New Hawk Vs. Wolf Podcast Dives into Birdhouse History: Was Willy Santos the First Team Rider?

Willy Santos is an absolute legend and he and Tony Hawk go way back. From the early Birdhouse days when Willy was literally just a tiny kid riding for Tony's new company all the way to remaining friends and skating together to this day, it's no surprise these two have stories for days.

For the record—Willy was not the first Birdhouse team rider (but he was close). At any rate, settle in and take a trip down memory lane on the latest episode of Hawk Vs. Wolf:

There are obviously a ton of little nuggets worth mentioning in this episode, but I love the story of Tony literally selling his car so he could pay Willy a little bit of money to ride for Birdhouse when the brand first started.

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As many may (or may not) know, Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen were basically running the show back then, so for Willy to turn down a spot on the World or Plan B squad at the time—and stick with Tony—was actually a pretty big deal.

Was it the right choice? I mean, yeah, I'd say it was. The day after Willy graduated high school they went on three week tour and the rest is history! His time at Birdhouse was monumental and his career absolutely blossomed from there on out. It says a lot about Tony, too! He was going to make it happen—no matter what. Sell his car? Whatever! I just thought that was cool to hear.

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That said, I'm not going to spoil the episode for you! Again, Willy Santos is a legend in his own right and has helped lead the way for decades. He's an innovator, through and through, and still inspires us to this day. Great episode!

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