Tony Hawk landed the first-ever 900 at the 1999 X Games

Tony Hawk's rise from outsider to skateboarding legend

In this podcast, Tony Hawk discusses his path from being an outsider in a niche sport to becoming skateboarding's most recognizable figure—reflecting on competition dominance, business ventures, and lessons learned throughout his career.

Mat Hoffman landed the first no-handed 900 in BMX Vert

At the 2002 X Games, Mat Hoffman landed the first no-handed 900 in BMX Vert competition, but did not win gold—finishing behind Dave Mirra in the final standings.

Travis Pastrana landed the first Moto X double backflip in 2006

At the X Games in 2006, Travis Pastrana became the first to land a double backflip in Moto X competition, earning a perfect score and setting a new benchmark for aerial difficulty.

Bob Burnquist delivered a near-perfect vert run at the 2001 X Games

Bob Burnquist scored 98.00 in skateboard vert at the 2001 X Games, executing tricks never before attempted in competition—widely regarded as one of the greatest vert runs in history.

Tony Hawk often doesn't get recognized in public

Tony Hawk is frequently misrecognized—partly because he's older now and his legal name is Anthony—with strangers often telling him he "looks like Tony Hawk" without realizing he is, in fact, the famed skateboarder.

The first Winter X Games launched in 1997 at Big Bear Lake

The inaugural Winter X Games in 1997 introduced snowboarding, skiing, and snowmobile events—helping boost winter action sports’ popularity and paving the way for snowboarding’s inclusion in the 1998 Winter Olympics.

The Salt Lake City event marked the X Games’ 30th anniversary

At the 2025 Salt Lake City X Games, Ryan Williams landed his first BMX Dirt gold medal with a triple backflip; 14-year-old Heili Sirvio and 15-year-old Arisa Trew made groundbreaking wins in women's Park and Vert Best Trick; and Justin Dowell took BMX Park gold.

ESPN launched X Games in 1995 with a $10M investment

ESPN invested a reported $10 million in the original 1995 “Extreme Games”—the production cost that launched action sports into mainstream culture and drew nearly 200,000 spectators to its debut in Rhode Island.

Shaun White is among the most decorated X Games athletes

Competing in both snowboarding and skateboarding, Shaun White has won 15 X Games gold medals—10 in snowboard superpipe—making him one of the most successful and versatile athletes in the event’s history.

Ryan Sheckler won X Games gold at only 13 years old

In 2003, Ryan Sheckler won the skateboard park event at the X Games, becoming the youngest gold medalist in the competition’s history at just 13 years old.

Snowboarding was first included in the Olympics in 1998

Snowboarding entered the Winter Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, featuring giant slalom and halfpipe events—a move influenced by the sport’s rapid growth and mainstream exposure through competitions like the X Games.

X Games emerged during “extreme” marketing boom in the 1990s

Launched as the “Extreme Games” in 1995, the event tapped into a trend from the '90s of brands labeling products and events “extreme” to appeal to youth culture—mirroring marketing in soft drinks, snacks, and video games.

The X Games is an annual extreme sports competition

The official X Games site offers event schedules, athlete profiles, competition results, and news for both summer and winter editions—along with videos and highlights from skateboarding, BMX, motocross, and other action sports.

The X Games pioneered broadcast innovation with live drone coverage

In 2015, ESPN used untethered drones for the first time in US live sports—deploying them at the X Games to capture aerial footage from angles previously impossible.

History was made in the NFL

Tom Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 600 touchdown passes with a 9-yard scoring strike to Mike Evans on Sunday against the Bears.

The quintuple jump in figure skating is feasible, according to physics

As of 2025, many figure skaters feature jumps with four spins in their routines by achieving rotation rates of 400 RPM over 20 inches off the ground. By increasing one's rotation rate to about 430 RPM or jumping closer to three feet off the ground—a height reached by NBA players—five spins are possible.

The moment Bill Gates and the Rock announced the original Xbox at CES 2001

At CES 2001, Bill Gates and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took the stage to unveil the original Xbox. This memorable moment marked Microsoft’s entry into gaming and set the tone for its console brand.

Watch ESPN's compilation of iconic moments in sports from 2000 to 2009 in their 'Images of the Decade' special.

