Don't let the professional slacker image fool you.

Between promoting Boom Boom HuckJam tours; running charitable foundations; managing an equipment manufacturer (Birdhouse) and clothing label (Hawk); writing books; and hosting weekly satellite radio shows, famed skateboarder Tony Hawk is always on the grind.

Thankfully though, the face that launched a million virtual ollie to stalefish combos – and shifted even more copies of 10 top-ranked digital diversions, including latest award-winner, Tony Hawk's Project 8™ for PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2 and PSP® - still finds time to kick it behind the controller. His favorite system of all time: PlayStation 2, which Hawk says "has become the standard over recent years by which other consoles were measured."

Tight as the man's schedule is, he's not sleeping on the next-generation of gaming either, confessing that a certain newly-released console has already caught his eye. "PLAYSTATION 3's technology and graphics are unbelievable," he confesses. What's more, the world's most acclaimed action sports star is also quite the A/V connoisseur. According to Hawk, "having a Blu-ray player built in is half the fun."

And while he's not necessarily the ace gamer you'd expect – "I can finish Project 8 without cheating, but I'm not scoring 10 million-point combos," he laughs – Hawk's street cred is unquestionable. The sultan of shred says he's actually been playing since the early ‘80s as a kid at local arcades. "I didn't know much about the industry back then, but bought almost every game system throughout the years," he admits.

Happily, even before partnering with Activision to launch the multimillion-selling Tony Hawk's Pro Skater® in 1999, Hawk had already managed to pick up a few of the biz's finer points. For example: "The one thing I learned quickly was how widespread the PlayStation was compared to other systems. Until its arrival, I thought they were all on the same level of popularity."

A self-described gaming buff who says he's spent "months going on years" wilding out into the wee hours with titles for all of Sony's systems, Hawk says he's enjoying the hobby more than ever. As for the discs currently getting the most rotation in his living room? "I usually play games that I can share with my kids, so anything that involves racing or Sonic the Hedgehog. The last game I played on my own was Resistance: Fall of Man™, which I absolutely had to finish."

However, despite getting serious props for his own original outings – "[Rapper] Busta Rhymes came over and hugged me like we were long lost friends when I first met him. He said, ‘Tony Hawk? I love your sh*t!'" – don't expect any record-breaking performances soon. "The biggest misconception about me that people have is that I can do EVERY trick in the game," Hawk chuckles. "Let's put it this way: I can do the tricks that are defaults for my character, but some of the combos are downright impossible."

He admits that Nail the Trick is his favorite new in-game option ("it adds greater control to play") with human bowling his least-liked feature ("only because I suck at it – getting a strike is HARD"). And that the thousands of fans worldwide who've made the series such a success haven't seen anything yet: "We've only begun to tap the power of what the PLAYSTATION 3 is capable of."

But the Guitar Hero II™ and Lemmings™-loving alternative icon says he expects his games to be known for quality nonetheless, and anticipates the future will bring only bigger and better things. A huge fan of the SIXAXIS™ wireless controller, Hawk says his silicon-powered outings are much more intuitive now, letting players become more quickly immersed in the proceedings.

"I want our games to become a genre, not just a flavor of the month," he proudly states.

Asked to provide enthusiasts with a hands-on challenge compelling enough to prove the titles worthy of such merit, Hawk doesn't even flinch… "The 360 flip big-spin backside lipslide," he candidly states. "You wouldn't necessarily have to be crazy to pull it off – just focused and committed. Back-lips can go bad in an instant and send you falling onto your tailbone."

Not that there's any chance of doing much lasting damage, which is, in fact, the franchise's greatest strength, according to the oft-quoted superstar. In a typical moment of candor, he owns up to the fact that his electronic double is way gnarlier than the real thing. "He can blow out his knee and be bleeding profusely from his head, only to get up and try again" – a major advantage over real-world Tony, Hawk explains.

Still, there are other, even bigger perks one enjoys having a hit videogame, if you'd believe.

"It's made my name recognizable beyond the skateboarding community, and has given me plenty of opportunities that I never imagined possible," Hawk clarifies. "But mostly, it gets me invited to attend (and sometimes present at) glitzy award shows."

Amusingly though, it doesn't necessarily get you the respect of your peers. "I know skaters who are Project 8 wizards," he smiles. "But many others can't tell a PLAYSTATION 3 from a rodeo flip." Asked if being tied to the blockbuster franchise is something of a status symbol, the grin widens. "Yes," Hawk says. "But having a sequel or six is the true secret to success in our world."

If it's any consolation, we suspect the living legend – who single-handedly invented tricks like the 900, Madonna and McHawk – isn't hurting when it comes to public admiration. Certainly, the best-selling Project 8 hasn't done anything to diminish his shine in interactive entertainment circles either.

Even so, merely being rich and famous isn't enough to guarantee that in life, or virtual reality, you'll always get what you want. Queried about what his one burning gaming desire remains, Hawk thinks a moment then grins and states the following.

"I would like to see Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer® developed for PLAYSTATION 3. I think his first game was underrated – and that the console would take it to a new level of performance."