TRANSCRIPT
Office Ladies | Episode 253 - An Interview with Tony Hawk
Jenna [00:00:04] I'm Jenna Fisher.
Angela [00:00:05] And I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:00:06] We were on The Office together.
Angela [00:00:08] And we're best friends.
Jenna [00:00:09] And now we're doing the ultimate Office lovers podcast just for you.
Angela [00:00:13] Each week we will dive deeper into the world of The Office with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes details, and lots of BFF stories.
Jenna [00:00:21] We're the Office Ladies 6.0. Hello!
Angela [00:00:28] Hi there. We are excited.
Jenna [00:00:30] Yeah, if you read the episode description for today's episode, you're in the right place.
Angela [00:00:37] So here's the thing, we have a very special guest today.
Jenna [00:00:41] It is skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.
Angela [00:00:44] I mean, I don't think you can even mention skateboarding without immediately thinking of Tony Hawk.
Jenna [00:00:49] He's the most famous skateboarder of course.
Angela [00:00:52] Yeah, I mean, he started skating professionally when he was just 14. He is a pioneer of the sport. He helped popularize and evolve the sport of skateboarding for like over 40 years.
Jenna [00:01:04] And he's still skateboarding today. Yeah, he is also a successful entrepreneur in the skateboarding industry. He created Birdhouse Skateboards, Hawk Clothing, and his hugely successful video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. And he is the founder of the nonprofit Skate Park Project. That is his philanthropic mission to help underserved communities create safe and inclusive public skate parks for all youth. Which...
Angela [00:01:30] I love that.
Jenna [00:01:31] I love it. I mean, I talked to Tony about it because I spent a lot of my high school years at skate parks, because my first boyfriend was a skateboarder.
Angela [00:01:40] How about that, you guys? Did you know Jenna would hang out at skate parks? I found that out when we started talking about having Tony Hawk on. I did not know that about you.
Jenna [00:01:50] It's so weird and, you know, getting to talk to him and all of it, it brought up so many memories from my youth. After we did the interview with him, I took a picture with him and I just sent it to my...
Angela [00:02:03] Wait, can I tell everyone what you said? You said, you said, Tony, can I take a picture with you for my boyfriend from high school?
Jenna [00:02:09] Yeah, I just want to send it to him with no explanation. So I actually don't have his contact information, but I sent it to the three girls from high school. I'm going to shout them out, Kim, Sarah, and Ellen. The four of us would hang out at the skate park with our skateboarding boyfriends. And so I sent it to them.
Angela [00:02:29] What did they say?
Jenna [00:02:31] And my friend Ellen wrote back, This is like a photo of my high school years in a nutshell. And my friend Sarah said, what is happening?
Angela [00:02:41] Exactly. You all might be thinking, what is happening? So we should probably share how this interview came about. When you think Tony Hawk, you probably don't think.
Jenna [00:02:49] Office Ladies.
Angela [00:02:50] Office Ladies. About a year ago, we got word that Tony Hawk wanted to be a guest on Office Ladies. And we were like, what, what what? We couldn't believe it. He's an icon. He's one of the greats.
Jenna [00:03:03] He's Tony Hawk!
Angela [00:03:04] He's Tony Hawk.
Jenna [00:03:05] It turns out he's a huge Office fan!
Angela [00:03:07] I can't even believe that Office Ladies was on his radar.
Jenna [00:03:10] But here was the thing, you know, we were in that last stretch of the Office rewatch, we were building up to the finale. I was finishing up chemotherapy, so it took us a few months of trying to schedule Tony. We've been going back and forth and back and forth, and finally it has all come together and he joined us in studio in person.
Angela [00:03:27] In person, all six foot three of him was in our studio. He's so tall. I wasn't prepared for how tall. I have heard he's tall, but you know, I'm so short. So when he walked in, I was like, oh my God, you're Tony Hawk. Oh my God you're so tall, so yeah, I mean, it was such a delight to have him in the studio. We talk about The Office, we talk about his career as a skateboarder, all the things he's learned along the way. He's such an interesting person and he's had to pivot so many times in his life and Jenna and I could really relate to that.
Jenna [00:03:56] Yeah, I found it very inspirational. And you should all know that the newest version of his video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3& 4 is out July 11th.
Angela [00:04:07] Of this year.
Jenna [00:04:08] Yes, you can pre-order it now on Xbox Series XS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4& 5, Steam, Battle.net, Microsoft PC Store, and Nintendo Switch. Lady, my friend, Buffy, who's a skateboarder, said a bunch of her friends are skaters that are featured in the game, and they had so much fun being a part of it, and that it's gonna be really, really awesome.
Angela [00:04:32] I mean, it looks so cool. I watched a little video of a behind the scenes of making it, and they put Tony in one of those suits with the little, I don't know, what are they? They're like little camera balls all over them.
Jenna [00:04:47] Yeah, like how they do Avatar. Where they put the little balls on people.
Angela [00:04:52] I want to do that just once.
Jenna [00:04:52] Oh you want to be a ball person?
Angela [00:04:55] I want to have the little camera balls but I I don't know what my expertise would be like because it's always something sort of fantastical or sports or...
Jenna [00:05:04] Well, we need to get you in like a fantasy movie, right?
Angela [00:05:07] Please, Lord, from her mouth to your ears.
Jenna [00:05:11] Camera balls on Angela in a fantasy film, please. Putting it out there.
Angela [00:05:16] Please. Putting it out there. Well, my sons know about this game. They're very excited about the new version coming out. And Tony shared with us a little bit about the music that's part of it yeah it has an amazing soundtrack and it features a variety of new skate parks they added a water park.
Angela [00:05:32] So cool.
Jenna [00:05:33] By the way if you haven't seen the HBO documentary Until the Wheels Come Off about Tony Hawk, it is incredible.
Angela [00:05:40] Incredible.
Jenna [00:05:41] It is all about his life and career. It was made by the amazing Sam Jones. It features tons of interviews from different skateboarders, from members of the Bones Brigade, which is the skateboarding group he skated with when he was younger. It's gonna be a great two hours of your life. Highly recommend.
Angela [00:05:57] So great. Josh had seen it a while back and he was like, before we even knew Tony was going to be on, he was, like, Angela, this is a great documentary. You've got to watch it. And there's also just so much footage of Tony growing up. You know, you really realize how much skateboarding, how much of his life it spanned since he was nine years old.
Jenna [00:06:17] I also really loved how the documentary got into his relationship with his father and the way that his father was so supportive of his skateboarding. It was something that he had that not a lot of skateboarding kids have and it was really cool.
Angela [00:06:33] You guys, we were really nervous to interview Tony because like we said, he is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He is a total legend, but he was so wonderful and we had such a nice time talking to him. We're so excited to share this interview with you.
Jenna [00:06:51] I mean, I still can't believe it really happened.
Angela [00:06:52] I can't either.
Jenna [00:06:54] But let's take a break. And when we come back, it's our interview with Tony Hawk.
Angela [00:07:08] Hello!
Jenna [00:07:09] Hi!
Angela [00:07:10] Tony Hawk!
Tony Hawk [00:07:11] I'm here.
Angela [00:07:11] In the studio! At Office Ladies!
Jenna [00:07:13] Can't believe it!
Tony Hawk [00:07:14] Well, I can't either. I mean, I'm excited. I can believe it because it was on my calendar for a while, and then I also rescheduled. I apologize.
Angela [00:07:21] No, we are so excited.
Tony Hawk [00:07:23] Thank you.
Angela [00:07:23] Jenna and I are both just trying to play it cool because we're really big fans. And I mean, you're kind of a bigger than life person for us. And so this is really amazing.
Tony Hawk [00:07:30] Oh, I appreciate it. You guys are legends and part of this TV legacy that I don't think will ever be topped. Truly. It's unreal.
Angela [00:07:42] I mean, we're like, speechless.
Jenna [00:07:45] I'm speechless to have those words come out of your mouth. It's just like so crazy.
Tony Hawk [00:07:48] Oh, honestly, I mean, I'll jump right into it, but I watched it obviously from day one. And then when my daughter got to be the age where she appreciated it, COVID hit and we just went all the way through from the very beginning to the end. And it was a really special time to share with my daughter.
