“He Didn’t Eat Sh*t”: Tony Hawk Remarked on Kanye West’s Brave Attempt at Skateboarding in 2018

Tony Hawk is a name synonymous with skateboarding. Hawk impressed people with his creativity and agility at a very young age. Even years later, the 54-year-old skateboarder is widely recognized for helping the sport enter the mainstream with his innovations and promotions.

One can hardly find people who don’t try the sport at the very sight of a skateboard. In fact, in 2018, popstar Kanye West was one of the many to try his hand at skateboarding, leaving Tony Hawk pretty impressed.  

The 1980s and ’90s saw Hawk unleashing his dominance in the sport. With 73 titles and several moves to his name, including the ollie-to-Indy, the gymnast plant, and the Saran wrap, the skateboarding icon etched his name in the history of the sport. Notably, West attempted the ollie on his very first encounter with a skateboard in 2018 and Hawk was all praise for him.

Tony Hawk once gave a keen analysis of Kanye West’s attempt

Hawk appeared on the First We Feast’s “The Burger Show” in 2018 and took a moment to comment on Kanye West’s skateboarding experience. Speaking of the most basic skate trick West tried, he appreciated West’s enthusiasm in going straight to ollie. He said, “Ya know, I gotta give it up for him in that he goes straight to the ollie, because it’s the foundation of every skate trick basically.” 

Filled with surprise and admiration for West, he said, “He just was like, ‘I’m gonna learn how to ollie.’” Describing further, he added it was one of the hardest things to learn, which takes years. “And the fact that he didn’t eat sh*t was something, too. There’s a lot of them that cut off his second attempt. Second attempt was bad.”

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Having said that, he concluded with some praises for West attempting bravely, without any second thought about his reputation. “Hats off to him, in that he’s going to be under so much scrutiny whatever he does, and he just jumps on a skateboard knowing there are cameras around, and goes for it. I gotta give him credit for that.”

Several broken bones, yet Hawk owes to skate 

In March this year, he suffered one of the worst injuries ever- a broken femur. Ironically coincidental, it happened on the same night that HBO released the trailer of his film ‘Until the Wheels Fall Off’. 

Hawk has said on several occasions that he won’t stop skating until he is physically unfit for the sport. His injury in March was so severe that it took him a step closer to abandoning the sport. Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad. He said he would be back but “Maybe not at full capacity, but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached ‘mid-life.’”

Watch this story – Tony Hawk, Magic Johnson and More: Here’s How These Athletes Turned Into Big Entrepreneurs

What are your thoughts on Ye’s skateboarding trick?