Tony Hawk Rides World's First Real Hoverboard—Watch Now!

Pro-skateboarder faked fans out with Funny or Die sketch earlier this year, but Hendo Hover is legit

By Rebecca Macatee Nov 18, 2014 2:24 PMTags

Hoverboards are here, people—real ones, this time.

Tony Hawk and Funny or Die tried to trick us with a HUVr board promo back in March. Sadly, they were lying (for which they've apologized). Now, though, Hendo Hover really has created the world's first hoverboard, and in a video released Monday on the RIDE Channel's YouTube page, Hawk himself and skateboard enthusiast/writer Dave Carnie tested out the product firsthand.

The clip shows both fellas learning to master the tricky technology. "The thing is really hard to ride," Carnie wrote in a Ride Channel post. "Even Tony had a lot of difficulty trying to figure it out."

theridechannel.com

And while Carnie "accepted my fate: I can't ride it," Hawk "was determined to complete a run on the hoverboard and actually make a trick. Because he's Tony Hawk."

Of course, the pro-skateboarder realized his previous Funny or Die hoax caused a credibility issue. "Nobody believes me anymore. I'm the boy who cried hoverboard," he lamented. But this time, the technology is very real.

"If you don't believe me, it's your loss," Hawk tweeted. "Most 360's ever."

Carnie spoke with Hendo Hoverboard's creators Greg and Jill Henderson about how the Hoverboard actually hovers above ground. "So, basically, it's magnets," he said. "Like two magnets repelling each other?"

"Yes," Greg answered, delving further into the specifics of these magnetic fields and the surfaces surrounding them. Admittedly, though, this Hendo Hoverboard is "essentially the Model-T [of hoverboards]," he said. "This is a proof of concept."

Hawk, who initially struggled to master the Kickstart-funded Hendo Hover, admitted riding it was "really weird," saying, "It's like a skimboard that's out of control."

Pretty cool, huh? The Hendersons went on to explain to the Ride Channel that this so-called hover technology could be utilized in countless ways. "Transportation is obvious," Greg said, "but factory automation is another important one. The underlying technology can go into all sorts of areas you would never imagine—in health care, for instance, food processing, and, our personal favorite, seismic isolation: hovering buildings. That's where this concept came from. Jill and I are very passionate about being able to protect people's lives and property from the destruction of Mother Nature's bad days. In particular: earthquakes. And so that's where this started and ultimately where Jill and I would like to take this technology."

Back to the Future, here we come! Learn more about Hendo Hoverboard on their official website, and click here to donate to the Kickstarter campaign.