985, with three people watching me. Mm-hmm. And no video. Yeah. That's what I was used to. You know, in terms of learning new tricks, that's the scenario. So all of a sudden, it was broadcast live on ESPN.

• 32:27Speaker 02

  It was like a SportsCenter highlight. I wasn't ready for any of that, nor did I expect it.

• 32:33Lewis Howes?

  You just wanted to land a trick.

• 32:34Speaker 02

  I would start walking through airports at that time and people would stop me. Tony Hawk, 900. And I was like, how do you know? Why do you care?

• 32:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it was iconic. It was iconic. After that moment, when you were still competing, how were you able to work through the pressure of competition without like, oh, I've got to land the bigger trick and the bigger trick?

• 32:57Speaker 02

  Well, I always have that in my head. I've got to step it up or I've got to do my best, so.

• 33:03Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like you were able to thrive under the pressure better with the pressure and the attention? Or better without it then?

• 33:09Speaker 02

  It all depends. I got to the point where when I was truly just in competition mode, I would get to the point where I would practice so much that I would have a really difficult routine dialed in. So it just seemed like robotic to me. It was almost boring.

• 33:24Lewis Howes?

  You'd done it so much.

• 33:25Speaker 02

  Did so much, yeah. And then I would have this handful of tricks in my back pocket that if I needed to step it up, I could do a harder trick here, here, here. But generally, it was the same line, same routine. And it wasn't until after that, when in 1999, when I, you know, I always said it was going to be, I didn't always say, but that year I decided was going to be my last year of competition before the year started. So when I made the 900, it was like, oh.

• 33:53Lewis Howes?

  Now just beginning.

• 33:54Speaker 02

  Good out.

• 33:55Lewis Howes?

  Oh, it was the out, yeah.

• 33:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, that was it. It was like, okay, we end on a high note.

• 33:58Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 33:58Speaker 02

  And, you know, I did a couple of contests after that, but I knew at the end of the year, like, that was going to be it. But then it allowed me to start doing exhibitions. And that's when I created the Boomum Hakcham Tour, which was skateboarding, motocross and BMX. And it was our sports as entertainment. And in doing so, I found a new way of skating shows that I hadn't explored before. And that was really exciting. And honestly, those were my best years of skating. Like, I was skating way better in those shows than I was in any competition. Yeah, because I was loose and even though, yeah, we were doing routines and we didn't want to fall. But if you did fall, you could get up and try again. And the crowd liked that.

• 34:43Speaker 02

  You can't do that in a competition. You know, generally, you can't in a best trick competition, to an extent. But they really liked that aspect. And we were creating really complicated routines of incorporating everyone all together. And it was more like I found this new, this new avenue of performing. And it was a blast.

• 35:02Lewis Howes?

  Wow, was that kind of like pre Nitro Circus then, right?

• 35:05Speaker 02

  It was, yeah. Yeah, actually, we went to the first live Nitro Circus show. And I've actually said this to them, so it's not, it's not any big shock.

• 35:14Lewis Howes?

  They stole your idea, pretty much, yeah.

• 35:16Speaker 02

  But, well, no, it wasn't that. It was that, it was that we had a big half-pipe in the middle of the arena floor. We had a motocross track that went around the outside, jumped over the half-pipe, and then jumped over the half-pipe. And then we had this giant ramp that came in from the ceiling. And then a jump for us to go over the ramp through the middle. And then this 20-foot quarter pipe. It was like this, it was about, it was about $2 million worth of ramps that filled the floor. We went to the first Nitro Circus show and it was basically the roll-in and a jump and a landing and an airbag. And they were filling arenas left and right.

• 35:53Lewis Howes?

  Crazy.

• 35:53Speaker 02

  And I was like, is that all I had to do?

• 35:56Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, just make a really big jump into the airbag.

• 35:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, I was like, I was, and every year, we'd step it up, like, okay, we do that. All right, now we have the loop. So I'd have the same company build us a loop.

• 36:05Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 36:06Speaker 02

  And the loop is five minutes of the show. Because once you see them go around the loop.

