Over a week has passed since I saw The Darkslides and Secret Tapes Tour with Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen. They had two dates for this show, April 4th, 2024, in NYC, and another in Austen, Texas, a few days later. That’s it. I would hope they put it online so all skaters can watch it.
I’ve known of these two skateboard innovators since I started the activity in 1988. At the bottom of this page, I’ll list a few books and a few docs on YouTube that show how influential these two skaters were, and they still skate. Tony Hawk helped create vert skating, and Rodney Mullen invented several flip or technical tricks for street.
The day of the talk I had off of work. I had lunch with my sister, saw my friend’s art show, went to a museum, and walked all the way from East 110th Street to the Beacon Theater on West 76th Street. I forgot my belt, and store after store didn’t have them until I got near the theater. I heard there were going to be protestors over the planned Brooklyn Skate Garden construction funded by Tony Hawk’s non-profit, but I didn’t see them.
Waiting in line, I saw a friend from the old Slappy Sundays and gave him my new business card for this blog. In total, I gave four cards to people I knew at this event. I got there early and was excited. At the entrance, I saw they were not letting people in with skateboards. On my way out, I noticed they piled numerous skateboards up on the counters. I’m glad the staff came up with a solution for all those boards.
I thought of getting a beer, but I wanted to be clear-headed and not have to use the restroom. The tickets were expensive; I paid $130 for mine. I’m glad I only got one instead of multiple ones.
The talk began with old clips from the early 80s, some of which were commercials in Japanese. When Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen came on stage, they got a standing ovation. They settled in for a talk that lasted around two hours. They both talked intelligently but differently. Tony Hawk converses in a relatively straightforward business manner, sharing many good stories. Rodney Mullen gets a little philosophical and appears emotional. The contrast enhanced the experience of the talk.
I’ll keep this a little short and hope those get more information from the links I share at the bottom. I’ll mention two things I learned. Rodney Mullen talked a lot about mentoring the younger generation of skating, similar to what Stacey Peralta did as he progressed. When Rodney Mullen co-owned World, A-team, Almost, and other companies, he tried to cultivate the skaters he managed positively. Towards the end of the talk, Rodney Mullen mentioned recently having hip surgery and not skating well, but he went to a spot to skate anyway. There, he saw younger skaters doing all sorts of tech tricks and felt a connection in the brief conversation he had with them. Many skaters emphasize the importance of being connected, but Rodney Mullen’s statement adds depth to it. Every skater has struggled with at least one injury, and even with more participants, there is still a difference between skaters and the general population.
Tony Hawk pointed out something interesting. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, skateboarding’s popularity declined, and parks got shut down, paving the way for modern-day street skateboarding. Several vert skaters had difficulty with that change, including Tony Hawk. That history I knew, but this I did not. Tony Hawk and other vert skaters did not give up; they kept skating, even if it was on the streets. However, in 1994 or 1995, he returned to vert skating because that was what he enjoyed. The time street skating helped him and other vert skaters progress tricks. Shortly after, in 1995, the X-Games started. Vert skaters did things like heelflip to melon grabs, kickflip Mctwists, and tech tricks.
Tony Hawk has done more to promote skateboarding than anyone else. He is a household name. People not interested in skateboarding know who he is. He has plenty of money from the video game franchise, but keeps hustling to promote skating. His non-profit is https://skatepark.org/ . Rodney Mullen created the flip stuff, and it was amazing to hear him tell his process. A lot of it was solitary, but he felt connected to skateboarders.
At the standing ovation at the end, I can speak for the whole audience that it felt special to be part of skateboarding. Tony Hawk’s and Rodney Mullen’s talk was uplifting. Lastly, the humor, connection, and friendship between these two is genuine. They’ve known each other for over 40 years.
Here are some links:
Books: Hawk, Occupation Skateboader, and The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself by Mullen.
