Today is a big day in both the skating and video game world. In case you didn’t hear: The man, the myth, the legend Tony Hawk has just dropped a highly anticipated remake of his iconic Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 games.
Giving the classic 1999 and 2000 gems a fresh facelift for a newer generation, skaters and gamers all around the world will have the chance to bust out 900s and McTwists while chasing insane combos and listening to one of the best gaming soundtracks ever compiled.
To help celebrate today’s huge moment, we thought it’d be fun to reach out to some of our favorite artists and see who some of their all-time favorite professional skaters are.
To check out what members of Neck Deep, State Champs, Thrice, nothing,nowhere and more had to say about skaters like Daewon Song, Mike Vallely, Mike Carroll and more be sure to look below.
BEN BARLOW - NECK DEEP
Eric Koston
I think what I love about Koston is that he doesn’t take himself seriously at all. He’s very self-deprecating and loves skateboarding for what it is, good fun. I met him at skatepark in Tampa once. We were playing a show next door and it was the warmups for the Tampa Pro the next day. Koston was just goofing around, emanating a very good vibe. He’s a great example that you don’t need to be SOTY to be one of the best.
Ishod Wair
Ishod has it all. He can skate street or transition. He can be tech or go big. His style is super clean but he can rough it up too. When you watch one of his video parts it’s never the same sort of tricks over and over, it’s a lot of variation in how and what he skates. He can do anything and do it well. His attitude is always pretty care free and easy going and [he] seems a lot of fun to be around. For me he’s one of the best in the world.
Jamie Foy
I like Foy because he came out of nowhere. He doesn’t look like he’d be able to send it down some of the biggest handrails you’ve ever seen, but he will, and he’ll usually do it to an insane level of difficulty. His determination on tricks is crazy, he can take some big slams on big spots and still get up and keep going. The year he got SOTY and was on King Of The Road was great to watch. All the gnarly/difficult challenges got soaked up by him and he’s constantly upping himself and surprising people with what he does next.
Evan Smith
Evan is one of the skaters I discovered more recently. I first saw him on King of The Road and immediately loved his style. Like Jamie Foy, there are times where you don’t expect him to pull out the tricks he does on the spots he does. I love his super loose style and the freedom of expression in his skating and he seems like a great guy to be around, always keeping the vibe strong and pushing the skaters around him to land a trick. He almost seems more stoked when one of his friends lands something then when he does!
Luan Olivera
Luan for me is one of the best in the world right now and it’s all down to his style. He really is the embodiment of ’steeze.’ Every flip trick, no matter how difficult, looks like the board is magnetically stuck to his feet. He does everything with speed and conviction and watching him is like watching the flip trick textbook in action. As a skater I’ve always been drawn to learning flip tricks and doing flip tricks on spots so watching him is a great way to get pumped up to skate.
DEREK DISCANIO - STATE CHAMPS
Andrew Reynolds
As far as legacy skaters go, Reynolds was always a favorite. He came to my town with the Emerica team for a demo when I was 12 and I remember being so psyched.
Daewon Song
The technical master. One of a kind with his manual combos and transition skill. Still killing it after decades.
Luan Olivera
Luan has THE best style in the game. Love watching him and how easy he makes everything look.
Chris Joslin
This guy is the future. He racks up insane clips constantly and is making his mark in the competitive scene too. Also a great follow on instagram.
Milton Martinez
2019 Thrasher Skater Of The Year. Watch his “Demolicíon” part and thank me later.
nothing,nowhere.
Rodney Mullen
Rodney is the godfather of modern street skating. He’s created more tricks than anyone else and is the epitome of creativity. I used to watch his videos every day after school, especially his videos on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
Chad Muska
Chad brought straight up style into skating; the muskalade, muska beats, and the boom box… I used to look on CCS magazine for Shorty’s shirts so I could look like Chad. A true legend and role model.
Daewon Song
Daewon is as tech as it gets. I used to watch the “Cheese and Crackers” video every day. He and Chris Haslam inspired me to skate transition more and today it’s all I skate. His Instagram is bananas too, he’s still ripping.
Mike Vallely
I used to be the only kid at the skatepark throwing boneless 360s off of the launch ramp. I wanted to be Mike V so bad! His show Drive on Fuel TV makes me cry whenever I watch it now because it’s so nostalgic. I’ll never forget when he signed my element shirt at Warped Tour 2007.
Mark Gonzales
Gonz is pure expression in human form. He paved the way for so many skateboarders and he always thought outside of the box. His art is insane as well, I’m still on the hunt for some OG prints from him.
ED BRECKENRIDGE - THRICE
Jon Dickson
Dickson has the ability to make any trick look like an epic, slow-mo, roll-the-credits clip. His style and power is unmatched and he truly embodies the origins of street skateboarding with the progression of modern day.
Natas Kaupas
Natas is such creative inspiration to us all. His efforts helped influence street skating with creativity, progression, and challenging what is possible on a piece of wood and wheels using the environment around us.
TEPPEI TERANISHI - THRICE
Mike Carroll
Favorites… it’s such a dreaded question for me but if I were to go for an all-time fave, it just might be Mike Carroll. I started skating in the early/mid nineties and he was the cream of the crop. Such style, such a technical and choice bag of tricks, and that flick! Virtual Reality, Penal Code, Goldfish, Mouse, heck, even his part in Questionable…classics!
Franky Villani
One of my favorite skateboarders at the moment would definitely be Franky Villani. The dude can do it all—crazy technical, big rails, gaps—and does it all with a super unique style that’s somehow equal parts fun and heavy.
JIMMY WIZARD - HIGHER POWER
Jake Johnson
Just straight up solid style and creativity.
Mike Carrol
Makes skateboarding look so easy his Modus Operandi part is effortless style and he seems like a funny character.
Vincent Huhta
I love watching this guy skate. Can’t wait to see more footage. He is the most relaxed man on a skateboard ever .
Chad Muska
So creative and inspiring off the skateboard and growing up playing THPS seeing his footage through that game was life changing, for sure.