• 36:10Lewis Howes?

  You're like, all right.

• 36:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 36:11Lewis Howes?

  Trick's over.

• 36:12Speaker 02

  Next.

• 36:13Lewis Howes?

  It's so different.

• 36:14Speaker 02

  Right.

• 36:14Lewis Howes?

  How hard is that, going in the loop? Seems almost impossible.

• 36:19Speaker 02

  It's funny, it's not, when you do it, what it takes physically is not hard at all. The mindset of not turning, of not hitting a ramp and turning around is so hard to get through. And I see plenty of people who really want to do it and they never can make that turn in terms of. Understanding that you're riding one track and you're not coming down the same side. You know what I mean? As a ramp skater, your instinct is, once you get here, turn around and go back.

• 36:47Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh.

• 36:48Speaker 02

  And so when you finally, right, when you finally determine that it is this sort of carve and it's not a trick, that's when it works.

• 36:58Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm.

• 36:59Speaker 02

  That being said, one false move and break your pelvis like I did.

• 37:02Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh. I'm curious about the video game explosion because when your games came out, this is what, the 2000s, right? Early 2000s when it kind of came out? This kind of took skateboarding, it seemed like for me, on a whole new level of awareness. Is that right? Around the world?

• 37:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think if nothing else, it created a fan base for skating that hadn't existed before in terms of, the people that used to love skating, I would say in the 80s, early 90s, were only skaters themselves.

• 37:39Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm.

• 37:39Speaker 02

  There was no one watching from at home.

• 37:42Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 37:43Speaker 02

  Thinking like, "Cool McTwist!"

• 37:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I didn't watch before that.

• 37:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:48Lewis Howes?

  Because I didn't skate.

• 37:49Speaker 02

  And they didn't understand it. And so I think what our video game allowed them to do was to appreciate the dynamics of skating and the difficulty of it. And then suddenly there was this fan base of people who played our games that suddenly understood trick names and understood locations and got to know some of the figures and it was, it was crazy. It was crazy how it exploded and suddenly we were thrust into the spotlight and people, and it inspired kids to start skating. That was probably the best byproduct of our video games is that it really inspired a few, not a few, thousands of kids to pick up skateboards and try it for themselves.

• 38:31Lewis Howes?

  Did the industry in general get bigger then?

• 38:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:33Lewis Howes?

  Like clothing and gear?

• 38:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, absolutely, yeah.

• 38:35Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 38:36Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 38:37Lewis Howes?

  And you had a lot of those brands as well?

• 38:38Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah, well, our Birdhouse brand was definitely the one that was affected the most positively because up to that point, we were still kind of struggling with the brand and keeping it alive. I'd say from the years 92 to 97, we're very trying. And then 97, it started to turn and then the game hit and...

• 39:00Lewis Howes?

  Blew up.

• 39:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, blew up.

• 39:01Lewis Howes?

  What's the thing you've still yet to create or achieve that you haven't done yet?

• 39:06Speaker 02

  That's a good question. I've never been able to work on some sort of either TV or movie that truly captures the spirit of skating beyond like Dogtown, Z-Boys era. And I think that that's long overdue. I know Jonah Hill's working on something. I have something in the works. It's more of a comedy of sort of an older school group of guys that are trying to skate, you know, ones that were skating in the 80s and whatnot. But I feel like there's room for something in between there that really has a lot of heart.

• 39:40Lewis Howes?

  A TV series or a movie?

• 39:43Speaker 02

  I think a TV series.

• 39:44Lewis Howes?

  Have you seen that new Karate Kid show on YouTube? Have you heard of it?

• 39:49Speaker 02

  I heard of it, yeah.

• 39:50Lewis Howes?

  It's like the Karate Kid comeback. Now they're older and they're like competing against each other. The actors. And maybe there's something that would like the old time skateboarders do like a series. I don't know, maybe that's the comedy.