Jenna [00:08:06] Yeah
Tony Hawk [00:08:07] Because it was, you know, COVID, school, stuff in your room, everything. And that was something that we did every day. It was really cool.
Angela [00:08:14] Thank you so much.
Jenna [00:08:16] So you watched it when it was originally on, but then you recently did the whole binge.
Tony Hawk [00:08:21] Is that recent now? 2020?
Jenna [00:08:24] Recent-ish.
Angela [00:08:24] Ish, right.
Tony Hawk [00:08:25] Don't let's let's I don't know about my retainment of knowledge, but yeah, it was pretty recent
Angela [00:08:29] I mean, we heard you were a super fan of The Office. There is a Reddit thread called Tony Hawk is a fan of The Office.
Tony Hawk [00:08:36] Really?
Jenna [00:08:36] Yes.
Angela [00:08:37] Yes. I guess you said in an interview one time, oh, how the turntable turns or something. Everyone like jumped on that. It started a thread.
Tony Hawk [00:08:48] Oh how the turntables.
Angela [00:08:48] Yes, exactly. That's it.
Tony Hawk [00:08:50] You didn't even know the quote!
Angela [00:08:51] I did. I got it wrong. I always get it wrong
Jenna [00:08:54] Well I have an Office related question for you, if you could only watch one episode for the rest of your life.
Tony Hawk [00:09:01] I knew this was coming.
Jenna [00:09:02] What would you pick?
Tony Hawk [00:09:03] Okay, I was gonna go for the low-hanging fruit of Booze Cruise.
Jenna [00:09:08] That's a very good choice.
Tony Hawk [00:09:10] Yes, and then my wife and I recently watched Casino Night.
Angela [00:09:15] Oh, that's a good one.
Jenna [00:09:16] So good.
Tony Hawk [00:09:18] And that was it. That was my choice. Oh, no, no. I take it back. I'm sorry. We watched Casino Night and then we realized Dinner Party. Dinner Party is the best.
Jenna [00:09:26] You're naming three, like, of the top top episodes.
Tony Hawk [00:09:29] Okay, but Dinner Party was like the absurdity and the idea that you get to see them in their element and their living space. That was the best.
Angela [00:09:38] That was one of the most fun episodes that Jenna and I did. And I mean, we loved the show. We loved the conference room scenes and party planning committee and just all of it.
Tony Hawk [00:09:46] Oh no, at their house.
Angela [00:09:47] Dinner Party, like walking into Michael and Jan's condo, like you can't unsee that. Like that lives with you forever. What was the first episode you ever saw of The Office? Do you remember?
Tony Hawk [00:09:58] I saw it from the beginning. I saw it from the beginning, so I learned about the office, I mean, not to brag or anything, but I was in London doing a bunch of interviews and press for our video game around 2002-ish, maybe 2003. And the two guys that were assigned to take me around all the UK press were from same area where the UK office was shot. And they're like, you have to watch this show. It defines our work life. It is exactly what happens. And Ricky Gervais is amazing. Stephen Merchant, like you have do it. And by the time that I was done with this week long, whatever, journey in the UK, they gave me the DVD of the UK Office. And so I watched that for the rest of the trip and on the way home, got hooked on it. Went through, it was only two seasons, right? So went through both seasons. In fact, I was still watching it as the second season was coming out. And the next thing I know, they're like, they're doing the US, you know, same producers. AQnd Steve Carell, and I was like, awesome. So from day one.
Jenna [00:11:04] So you were OK with this US remake, because a lot of people who absolutely loved the British show, they were concerned. They thought maybe is America going to ruin it.
Tony Hawk [00:11:15] But as an American, I appreciated the references a lot more.
Jenna [00:11:19] Yeah, that's true, right?
Tony Hawk [00:11:21] And the UK, I mean, this one too, but the UK one was pretty raunchy.
Jenna [00:11:26] I mean, definitely they did not have network standards and practices breathing down their necks for sure.
Tony Hawk [00:11:34] Good for them.
Angela [00:11:38] We had to blur out and bleep a lot of stuff.
Jenna [00:11:40] We definitely did.
Angela [00:11:41] It was like a constant conversation. When Phyllis gets flashed in the parking lot, I think standards and practices said we could only say penis 13 times in the whole episode, and we blew that in the cold open or something.
Tony Hawk [00:11:53] Well, that's the Jackass approach is just bombard them.
Angela [00:11:57] Right away.
Tony Hawk [00:11:58] So that they come back to some place where you probably would have ended up anyway.
Angela [00:12:02] Right, exactly. Okay, this is kind of a cheesy question, but we were curious, what character from The Office do you think you're most like?
Tony Hawk [00:12:11] I think I'm an amalgamation of various characters. I love food as much as Kevin loves food. I love Stanley's approach to no nonsense. He's over it. He's just riding it out. I feel like I'm kind of doing that. I'm not gonna take any more bulls**t. I'm gonna do every opportunity. And it's just more like, I'm doing this because I love it. And when it's over, it's over. You know what I mean?
Angela [00:12:37] Yeah, yeah.
Tony Hawk [00:12:38] He's not a go-getter.
Angela [00:12:39] He's a run out the clock.
Tony Hawk [00:12:41] Running out the clock, a little bit of that. You know what I mean, at my age. I hope that I have a fun approach to life like Jim, so I feel like I'm sort of a cross of all those characters.
Angela [00:12:51] No Dwight. No Angela. No Pam. I'm kidding.
Tony Hawk [00:12:57] Yeah, maybe just Dwight in that I do have a deep-seated nerd in me from when I was a kid. I was the nerdy math kid and... skinny kid and you know didn't fit in but I found skateboarding so it's in there somewhere. Dwight's still trying to get out
Angela [00:13:14] Right. Right.
Jenna [00:13:15] A big thing on The Office are the pranks between Jim and Dwight. Is there pranking in the skateboard world?
Tony Hawk [00:13:21] Not really, I mean, just maybe a little bit, but what we do requires such intense focus and physicality.
Both [00:13:33] Yeah, yeah, you don't want to mess with that. Yeah. Yeah
Tony Hawk [00:13:35] So I can't think of any amazing pranks. There was one time a guy, this was a pretty (BLEEP) prank though. It was during a really heated practice session in the 80s and only a very specific core of skateboarders will know what this is, but this one photographer who was known to be just kind of full of hijinks, he went up to the ramp and went to jump into the practice session. He could skate, but he wasn't a competitor by any means. And he had blood bags in his knees, in his knee pads. And then he fell and he started writhing around agony and there's just pools of blood coming out of his knees.
Angela [00:14:16] Oh no! That's not cool.
Jenna [00:14:18] Who was that?
Angela [00:14:18] That's horrible.
Tony Hawk [00:14:19] I'm not gonna say, I'm gonna say.
Angela [00:14:21] Also, you know where my mind goes immediately. First of all, like people seriously get injured and then that's like scary part of skateboarding.
Tony Hawk [00:14:27] People were people were losing it. My dad was actually one of the organizers of this one event because he helped found he helped to organize the National Skateboard Association in the 80s cuz there was no sanctioning bodies of skate events and my dad was pissed.
Both [00:14:42] I bet!
Angela [00:14:43] I bet. Also, my mind goes to this place, which is sort of like the mom in me of like, now who's gonna clean that up? Cause now everyone can't skate. Cause all that crap is on the-
Tony Hawk [00:14:53] So it's funny you say that so that event I had to come in late because we were on a different skate trip so I didn't see it happen. But when I came the next morning there's just this giant red stain on the ramp, like what the hell's that? Like oh my god you know what, so and so did this and and then as soon as people started realizing it was fake, he got up and ran away.
Jenna [00:15:12] I he better run away. Oh my gosh. Well, you know people ask us as actors like if there's a lot of pranking going on on sets. And we especially get that question because of the off pranking storylines. But the answer is I have never been on a set with a major prank. I was pranked once on the set of The Office by John Krasinski in the whole nine years. There was this scene where we're riding up to Schrute Farms in this car and it was really hot out, it was a hot day, and we would have to turn off the air conditioner for sound. And I was so hot, and we were dressed for fall. And I was so hot and I was like, oh my God, I'm dying. I'm so hot. Are you hot? And he's like, I am okay. The whole time he had turned my seat heater on. That's it. That's my one Office prank that I can share. But if I look cranky in that scene, it's because I was really hot.
