Michael Perry on July 9, 2022
Tony Hawk is one of those few athletes that has become synonymous with their sport. When anyone mentions skateboarding around the world, Hawk is the first name that comes to mind. The legend of the half-pipe recently explained why he wouldn’t be who he is today without Michael J. Fox.
In the early days of skateboarding, the sport struggled to find a niche. It nearly died out as a fad. That is, until Marty McFly showed up on the scene in the classic time travel comedy, “Back to the Future.”
Tony Hawk recently appeared on “WTF” with Marc Maron. There, he described how Michael J. Fox’s cool character brought skateboarding to the masses. Without Back to the Future, there might not be an X Games today.
“Yeah. Because the Michael J. Fox character, he does that thing where he rips off the scooter handles and rides it like a skateboard. Like he presents the future to them.
And then they had a couple of guys that were pro skaters doing stunt deviling who were doing jumps and and ollies and things. And kids saw that, and that was their first introduction to modern skateboarding.”
If it wasn’t for Marty McFly making skateboarding cool again, Tony Hawk isn’t sure the sport would have become as popular as it is. Sometimes, it only takes one influential moment to create a cultural phenomenon. For that, Tony Hawk owes Michael J. Fox his career.
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July 9, 2022 8:27 am
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