• 40:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think that's what I mean. I feel like when you're doing with all the old school guys, that leans more towards comedy. But I feel like something that does take place within that era that was very sort of experimental in the 90s. But that being said, I am working on a Broadway project with Mark Mothersbaugh that is a reality where we bought the rights to a Nick Hornby book called Slam about a teenage skater who, about a teenage pregnancy. But the kid skates. And we want to bring live skating and Mark's music and the story to Broadway.

• 40:39Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 40:40Speaker 02

  And I feel like that is, that is something really exciting to me because it feels like something that's very unique and it's going to be a fun challenge. And I mean, for me, it's the dream team. Like Mark Mothersbaugh, I've just been a huge Devo fan and all of his soundtrack work through the years. And then I've read all of Nick Hornby's books, so.

• 41:01Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 41:02Speaker 02

  It's pretty exciting.

• 41:03Lewis Howes?

  You're already working on that or?

• 41:04Speaker 02

  We're working on that, yeah.

• 41:04Lewis Howes?

  Wow, that's cool. You've got a new game as well for the?

• 41:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, a mobile game I'm working with. I'm working with Maple Media. We're doing a mobile skating game.

• 41:14Lewis Howes?

  For the iPhone or Android or?

• 41:16Speaker 02

  Both, yeah. Yeah, that's going to be on October. It's not yet named. I mean, I know what the name is, but they're not announcing it yet. But it'll be out there. It's pretty cool. I think we've done really well for the limitations of a phone.

• 41:28Lewis Howes?

  Okay, cool. So we searched Tony Hawk in the App Store in October, we'll find it.

• 41:33Speaker 02

  In October, yes.

• 41:34Lewis Howes?

  Gotcha.

• 41:34Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:35Lewis Howes?

  Or if we follow you on Instagram, I'm sure you'll be announcing it.

• 41:38Speaker 02

  Oh, yes, yes.

• 41:39Lewis Howes?

  You'll be promoting it everywhere.

• 41:40Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 41:41Lewis Howes?

  What's the question you wish more people would ask you about?

• 41:46Speaker 02

  What you've covered in terms of balancing family life, you know, that's something that people don't try to dive into. It's not really the big celebrity type of stuff, but I think it's important. So I feel like you really covered it. And just in terms of trying to give guidance to others who might be getting into those kind of situations where, you know, at some point, you have to really embrace your responsibilities as well as your success.

• 42:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. I think the reason I ask that is because there's a lot of driven entrepreneurs or people that are passionate about their career, the businesses that they're creating who listen, or their passions. And sometimes we can get caught up too much in the passion and not enough in the connection with family members and, you know.

• 42:31Speaker 02

  And also just learning to play. That's a huge, important thing that people forget about. They get so caught up in the day to day and the kids and the school and the work. And then it's like, just, you gotta remember to goof around.

• 42:44Lewis Howes?

  Do you goof around a lot?

• 42:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, with the kids, for sure. Yeah.

• 42:48Lewis Howes?

  Kids probably make you goof around because you gotta play with the toys with them and...

• 42:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. And we've become the go-to house for the VR. So that's been pretty fun.

• 42:59Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 43:00Speaker 02

  We like, it's sort of a hazing process when people come, like, you gotta play on the VR.

• 43:05Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 43:05Speaker 02

  Put you in the scary game.

• 43:06Lewis Howes?

  Oh, man.

• 43:07Speaker 02

  Just so we can video their reactions.

• 43:09Lewis Howes?

  How scary is it?

• 43:10Speaker 02

  Well, some of them are way too scary, but some are really fun.

• 43:13Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 43:14Speaker 02

  Yeah. And that's another thing I would love to do is make a VR skating game. But at this point, at this point, I don't, I'm not having any leads on it. And also, it's tricky because if it's really, if it's a... Reality-based skating game, and you're really skating, it's probably gonna cause motion sickness, so.

• 43:33Lewis Howes?

  I'm very motion sick. Like, any type of spinning, I get dizzy and nauseous. I went to Disneyland a few years ago with my girlfriend. We went in a simulator. It was the first ride we went on, it was a simulator, I think it was a Star Wars. And I literally started sweating profusely, my whole body was sweating, 15 seconds.

• 43:50Speaker 02

  Oh, you went to Star Tours?