Tony Hawk [00:16:08] Is that when you guys were going to spend the night there?
Jenna [00:16:09] I think it was when we were going there for the bed and breakfast.
Angela [00:16:14] Right cuz Mose is running alongside the car. Yeah, we didn't do pranks. We took it's like a serious job and everything's choreographed And you were you're aware that like time is money and you're like on a schedule. But we did sometimes mess with each other a little bit with improv and dialog. And Mine was when Mose kidnaps Angela the for the wedding and I'm in the trunk of the car I said to our director when they open the car can she just like really cuss him out? He was like, yeah, yeah. He was, like, I'm not gonna tell the guys, just let him have it. And they opened the trunk and I'm like What the f**k is your problem? (BLEEP BLEEP). So if you watch that scene, John Krasinski's reaction, he's really like, what the hell, what are you doing? That was real.
Tony Hawk [00:17:01] That's perfect.
Jenna [00:17:02] I have a technical question for you.
Tony Hawk [00:17:04] Sure.
Jenna [00:17:05] So we had an office episode that had parkour. Have you ever parkoured? What's the difference exactly?
Tony Hawk [00:17:10] No. But any time I do anything that resembles it, I say, parkour!
Jenna [00:17:13] You do?
Tony Hawk [00:17:14] Of course. Who doesn't?
Angela [00:17:17] Yep, right, I know.
Tony Hawk [00:17:18] We just did a stunt with a parkour export.
Jenna [00:17:21] Okay.
Tony Hawk [00:17:21] And he goes by Dom Tomato on social medias and uh we Andy Mcdonald who's also a pro skateboarder he and I do a lot of choreography together
Angela [00:17:32] Where one goes over the other person.
Tony Hawk [00:17:34] Yeah, the other person yeah yeah we did a lot of X Games like that. We won a few medals. And this guy said hey do you think you could do something with me in the mix and it was one of the only times where I've been a little trepidatious when I finally got there and I was seeing what we're gonna do like this could go...
Angela [00:17:51] Of all the things you've done, wow.
Tony Hawk [00:17:52] Could go really bad either for him or me. Andy was the one who was going over. So basically what happened was, you know, we're on a half pipe. Andy's going over me. I'm grinding along the top and this guy is running from the back of the deck and he jumps through our over under space, which is tight already. Then we have a stunt pad for him at the bottom of the ramp. So he is going the exact opposite direction that anyone should be going in the situation. Meaning that if he hit me, I'm ejecting to the bottom of the ramp. And on his first attempt his stomach hit my helmet and that wasn't- didn't inspire confidence. You know and so we watched it back and I said look I'm I'm gonna be low as low as I can. You have more room. Get closer to Andy.
Jenna [00:18:42] Yeah. Yeah. Be higher. Be a little higher.
Tony Hawk [00:18:43] Be a little higher, yeah.
Angela [00:18:45] And it worked?
Tony Hawk [00:18:45] It worked, yeah.
Jenna [00:18:47] Well, you brought up kind of the idea of getting injured, and injury is a part of skateboarding. You've been injured many times. I broke my shoulder two years ago, and my life has never been the same. How do you, how have you healed from so many injuries? Because I mean, I still can't put my arm, the range of motion, and I've done all the things. Like, how do you heal?
Tony Hawk [00:19:13] It's not always full healing and we learn to adapt. That's my best answer.
Angela [00:19:18] You work around your injuries.
Tony Hawk [00:19:19] Yeah, like I well I broke my femur three years ago and that was definitely the most traumatic injury that I had and I'm in my 50s, so didn't help the healing process, but I've kind of lost some techniques. They're nuanced. They're ones that are bittersweet for me to lose but same time I still get to do what I do. I'm still skating at a professional level. So I just have to accept that but through the years, yeah, I mean like if you see the shoulder this kind of drops here.
Both [00:19:45] Mm-hmm.
Tony Hawk [00:19:46] I separated this shoulder about ten years ago and that's what it is. It still works. I think that because what we do is we require such intense motion that we end up kind of getting back there by default.
Jenna [00:20:01] Do you have like a warm-up routine? Like, do you have to-.
Tony Hawk [00:20:04] I do now. I used to not. I used to just go in cold turkey and do all the stuff. And I didn't really care. And then I f***ed around and found out that I can't really do that when I'm in this age. So I, now I do, I have a warmup routine. I actually do strength training workout three times a week besides skating. And that's how I'm able to do it at this level at this age
Jenna [00:20:25] And what about like a cool down? Do you do cold dips or stretches after?
Tony Hawk [00:20:30] I have one, but it's really hard to get motivated. So, the answer...
Angela [00:20:34] She does cold dips. I can't do it. I can't get in there.
Jenna [00:20:37] Rainn Wilson does too. Rainn and I both love our cold dips.
Tony Hawk [00:20:42] Every day?
Jenna [00:20:43] Almost every day.
Tony Hawk [00:20:44] In the morning?
Jenna [00:20:45] No, now I do them at night, but I also do contrast hydrotherapy. So I sit in hot water for three minutes, and then I sit in cold water for one minute, and I go back and forth and I end on cold. And I do that at night before bed because they help me with my hot flashes, all my menopause ladies out there. Hot tip, be cold dipping.
Angela [00:21:09] I tried it, I tried and it made me so angry. I got in that cold water and I was like, this is stupid, I don't like this.
Tony Hawk [00:21:17] The thing I don't like about it is you can't move because when you move, you feel it more intense.
Jenna [00:21:22] It's more cold.
Tony Hawk [00:21:24] So you get in and you're like, okay, I'm stuck in this position. That's it for whatever, three minutes. I don't know. Five minutes.
Angela [00:21:30] I'm not a fan.
Jenna [00:21:31] Oh, I do one minute.
Tony Hawk [00:21:34] Maybe that was my problem.
Jenna [00:21:35] And you go you go back and forth.
Tony Hawk [00:21:39] I have been encouraged to do it by many experts, so I should probably get back to it. We have a plunge, so maybe I should be doing that again.
Angela [00:21:48] Would you do an office quiz with us?
Tony Hawk [00:21:50] Oh, yes, okay.
Jenna [00:21:52] You're saying that like you think we're gonna be good at it, but we aren't.
Angela [00:21:55] I mean I already got the turntables wrong
Tony Hawk [00:21:57] Can I have my daughter on a lifeline?
Both [00:21:58] Yes! Yes you can.
Tony Hawk [00:22:01] I told her I said I know you're gonna- she's doing finals this week- I was like where will you be around noon tomorrow? Because I'm doing- she said, You're doing Office Ladies?! I said yeah and I go I might have to call you for a question. She's like okay I'll try to answer. But this is only if I'm desperate.
Angela [00:22:19] She can be your hotline. So Cassi, our producer put together this quiz. We don't know the questions. She pulled them without our knowledge.
Tony Hawk [00:22:26] Oh, they're for all of us?
Jenna [00:22:27] They're for all of us.
Angela [00:22:28] We're gonna play each other.
Jenna [00:22:29] We're going head to head.
Angela [00:22:30] I've already misquoted a quote you knew, so don't be intimidated.
Tony Hawk [00:22:34] All right.
Cassi [00:22:36] All right, are you ready?
Jenna [00:22:37] So are we gonna say ding or?
Tony Hawk [00:22:39] I guess I can't really call my daughter if we're on a time crunch. Oh well.
Angela [00:22:43] Oh, you can put her on speaker. Or Tony, you can call and have her on with you. Like it could be the two of you against us.
Jenna [00:22:51] Yes, we're fine with that.
Tony Hawk [00:22:52] All right, let's try that a little bit.
Jenna [00:22:53] Actually maybe she'll win. She could be the fourth contestant. Maybe she'll win.
Tony Hawk [00:23:01] If we get her. Funky town. She might call back.
Angela [00:23:10] Okay, love it.
Tony Hawk [00:23:11] If she calls back, I'll put her on.
