Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional
skateboarder
Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...
, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company
Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern
vertical skateboarding,
Hawk completed the first documented "
900
__NOTOC__
Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Abbasid Caliphate
* Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...
" skateboarding trick in 1999. He also licensed a
skateboarding video game series named after him published by
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...
that same year. He retired from competing professionally in 2003 and is regarded as one of the most influential skateboarders of all time.
Hawk has been involved in various philanthropic activities throughout his career, and is the founder of the Tony Hawk Foundation (now named
The Skatepark Project
The Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation, is a skateboarding organization that helps communities build public skate parks
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX ...
), which helps to build skateparks in underprivileged areas around the world.
Early life
Tony Hawk was born on May 12, 1968, in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, California, to Nancy (1924–2019) and Frank Peter Rupert Hawk, and was raised in San Diego.
He has two older sisters, Pat and Lenore, and an older brother, Steve.
As a child, Hawk was described as "
hyperactive
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inappr ...
",
and his mother stated that he was "so hard on himself and expected himself to do so many things."
One time, Hawk struck out in baseball and was so distraught that he hid in a ravine and had to be "physically coaxed out" by his father. His frustration with himself was so harsh that his parents had him psychologically evaluated at school. The results were that Tony was "gifted", as he was tested with an
IQ of 144, so school advisers recommended placing him in advanced classes.
Hawk attended Jean Farb Middle School from 1980 to 1981. His parents supported his skateboarding because it served as an outlet for his excessive energy. Hawk's skills developed, and he made his television debut on ''
Captain Kangaroo
''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...
'' as "Skateboard Johnny" in 1981.
He became a professional skateboarder at age 14.
By age 16, Hawk was sponsored by
Powell Peralta
Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featurin ...
, Tracker, Sundek,
Vans
Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...
, and SIO. He was officially the National Skateboard Association world champion for 12 consecutive years.
Hawk attended three high schools and graduated from
Torrey Pines High School
Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County Coastal area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the Torrey pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High Schoo ...
in 1986. He listed
Steve Caballero
Steve Caballero (born November 8, 1964) is an American professional skateboarder. He is known for the difficult tricks and air variations he invented for vertical skating and for setting the long-standing record for the highest air achieved on a ...
and
Christian Hosoi
Christian Rosha Hosoi ( ; born October 5, 1967) is an American professional skateboarder. He is also known by the nicknames "Christ" and "Holmes".
Early life
Hosoi was born on October 5, 1967 to a father of Japanese descent from Hawaii, and a m ...
as his influences at the time.
Career
Skateboarding
With the money he made from skateboarding, he bought his first house during his senior year in high school.
![Tony Hawk ollie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Tony_Hawk_ollie.jpg)
On June 27, 1999, Hawk became the first skateboarder to land a "
900
__NOTOC__
Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Abbasid Caliphate
* Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...
", a trick involving the completion of two-and-a-half mid-air revolutions on a skateboard, in which he was successful on his twelfth attempt. After completing the trick, Hawk said "This is the best day of my life." Following this feat, Hawk decided to retire from professional competition that same year, but he continued to perform at the annual
X Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
until 2003, when he retired from professional competition for good. In 2011, Hawk was still able to land the trick and posted a video on his
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account stating, "I'm 43 and I did a 900 today." On June 27, 2016, at age 48, Hawk performed what he claimed would be his final 900. In a video posted on the YouTube channel RIDE Channel, Hawk said, "Spencer was there on my first one, and now he was there on my last", after successfully landing a 900.
Hawk was invited to US president
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's June 2009 Father's Day celebration and skated in the hallways of the nearby
Old Executive Office Building
The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB)—formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), and originally as the State, War, and Navy Building—is a U.S. government building situated just west of the White House in the U.S. ca ...
on the White House grounds. This marked the first time ever someone skateboarded on the White House grounds with permission from officials. In 2009, Hawk was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony.
As of April 2020, Hawk is sponsored by
Birdhouse,
Vans
Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...
,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
,
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
, and
Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. His current Pro model shoe is the Proto. Hawk was formerly sponsored by Theeve. Following an invitation from his former sponsor,
Quiksilver, Hawk assembled a group of vert skateboarders to perform, in 2012, the first-ever vert demonstration to have occurred in India. While in India, the group visited
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
's house, where the skateboarders were greeted by a very excited young audience and the 540-degree maneuver was executed during the skateboarding demonstration—the Indian trip was published on Hawk's RIDE YouTube channel on February 4, 2013.
