The Protagonist, nicknamed Kensucky, is the main playable character of Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland.
He was voiced by Will Friedle, best known for playing Eric in Boy Meets World, and voicing Ron in Kim Possible.
Biography[]
The game begins with the skater (one of five selectable pre-designed male skaters) boarding a bus to Los Angeles, hoping to get away from the sub-par life in his hometown. Upon arrival in Hollywood, two skateboarding punks sucker-punch the player and steal his bag only seconds after he gets off of the bus, calling him 'Kensucky'.
A local skateboarding enthusiast named Mindy sees Kensucky, helps him up, and offers to help him change his look to fit in better. After a change in wardrobe and a haircut, Mindy insists that if he is to really fit in, he needs to improve his skating skills, so she has a local friend, Dwayne (aka 'Duane'), teach him some tricks, while another skater, Ian, offers help in exchange for meeting and trying to talk up Mindy. He nervously flees, however.
Eventually, Kensucky confronts one of the punks and challenges him to a skating contest for his bag, which he wins. However, the punk tries to run off, but Kensucky catches up and beats him up with his board and reclaims his bag. After meeting back up with an on-looking Mindy, Kensucky notices her drawing in a sketchbook and compliments her work. Mindy is thankful, and reveals she is an artist working on publishing her own skating zone named "American Wasteland" once she has enough money.
Kensucky then looks through Mindy's sketchbook to admire her work until he notices a drawing of an awesome skate park, which Mindy reveals to be a local park that actually exists known as the "Skate Ranch". However, she also reveals that it's a "locals only" spot, meaning that Kensucky isn't allowed in. When Kensucky begs to be let in, Mindy, on a whim, decides to show him anyway, and after clearing up a protest blocking their way, the two head to the ranch's entrance in Beverly Hills.
There, the player meets Mindy's skater friends: Boone, Dave, and Murphy, who deny the player entrance due to being an outsider, but decide that if he can impress them, they'll grant him entry. With help learning more skills from local skaters, the player proves his skills to the group and is allowed in. He meets the leader of the group, Iggy Van Zandt, a rough type who isn't fond of outsiders. Iggy is initially hostile to Kensucky, but allows him to crash at the ranch after he gathers wood to help finish his half-pipe. While Iggy skates the half-pipe, Kensucky notes Iggy's skating skills.
The group reveals that Iggy was a professional skater back in the day, but couldn't handle the publicity and dropped out of the public eye. After Iggy compliments Kensucky's work on the half-pipe and leaves, Mindy conjures the idea to fix the ranch up and make it into a full-on skatepark, to which the rest of the group responds with enthusiasm. With the help of Murphy's contacts, the group embark on obtaining skate-able pieces from all over Los Angeles. Once enough pieces for the Skate Ranch are obtained, new areas in L.A. are unlocked along the way.
Kensucky eventually participates in the Tony Hawk AmJam, an amateur skating contest taking place in the Vans Skatepark downtown. He wins the AmJam and is interviewed by Tony Hawk, who asks where he learned a unique trick he used during the contest. Kensucky explains that he learned it from Iggy Van Zandt, prompting confusion from Hawk, who claims that "[Iggy's] been M.I.A. for years". When Kensucky returns to the ranch to show off his victory, he finds Iggy being arrested. Iggy reveals he was living in secrecy to avoid the police for a litany of minor offenses until Kensucky publicly revealed at the AmJam that he was still alive.
Wanting to make amends for getting Iggy in jail, Mindy suggests Kensucky seek out Iggy's old friends, the Z-Boys, for help, claiming that Tony Alva still hangs out around Santa Monica. Arriving in Santa Monica, Kensucky encounters Tony Alva's posse, and after impressing them, Alva agrees to meet with Kensucky. After explaining his situation with Iggy, Alva agrees to help Kensucky if he can prove his old-school skating skills, in which he succeeds.
After impressing Alva, Kensucky learns of Iggy's history with the Z-Boys, with Alva showing Kensucky an old photo of "Green Pipes Point", a legendary snake run that got filled in many years ago. However, Kensucky recognizes Green Pipes Point as being Iggy's Skate Ranch. When Kensucky decides to have it dug up to make up for getting Iggy arrested, Alva suggests meeting with his friend Mega, an oil rig worker, who is quick to assist in digging up the snake run after the player does some errands for him on the oil rig itself.
While Mega works on digging up GPP, the player learns from Mindy that Boone has been kidnapped by his old street gang and needs rescuing from East L.A., but the gang in question, the Black Widowz, controls passage through the only tunnel leading to the area, prompting the player to join the gang to be allowed entry. After passing the initiation tests, which includes getting a large black widow tattoo on the torso, Kensucky successfully joins the Black Widowz and makes his way to East Los Angeles.
Eventually, he rescues Boone and finds some new pieces for the ranch once there. When Mega finishes digging up GPP, the player gets a phone call from Iggy in jail, who explains that his bail is posted and he'll be out of jail shortly. When the player explains the restoration of GPP, Iggy furiously explains that he doesn't own the land GPP is on, nor does he have enough money to buy it himself, and that once publicity of GPP hits, the real owner will sell it. Sure enough, the player arrives to find the real owner has locked up the ranch and makes plans to sell it.
When Iggy returns to the now locked up Skate Ranch in anger, Kensucky apologises to no avail. Their tempers flare and Iggy knocks Kensucky to the floor with a punch for the trouble he's unwittingly caused. As Iggy storms off, Mindy tries to help Kensucky to his feet, but he snaps at her, claiming her desire to improve the ranch caused all of this to happen. Mindy storms off, but Kensucky tries to apologise as she leaves. Murphy, Dave, and Boone arrive and take him away to discuss something important.
The trio inform Kensucky that Tony Hawk is currently in the area, believing that if they can convince him and other local pros to be in a "Save Green Pipes Point" video, they can sell the video online and use the proceeds to save the ranch from the auction block. Kensucky then rounds up several pros throughout L.A., including pro BMX rider Mat Hoffman, for the video. Iggy later catches up with the group in East L.A. and reconciles with Kensucky about their argument, also assuring him that Mindy will eventually forgive them for their argument as well.
The group then learns of a vacant casino nearby, and decide to trash it as the finale for the video. They eventually succeed, as Murphy informs the group that the video has just made enough money to buy the ranch back through online pre-orders alone. Leaving the casino, the group are met by the police due to their trespassing and vandalism. In order to distract the police so the rest of the gang can escape and purchase GPP from the auction block, Kensucky skates all the way through East L.A., Downtown, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills to get back to the ranch in one long run, evading the police all the way.
Kensucky succeeds and waits at the ranch for Iggy to arrive. Iggy triumphantly reveals he now completely owns the Skate Ranch (or Green Pipes Point). To celebrate, he throws a party at the ranch, with everyone in town invited. At the party, Mindy returns and Kensucky apologises for their argument: Mindy accepts his apology and shows off that she has just published the first issue of her dream magazine, American Wasteland, with Kensucky featured on the cover. Iggy eavesdrops on the conversation and reveals to Mindy that Kensucky helped in getting the magazine published by using the funds for the video. Flattered, Mindy kisses Kensucky.