• 43:51Lewis Howes?

  I think that's what it was, yeah. I was sitting there, I took the glasses off instantly, it didn't help. It was like, I was so gone. I was in the nurse's office for the next six hours of the day. It was like, so embarrassing. I always wanna do rides, but when they go upside down and do crazy stuff, it's like, I'm done. I don't know what it is, I don't know how to train myself to get beyond that.

• 44:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, I've sorta had to not force, but strongly suggest my daughters to, my daughter to do that. Yeah, cuz she always is very hesitant about, like, "Let's just go, let's go, what if, what if?" I'm like, "What if? I'm 50 years old, no what if's been happening to me?"

• 44:27Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's right, yeah. What's the thing you want more people to know about you, that they maybe don't know?

• 44:33Speaker 02

  I don't know, I don't, I never really think in those sort of lofty terms.

• 44:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 44:39Speaker 02

  I'm just thankful to be here.

• 44:41Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 44:41Speaker 02

  And all this stuff that I've been able to do, and experience, and people that I get to meet, like, it's beyond any dream, you know, when people say, "Is this, are you living the dream?", like, I never imagined, this dream didn't exist, we're creating the dream. It's insane, and it's just, it's super fun. The one thing you might not know about me is, I'm tired.

• 45:01Lewis Howes?

  You're tired?

• 45:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, cuz our schedule's insane.

• 45:03Lewis Howes?

  You're nuts, you're going to Detroit right up to this, you're traveling all the time.

• 45:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm taking a red eye to Detroit to skate there tomorrow. That kind of stuff, where people don't, you know, they think it's all glamorous, and...

• 45:11Lewis Howes?

  It's a lot of work.

• 45:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, you're being like, carried through town, and being feathered, and it's just like, no.

• 45:18Lewis Howes?

  You're tired.

• 45:18Speaker 02

  Getting off of red eye, and I'm gonna go rent a car, and maybe take a nap, and then go to the skate event. But, but that's my choice, I can't complain.

• 45:27Lewis Howes?

  It sort of affords all these things, yeah. And what's the thing you're most proud of, would you say?

• 45:32Speaker 02

  That managed to raise really stable, fun children through all this chaos and commitments, and, you know, the fire of success. That truly, they're grounded and appreciative, and that they treat people well.

• 45:50Lewis Howes?

  It's great quality, yeah.

• 45:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 45:52Lewis Howes?

  A couple of final questions. This one is something I ask everyone at the end of the show. It's called the three truths. So I want you to imagine that you've achieved everything you want. You've had the relationships, dreams, the kids have grown up and done everything they want to do. And you get to decide when it's your last day. Could be hundreds of years from now, could be whenever you want it to be. Your last day here on earth, right?

• 46:13Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:14Lewis Howes?

  You choose, it's a happy moment. But for whatever reason, all the things you've created, you've got to take with you. So you can't really leave anything behind. You've got to take it all with you. But your family gives you a piece of paper and a pen. And they say, will you write down the three things you know to be true? From all your experiences and lessons, the three lessons you would leave behind are truths. And this is all we would have physically, tangibly, to be reminded of you, besides our memory. What would you say are your three truths?

• 46:42Speaker 02

  Wow, the easy questions last time.

• 46:45Lewis Howes?

  Got to warm you up for it.

• 46:46Speaker 02

  Three truths, I think people deserve respect. You have to believe in yourself. And you should help others that can't help themselves.

• 47:00Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like you're doing a good job of helping others?

• 47:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, through my foundation, I do, absolutely, yeah.

• 47:05Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it's great. You work with a lot of kids in your foundation, right?

• 47:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, we help provide public skate parks in low income areas. And so we help people get the resources or jump through all the right hoops for them to get a park built in their area. And we've been doing it for 16 years now and helped to fund almost 600 parks. So I feel really proud of that, of our work there. And I mean, I guess that, you know, that third truth would be somewhere between that and and you got to give back.

• 47:36Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, be of service, yeah.

• 47:38Speaker 02

  Be of service, yeah.

• 47:39Lewis Howes?

