Tony Hawk remembers listening to Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' first time

When Tony Hawk first heard Nirvana's 1990s single, Smells Like Teen Spirit, he couldn't have predicted the massive success it would achieve.

In a recent chat on NBC's My Generation's look back at Generation X, the 56-year-old pro skateboarder recalled the time when he first met the American rock band.

"I was actually in New York interviewing a band for Thrasher Magazine. Someone from the label said, ‘Hey we have this new Nirvana,' and put it on in the room," Hawk began with.

It is pertinent to mention that Nirvana was founded in 1987 by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington and released their first album, Bleach, in 1989.

The former skateboarder continued to say that when the song started to play "Everyone stopped what they were doing and everyone looked around."

"And you just knew. You knew this was it," Hawk admitted.

For those unversed, the band's guitarist Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, is married to Hawk's son, Riley Hawk and the couple recently welcomed their first child together on September 17.

Other notable members of the band includes drummer Dave Grohl who was later replaced by Chad Channingin 1990.

Despite having a short career of three years, the rock band is labeled as the figurehead band of Generation X.