Tony Hawk Helps 12-Year-Old Take On Mega Ramp In Viral TikTok

Some of us are born fearless, while others are afraid of almost everything. The truth is, even the ones who seem fearless are scared, but with the support, they’re able to push past it and hit their goals. That’s what makes 12-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown so incredible. Sky Brown is the youngest professional skateboarder in the world, and even she gets scared. Thankfully, she had pro-Tony Hawk help talk her through the mega ramp.

On May 10, ESPN shared a video to TikTok that went viral pretty quickly. The video showcases one of the best skateboarders of all time, Tony Hawk, and the youngest skateboarder who’s on track to become just as big or more, Sky Brown.

Watching each independently and the tricks they pull off on the skateboards is incredible. But we often only see the highlights, never the work behind the scenes. The number of times they fail, their fear when facing a high and challenging ramp we don’t always get to see.

This is probably why this TikTok video went viral. The end result is a 12-year-old girl who kills a mega ramp, speeding down the ramp faster than most of us have ever gone, flying over the bump and landing on the other side. But it’s what happened just before Sky put her second foot on the board and did her thing that makes this video so incredible.

As Sky is standing at the top of the mega ramp staring down at just how much speed will be behind her, we can feel the anxiety through the screen. We can only see a portion of how far she will fly if she takes the leap, and it’s enough to get our heart rate going. So, it’s not surprising she was hesitating before taking the ramp.

Thankfully, next to her, cheering her on is Tony Hawk. He knows how hard this is — he’s done it and failed many times. Standing with Sky on the top of the ramp, he encourages her to take a deep breath and go for it.

When Sky pumps herself up, thanks to the support she has around her, she throws her second foot on the top of the skateboard and goes for it. And while she’s better than many people will ever be at skateboarding at just a young age, the important part of the video is it shows just how much getting better relies on being willing to fail, get hurt, and pick yourself up again. And she does just that with the help of Tony.