Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero on family, legacy and a Tech Deck connection

Skateboard legends Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero celebrated the release of new Tech Deck branded products last week and talked family, their legacy in the sport and how the skateboard theme toy brings father and son together.

Skateboard legends Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero celebrated the release of new Tech Deck branded products last week, with their sons by their side.

“It’s a huge, huge thing when you are dad skating to have something you can share with your kids that involves something you are passionate about,” Hosoi told FanSided.

“Now they have products like Tech Deck that have my board graphics on it and for my kids to actually see that and to be able to play all the products, it’s always really special.”

Hosoi went on to admit that he was kind of jealous of the products the kids get today, as it wasn’t something that was offered when he was their age.

“Back in my day we had to make our own fingerboards; there wasn’t a market for it then,” Hosoi said. “Today I can kind of live vicariously through my kids and imagine skateboarding with them.”

Both skaters touched on the fact that Tech Deck is a way for them to connect with their children via a toy that could ultimately lead to an interest in the sport to which they have devoted their lives.

“It’s every father’s dream to share the same passions with your kid.”-Steve Caballero

“I feel very fortunate to be able to pass down a passion of mine to my son and let him experience the same thing that I have experienced my whole life and what skateboarding has taught me,” Caballero told FanSided.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to share that with him. It’s every father’s dream to share the same passions with your kid.”

The toys, which are miniature skateboards, ramps, wheels and accessories for your fingers, also introduce the skateboarding scene to kids who might not be brave enough to step on a real board themselves but want to be involved in a sport they love to watch.

“Skateboarding is a very dangerous sport,” Caballero said. “It takes a lot of passion and dedication to progress and get good at it. It takes a pretty special person to be able to take a fall and get right back up and keep going.

Hosoi has always been linked to another skateboarder — Tony Hawk — due to a rivalry he says was really created by the fans.

“The fans created that rivalry,” Hosoi said. “There was this whole lifestyle culture thing which was who we were at the time and I think the fans just gravitated towards that. It was a competitive, a healthy competitiveness, but to the fans it was huge.

“I still look back and it was amazing to have been a part of that. There was something about that which was magical.”

Caballero is credited for creating skateboarding tricks like the Cab (fakie 360 aerial) which is still being used (and modified) today.

“I am proud and honored that [young skateboarders] would want to use moves that we have done in the past; it’s inspiring,” Caballero said. “No matter who is doing it, that’s the thing about skateboarding, it’s an artform.”

Hosoi and Caballero’s new Tech Deck boards and accessories are available now and can be found via the Tech Deck official website.