When Tony Hawk gets an idea in his head, he sees it through—time and time again. He recently posted a video discussing his first-ever skateboard, along with a photo his sister took of him—his literal first skate photo—in 1978 riding it in front of his childhood home. But that’s just the beginning!

Well, Tony being Tony, he returned to the exact location where the original photo was taken and recreated it, all while giving us some nitty-gritty details of what he remembers from that historical day in the process. Press play and nerd out! 

View the original article to see embedded media.

„I went back to where it all started,“ The Birdman wrote on Instagram. 

This isn’t the first time Tony has done something like this, and I have to assume it won’t be the last. What I absolutely love the most about these moments is the attention to detail he gives to his outfits (and other subtle little details) that truly make these „recreations“ what they are. 

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, look no further than the knee patches on his jeans! Amazing. 

Related: Tony Hawk Recreates ‚Central Park Mystery Skater‘ Photo From 1965

Although his actual first board is now resting safely in the Smithsonian, this replica was pretty darn close to the real thing. And let’s be honest, the moment it created is really what’s important here. He gives thanks to @montygonzo & @_at_sk8_ for being able to acquire the replica, and I have to imagine he’s pretty stoked. 

Man, can you imagine what would’ve happened if Tony didn’t take that debut ride back in 1978? I mean, who knows, maybe it all would’ve unfolded similarly, but at the same time—maybe not! It’s just wild to think about. 

Related: Tony Hawk Recreates Iconic J. Grant Brittain Photo From 1987

Personally, I hope Tony continues to do stuff like this often. I love watching the dude skate, I’m a huge fan of his podcast, but these stories and recreations are seriously so cool, and it’s pretty rad that he continues to make them happen. 

I peppered in a few other photo recreations that Tony has done this year here in the post. Check them out if you get a chance! There’s no one like The Birdman. Thanks for constantly keeping things fun, Tony! Love to see it. 

 💻 Don’t miss another headline from TransWorld SKATEboarding! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more quality skate content. 💻

Another history-making Tampa Am wrapped up last weekend down in Florida with several days‘ worth of wild clips and hours-long live webcasting. If you didn’t log on and watch the over-200 entrants go wild on the Skatepark of Tampa course, we’ve got the Cliffs Notes version for you right here. 

First off, let’s look at the finals results:

View the original article to see embedded media.

Nationally speaking, Korea took the win with six of the top twelve being skaters from Japan. We’ve never seen anything like this, but it is indicative of what’s going on in the contest world. Think Yuto Horigome winning the last two Tampa Pros and the Olympics. Just two Americans and one Brazilian in the finals. Brazilians used to rule contests, but no more. 

Should Brian Schaefer move the Skatepark of Tampa to Japan to save money?

Ok, let’s talk about the clips. Taiga Nagai, who placed second in the contest, took home the Independent Trucks Best Trick with this bigspin to frontside hurricane across and down the handrail:

View the original article to see embedded media.

Truly mental. It’s a trick that would probably win Best Trick at the upcoming Tampa Pro contest too!

Related: Mark your calendars: The 31st annual Tampa Pro is going down April 3-6, 2025

Okay, now for the clip and run that basically broke the internet. If you’ve never heard of Juni Kang, out of Korea, you best get used to hearing that name. Peep this dude’s insane finals run:

View the original article to see embedded media.

Yup. He even ended it on a „Yuto“-inspired trick (Yuto did that one in his street part earlier this year). It’ll be interesting to see what happens in Tampa in April. Will Juni get the pro nod before then and end up going head-to-head against Yuto using similar tricks? Time will tell. In the meantime, peruse Skatepark of Tampa’s IG for all kinds of video gems from another Tampa Am weekend. 

💻🛹 Don’t miss another headline from TransWorld SKATEboarding! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more quality skate content. 🛹💻

There’s nothing quite like Independent’s Mad Dawg Invitational Death Race at Tick Ditch, and if you’re unfamiliar with this insane event, peep some raw clips from all the mayhem in 2023. Speed, slams and plenty of surprises await! Take a look:

So, for one, this is one of those videos that you really need to witness to understand. I could sit here and talk about how gnarly it all is, but who wants to read about it when you can live it! And for those of you out there who haven’t ever been to one of these insane events, well, these edits are certainly the next best thing. 

