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Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is finally getting into fingerboards and partnering with an all-time great to make it happen. You may know him as Birdman, seen him on Rocket Power, The Simpsons, or somewhere else in the media, but Hot Wheels is now collaborating with Tony Hawk and releasing “Hot Wheels Skate.”
Not only do these have a Tony Hawk look and feel, but the Hot Wheels Skate line wants to appeal to all. Unlike Tech-Decks and other fingerboards, a single board is only a couple of bucks and includes a lovely set of skate shoes that act as training wheels.
The complete collection of boards, diecast cars, and sets will launch in August with pre-orders today at Walmart. But here’s the scoop, SI Showcase got to chat with Tony Hawk to unpack the Hot Wheels Skate line.
Mattel’s inaugural Hot Wheels Skate line consists of a few different items but starts with the classic fingerboard. You can pick from a bevy of styles, and once you receive it, you can get finger-skating since it comes fully pre-assembled. And as a kid who played with Hot Wheels cars for hours, these fingerboards are up to snuff and built pretty tough. You can also get a pack that includes the fingerboard and mini-sneaks paired with a matching diecast car or a collection of four boards.
As with other fingerboards and diecast cars — Hot Wheelx or Matchbox, take your pick — you can start with just one or get several at once. And to make the partnership with Tony Hawk a reality, the Hot Wheels team reached out to him.
“I was excited because I felt like they have such a great creative team and direction,” Hawk stated. He continued to say that he had Hot Wheels growing up as a kid and used to make them do loops and set up tracks.
Hot Wheels
Interestingly enough, Hawk explained that it was his “inspiration for actually doing a skateboard loop because I saw it’s possible to stick on a wall like that. [It was] before I knew there were roller coasters, and so they’ve always been a big part of my life.”
Safe to say that Tony Hawk is excited about the partnership, but also for the chance to work on the line, pick between designs and get hands-on with building out the playsets. The line consists of fun ones like a taco truck (Tony’s favorite) and more conventional ones like a quarter pipe, something that you’d find in an actual skate park.
Hot Wheels
The innovation of mini sneakers that can be attached or detached from the board is an interesting twist in fingerboarding. It allows you to use your fingertips to get a little more footing and execute some neat tricks on and off a miniature halfpipe. We asked Tony about his favorite trick with a Hot Wheels Skate board, and he said a hand-plant or an invert.
“Because that’s what I used to do literally during school with my fingers before we ever knew about miniature skateboards,” said Hawk.
So it feels like a real full circle moment for him, on fingerboards and skateboards in general. Along with a collaboration on the entire Hot Wheels Skate line, Mattel and Hot Wheels will also be making a donation to Tony Hawk’s “The Skateboard Project” foundation. It’s been around for 20 years, and Tony expanded that it’s “helped to open over 600 skate parks now through that time with a lot more on the way.”
We’re pumped about the new Hot Wheel Skate line and dig that it’s innovating in the fingerboard and toys space. The initial Hot Wheels Skate line will be up for preorder from Walmart and will begin shipping in August.
We’ll leave you with this tip as well. We asked Tony what his favorite piece of tech was, and he stated that it was his phone, thanks to the cameras. You can film, capture and edit on one device — rather than using super VHS and only linear editing as Tony had. You’ll undoubtedly be able to capture some excellent footage of the Hot Wheels Skate line.
- Hot Wheels Skate Single Board ($2.99; walmart.com)
- Hot Wheels Skate Collector Series Assortment ($5.88; walmart.com)
- Hot Wheels Skate Multi-Pack Assortment ($11.99; walmart.com)
- Hot Wheels Skate Drop-in Skate Set Assortment ($14.99; walmart.com)
- Hot Wheels Skate Amusement Park Skate Set ($29.99; walmart.com)
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.