Both [00:23:12] Okay, perfect.
Cassi [00:23:14] All right, here we go. Question one. In the Happy Hour episode, what was the name of the book that Michael said he wrote in his head?
Jenna [00:23:28] Ding. Is it Somehow I Manage?
Cassi [00:23:29] That is correct.
Tony Hawk [00:23:31] Wow.
Jenna [00:23:32] His management book. I didn't know it was from that episode.
Tony Hawk [00:23:34] I was going to go Threat Level Midnight because I just feel like that's the default answer for anything.
Jenna [00:23:37] For anything he's written.
Angela [00:23:39] I had nothing.
Cassi [00:23:42] In Phyllis's wedding, what color dress did Kelly wear to the wedding?
All [00:23:48] White.
Angela [00:23:48] Oh, dang it, we did it wrong, Tony. But we, that's a tie. Ding- white, we both, that is a tie.
Cassi [00:23:54] A point for each of you. In The Coup episode, what was the fictitious name of Dwight's dentist?
Angela [00:24:02] Ding!
Jenna [00:24:03] Ding!
Angela [00:24:04] Crentist.
Cassi [00:24:04] That is correct. In the Threat Level Midnight episode, who does Golden Face kill in the movie?
Angela [00:24:19] Ding! I mean, it's Oscar, right?
Cassi [00:24:21] No.
Angela [00:24:21] Oh. Nice.
Cassi [00:24:23] Which Office character does golden face kill?
Tony Hawk [00:24:31] Ding.
Cassi [00:24:31] Tony.
Tony Hawk [00:24:32] Creed?
Cassi [00:24:32] No. I'll give you a hint.
Jenna [00:24:34] Oh, wait, no, I'll ding. Oh, Toby?
Angela [00:24:37] Toby, yes, yes.
Tony Hawk [00:24:38] Oh, of course it's Toby.
Angela [00:24:40] Yes, I just, you know what I remembered is the stunt and that head they had to create.
Jenna [00:24:44] Yes, I was like I'm in the scene. I think I'm the scene when he killed someone. I'm sitting on the floor with Roy
Tony Hawk [00:24:50] But of course, if Michael wrote it, Toby dies. Of course. We should just know that.
Jenna [00:24:55] Of course.
Angela [00:24:55] That was a no-brainer. Dang it. Okay.
Cassi [00:24:58] All right here's an easy one. In the Goodbye Michael episode, who went to the airport to say goodbye to michael?
Jenna [00:25:04] Ding!
Tony Hawk [00:25:04] Ding.
Jenna [00:25:05] Me!
Cassi [00:25:06] Alright, everyone gets a point, yay! In the Promos episode, who was leaving Andy mean comments under the screen name TexasPoonTapa?
Angela [00:25:14] Ding. Nellie.
Cassi [00:25:14] Correct.
Jenna [00:25:18] Oh, I was not gonna, I wasn't gonna find that.
Tony Hawk [00:25:21] Yeah, no.
Jenna [00:25:22] That was good, Ange.
Cassi [00:25:24] In the Viewing Party episode, Erin and Gabe hosted a viewing party for what TV show?
Angela [00:25:30] Oh crap.
Jenna [00:25:32] Ding! The one with the singing in it. In it's-.
Angela [00:25:36] Oh ding! Glee.
Jenna [00:25:36] Oh no.
Tony Hawk [00:25:40] Gosh, you know what? I saw that on one of the episode descriptions yesterday. It just flashed into my head. Like that was, had I read it more closely, I could have got it.
Cassi [00:25:51] In the work bus episode, who is the hitchhiker Dwight picked up on the side of the road?
Jenna [00:25:56] Ding! Creed!
Cassi [00:25:58] All right, this next one, there are three answers, so I'll give you a point for each person.
Both [00:26:04] Oh, oh.
Cassi [00:26:05] In the Employee Transfer episode, which three employees dressed as the Joker for Halloween?
Angela [00:26:15] Ding! Kevin, Creed... Oh, who was the third one?
Cassi [00:26:18] Someone else can ding in.
Tony Hawk [00:26:20] Ding Dwight, I was going to say Dwight. Right?
Cassi [00:26:22] Yeah, Dwight. I'll give it to Tony.
Angela [00:26:25] I get two of them though.
Cassi [00:26:26] Yes, you do.
Jenna [00:26:27] Angela, you're crushing it.
Tony Hawk [00:26:29] It's almost like you're on the show.
Cassi [00:26:33] In Andy's Ancestry, who did Nellie say he was related to?
Jenna [00:26:37] Ding, Michelle Obama.
Cassi [00:26:40] Final question. In the Survivor Man episode, when did Michael schedule Toby's birthday party?
Jenna [00:26:49] Ding. Never?
Cassi [00:26:49] No, he did schedule it.
Jenna [00:26:52] He did?
Angela [00:26:55] On some horrible day in history?
Cassi [00:26:58] No? Here's a hint, Tony. What would be like the worst time to throw a birthday party during the work week?
Tony Hawk [00:27:08] On a, I don't know, ding Monday?
Cassi [00:27:13] I think you almost had it.
Tony Hawk [00:27:14] Ding. Friday night? What?
Cassi [00:27:16] Close, 4.58 p.m. on Friday. Oh, that's it, okay.
Jenna [00:27:19] I did not remember that at all.
Tony Hawk [00:27:21] Making them stay. Yeah. Yeah, yes
Angela [00:27:23] That was a hard quiz, Cassi.
Jenna [00:27:26] Okay, how did we do? I think Angela Kinsey might have won.
Cassi [00:27:31] Tony had three points, Jenna had five, and Angela had seven.
Jenna [00:27:36] Wow.
Tony Hawk [00:27:36] Wow.
Angela [00:27:37] I get a little competitive in board games, Tony.
Tony Hawk [00:27:40] Was that a board game?
Angela [00:27:41] I don't know what it was. Any game.
Tony Hawk [00:27:42] Any game. That's okay. So would my daughter have, so I feel like it would have been fun, but it's okay Sorry, KK, I tried.
Angela [00:27:50] If she calls back though, she can be bonus round.
Tony Hawk [00:27:53] So for her birthday, I'm on cameo by the way. For her birthday a few years ago, I got every Office character on Cameo. So I had this like seven minute happy birthday from.
Angela [00:28:07] Aww
Tony Hawk [00:28:07] Almost, you know, most everyone.
Angela [00:28:09] We are not on Cameo, but we will do a video for her.
Tony Hawk [00:28:12] I appreciate that.
Angela [00:28:12] We absolutely will.
Tony Hawk [00:28:14] Thank you very much. Actually, her birthday is next month.
Jenna [00:28:15] And for any... Any niece or nephew or grandchild in the future.
Tony Hawk [00:28:20] Okay, thank you. I have a grandchild!
Angela [00:28:22] Yeah, you do! Well, you can call that in any time.
Jenna [00:28:24] How old is your grandchild?
Tony Hawk [00:28:26] Uh, eight months.
Jenna [00:28:27] Oh, that's the cutest, most cutie-patootie age of...
Tony Hawk [00:28:31] He's so funny.
Angela [00:28:32] Makes like funny faces.
Tony Hawk [00:28:33] Well, yeah. Well, yeah. And also when he comes to our house, he knows it's just fun time. So as soon as he crosses the threshold, the smile comes on his face and he sees my wife is Momo and I'm Papa. He sees Momo and Papa and he's like, oh, OK, it's my time. Yeah, there's no rules.
Jenna [00:28:48] Oh my gosh, that is so sweet.
Tony Hawk [00:28:50] It's so fun.
Angela [00:29:01] Before we start this section, I just want you to know that Jenna and I watched so many videos of you skating. There are so many, Tony. You have been like, I mean, it's just amazing. Your whole life is amazing.
Tony Hawk [00:29:15] Thank you. I'm just super old, so I've been doing it a long time.
Angela [00:29:16] No, we're the same age, I think. I think you and I are the same age. I'll be 54 in June.
Tony Hawk [00:29:21] We're not the same age. That's OK.
Angela [00:29:23] We're close though!
Tony Hawk [00:29:24] I'm honored that you think I'm 54.