  If someone wants to donate or they want to nominate a location for your foundation, where can they go to support them?

• 47:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, TonyHawkFoundation.org, all the info is there. We literally have a guide to public skate parks, getting a public skate park in your area. It's not, we don't, we try to empower communities that are already trying to help themselves. So we don't just say like, we need a park in X city and we'll go build it and we get all the glory. We want to empower the communities so that they feel like... They have a sense of ownership and pride.

• 48:06Lewis Howes?

  They take care of it and yeah.

• 48:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, and also that they're the ones that did the groundwork for it. But we're giving them the map in order to get it done.

• 48:15Lewis Howes?

  And where can we connect with you personally or online? Or where do you hang out? What's social media platforms?

• 48:20Speaker 02

  Tony Hawk on all platforms.

• 48:21Lewis Howes?

  Are you on Instagram mostly or Facebook?

• 48:25Speaker 02

  I spread it across. Facebook is weird with all their algorithms. Things kind of get buried and it seems to be less traction there unless you want to pay for it. And I'm not one to pay for it, so if you find me there, that's great. But I think, yeah, my Instagram is probably my go-to and my stories.

• 48:42Lewis Howes?

  Cool, Insta-stories?

• 48:43Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 48:44Lewis Howes?

  We'll check you guys out.

• 48:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, because I find myself in absurd situations.

• 48:48Lewis Howes?

  You're just like, I have to film it.

• 48:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, just like last night, we went to the Spy Who Dumped Me premiere and found myself between Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon with their poster behind them. Like, oh, this is cool. Get in the shot.

• 49:03Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, right. So we'll check you out there. We'll make sure to follow Tony on all those platforms. Before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Tony, for being an incredible inspiration to so many people. For me, as a kid, growing up and watching that one moment in time and then watching everything you've been able to do afterwards, it gives a platform and an opportunity for me to see this is a model that I could live for my life and lots of other people, so.

• 49:29Speaker 02

  Well, thank you very much.

• 49:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I just want to acknowledge you for your generosity, your kind heart and your humility. I think I love the fact that you say, you know what? I'd be doing this anyways, even if the money wasn't here. I know you have obligations and things you got to show for, but the fact that you love your art and your craft and your sport that much is truly inspiring.

• 49:49Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah, I still, selfishly, the fact that we get to build more escape parks, I get more place to escape.

• 49:54Lewis Howes?

  There you go. Exactly, all over the world, but you got to travel. I love that. This is the final question. It's what is your definition of greatness?

• 50:06Speaker 02

  Pushing boundaries while still being approachable.

• 50:13Speaker 02

  That's my best.

• 50:14Lewis Howes?

  Love it. Tony, thank you, man.

• 50:16Speaker 02

  All right, sure.

• 50:17Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate you very much. Appreciate it, buddy.

• 50:22Lewis Howes?

  There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did. Make sure to share it with your friends. Spread the inspiration. The best thing you can do today is to listen and consume and learn something new for yourself. Develop your mind, develop your ability to grow, to think differently. And then you've got to spread the message. You've got to share the journey with other people. You've got to share what you're learning about yourself while you're learning from other people and share it with your friends. So take a screenshot of this, tag me on Instagram @lewishouse, tag Tony @tonyhawke as well. Let us know what part of it you enjoyed the most. Share it on Facebook, Twitter, text a friend the link. It's lewishouse.com/674.

• 51:04Lewis Howes?

  It's all about breaking limitations and creating a legacy. Tony Hawk has done that. Again, every single week, our goal is to bring you the most inspiring individuals in the world to help you unlock your greatness, to bring you wisdom, information, stories, tools, resources to support your life each and every day, to get you clear on the vision for your life, your dreams, your goals, and really the meaning of your life. What is the purpose and the meaning of your life that brings you the ultimate fulfillment? Why are you here? We're answering these questions, we're giving you solutions, and we're hopefully creating the incredible experience for you each and every week. I love you so very much. And as Jim Rome said,

• 51:50Lewis Howes?

  "All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine." Think about that, and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.