Tony Hawk On Using Citizen’s CZ Smart PQ2 to Power His Return to Skateboarding
The Skateboarding Legend Shoots for Big Air With New Watch Technology
In the early days of his skateboarding career, Tony Hawk did things the analog, old-fashioned way. Now, he’s getting a decidedly 21st-century update in a way that’s as innovative as any of the skateboarding legend’s famed tricks: Hawk is using the technology of the Citizen CZ Smart PQ2 line of smartwatches to boost his wellness and performance — and to aid in his upcoming return to the X Games.
Hawk continues to plot a comeback from a traumatic March 2022 femur injury, an incident that lent itself to a recovery process that, as Hawk told fans on Instagram at the time, would be “harder because of its severity (and my age).”
Speaking over Zoom last month with AskMen, Hawk said he’s progressing on the road to recovery, skating at least a couple hours a day in preparation to enter this summer’s Best Trick competition at the X Games.
An unexpected aid for the longtime watch fan? A smartwatch with next-level technology and yet, the appeal of a customizable design, one that joins long-running timepiece collector Hawk’s stable of about 20 watches.
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Billed as “The Smarter Smartwatch,” it’s the technology at the core of the lineup that’s impressed Hawk, and will surely impress even watch lovers who haven’t yet tried out a smartwatch.
Proprietary CZ Smart YouQ technology delivers stunning insight after stunning insight, incorporating both research from NASA’s Ames Research Center (yes, NASA) as well as AI models built by the IBM Watson® Studio.
That software determines the wearer’s Chronotype — an insight based on activity and fatigue patterns designed to help you hit your optimum performance. It’s all built into a cohesive system one can use to manage fitness goals, activity and training sessions, and Hawk calls the software “a cornucopia of information.”
The basics are all there in terms of data like heart rate and steps taken, but the CZ Smart YouQ technology moves into a new realm beyond that.
There’s an hourly Power Score measuring cognitive and physical performance, which helps the wearer project performance 24 hours into the future. Based on that score, a Power Fix recommendation delivers a customized approach to nutrition and wellness that the wearer can follow.
And it’s all in the name of peak performance, something that can prove useful even if you’re not a famed skateboarder.
“You would be surprised how much you’ll learn about yourself and how to better your routine. It’s seamless,” Hawk told AskMen.
Hawk himself has the Chronotype of a Mid-Day Dynamo, something he puts to use when skateboarding.
The smartwatch line delivers a tailored approach that, thanks to technology from NASA and IBM’s Watson, guides the wearer on a customized path, whereas more traditional smartwatches might leave the wearer to interpret the data on their own.
The CZ Smart PQ2 line boasts a variety of touchscreen watches (available now) and hybrid watches (available for pre-order on May 1), and there are watches covering both Sport Touchscreen and Casual Touchscreen styles.
Getting into the world of smartwatches is also quite accessible: Prices for the entire line range from $350 to $435.
The skateboarding hero has been a longtime fan of watches, but was new to wearable technology.
“My own history with watches has been more aesthetics,” Hawk said. “I just love old-school, analog watches — everything that I had through the years was focused on that.”
Yet, Hawk has embraced the Citizen’s Gen-2 smartwatch line, even finding a stylish solution that fits his preferences with customizable watch faces.
“The thing that I love about these is that they will have actual analog hands but also all the other tech behind it. I can change the face to look like anything,” he said.
The technology has also been heralded by Citizen as a new frontier in better watch design and technology, said Citizen Watch America President Jeffrey Cohen.
“This new collection of CZ Smart watches brings CITIZEN’s legacy of iconic design and
revolutionary technology to the wrists of classic watch enthusiasts, wellness enthusiasts, and
anyone who is interested in optimizing their life,” Cohen said in a statement.
Now that Hawk is cruising on the path to recovery, he’s grateful for skateboarding’s rise in popularity, plus its accessibility and its mental health benefits.
He points to the fact that skateboarders of all ages took up the sport during COVID, from younger kids to adults, and touts skateboarding as a form of meditative calm.
“That’s my zen, that’s my happy place — if I have any free time during the day, you’re going to find me at my ramp,” he said.
He also sees the skateboarding world in a new light these days, and a better one.
“It’s just so much more accepted than when I was a kid. There are, for the most part, accessible skate parks near where people live,” he said.
And Hawk wholeheartedly encourages new skateboarders to try the sport if they’ve been on the fence about it — and he says the same thing to potential smartwatch wearers, with reams of data available and personalized recommendations able to be delivered on the fly using Citizen’s next-level innovation.
Hawk is grateful for new insights into his training, he’s grateful for the ability to skate again, and he’s getting ready — slowly but surely — for the X Games with a helpful new companion on his wrist.
“I’m just thankful to live in this era of technology. In terms of tech, in terms of modern medicine, I’m able to get a second chance with a broken femur,” he said. “I’m thankful to be actively participating in skateboarding at a time when it has more reach than ever.”
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