Angela [00:29:28] Well, anyway, we're very excited to talk to you about skateboarding, although we're probably the least qualified to ask you these questions.
Jenna [00:29:35] Yes and I know these are questions that you've probably answered many times but I think that um for our listeners this might be like very new so we're excited thank you. So everyone knows you for doing the first 900. This is a trick that took you like seven years to master or more.
Tony Hawk [00:29:54] More yeah, yes, but
Jenna [00:29:56] but you've also invented over 100 tricks in your career. Do you have a personal favorite that you've ever done or invented?
Tony Hawk [00:30:05] Yeah, you know, I learned how to do an ollie 540, which is basically a one and a half spin in the air, without grabbing the board, around 1989. And I tried that trick as a joke. I literally did it. It was like, ah, crazy, no handed. And then at some point figured out how to sort of scoop the board using my feet and keep it on during the rotation. And I think that's probably the one I'm most proud of because I felt like it unlocks a new direction and a new way to keep your board on your feet. Personally.
Angela [00:30:41] It also looks like magic when you do it. It just I was like, how is it there?
Tony Hawk [00:30:45] The wild part is that there is a whole new generation of skating, of skaters that have figured out how to take that to new heights and there are literally skaters doing ollie 540s like seven or eight feet above the ramp. I did it right at the top of the ramp because I couldn't figure out how keep my board on my feet any longer and they've just unlocked this whole new technique that I love that I get to witness it.
Angela [00:31:09] When you were doing the the 900 trick was there a moment because you did it you did so many attempts
Tony Hawk [00:31:16] Well, many, many before that.
Angela [00:31:18] Many many yeah was there a moment where you saw it? Like was there a moment we had just clicked for you that it made it that one time different than all the other times?
Tony Hawk [00:31:28] There was, but that happened years prior to when I, when I actually figured it out. There was a moment where I thought if I really just commit to this, it should work. And this is around 1994, maybe 95 and I committed to a landing. To be honest, the reason that I was committing to landing is because I was running out of time to skate because I had to go pick up my son at preschool. This is not a joke. Like, you know, my son was going to be the last kid at preschool waiting.
Angela [00:31:58] So you had to figure it out.
Tony Hawk [00:31:59] So I got to like try to make this stupid trick so I can get out of here and get there on time. And so I just said okay this is it. I'm committing to it and when I went to commit to it I was leaning too far forward on the landing and I crashed into the bottom of the ramp and broke my rib. Still managed to get my son.
Jenna [00:32:16] With a broken rib.
Tony Hawk [00:32:19] I mean, this is mid nineties skateboarding. We didn't have a lot of resources or support and I was just doing this because I loved it, you know, ESPN was not going to.
Angela [00:32:29] Show up there.
Tony Hawk [00:32:29] Show up there and you'd be like, hey, he did 900. They didn't even know what a 900 was. You know, this was sort of the dark days of skateboarding, especially of ramp skating. So, long story short, in that moment, I thought maybe it doesn't work. Because I had all the pieces to the puzzle. I envisioned making it and I fell forward and, you know, got hurt. So, picked up my son, healed up, whatever, and then I kind of put it on the shelf. Tried it off and on every once in a while, but I could never get my, I could ever commit to it again in the way that I did that one day because I didn't want to break my rib again or my collarbone. I thought my collarbone was broken because it was so high up. Luckily, it was just a rib. But so when I was at X Games and I started to get close, I just thought, you know what, if I'm ever going to get hurt again, it'll be here.
Angela [00:33:15] It's here.
Tony Hawk [00:33:16] Yeah. I don't mind. Like I'll take one for the sake of trying to finally get it again. And so when I did try to land it the first time at X games, I fell forward. It's, it's all they're documented, but I didn't get hurt. And that was the moment that I figured it out. Because I thought if I can shift my weight mid spin more to my back foot, I won't fall forward. And so the next attempt, I shifted my weight to my back foot and then I fell backwards. And it was like, that's the light bulb. That was the epiphany. And I just had to even even that out. And the next one worked.
Angela [00:33:50] It's really dramatic when you watch it. And the thing that was so moving to me is how the crowd is with you the whole entire time.
Tony Hawk [00:33:56] Yeah, that was wild. I mean, I think-.
Jenna [00:33:58] And the other skaters are coming around. They're like almost laying hands on you and like banging their boards.
Tony Hawk [00:34:04] But I do feel like that is a slice of what skateboarding is. Skateboarding is this really supportive community, even though it's an individual pursuit, even though we do compete, there's a brethren and there's a kindred spirit of everyone just loves doing it and loves being part of the scene. If you go to a skate park right now, there'll be people of all ages, all races, all genders, just enjoying the space and then cheering each other on. So I just feel like that was such a great, you know, I'm honored that it was me, but whoever it had been, it was a great example of what skateboarding is all about.
Jenna [00:34:41] It was so beautiful, I mean, after you landed it, the other skaters, they like all pile on you like you see players at the World Series piling on each other. And when I watched that video, Angela, I don't know if this popped in your head, but it reminded me of the night that Steve Carell won the Golden Globe for playing Michael Scott.
Angela [00:35:00] Oh my God.
Tony Hawk [00:35:01] Haha, so great
Jenna [00:35:02] and it was totally unexpected. We did not think he was going to win. And he won. And when he walked into the party holding that trophy, the whole cast piled on to him.
Tony Hawk [00:35:13] So cool.
Jenna [00:35:14] And it was that feeling where it was like, well, I didn't win the Golden Globe.
Tony Hawk [00:35:19] But we did.
Jenna [00:35:20] But we won it because he won it. Yes, you won that for, you landed that for the whole community. And you, it was so beautiful.
Angela [00:35:31] It's so true, we weren't even invited to the Golden Globes, the cast, we were in a garage parking lot annex next to the building that they had put a tent over, and we were with all these suits.
Jenna [00:35:43] Just watching it on like TV screens.
Angela [00:35:45] And the suits are very the business side of the world, and they're very sort of like, oh, you know, just sitting there proper, and when we won, or Steve won, we lost it in this garage, and were waiting for him, and um he let us all hold it. I hit Phyllis in the face with it by accident in a group photo, but that's exactly what it was like. It felt like you won it for everybody.
Tony Hawk [00:36:06] Oh, for sure. Yeah. And there was, just with that trick, there were a few of us that have been trying it for years. And at some point it was like, someone just do it already. You know what I mean? It wasn't even like we were in competition with each other. It was just like, this has to be done just so we can prove it's possible. And now it's, it's something that young kids do. It's wild.
Jenna [00:36:28] Not many.
Tony Hawk [00:36:29] Not many, but it has become a little more standardized. And also the ramps and facilities have gotten bigger. So, and there's resources, there's foam pits, there's all kinds of things that you can do to work up to this. I had to do it.
Angela [00:36:43] In a hard way.
Tony Hawk [00:36:44] Hard knocks, yeah. Literally hard knocks.
Angela [00:36:48] I did read that if you create a trick, you get to name it. Is that true?
Tony Hawk [00:36:53] For the most part. It's a little tricky now because there are so many variations of moves that it's kind of like, look, just because you did a shove it out of that, you don't get to claim that.
Angela [00:37:04] It doesn't mean it's yours. Yeah, yeah.
Tony Hawk [00:37:06] But yes, but especially back in the day, that's why we have all these absurd names.
Angela [00:37:10] We were looking up a few. All right, here's a question for you. Is there a skater past or present that you think maybe gets overlooked that deserves to have more of their story told or legendary status?
Tony Hawk [00:37:24] Yeah, several for sure. I mean, to offer a deep cut, there was a guy named David Zee when Kevin and I were younger. He was the first person we ever saw truly fly high with ease and with style, even before Christian Osoy. And he was just in the right place at the wrong time. It was just the deadest time of skating. He was a little older so he had to find a job and just wasn't in the cards. David Zee, it's even hard to find photos of him. But I would say in terms of my influences, a guy named Eddie Alguera, he was the most innovative skater when I was coming up through the ranks. And people gave him a hard time because they said he didn't have style and he was all about tricks and he's like a robotic and I was young and I didn't have style and I wanted to do tricks. So I watched everything he did. His signature moves were my first advanced moves.
