After conquering the X Games and video games, Tony Hawk has set his sights on his next frontier: the metaverse. The legendary skateboarder has announced plans to partner up with The Sandbox - an online game where players can spend cryptocurrency to buy virtual land - to build the "largest virtual skatepark ever made," the company said in a Wednesday press release.
The partnership, which is also a collaboration with NFL star Tom Brady's sports-focused NFT platform Autograph, will include a collection of digital avatars that players will be able to buy on the platform, as well as access to a virtual skatepark where they will be able to skate with other players.
"I have been a fan of new technology all my life - from the first video games and home computers with CGI capabilities - so I am fascinated by the metaverse, and excited to bring our culture into the virtual landscape of The Sandbox," Hawk said in the press release.
It's not the first time that the now 54-year-old skater has embarked on a business venture in a relatively nascent industry. In 1999 he released the first instalment in the popular "Tony Hawk Pro Skater" video game series, which spawned a slew of sequels, the most recent of which sold 1 million copies in just its first 10 days.
Among the NFTs that will be available for purchase in the game is a digital replica of the skateboard that Hawk used when he became the first person to land a 900 - a difficult skateboarding trick - at the X Games in 1999.