The 100 most significant sports moments between 2000 and 2025

This list ranks the 100 most significant sports moments of the first 25 years of the 21st century. The editors compiled the collection based on a list of factors, including the "collective joy" factor, whether it made you curse in disbelief, and how much it transcended the sport and entered the broader culture. The top moment: The improbable "helmet catch" during the Super Bowl in 2008.

Check out a compilation of golf's greatest shots, from Jack Nicklaus hitting the flag in 1972 to Tiger Woods' iconic chip at the 2005 Masters.

X Games League to debut team-based format in 2026

Beginning in 2026, the X Games League will feature four city-based franchises with male and female athletes competing in skateboarding, BMX, and motocross—introducing season-long team competition to the event’s structure.

Interest in the X Games is growing fast among younger teens

The 2025 X Games Salt Lake City delivered double-digit viewership growth—up 12% across ESPN platforms from 2024—with a 328% surge among 12- to 17-year-olds.

One of Henry Ford's early vehicle prototypes broke an all-time speed record and got him the money to start Ford Motor Company

In 1904, Henry Ford raced the "999" across a frozen lake and reached an average speed of more than 90 miles per hour, beating the then-record for fastest land speed. Ford's success attracted the eyes of the earliest investors in the Henry Ford Company, Ford's company before he started Ford Motor Company.

Before Alex Honnold completed his free solo climb of Taipei 101, 'French Spider-Man' scaled the building

Alain Robert completed his climb of the massive skyscraper in 2004, 22 years before Honnold. The crucial difference, though, was that Robert used safety ropes for his ascent. Honnold, on the other hand, completed it "free solo," meaning he climbed the building without any equipment beyond some shoes and a pouch of chalk for his hands.

The 1973 ‘back to school jam’ was the night hip-hop was born

Hip-hop began in New York’s Bronx borough with the “back to school jam,” an August 1973 dance party hosted by Cindy Campbell and her brother, DJ Kool Herc, in their apartment building’s recreation room.

Extreme Games rebranded as X Games for global appeal

In 1996, ESPN shortened “Extreme Games” to “X Games” to make the name easier to translate for international broadcasts and to strengthen branding as the competition expanded to global markets.

The 'Miracle on the Hudson' showed heroism in the air and changed social media forever

On Jan. 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 lost both engines after hitting birds and was safely landed in the Hudson River. The event was a turning point for Twitter, as a photo and a tweet quickly spread—marking Twitter's rise as a real-time news source.

The top 40 athletes of the Title IX era

Published to mark the 40th anniversary of Title IX's passage, this Sports Illustrated article ranks the top 40 athletes whose careers were significantly shaped by the 1972 law. It highlights pioneers who broke barriers and excelled post-Title IX, emphasizing their athletic achievements and cultural influence.

The first American roller coaster was built at Coney Island

LaMarcus Thompson was an inventor and businessman who developed the first US amusement park ride in the 19th century and sparked a booming business. Customers spent a nickel to coast on wheeled benches over gentle hills, leaving Thompson with around $600 per day in profits.

The first-ever tweet on X was sent on March 21, 2006, at 9:50 pm

The short, declarative message launched what would eventually become one of the world's most influential social media platforms. As of 2020, about 10% of X users are responsible for 92% of all posts.

The top 10 most unbreakable Winter Olympics records

Some athletes and teams dominate a sport or an era. This video compiles the records least likely to be surpassed (and excludes those that are impossible due to rule changes). From the Dutch sweep of four podiums in speed skating to Eric Heiden's five individual gold medals at Lake Placed in 1980, watch this list of the Games' most enduring feats.

How one jockey became one of horse racing's most successful riders

Jockey Victor Espinoza is one of the most successful jockeys in recent American racing history, winning the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah, as well as seven Triple Crown races. This Paulick Report article, which came out prior to his induction into the Hall of Fame, dives into his background, career highlights, and what he focused on to become a successful jockey.

See how the Winter X Games course is built

Winter X Games courses are custom-built over weeks, with crews moving thousands of tons of snow to create features like halfpipes and jumps—incorporating athlete input to ensure challenging designs that push progression and safety.

The Tony Awards, explained

Broadway's top honor began in 1947, when the American Theatre Wing created the Tony Awards in memory of Antoinette "Tony" Perry. From scrolls and cigarette lighters to today's iconic medallion, the Tonys have evolved into a nationally televised celebration of Broadway's best.