Angela [00:38:13] That's so cool.
Jenna [00:38:15] So there were a lot of times when skateboarding went away or went out of fashion and it wasn't paying the bills, you kind of went through a lot of these droughts. It really reminds me of the lifestyle of an actor where you have a show or you're doing a movie but then you're gonna have a couple of years where you're auditioning but you can't get hired. You had to find a lot of creative ways to stay in the business. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Tony Hawk [00:38:44] Yeah, we had a wave of success in the late 80s. And we were young and naive enough to think that that was never going to end. So we were spending as if that was happening and I had two homes. I had one with these giant ramps set up and suddenly I found myself with my income kind of dropping by half every month because it was all royalty based and people just weren't buying my skateboards or, you know, my shoe sponsor was like, Oh, we got to cut your salary again. We just cut it last month. Okay. And so I just did whatever I could to make ends meet. At one point, I had a really basic editing system, which no one had. This is probably 92, 93 ish. So people didn't really have that kind of stuff. So I just was getting odd jobs um editing stuff on three quarter tape.
Jenna [00:39:36] Wow, not even skateboard related?
Tony Hawk [00:39:38] Some not skateboarding related, mostly skateboard related, any company that wanted to do their skate video needed to master it, they could do it in my garage. And I could do for them. I mean, I got maybe a hundred bucks to do it or whatever it was, but I got by. And then I started getting hired. Luckily I had made enough connections in Hollywood that I started to getting hired as a consultant on any shoot that had skateboarding in it. Because I was 24 and considered too old to be the featured skateboarder. You know, it was more, the narrative was, it's for teenagers and whatever. So I would go to a set and explain what is possible in whatever the landscape was. And that worked. It was cool. I mean, I got to be in skating, but it was tricky. Yeah, it there were some lean times. I was definitely eating a lot of Taco Bell those days.
Angela [00:40:31] We talk about this a lot too, like even within our careers, sometimes you just have to like see the pivot and take it, you know, and...
Tony Hawk [00:40:40] Oh, I was I was going to fight to the death to not get a real job. They are, they were real jobs, but I'm just talking about like just going nine to five, whatever it was like, I gotta have something else.
Angela [00:40:54] Right and something's still in the world of skating.
Tony Hawk [00:40:56] Well, it really was just more whatever allowed me to keep skating. I didn't even care about being a pro or being in the magazines or whatever. I just wanted to keep skating.
Angela [00:41:05] Yeah, I think that's so relatable for us because all we want to do is create, you know, that's like what makes us happy. And so you just follow that wherever anyone will let you do that.
Tony Hawk [00:41:15] Yeah, yeah, exactly. Oh, at one point, I'll tell you how I survived really in those days was rollerblade shows. Because rollerblading was huge, right? It's the early 90s. Everyone's, you know, on the street, whatever. And there were a bunch of people that skated Halfpipe. And so they had these rollerblade shows all over the place, like Team Rollerblade Live, inline shows at Magic Mountain. And I got to be the special guest skateboarder of these shows. And that paid my bills probably for a whole year.
Jenna [00:41:47] How do you maintain your mental health through those droughts?
Tony Hawk [00:41:51] I think I just focused in on my strengths and realized like living the dream just morphed into being able to skate. So for instance, the tour is before that we were we were flying to Europe and we had a you know we had a big van and we have these huge crowds and then it became there's six of us in our delivery van and were all going to share one room and we're going to skate whatever ramps they set up in the parking lot for us but we're still skating. So I had to just keep it in perspective. And yeah, it sucked. It was hot and I was rolling my ankles left and right and I'm in charge. Like I'm only 25 and I am in charge, like I'm the tour manager of this chaos, you know, but all along we got to skate. And so that's how I kept my mental health in check. If I was unable to skate, then I would start kind of losing it.
Angela [00:42:45] I think it's pretty amazing what your game has brought to the skating community as well. So my sons, they don't know how to skateboard, but they love your games.
Tony Hawk [00:42:56] Oh, so cool, thank you.
Angela [00:42:58] They love Tony Hawk Pro Skater. And they were so excited that I was meeting you today. And we meet like really great people all the time and they're like, oh yeah, that's cool. And I said your name and they were like, no way. And they're, like, are you serious? I guess you have a big game that's coming out July 11th, like the three and four, they told me. So that's-
Tony Hawk [00:43:17] Wow, so they did my own press for me.
Angela [00:43:20] They were like, no, there's a new game coming out.
Tony Hawk [00:43:23] They have my talking points.
Angela [00:43:24] They do. I went and looked up the date. They didn't know the date, but they're like, no, there's a new one coming out.
Tony Hawk [00:43:29] Yeah, hey just the fact that they know that is is a big deal to me. Yeah, because I've we've been working for a while on that and it's been really hard to contain the secret. So we finally got to reveal it last week.
Angela [00:43:41] Wow, yeah, no, they know I think they follow gamers, you know, so when things are announced.
Tony Hawk [00:43:46] Yeah, we did an event, a lot of influencers were there, a lot the bands that are featured in the game were there. A lot of the characters that are featured in game were here, so I'm glad it came across their radar.
Jenna [00:43:57] Can you say some of the bands that were there?
Tony Hawk [00:43:59] Sure. Urethane is one of the bands. Steve Cavallaro's a Pro Skater who's actually in that band. The Adolescents, who did songs like Amoeba and Kids of the Black Hole. You've heard them, but you probably don't know what that is. Danny Brown is a hip hop artist from Detroit and Lupe Fiasco, who famously has the kick push song about skateboarding.
Jenna [00:44:22] I just know how much music is a part of the skateboarding culture as well. I was telling you that my very first boyfriend was a skateboarder. My high school love of my life. And I spent two or three years at skate parks watching him skate.
Tony Hawk [00:44:36] Oh wow, what city?
Jenna [00:44:38] Uh St Louis. I was a skate Betty. I don't know if we're still allowed to call ourselves skate Bettys.
Tony Hawk [00:44:44] That's pretty cool that's OG.
Jenna [00:44:45] That's right. Um I wore the t-shirts and dressed in the gear.
Angela [00:44:51] When you say you wore the T-shirts, what does that mean?
Jenna [00:44:53] Like a thrasher t-shirt.
Tony Hawk [00:44:54] Yeah, probably in those days, you know maybe.
Jenna [00:44:58] Black flag, t-shirt, or...
Tony Hawk [00:45:00] Yeah, Black Flag, World Industries.
Jenna [00:45:03] I don't remember.
Tony Hawk [00:45:04] Yeah. What years?
Jenna [00:45:06] Uh, I would have been there- so this, I guess, which I didn't realize in St. Louis, Missouri, nobody told us there was a skateboarding drought during, um, like 88 to 91. I mean, we were like, it was in full force and, um. All these guys would go out there on the half pipe and they'd be trying to do the stuff.
Tony Hawk [00:45:24] Did you ever go to a half pipe that was plexiglass?
Jenna [00:45:28] I don't think so in St. Louis, no.
Tony Hawk [00:45:31] There was there was a half pipe in st. Louis that was portable that I skated many times in those years
Jenna [00:45:37] Wow, I don't think so. I think I would have remembered that. One of the parks we went to was, I guess, is this is this called a bowl where it's cement? And then there were other like wooden right half pipes or quarter pipes or whatever. Yeah. I mean, and it was, I loved those guys.
Tony Hawk [00:45:58] Really creative.
Jenna [00:45:59] Good guys.
Tony Hawk [00:46:00] Yeah, just kinda doing their own thing.
Jenna [00:46:02] Yes.
Tony Hawk [00:46:02] And not caring what anyone thinks.
Jenna [00:46:04] No, and it made me want to ask you what part of skateboarding culture do you think has been most misunderstood or misrepresented by the mainstream?
Tony Hawk [00:46:13] Um, I think it's more the, the misfit aspect in that they want to focus on these are outcasts or that they're troublemakers. And it's like, no, they just, they're just doing their own thing and they're doing it in a highly creative way. And I feel like skateboarding teaches you so much about how to solve problems, how to be self-motivated and instill self-confidence, like maybe nothing else in your life. And it makes you see. It's just this great equalizer, but it's very inclusive, so you just get to hang out with all kinds of different people, but you have this shared interest and an immediate bond.
