Support for here and now anytime comes from MathWorks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink software for technical computing and model-based design.

MathWorks, accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science. Learn more at Mathworks.com.

WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

There is a whole generation of people who skate now

who have told me specifically that they started skating

because they played the game.

And some of the tricks that they learned

were tricks that they did in the game

thinking they were based in reality

when they weren't.

We just put them in there because it was fantastic.

Tony Hawk looks back on a career that changed skateboarding twice, once in the halfpipe

and once with a video game.

It's Friday, July 18th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR.

I'm Chris Bentley.

Today on the show, we've got an interview with someone whose name is synonymous with skateboarding. Mr.

Do a Kickflip himself, Tony Hawk. He redefined what was possible on a skateboard and took the sport

to new heights, literally. But if you're like me, you spent more time playing Tony Hawk's video game

than actually skating. After all, it's a lot easier pulling off a gnaw or varial or a nose grind in digital

form than in real life. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 just released to consoles. It's a collection

that updates some of the most successful video games of all time with a roster of contemporary

skateboarders. And our producer James Mastro Marino is a fan as well.

...