In July 2021, Hawk briefly ended his competitive retirement to participate in the Vert Best Trick event at that year's X Games, finishing in fourth place out of nine competitors.
Contest victories
Hawk in 2015
Video game series
A video game series based on Hawk's skateboarding, titled ''
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'', released as ''Tony Hawk's Skateboarding'' in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe, is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It was released for the PlayStation o ...
'', debuted in 1999. Since then, the series has spawned
18 titles so far, including ten main-series titles, four spin-offs, and four repackages.
Hawk's role in the series was usurped by customizable player characters in later installments,
but he has remained a prominent character. In the fifth game in the series, ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground ...
'', he is a minor
non-player character whom the player meets in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, and skates against. Impressed with the player's skills, Hawk grants them entry into a skate competition. He later appears in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
to teach them the "360 Varial Heelflip Lien" move. Hawk and other skaters are briefly playable near the end of the game when they skate in a promotional video for the player's skate team, and in all gameplay modes except the story mode. He appeared as a kid in the
''Backyard Sports'' series ''Backyard Skateboarding''.
Film and television
In 1986, Hawk was a featured skateboarder and skater-double for
Josh Brolin
Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), '' Mimic'' (1997), '' Hollow Man'' (2000), '' Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gan ...
in the movie ''
Thrashin'
''Thrashin (released in the Philippines as ''Challenge to Win: Thrashin) is a 1986 American skater drama film directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin, Robert Rusler, and Pamela Gidley.
The film features appearances from many famous ...
''. In 1987, he made a brief appearance in the movie ''
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol'' with David Spade. In 1989, he appeared as a skateboarder in ''
Gleaming the Cube
''Gleaming the Cube'' (also known as ''A Brother's Justice'' and ''Skate or Die''; released in the Philippines as ''Challenge to Win Again'') is a 1989 American neo-noir film directed by Graeme Clifford and starring Christian Slater as Brian Kelly ...
''. In 2002, he appeared in Neal H. Moritzs's and Christopher Gilcrest's film ''
xXx'' playing the role of one of Xander Cage's stuntman friends, and later in the movie, a skateboarder at a party. In 2004, he played himself in the Australian skateboarding movie ''
Deck Dogz''. In 2006, he made a cameo on the film ''
Drake & Josh Go Hollywood
''Drake & Josh Go Hollywood'' is a 2006 American television comedy film starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck from the Nickelodeon television series ''Drake & Josh''. It first aired on January 6, 2006, and was released on VHS and DVD that sam ...
'' as himself. Hawk also had a cameo in the movie ''
The New Guy
''The New Guy'' is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Ed Decter, written by David Kendall and starring DJ Qualls and Eliza Dushku.
The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Harrison (Qualls) who gets himself expelled so t ...
'', and appeared in ''
Jackass: The Movie'' with
Mat Hoffman
Mat Hoffman (born January 9, 1972) is an American BMX rider who is considered one of the best vert ramp riders in the history of the sport. He is nicknamed "The Condor" and runs the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes based out of ...
and
Bam Margera
Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality ...
, skateboarding in a fat suit and ''
Jackass Number Two
''Jackass Number Two'' is a 2006 American reality slapstick comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine. It is the sequel to '' Jackass: The Movie'' (2002), both based upon the MTV series '' Jackass''. Like its predecessor and the original television ...
'', while skateboarding through an obstacle course. He was also in ''
Jackass 3D''. Hawk appeared in the film following the 2006
Gumball Rally, ''
3000 Miles'', again with Bam Margera. He also played the police officer who arrests Ryan Dunn in the movie ''
Haggard: The Movie''. Hawk also made a brief cameo appearance in ''
Lords of Dogtown
''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so ...
'' as an
astronaut, where he is shown comically falling off the skateboard as he is a "rookie". He voiced himself in the 2006 animated movie ''
Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage'', where he is kidnapped by circus freaks.
![BDO Vert Skate Jam @ McCallum Park (5 2 2012) (6971314297)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/BDO_Vert_Skate_Jam_%40_McCallum_Park_%285_2_2012%29_%286971314297%29.jpg)
Hawk was featured as an extra in the
"Weird Al" Yankovic video "
Smells Like Nirvana
"Smells Like Nirvana" is a song parody written and performed by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. A parody of Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it was released as the lead single from Yankovic's '' Off the Deep End'' album in April 1 ...