Jenna [00:46:50] I totally agree and I think like, I mean I know that when I brought my skateboarding boyfriend home for the first time with his like blue hair and his like crazy way that he dressed and his slouchy clothes and all this stuff, I know my parents were a little like, huh. Okay. Okay. Cause I was going to like a private Catholic girls school and you know, they would always be mixers with the private boys schools and all that. Like those were the like dances that you were encouraged to go to. And I was like, I don't know what to tell you guys, but you know those prep school boys, they got nothing on the skater boys. Like they are it because also the skaters were not slackers or delinquents or any of that. They're disciplined.
Tony Hawk [00:47:39] Yeah, very disciplined.
Jenna [00:47:40] I mean, listen, if you want to date a skater, be prepared to sit at a skate park for like hours watching them try a trick because
Tony Hawk [00:47:47] And nursing wounds.
Jenna [00:47:49] Yes. I mean, a couple of broken wrists and things. Not just from falling, but from like a board hitting. That was how my boyfriend broke his wrist was like his board flipped up and then cranked him in the wrist.
Tony Hawk [00:48:00] That's rough, that's literally insult to injury.
Jenna [00:48:03] It really is, it really, really is. Yeah, so I just, I think it's a cool thing and I think that it's really, really cool that through your foundation, you have the skate park project where you have helped fund something like over 600 skate parks around the world.
Tony Hawk [00:48:20] One in St. Louis actually.
Jenna [00:48:21] And one in St. Louis. That is so cool.
Tony Hawk [00:48:23] Yeah, I got to go to the grand opening though. It was cool.
Angela [00:48:25] That's so great. Well, I'm a dinosaur because I'm gonna just tell you that I grew up roller skating. I still roller skate. My roller skates are...
Tony Hawk [00:48:34] Quads? Quads are cool, man.
Angela [00:48:37] Yeah, I grew up in Indonesia. So like I got my first pair through the Sears catalog. It took six months to get there. But you know, the pair I still skate with, I have three pairs by the front door. I got in Redondo beach in like 94. But they're still my favorite. But there are skate parks that have the smaller like little hills and stuff like that. And we would go and try to do you know whatever just pop back on your back four, jump a little thing like really small things. But It was such a way to de-stress for me. And it still is. And I have outdoor wheels. Those are my favorite. I don't really like indoor skating as much. I like to be outside.
Tony Hawk [00:49:18] They're more like skateboard wheels.
Angela [00:49:19] Yeah, they're bigger and um, but I just find it as a way to just sort of check out of my mind and get into my body
Tony Hawk [00:49:26] That's why I continue to do it against all odds and through injuries. That's my Zen for sure, but I think it's cool you do quads. They're making a huge comeback. There's quite a faction of young girls that are starting to do quad skating at skate parks these days.
Angela [00:49:41] Well, I almost brought them in today and my husband was like, no.
Tony Hawk [00:49:45] Oh, I think it's cool.
Angela [00:49:46] Don't meet Tony on roller skates. That's too dorky.
Tony Hawk [00:49:48] No, I love it.
Jenna [00:49:51] I've got another question. What life skills does skateboarding build that you can't learn in a classroom?
Tony Hawk [00:49:57] Yeah, I think discipline in a way that is much more intense and much more self-projected where it's not someone telling you, you got to do this, do these reps. It's like, you know, you just got to get up and try. You just got to keep trying and getting up and persistence. And I think, I think probably the one thing skating taught me through all my years is to embrace failure. Because that's how I'm gonna learn and that's I'm going to figure these other things out. And even like breaking my rib, doing 900, I am glad I did that because that led me to actually figure the whole thing out. Put a stall in my efforts a little bit, but it's more like that. It's that you needed those failures to either learn or to keep yourself in reality. Because not everything's gonna win. Not every show is gonna be The Office.
Jenna [00:50:51] Tell me about it.
Tony Hawk [00:50:53] No show's gonna be The Office.
Angela [00:50:53] I mean our overnight success was each of us about nine years. Nine years of just out there just doing anything we could.
Tony Hawk [00:51:02] So great.
Angela [00:51:04] Well, this has just been so great. Is there anything you want to ask us, The Office related?
Tony Hawk [00:51:09] Yeah, I mean, what is it like to, I just can't think of any other TV shows barring, say, The Simpsons, or something that happened in the 70s or 80s, like Cheers, what's it like to have a TV show that's so iconic? It's a meme factory. Still.
Jenna [00:51:26] I get sent myself from people.
Angela [00:51:29] All the time.
Tony Hawk [00:51:30] Is it hard for you guys to exist in the real world in that sense?
Jenna [00:51:34] It is not hard for me to exist in the real world. I feel like I have such an identity outside of that job and outside of the fame of that job. And I'm so grateful because I love to travel that I can go to any kind of like iconic sort of like tourist attraction and I don't get like overly recognized or bothered or anything. Like I can go up in the Eiffel Tower. Like, I think of, like, can Taylor Swift? She can't just go up in the Eiffel Tower, right? Or Jennifer Aniston can't just go in the Eiffel Tower if she's in Paris. And so I feel so grateful that I can do those things.
Tony Hawk [00:52:14] You can live a relatively normal life.
Jenna [00:52:16] I can. I can and so I and I do.
Angela [00:52:21] To me, it's just all like abundant universe kind of stuff. It's just, I look back on it and I'm like, wow, that was so cool. I'm so glad I got to do that. And then I'm grateful that I get to continue just working with my best friend. And we journeyed a lot of that together. And that's been a huge amount of support because we started The Office and traveled through becoming famous together. So having a core group of people that have known you for a really long time. My best friends in LA are still, my friends Michael and Tobias, we were operators at 1-800-Dentis together.
Tony Hawk [00:52:59] Wow.
Angela [00:53:00] Before, you know, that's what I did. I did that and I did shows at improv theaters and to have that community that has known you that long is so important. And then I just, I like people and I like meeting people that love The Office. It makes me happy that they're still connecting to it. Like you and your daughter, like that's so cool. I love that.
Tony Hawk [00:53:18] Are you guys ever over it?
Jenna [00:53:21] I don't think.
Tony Hawk [00:53:22] I mean we're doing a podcast based on it, so I'm assuming the answer is no.
Jenna [00:53:23] I guess. No, no, I mean, yeah, I mean, and you know, sometimes you get like I've seen like snarky comments on my Instagram or something where someone's like, get over it. It was a long time ago. You still are talking about this thing.
Tony Hawk [00:53:38] They're projecting their own failures on you.
Jenna [00:53:40] Well, I mean, my feeling is like, oh, I'm sorry, but I kind of did a super cool thing and I'm never getting tired of it. Like, it was awesome.
Tony Hawk [00:53:50] Oh yeah, are you kidding me? I'm milking it to the end.
Angela [00:53:53] Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's what smart people do. They find their thing and then they lean the f*** into it as hard as they can. So yeah, I will like yell SWave Bandit for you, for your kid's birthday. Sure, why not?
Jenna [00:54:09] Yeah, I'm super proud of it. You know, like why would I get over it? You know?
Tony Hawk [00:54:14] That's like, well, Kate does the, she does the best Cameos.
Jenna [00:54:18] She really does.
Tony Hawk [00:54:19] Yeah, and she did one for my daughter. She actually knew it was from me. We had met once, but the fact that she will say all the stuff and then go to her piano, play the theme song. We're like, oh, it's so amazing. I know. It's exactly what a fan wants.
Jenna [00:54:31] And I like to give that to people. I mean, I didn't grow up in Hollywood. I didn't grow up this world. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, going to skate parks and, you know, being in theater club. And oh my gosh, to have like someone from that world that I dreamed about, like say my name or shake my hand or take a picture with me, just how meaningful that would be.
Tony Hawk [00:54:52] So cool.
Jenna [00:54:53] So I love to like give that out any time I can.
Tony Hawk [00:54:56] It's so amazing.
Angela [00:54:58] That's how I feel like if people come to my Instagram I'm like price of admission, buddy. You're going to get a lot of The Office.