Related: Chaos UNLEASHED! Death Race at Tick Ditch 3

There is no shortage of contests in skateboarding. Some are pretty standard and, arguably, pretty damn dull. Some are fun and quirky, but arguably, pretty corny. 

But the Death Race? Well, the Death Race is a beast of its own. And is unarguably one of the most hair-raising, anxiety-inducing, wild-as-all-hell „contests“ in all of skateboarding, if you ask me. But don’t get it twisted… I’d hardly consider this a contest. 

If anything, it’s simply a gathering of insane, like-minded skateboarders to get rad. It’s a way to release some of that pent of energy that jumping down even some of the heaviest spots in skateboarding can’t even provide. Again, just peep these clips! Would you be out there participating? Or watching in awe from the sidelines? Hey, if you chose the sidelines, I don’t blame you. 

Related: The Thrill of Tick Ditch’s DEATH RACE Raw Clips

It’s a celebration of the raw, pure side of skateboarding all the same. Charging down a crusty ditch (quite literally) as fast as you can is insane, and every one out there clearly craves a little bit on insanity. Personally, I love to see it. 

The fourth year is upon us on November 16th from 11am – Sunset. Wanna go? Well, you better know someone, because it ain’t easy! But if you do get a chance to make it out thee, you won’t be disappointed. Until then, relive the heaviness from last year. Shoutout to Indy and Monster for keeping it going year after year.  

 💻 Don’t miss another headline from TransWorld SKATEboarding! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more quality skate content. 💻

East Coast skaters are built different, but even the right coast has its own little diverse pockets of inspiration and radness, and the Washington DC scene is certainly one of them. 

Filmmaker Nnamdi Ihekwoaba just dropped a heavy new video ‚Public Service 2024‘ featuring a wide variety of rippers tearing through the East Coast streets that’s a must-watch, in my opinion. Smash that play button and get stoked. 

At just over 50 minutes, it’s no surprise the video is stacked with a heavy cast, including: Mason Padilla, Nashua Rosales, Rashad Murray, Will Keysar, Tom Alexander, Nabeel Nelson, Bryce Church, Judea Myton, Dylan Hatfield, Zac Negron, Alex Stewart, Maddie Hazlett, William Jordan, Jordan Taylor, Kevin Augustine, Trent Frizzell, Shane Wallington, Calvin Thalivanh, Carlos Caple, KJ Thomas, Kyle O’Neill, Maen Hammad, Josh Ferguson, Yoonsun Shin, Coles Bailey, Jersey Chad, Jesus Gutierrez, Troy Gipson, King Abdo, Marcello Campanello, Nick Weber, Paris Summerville, Graeme Turner, Mike Ward, Donnavan Stubbs, Santos Arevalo, Gorge Diaz and Carlos Diaz.

Related: Get Your Dose Of East Coast Skating In This Great New Video From Jake Todd

Raw. Gritty. No nonsense. From beginning to end, the energy in this video is super infectious. And again, with a heavy-hitting list of skaters like we saw above, we shouldn’t expect anything less. This clip offers the perfect variety of spots and tricks, too—a little something for everyone. And plenty of heavy revs for dudes like me (sitting in San Diego) to get fired up on. 

Related: Video: Solid East Coast Skateboarding in „Front Row“

And while I hate to sort of always point out the obvious, these dudes skate some seriously crusty spots all throughout this video. East Coast footage will always look sick, there’s no denying that. You just know that if the ground simply looks crusty and raw on video, it’s even gnarlier in real life. 

Step to it of you dare! Regardless, Nnamdi and all the skaters here in this video really came through. Nothing like a proper indie skate video to get the blood flowing! So many sick spots. Hats off to all involved. That was super dope. 

VIDEO / Nnamdi Ihekwoaba

Additional Filming: Wayne Morrison, Tom Alexander, Elijah Gordon, Nashua Rosales

 💻 Don’t miss another headline from TransWorld SKATEboarding! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more quality skate content. 💻