". He can be seen sitting in the bleachers during the crowd sweep near
Dick Van Patten
Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...
. He also made a cameo appearance in the
Simple Plan music video for "
I'm Just a Kid", he can be seen, in a crowd, at a high school, watching kids skating.
On television, he appeared in ''
Action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
'', ''
What I Like About You'', ''
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and was al ...
'', ''
The Tom Green Show
''The Tom Green Show'' is a television show, created by and starring Canadian comedian Tom Green, that first aired in September 1994. The series aired on Rogers Television 22, a community channel in Ottawa, Ontario until 1996, when a single pil ...
'', ''
The Naked Brothers Band'', ''
Zeke and Luther
Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to:
People
* Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete
*Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Amer ...
'', ''
Viva La Bam
''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...
'', and ''
All That
''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Michael Tollin, Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by ...
''. Hawk was a guest on the Nickelodeon kid's show ''
Yo Gabba Gabba!
''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...
''. In 2000, he played himself in ''
Max Steel
Max Steel is a line of action figures produced and owned by the toy company Mattel since 1999. The original figures based on the first TV series were similar to the original 12-inch G.I. Joe toys, consisting almost entirely of different versi ...
''. He also guest voiced on ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' episode "
Barting Over
"Barting Over" is the eleventh episode of the The Simpsons (season 14), fourteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', advertised by Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and indicated on-screen to be the 300th episode of ...
", where he played himself, along with fellow San Diegans
Blink-182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...
. In the episode, Hawk lends Homer a new board from his brand where complete rookies are able to perform at the top levels. He ends up having a comical play off with him after Homer begins to show him up. Tony Hawk appeared as himself in ''
MXC'' in a special "MXC Almost Live" episode in 2004. On the
PBS Kids show ''
Cyberchase
''Cyberchase'' is an educational animated sci-fi children's television series that airs on PBS Kids. The series centers around three children from Earth: Jackie, Matt, and Inez, who are brought into Cyberspace, a digital universe, in order to ...
'', he guest-starred as Slider's long-lost father Coop. In the ''
CSI: Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'' episode "Game Over" he played a game programmer who was murdered. In 2008, he played on ''
Million Dollar Password
''Million Dollar Password'' is an updated version of the game show ''Password'' on CBS, which was hosted by Regis Philbin and ran from June 1, 2008, to June 14, 2009. FremantleMedia produced the program.
Production and broadcast history
''Millio ...
''. Hawk also played on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
's ''
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?''. Hawk hosted
Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game" sports award show on February 25, 2011. Hawk was on ''
Take Two With Phineas and Ferb''. Hawk appeared on the internet cooking show ''
Epic Meal Time
''Epic Meal Time'' is a Canadian YouTube cooking show known for creating extremely high-calorie meals, generally out of meat products (with particular emphasis on bacon) and including alcohol (especially Jack Daniel's). It debuted in Octobe ...
'' on October 28, 2011, to celebrate the show's one-year anniversary, where he can be seen in the final scene eating a deep-fried
pizza cake. Hawk reappeared on another Epic Meal Time video on July 20, 2013, as a guest on the educational cooking show ''Handle It''. Hawk assisted
Harley Morenstein
Harley Morenstein (born July 20, 1985) is a Canadian actor, Internet personality, and vlogger. He co-created, produces, and hosts the YouTube show Epic Meal Time and its FYI television spin-off series Epic Meal Empire. He also runs a vlog chan ...
(Sauce Boss) in cooking egg rolls. The video features promotion for Hawk's own YouTube channel, RIDE Channel. He also guest-starred on the ABC comedy ''
Last Man Standing''. He played himself in an episode of ''
Rocket Power''.
Hawk appeared in the TV series ''
Breaking In'', ''
The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange'', ''
The Cleveland Show
''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, and ...
'', ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'', and ''
So Random!
''So Random!'' is an American Disney Channel sketch comedy series that premiered on June 5, 2011. It was announced as an independent series after Demi Lovato left the parent series, ''Sonny with a Chance''. The series features the actors who a ...
