Watch company. Citizen is gearing up to launch a
new smart watch with the help of Tony Hawk.
The legendary skateboarder is the new spokesperson for citizens,
second generation C smart watch collection. Citizen announcing the
partnership yesterday after unveiling the watch at c earlier this
year and Jordan Kaing spoke to Hawk all about the
partnership along with how technology has impacted his own skateboarding
. Take a look. So Tony, you're obviously
best known for being one of the most influential skateboarders
and athletes of all time, but people may not
know that you're also a long time watch collector and
self proclaimed gadget geek. So with that in mind
, can you talk about why you decided to partner
with Citizen on their smart watch and how working with
the company is, uh you know, playing out
for you. First of all, it's been great
. I was excited about their new technology, especially
with their UQ app integration uh with the new smart
watches. And I have never actually worn a watch
that is tracking my health um in terms of sleep
and heart rate and, and then in combination with
the app telling me uh when my most alert times
are when it would be optimal to be exercising.
But that's skating for me. And um it's been
really enlightening for me and, and um I love
all the technology behind it. Amazing. So you
mentioned um when you're most alert, talk to me
a little bit about how you use the tech as
part of your wellness routine to prepare for competitions.
Um Well, I would say that it uh through
, through the app especially, it's telling me what
would be the best time for my body to be
truly active and engaged. And I try to take
advantage of those times. So uh there's a prototype
that it, it will assign you as, as
as is it learns all of your rhythms. And
um I am a midday dynamo so I try to
get all my skating done midday and then um and
then do my recovery and, and then basically the
day beyond that is devoted to whatever my daughter wants
me to do with her. I take her to
amazing, amazing. I love that. Midday Dynamo
and Super dad, you do it all. So
technology, technology has influenced and changed sports in so
many different ways in the past several years. Can
you talk about how you incorporate technology into your skateboarding
and maybe more. So how tech has changed the
sport in general? Um Well, I would say
in a broader sense, tech has uh has been
a huge game changer in skateboarding because it has allowed
people to um be part of a global community and
not just have to live or visit near where the
, what we used to consider the epicenter of skateboarding
was, which was mostly Southern California. Nowadays.
You can live anywhere and learn what is coming.
Like, what, what is the, the,
the newest techniques, the new moves? Um What's
all the buzz immediately? And also you can share
what you're doing and your own scene with a global
audience. And it's so, I feel like it's
just really, it, it's, it's definitely leveled
, the playing field made it the great equalizer.
And um I mean, that's in the broader sense
. And then when you're talking about more in terms
of, of wellness and, and health, uh
stuff like the, the the citizen smart watches can
keep you aware of your own body rhythms much more
than anything I've ever known. So Tony, the
popularity of skateboarding has really grown over the past five
years and was boosted by the sports debut in the
Olympics and the pandemic. And according to the skateboard
market will be worth$2.4 billion by 2025. What
are your predictions and thoughts on the future of the
sport? Um I think that we're going to see
much more global uh international recognition and growth. And
uh they scanning has been notoriously centered in more North
America in the past, but now we have great
, I mean, some of the best skaters are
coming out of, of Asia, uh Brazil Europe
. And now we're seeing it also start to grow
in unlikely places like Africa, um Thailand, China
. And so I feel like with the inclusion of
skateboarding into the Olympics, that's helped to the,
the global recognition in a much in a much broader
way. And also having countries embrace skateboarding and provide
facilities is what is, is, is what we
needed all this time. Ok. Our thanks to
Tony Hawk there with Jordan Citizen CV. Smart watch
C smart watch. Now available for preorder shipping is
going to start on May 1st.