Tas actually seemed pretty hyped when Tony landed the 900 in that video shot from the stands(bottom right, black leather jacket, arms in the air, clapping).

This is going to be a long-winded rant, so please forgive me, but I feel compelled to put in my two cents…hell, that’s what comments are for right?

What was alleged was that he was blocked from participating…the fact are these: Tony DID have contacts deep within ESPN and the industry as a whole, he answers back to the All This Mayhem documentary many months after its release, he does so with Transworld with whom he’s had ties with since its inception, TWS photographer Grant Brittain WAS there the day Tas was attempting the nine as he prepared for the X-Games and, finally, Tony was offered to take part in the documentary, which he declined to do. These are facts, not conjecture, not conspiracy theory. Now, people who watch this documentary are focusing strictly on the 900, why is that? You can blame Tas or you can blame the audience for turning a critical eye towards Hawk, but there is so much more to the story than just a trick. Have you ever considered that in the documentary Tas says very clearly that all his hopes in saving Ben was riding on this? So is it possible, if he feels in any way robbed, then perhaps what he is really harboring inside is guilt for not have been able to rescue his closest friend, his blood, his brother before it was far too late?! Yeah, keep looking at things in black and white terms rather than in a larger, existential picture…it’s far easier to do that!

If you read the TWS interview, Tony, who portrays himself as a moral, honest man, derides Vice, even going so far as accusing THEM of skewing stories…wait, isn’t that the same type of conspiracy nonsense Hawk’s camp has been accusing Tas of doing? So, let me get this straight, Tas thinking he was intentionally blocked entry into the best trick comp, after all he went through, seeing Grant take pictures of him, etc, is conspiracy theory, yet Hawk accusing Vice and the award winning documentary as being yellow journalism is not? How does that double standard work? Apparently, you can say something and go completely against it literally overnight and expect people to believe you? Because it’s funny to note that the day BEFORE the interview in TWS, that very same den of yellow journalism, Vice, publishes a gushing interview with Hawk titled: “Tony Hawk Is America’s Cool Dad”! Think about it, Hawk says he has doubts, yet at E3, while pushing his new video game, he accepts to be interview by none other than Drew Millard Associate Editor for Vice…wow, yeah, he must have had serious doubts about Vice’s credibility.

Here’s what Hawk Says in the TWS: ” To be honest this whole thing has made me question a lot of Vice coverage. I used to be intrigued by it but now I’m sort of like, “I don’t know about them.” I think they might be skewing a lot of stories. It made me question their ethics. I want to see journalism with integrity.”

This is business people, it’s marketing, it’s public relations, come on, Hawk isn’t some dude pressing a few boards for the DIY crew! Even in Bondi a couple of months ago, where Hawk skated against a bunch of guys with day jobs and not in the best condition, he walks up barefooted after the contest with Lasek at his side, and the commentator asks where his shoes were, he responds that a charity group asked for them to be auctioned off and he had forgotten to bring another pair, Bucky chimes in with a “Yeah, he does that all the time.” …that whole thing reeked of PR. Now, whether or not this is true, this is the perception I got.

The problem here is that Hawk is an incredible skater, one of the best in history, yet he is still a man, a very wealthy man, and here we are all of a sudden having the southern California skate industry establishment, ex boom boom crew, and long time associates tell us that what happened to Tas could not have actually resulted due to Hawk’s interference? You don’t think there are any of us who find all this suspicious? Oh, of course, we are all Alex Jones and Tas Pappas supporters, of course, that’s it just disregard us as easily as you can!

Go ahead and blame Tas all you want, call him bitter, call him a conspiracy nut, call him a crack head, don’t bother given him kudos on surviving, don’t open your arms as you did to ex-junkie Grosso (you think he stole or lied?), or ex Meth smuggler/user hypocrite Hosoi, it doesn’t matter at this stage, the documentary wasn’t about the 900! But for a moment we should look at ourselves and our own double standard. Grosso was accepted back, we saw that he got himself clean, we saw that skateboarding was his life…yet, even after all that, he insults everyone possible at the Van’s Pool Party, and we all keep nice and quiet, because he’s the shit, he has his own little show on the Van’s Youtube channel, he rides for Anti-hero, he has a Crass tattoo…so hardcore.

What DOES matter is that all of a sudden people are looking at Hawk the man, not Hawk the image. Everyone from major websites to little unimportant blogs have published stories on his marital adventures, do you think Matt Goodman would say Hawk is a stand up guy in private? That’s gotta sting knowing your supposed best bud is banging your ex. You don’t think Hawk or his associates would fall prey to excess? Just go to youtube and watch Epicly Later’d Wild Ride part 15 and you can see video of Tony’s company office, courtesy of ex-birdhouse team manager J.Strickland, as they held “Tryouts for Birdhouse videos” where strippers are being paid to feed Jeremy Klien candy…”World Industries type of shit”. So we know that misogynistic behavior and the demeaning of women was acceptable behavior among the Birdhouse crew at one time.

