New Tony Hawk Game Honours Trick Creator With A Rename

Tony Hawk has revealed that the upcoming Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 remake will feature a name change for the iconic move previously known as the “Mute Airgrab.”

Credit: Activision

The “Mute” move originates from pro skater Chris Weddle, a deaf skater whose quiet disposition often led to the Tony Hawk crew calling him the “quiet, mute guy.” In turn, this became the name given to the move in question, and features in the original games.

In a new Instagram post, Tony Hawk explains that the move has been renamed for the upcoming remake to better honour Weddle.

Credit: Activision

“In recent years a few people have reached out to Chris (who still skates) about this trick and the name it was given,” Hawk says. “He has been very gracious in his response but it is obvious that a different name would have honored his legacy, as he is hearing impaired but not lacking speech. I asked him last year as I was diving into trick origins and he said he would have rather named it the ‘deaf’ or ‘Weddle’ grab if given the choice.”

Credit: Activision

Hawk goes on to explain that the new game will refer to the move as the Weddle Grab, which he believes to be a much better fit. Check out the full statement in the Instagram post below.

View this post on Instagram

For nearly 40 years, we’ve shamelessly referred to this trick as the “mute” air/grab. Here is the backstory: around 1981, a deaf skater and Colton skatepark local named Chris Weddle was a prominent amateur on the competition circuit. The “Indy” air had just been created & named so somebody proposed that grabbing with the front hand should be known as the “Tracker” air. Others countered that Chris was the first to do, so it should be named after him. They referred to him as the “quiet, mute guy.” So it became known as the mute air, and we all went along with it in our naive youth. In recent years a few people have reached out to Chris (who still skates) about this trick and the name it was given. He has been very gracious in his response but it is obvious that a different name would have honored his legacy, as he is hearing impaired but not lacking speech. I asked him last year as I was diving into trick origins and he said he would have rather named it the “deaf” or “Weddle” grab if given the choice. His exact quote to me was “I am deaf, not mute.” So as we embark on the upcoming @tonyhawkthegame demo release, some of you might notice a trick name change: The Weddle Grab. It’s going to be challenging to break the habit of saying the old name but I think Chris deserves the recognition. Thanks to @darrick_delao for being a great advocate to the deaf community in action sports, and for being the catalyst in this renaming process. I told Chris tecently and his reply was “I’m so stoked!” And then he shot this photo in celebration yesterday. ?: @yousta_storytellers_club

A post shared by Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) on

This is a great move from everyone on the Tony Hawk team and definitely promotes a more inclusive way of thinking!

Featured Image Credit: Activision