Darby Allin Opens up About His Love for Skateboarding, Meeting Tony Hawk (Exclusive)

Darby Allin is a rising star in pro wrestling, winning the AEW TNT Championship in November. He has become a fan favorite because of his persona, which includes being a skateboarder. PopCulture.com recently caught up with the 27-year old AEW star, and he explained what made him want to get into the world of skateboarding.

“Just the freedom of everything,” Allin said to PopCulture. “You didn’t have to be a part of a team. You didn’t have to hang out with a coach. You’re a man, you do your own thing. You’re on your own schedule. All you need is you and your board. Just a lot of freedom.” Allin’s love for skateboarding has resonated not only with AEW fans, but it also caught the eye of the most popular skateboarder in the world. Before winning the AEW TNT title, Allin linked up with Tony Hawk as well as reality TV star Steve-O and hip-hop artist JPEGMafia.

“They started following me on social media,” Allin said when asked how the meeting of the three stars came about. “I hit them up. I’m a real go-getter. I just don’t want to wait for someone to hook something up for me.” Allin went on to reveal that he showed off his skateboarding skills in front of Hawk and said he was impressed.

“Meeting Tony Hawk was a trip,” Allin added. “I was trying to land a trick in front of him. Before he got there, I tried for two hours. I kept falling on my face over and over and over. So when he got there, though, I landed it. He was super hyped on that. It was surreal.” Along with skateboarding, Allin was also into filmmaking and attended film school. However, Allin didn’t finish and instead focused his attention on wrestling.

“I think film school is a joke,” Allin said. “They told me the first day I got there, it’s of a thing to make connections, you really need it. …I went to film school in Arizona and they weren’t letting me do my type of art. They would have so much restrictions on every little thing. I was like ‘Dude, I’m gone.’ If you mess with someone’s body of work what’s the point.”

Allin said he was a fan of pro wrestling but stopped following it when he was in high school. He got serious about making pro wrestling a career around the same time he was attending film school.

“I would take the city bus down and watch this wrestling show in Arizona,” Allin stated.” I remember being like, ‘Dude, these guys suck.’ If these guys can do it, if there’s a crowd here paying to see this, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to do it. I’ve always wanted to do it. …When I dropped out of film school, I’m really going to do this thing. 100 percent.”