So, after all this time, why such a heavy response? Is Hawk suddenly aware that more people who have gone through heavy stuff can relate to Tas’ tragic and triumphant story more so than Hawk’s “I haven’t worked a real job in my life” story? Is Hawk suddenly realizing that he is being viewed not as a skate god, but a man? That because of this documentary and social media, he is being scrutinized? Is he just as capable of making mistakes as everyone else? Can he be a total douchebag? Can he rip people off and not give a shit? OF COURSE HE CAN!!

Hawk paints himself as a man who has been in control, an honest man, a family man, yet he is by NO MEANS a wise man. A wise man would reach out personally to Tas and make peace privately, EVEN if he felt that he was the one being wronged. A wise man would see what Tas has had to go through, and extend a helping hand to get back on the right track…if that was done, those actions would show Hawk as the hero he so desperately wants to be. You see, in real life, when people see someone bloodied and in the gutter after a street fight get back up, albeit slowly and unsteadily, people instinctively root for that man because he is the underdog, he is the survivor and the man standing over him becomes the villain…Tas is a hero just for surviving. Tas has said he wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, he has accepted that he could be an asshole, he has accepted the wrongs he has done…and that goes a very, very long way in the public’s mind…even if on this one point of contention he has not accepted Hawk’s version of events. In other words, Tas shows the public the worst about himself, which he did, embarrassing photographs and all, then the public asks themselves, “Hell, what else does he have to hide? What else is there that HE CAN hide?” Sooooo, if Tas is telling the truth about EVERYTHING ELSE, then why on this one thing, this one tiny thing, is he being called a delusional liar?

If you would like insight into the mind of Hawk you simply have to read the TWS interview…

Mackenzie Eisenhour:” I saw that Tas was sort of going at you on Instagram.”

Tony Hawk: “Yeah. Of course. Well that’s all he has. He has to hold on to that. It’s his whole link to glory. And honestly, I wasn’t talking about it at all—it wasn’t that I was trying to avoid it. I wasn’t speaking up on my own just because his story is so tragic. It’s so awful that I really do feel like it’s trivial for me to straighten out this Best Trick contest. It’s just so unimportant to how heavy the tragedy of his story is.”

That first part, was pure venom, as to be expected in a street brawl, but even more revealing is how he accepts how difficult Tas’ story is. Reflect on that for a moment, why couldn’t he take a deep breath and say “Here’s a man who has lost his brother in the worst of circumstances, here is a man who fell victim to the excesses of the industry, WHICH MANY HAVE, here is a man who is just now beginning to get things back in order with many issues still to deal with…maybe I should fly down, swallow my pride, skate with him and discuss how we can come to an agreement on letting this go”? Because who can blame Tas if that is HIS perception of events? To change that perception one must extend a conciliatory hand, not one of animosity.

You may say, “Oh, but look at how Tas acted on Instagram!”, well hell yes, how do you think a junk yard dog is going to act with its hind corners up against the wall all alone? Huh? How would YOU react? I suspect Tas is no wimp, that’s for damned sure, you call him outside and I am positive you’re gonna have your hands full!

As I said, Hawk should go down to Australia for a personal meeting with Tas, a nice mellow place with a few mutual friends, maybe get some runs in and end this crap now, IT DOES NOT HELP ANYONE. Hell, why not take a page from boxing’s playbook, make it a win, win situation and have a pay per view skate off! Hawk VS Tas, it would probably be the biggest draw on Pay Per View in years!

You see, Tas is a free man, he has his woman and son, but he is still paying a heavy price for what has happened, as we all would, and one needs to take that into account. It is absolutely unfair for people to judge him as they would anyone who has never had to experience what he has had to experience…but Hawk keeps leading a charmed life…unless, for whatever reason, this whole thing has become Jason Lee’s Dodo deck all over again and he’s worried he just isn’t cool or relevant anymore.

So yeah, talk smack all you want, it’s the name of the game, but if you can’t see that this is the industry closing ranks because they sold their fucking soul to Red Bull and X-Games, then keep buying the millionaire’s shit, keep wearing the right shoes, keep drinking your energy drinks…who gives a damn!

If Hawk is the bigger man, even if he feels slighted, then act accordingly, reach out to a fellow member of the brotherhood and bring him back into the fold, help Tas do what he’d like to do…he still tears it UP!!!! I challenge Hawk to take the path of the enlightened man!

This whole thing makes me sick, I see a guy who has access to every tool the skateboard industry has to get his point out there, and on the other hand, I see a guy who reminds me of so many of my friends whom I’ve lost over the years, I see someone like the rest of us, a guy who is battling for his last bit of dignity and deserves a second chance…just like anyone of us who has tried their damndest to become better people. I could care less about the damned 900, Tas did it in Australia, it’s over. As Conklin said “Skateboarding use to be so fucking great…”

I’ll be absolutely surprised if this comment remains here, I certainly hope it does.

I quote Chris Miller, 99 x games , I think he will be trying that( the 9) in the best trick comp? O if his in it( Tas ) just drop the subject .