I have a serious nostalgic affinity for fingerboards. There was a time where they had to be banned in junior high because so many of us were trying to 360 flip them on our desks during French class that Ms. Damarque got so mad she swore at us. It was on that day I learned that “petit merdes” meant “little shits.”
So, when Hot Wheels sent along word they were teaming up with Tony Hawk to work on new fingerboards I was curious. Then I saw the little shoes and I fell in love.
This isn’t some sponsored content. I have no idea if the Hot Wheels boards will be any good. Making a good fingerboard is definitely more technical than you might imagine. It’s less about the roll of the wheels and more about the quality of the grip tape, the weight, and whether the balance is correct so it feels like you have control over your tricks.
That said, I just keep coming back to the tiny shoes. Yes, initially I thought “this is so silly,” but now I think it’s genius. In another image given by Hot Wheels it shows the finger shoes can either be attached to the board, as pictured above — perfect for making grinds and railslides easier, or completed with a small insert that basically turn them into tiny, regular skate shoes.
I like this idea because it basically turns the shoes into tiny thimbles, and there are some tricks that are easier to achieve with a little bit of slide — which often your fingers can’t achieve on griptape. Kickflips theoretically should be easier with the shoes than your digits, and while there’s a learning curve, I definitely dig it.
There will be two sets at launch, along with individual board and shoe sets. This skatepark themed after a donut is right up my alley.
It’ll be interesting to see how the new Hot Wheels line stand up against the GOAT in the fingerboard worlds: Tech Deck. That’s what I used all those years ago, and it’ll be interesting to see if kids pick these up, or whether they recognize Tony Hawk.
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