Christian Laettner's iconic game-winner, 'the Shot'

It has been over 30 years, but one buzzer-beater continues to make the highlight reel every year: "the Shot." Everyone has seen Christian Laettner nail his jumper from the free-throw line as time expires. But how did Duke get there? This March Madness video starts with 37 seconds left in the Elite Eight game against Kentucky in 1992 and goes through each lead change until the final buzzer.

The 1968 'Game of the Century' turned college sports into prime-time TV

The 1968 NCAA men's championship was the first game broadcast live in prime time. It met the moment, offering a legendary rematch between UCLA (led by a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Houston (led by standout center Elvin Hayes). This retrospective breaks down what made the game such a successful spectacle and how it transformed the market for all college athletics.

The original 1959 Daytona 500 significantly changed racetracks

After several years under construction, the inaugural Daytona 500 at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway was held Feb. 22, 1959. The race was aired on television and featured future star Richard Petty, old-school pit stops, and the infamous photo finish that took days to sort out a winner.

The 25 most important stunt scenes of the 21st Century

The Academy Awards will finally recognize stunt design at its 2028 ceremony, leading one writer to gather the best stunt sequences from the century, highlighting jaw-dropping scenes from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Matrix," and more.

Watch an amateur fly a 1902 Wright glider at the Kitty Hawk dunes

Billy Vaughan recreates the test flights of the Wright gliders in the exact location the brothers conducted them. He argues an October 1902 glider flight—not the December 1903 one—was the key innovative moment, implementing three-axis control. Host Baratunde rides a glider in perfect windy conditions in this re-creation.

The X Games hired new CEO Jeremy Bloom in December 2024

In this podcast interview, X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom reflects on his first time running the competition—discussing event logistics, athlete relations, and strategies to grow the brand under new ownership.

Meet the man whose 100-patty In-N-Out order permanently changed their menu

In 2004, Will Young and a group of friends, including Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, talked an In-N-Out in Las Vegas into making a 100-patty burger. The stunt prompted the chain to cap orders at 4 patties, a policy that remains in place today.

Title IX helped push women’s soccer to the world stage

In 1999, Title IX-era stars Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain helped the US win the 1999 World Cup, drawing a then-record 18 million viewers and popularizing US women’s soccer. Many suggest this would not have been possible without the NCAA’s role as a talent incubator, attracting over 20,000 international athletes annually.

The US Olympic hockey team upset the USSR in 1980—later dubbed the 'Miracle on Ice'

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, a team of American college players defeated the heavily favored Soviet hockey team—shocking the world. The victory became a defining moment of Cold War sports rivalry and American national pride.

The death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500 is credited with sparking a safety revolution in NASCAR

NASCAR shifted to a safety-first culture and in 2002 opened a research and development center to focus on safety innovation. No driver has died in NASCAR’s top three series since Earnhardt’s death.

A showdown between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 1979 NCAA final helped ignite the college basketball boom.

Chuck Taylors were once the definitive basketball sneakers

Before Michael Jordan and the Air Jordans became the iconic shoe of the league, Chuck Taylor high tops were considered the best basketball sneaks. Need proof? The 1936 US Olympic team wore matching Converse.

Title IX increased female participation in sports and the number of American women winning Olympic medals.

The best Tony performances of all time

A big part of the Tony Awards ceremony is the selection of live performances from that year's nominated musicals. This Time Out list pulls together 35 of the best songs from over six decades of broadcasts, complete with videos of each. Catch the savannah-themed spectacle of 1998's "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King," the classic "Tomorrow" from "Annie," and many legendary Patti LuPone performances, among others.

The forgotten Larry Bird punch that almost changed everything

Larry Bird biographer Keith O'Brien argues March Madness as we know it today began in 1979, with an electric, raucous game that's largely been forgotten. Thankfully, he's dredged up the details (and the footage) to help us relive it.

TAKI 183 was a teenager whose graffiti drew widespread attention

Inspired by graffiti he saw throughout the city—including some tags he saw as early as 1964—the 16-year-old began tagging surfaces with "TAKI 183," a reference to a Greek nickname for Demetrius and his street (183rd) in Washington Heights. After a 1971 New York Times profile, his tag—and graffiti culture in New York—exploded.