Tony Hawk [00:55:04] How else did you find me?
Angela [00:55:06] Yeah, exactly. Is it because I love hummingbirds? Is that why you're here?
Tony Hawk [00:55:10] Did you call 1-800-Dentist at some point?
Angela [00:55:12] Exactly.
Tony Hawk [00:55:13] I will say that one of my most viral Instagram posts was I brought it back from when I got to visit the set. I sat at the reception desk and put the phone to my ear. So a few years ago I put just Birdhouse Skateboards, this is Tony.
Angela [00:55:28] Oh, that's so good.
Jenna [00:55:29] I was gonna ask, yes. That's amazing.
Tony Hawk [00:55:31] That went huge.
Angela [00:55:32] Oh that's good.
Tony Hawk [00:55:35] Where did you? It was just like, cause it's a time warp.
Jenna [00:55:39] It totally is. Does the fame ever bother you?
Tony Hawk [00:55:42] No, only if it interferes with my family time, if I get stopped and it gets tricky and if I'm traveling with my kids or whatnot and I feel like they're getting slighted.
Angela [00:55:54] Uncomfortable or something, yeah.
Tony Hawk [00:55:55] Yeah. Or if I feel like it's just taking away from that. But that's rare, honestly. And I mean, I still get to ride my skateboard for a living. I get paid to talk about skateboarding. Like, it's such a dream come true. And, I can't believe I still get to do it. So, I'm super thankful. And you know, I don't think I'm some polarizing figure. So, people are generally very nice and happy when they see me. And our video game series was a huge hit, so they like to talk about that, and I played it, so I speak their language.
Jenna [00:56:29] Yeah, yeah, are you good at your own video game?
Tony Hawk [00:56:32] Yes, I'm good at playing with myself.
Jenna [00:56:35] That was a very Michael Scott thing to say.
Angela [00:56:37] That's what she said. It really was.
Jenna [00:56:39] Well, should we do our call sheet questions?
Angela [00:56:41] Let's do it. Let's it. OK. Here they are. Number one, what was your very first entertainment job?
Tony Hawk [00:56:50] I got to, I was on Captain Kangaroo. As a kid.
Jenna [00:56:55] You were?
Angela [00:56:55] How old were you?
Tony Hawk [00:56:56] I was skateboarding. I was like 11.
Angela [00:56:59] Oh wow, did all the ping-pong balls drop?
Tony Hawk [00:57:02] No, they shot that. I didn't understand how TV worked at the time. So I thought Captain Kangaroo was coming to the skate park and we're going to do this whole thing. This crew came, shot me skating and they made a little segment about it.
Angela [00:57:15] Oh, okay. So you didn't go to the set, but still.
Tony Hawk [00:57:20] I didn't get to go to the set but we sat and watched Captain Kangaroo one morning and I was on it.
Angela [00:57:23] That's wild, that's pretty cool.
Jenna [00:57:26] Number two, do you speak any other languages or play a musical instrument?
Tony Hawk [00:57:31] I speak a little bit of French. It took a couple years and then I spent about six weeks right after high school in France. So I understand it more than I speak it. Like we were there for the Olympics over the summer. I managed to navigate our family through some tricky security checkpoints thanks to my French. So I feel like that was worth all the two years of it in school. And I used to play violin.
Jenna [00:57:58] Do you still play violin?
Tony Hawk [00:57:59] No, my music teacher when I was 12, he wanted me to do these extracurricular school concerts and stuff on weekends and that was when I would have to go compete and I told him no, I'm going to compete in the skateboard event and he said well you can't do both.
Jenna [00:58:20] You had to pick violin or skateboarding.
Tony Hawk [00:58:22] According to him.
Jenna [00:58:23] That was a real sliding doors moment for you I guess.
Tony Hawk [00:58:25] It was for sure. And I said, okay, well, I, this is way more fun for me. And I didn't think I was choosing a future anyway. I was 12.
Angela [00:58:31] I know exactly. You didn't know it was going to be...
Tony Hawk [00:58:34] I'm not gonna be a concert violinist or I'm not going to be a pro skateboarder, I'm just, I just love doing this. And so, and so I, and I wish that I hadn't quit. I wish I hadn't really listened to him like that, but he was the music teacher and he wasn't going to let me keep being in his class.
Angela [00:58:48] Yeah, that's not.
Tony Hawk [00:58:48] Cause I wasn't doing the other stuff. I tried to pick it up again and it wasn't like riding a bike.
Angela [00:58:53] All right, what's a place you've been to that you absolutely love?
Tony Hawk [00:59:00] Firstly, Japan, I got to go there when I was 14 for a TV show called, basically, Wonder Kids, or Amazing Kids, and in my later years, Iceland.
Angela [00:59:12] I'm going to Iceland this summer.
Tony Hawk [00:59:13] Iceland's so cool.
Angela [00:59:14] Oh, I can't wait. All right. Next one.
Jenna [00:59:18] What do you like to do on the weekends?
Tony Hawk [00:59:19] I like to try to be home and have our kids come home because they are all pretty much gone. We only have one at home now. My daughter. We have five boys and they all are quote adults, but they do tend to migrate back home on the weekends. So I like try to be home in case that happens.
Angela [00:59:42] I love that. All right, last one, favorite midnight snack.
Tony Hawk [00:59:47] Hmm, that's tricky. I like this kind of sweet popcorn.
Jenna [00:59:56] Like a kettle corn kind of thing.
Tony Hawk [00:59:57] Yeah, but not not too sweet, you know the yeah the boom chicka
Both [01:00:01] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tony Hawk [01:00:02] That one's pretty good either that or I go crackers, happy cow cheese and salami.
Jenna [01:00:10] You're speaking Angela's language.
Angela [01:00:12] That's all I ever want.
Jenna [01:00:12] It's near and dear to her heart.
Tony Hawk [01:00:14] That's a good one.
Angela [01:00:15] That's my favorite snack.
Jenna [01:00:16] A tangent to that question is if you were standing in line for pretzel day, what's your order?
Tony Hawk [01:00:21] Oh wow, it would either be cinnamon and sugar or frosted. But I don't care about the sprinkles and I don't care about all the other accouterments.
Jenna [01:00:31] I'm Cinnamon Sugar.
Angela [01:00:32] I'm cinnamon sugar.
Tony Hawk [01:00:34] Yeah, like a Cinnamon Toast vibe.
Both [01:00:36] Yes, yep. Yes
Tony Hawk [01:00:40] Am I gonna walk out the door and there's gonna be a pretzel cart?
Jenna [01:00:43] No, I wish we had planned ahead.
Tony Hawk [01:00:44] You guys need a bigger budget.
Jenna [01:00:46] Boop, boop, Boop. Well, we would have asked that question at the beginning if that was the case.
Angela [01:00:50] Yeah, exactly.
Tony Hawk [01:00:50] And here it is.
Jenna [01:00:53] Oh, man. Thank you so much for coming in.
Tony Hawk [01:00:56] Yeah, thanks for having me.
Angela [01:00:58] Yeah this was so great.
Tony Hawk [01:00:59] Congratulations to you too.
Angela [01:01:00] Thank you.
Jenna [01:01:00] Yeah, thanks! All right, well that happened, lady. Tony Hawk sat across from us for like an hour and we talked to him.
Angela [01:01:14] I know. And we took pictures. We have the photos to prove it.
Jenna [01:01:17] That's right.
Angela [01:01:18] Thank you so much, Tony, for being on our podcast.
Jenna [01:01:21] And don't forget everybody, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Three and Four is out July 11th. You gotta grab it.
Angela [01:01:27] Gotta grab it. And you know what? Tony also has a podcast. It's called Hawk Versus Wolf. It's him and Jason Ellis and it's a great podcast. So we'll put a link to that in our stories too.
Jenna [01:01:38] Thank you so much, everyone, and we will see you next week.
Angela [01:01:41] See you next week.
Jenna [01:01:50] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Angela [01:01:52] Office Ladies is a presentation of Audacy and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [01:01:56] Our executive producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Keifer. And our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico.
Angela [01:02:05] Audacy's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reiss-Dennis.
Jenna [01:02:10] Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.
Angela [01:02:12] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.