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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Abbie Meehan

When West Lothian hosted young skater star Tony Hawk and he rode famous Livingston bowl

A skatepark based in West Lothian once hosted legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk years before he became a household name around the world.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the Livingston skatepark was classed as one of the best areas to go, not only in Scotland, but across the globe.

In a recent BBC Scotland documentary, you can see skating legend Tony Hawk riding the Livingston skatebowl back in 1990.

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The star is seen dropping into the famous Livingston bowl where he performs a couple of tricks, much to the delight from the adoring local crowd that had gathered to see him and his skating crew.

The documentary, titled Long Live Livi, followed a campaigning group, The Snagglerats, who were raising awareness of the area to keep it from falling into disrepair.

The pro also took some time out to speak to the Snagglerats, who are determined to keep the park and its dream alive.

In a video call to the girls he tells them, that if they can learn to skate Livingston they’ll be able to skate anything and and admits that the rock-hard surface “chews you up!”.

A skatepark in Livingston was once classed as one of the best in the world. (BBC iPlayer)

When speaking about the Livingston skatepark, Hawk said: "I got to go there one time, I think it was either 1989 or 1990 maybe?

"The vibe was just very exciting there. It was a little rough, and kind of outdated when we went - it was already old back then!

"It might be one of the oldest skateparks in the world. Scotland had one of the few skate scenes in Europe at the time.

Livingston's skatepark is a staple within the community, and has been for over four decades. (Daily Record)

"We used to see pictures in magazines, and it was usually pictures of Scotland, and pictures of Livingston.

"I think it's cool that you guys skate there because, even though Livingston might be challenging for you, it's going to help you in the end, because then you'll be able to skate on anything going forward."

The 2020 documentary, Long Live Livi, is re-airing on BBC Scotland, and will be made available on BBC iPlayer in due course.

As a pro skater since the 1980s, Tony Hawk and is considered one of the biggest pioneers of the high-speed hobby and sport.

In 1999, the American earned legend status when he successfully completed the first documented "900", which is considered one of the sport's most challenging tricks to pull off.

On June 27, 1999, legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk landed the first-ever skateboard 900. (The Sportsman / Twitter)

Hawk retired from competing professionally in 2003, and now spends his time working on The Skatepark Project, which helps to build skateparks in underprivileged areas around the world.

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