episode 036: Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson is one of the greats of skateboarding. Discovered by legend Tommy Guerrero at 16-years-old, this defining moment led him to becoming a pro skateboarder at 18, riding for Plan B, Real Skateboards & Girl Skateboards, moving to California to continue pursuing this path, and travelling the globe for years doing it. He was born in Edmonton, but grew up in both Ottawa and eventually Vancouver. As a kid, he was full of energy and always moving, playing soccer & basketball among other sports. In 1986, Tony picked up his first skateboard after watching Back to the Future, mastered his craft through repetition & progression, found his place in the sport, and the rest is history. In this conversation, we explore the origins of his skateboarding career; the freedom and creativity of the sport; his retirement and eventual shift into learning building and maintaining a business as a partner at Alife; launching his own footwear brand RONE in 2015 and the craftsmanship that goes into it; a recent slides collaboration with Ace Hotel; the importance of leaving the genetic codes for the next generation of emerging skateboarders; a dive into a recent podcast episode with The Nine Club and Dr. Andrew Huberman on brain science & skateboarding; what the sport has taught him about people and the world; what he wants his two sons to remember about him; and much more.