Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remaster renames the 'mute grab' to pay tribute to its creator
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 are being remastered and released in a bundle this September, with HD graphics, "upgraded" Create-A-Park and Create-A-Skater tools, custom park sharing, and local and online multiplayer modes. But the best change may be something very different and entirely unexpected, revealed today by the man himself on his Instagram account: The "Mute Grab" is being renamed.
"Around 1981, a deaf skater and Colton skatepark local named Chris Weddle was a prominent amateur on the competition circuit," Hawk explained. "The 'Indy' air had just been created and 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 [it], so it should be named after him."
Weddle was apparently known around the park as the "quiet, mute guy," and, kids being kids, instead of his name, that's what stuck: It became known as the "mute air." More recently, though, people—including Hawk himself—have had second thoughts, and have reached out to Weddle about the 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," Hawk wrote. "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'."
And so it is that in the THPS remaster, the Mute Grab will be renamed to 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," Hawk wrote.
Two other tricks in the remaster are also getting new names: the Weddle Backflip and Reacharound Invert. "These tricks were created by Chris Weddle, a skater with hearing loss, who pioneered all three tricks," Activision wrote in a blog post. "With the launch of the remaster, Vicarious Visions was happy to celebrate Chris' legacy with the renames and hope fans enjoy these tricks, and dozens upon dozens more, in this demo and in the full game. "
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 is set to launch on the Epic Games Store on September 4.