15 Things You Didn't Know About Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

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11. Photographer Atiba Jefferson, who appears as himself in THPS 4, was not available when they needed him to record his lines, so a stand-in was used. The programmers, overestimating Atiba's bro-quotient, misrepresented him with a thugged-out sounding "Yo, let's shoot some photos!" quote. For some reason, they never considered using Atiba's identical twin brother Ako for the part.

12. The fifth edition of THPS is currently being developed and is scheduled for a fall release. This time, however, it will be called Tony Hawk Under Ground, or THUG In this version you will be able to create your own character, you can even go as far as importing a picture of yourself into the game. Starting as a no-name street shredder, the goal is to get sponsored, turn pro, and become Skater of the Year, while meeting real pros along the way.

13. Dave Carnie turned down an offer to write the script for T.H.U.G., saying the game was too focused on sponsorship and turning pro. Ex-Skateboarder Magazine editor and official Birdman biographer Sean Mortimer accepted the job and is responsible for writing much of what will be found in the new game.

14. Bob Burnquist was noticeably absent from THPS 3 after he opted to sign on the dotted line with the people making the X Games videogame. However, when the X-deal came to an end, Bob decided to stick with a winner and re-signed with Activision. He's now not only in THPS 4, but he's sponsored by Activision as well. As testimony to the power of digitally rendered skateboarding, the good people over at The Firm skateboards reported a noticeable dip in Bob Burnquist board sales during his hiatus from the Tony Hawk series.

15. While out skating one day, Rodney Mullen was confronted by some gangsters that were ready to jack him for his board, wallet, and pocket computer. Somehow in the melee, the hoods realized they were dealing with, "Rodney Mullen from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, dog!" They decided to let him off easy, but before being allowed to go, Rodney had to bust one of his signature moves-the casper to 360 flip. - SB