20 Years Ago Today, My Close Personal Friend Tony Hawk Landed The First Ever 900
June 27, 1999. It was XGames 5 in San Francisco. A moment that would change skateboarding forever. After a few attempts, my close personal friend Tony Hawk landed the first ever 900 in the Vert Best Trick competition, and the rest is history.
Pretty wild to think about how much has changed since this day 20 years ago. I feel like kids just pick up a skateboard now at 6-years-old and can bust out a 900 with ease. But without Tony Hawk breaking out the first one in 1999 and creating a massive boom in the skating world to break into popular culture, none of that happens.
And then one of the biggest things that has changed over the course of those 20 years is that Tony Hawk and myself are now best pals. You may remember that I had an interview with him earlier this month.
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You don’t do an interview with someone via Google Hangouts that has a shit ton of technical difficulties and awful wi-fi connection unless there’s some serious personal connection there. And it didn’t stop at the interview. Tony was nice enough to send me over a signed deck just for being boys.
Sure, maybe Bagel Bites were the ones who actually put it in the mail and shipped it. But it’s the thought that counts.
So congratulations to my guy Tony on this historic day. I hope your day is filled with an endless supply of interactions with people who kind of know who you are but can’t quite figure it out right away.