''. Hawk appeared in the movie ''
Parental Guidance'' as himself. In 2013, he and
Eric Koston
Eric Koston (born April 29, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the '' Tony Hawk's'' video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games ''Skate 2'' and ''Skate 3''. Koston co-owns bot ...
appeared as reporters in an episode of ''
The Aquabats! Super Show!'', another series by ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' creator and longtime friend of Hawk's,
Christian Jacobs
Christian Richards Jacobs (born January 11, 1972) is an American musician, television producer, and actor. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. TV show ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', on which he additionally serves a ...
. He also appeared in Disney's
Zeke and Luther
Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to:
People
* Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete
*Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Amer ...
as himself. In 2015, Hawk acted as a stunt double for
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...
during a skateboarding scene in the film
Daddy's Home. Hawk sustained an injury that required 10 stitches in his leg while filming the scene.
He competed in the 2020
third season of ''
The Masked Singer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' as "Elephant". He was the first of Group B to be eliminated.
In 2022, Hawk did a guest voice role in ''
The Casagrandes
''The Casagrandes'' is an American animated comedy television series developed by Michael Rubiner and Miguel Puga that aired on Nickelodeon from October 14, 2019 to September 30, 2022. It is a spin-off of ''The Loud House'' and the second tele ...
'' episode "Skaters Gonna Hate" where it was revealed that he had a history with Carlos Casagrande back when he operated as "Carlos X";
that same year,
HBO released a documentary on him entitled ''Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off''.
Other ventures
;Boom Boom HuckJam
In 2002, Hawk started a show tour featuring
freestyle motocross
Freestyle motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts.
The two main types of freestyle events are:
*Big air (also known as "best trick"), in whi ...
, skateboarding, and
BMX. It started in Las Vegas and went on to 31 cities around the U.S. and eventually to
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
amusement parks.
;Amusement park rides
A series of amusement park rides known as
Tony Hawk's Big Spin were built in three
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
parks in 2007 and 2008. The ride was originally billed as the "Tony Hawk experience" and was designed to have the look and feel of a giant red-and-black skatepark. It offered a full "extreme sports" experience, with monitors in the queue lines displaying highlights of the history of action sports and a large spinning Tony Hawk figure crowning the ride. In 2010 Six Flags cancelled its license and the rides were renamed to Pandemonium. The ride at
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA) is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 ...
was moved to Six Flags Mexico in 2012 to make way for a new ride known as
Superman: Ultimate Flight. Additionally, a water park ride called Tony Hawk's Half pipe (renamed The Half pipe in 2011) was opened at
Six Flags America
Six Flags America is a theme park located in the Woodmore CDP of Prince George's County, Maryland, in
Bowie, Maryland
Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous c ...
.
;RIDE Channel
In January 2012, Hawk launched the
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel "RIDE Channel". In the welcome video, Hawk explained:
... I'm proud to announce the launch of our new YouTube channel—it's called "RIDE." I've teamed up with some of the best people in the skate industry; we are rolling out over twenty-two different shows over the course of the year. Shows like, "Hand in Hand," which basically features different successful musicians and artists and people from all walks of life who have been inspired by skating ... this is something we've always wanted to, and it's finally a reality, and it's here on YouTube...
As part of the RIDE Channel, a show called "Tony's Strange Life" features Hawk interviewing a variety of people, not just skateboarding figures, skits in which Hawk appears, and footage of Hawk skateboarding, including skateboarding footage from the floor of the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The predecessor of RIDE Channel was a now-defunct website, entitled Shred or Die, which was similar, with the show, ''Free Lunch'', carried across to the new venture.
;Emoji
In February 2018, ''
New York'' magazine reported that Hawk was working with
Jeremy Burge to help design
Emojipedia
Emojipedia is an emoji reference website which documents the meaning and common usage of emoji characters in the Unicode Standard. Most commonly described as an emoji encyclopedia or emoji dictionary, Emojipedia also publishes articles and provi ...
's skateboard
emoji after the company's initial design was criticized by Hawk as "a skateboard you would buy at a department store in the '80s." The updated design was based on Hawk's own skateboard. Subsequent releases of the skateboard emoji from
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
and
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
resemble Hawk's board (including 60mm wheels) despite no direct collaboration between Hawk and these companies.
Image and legacy
In December 2011, Hawk was identified by ''
Transworld Skateboarding
''Transworld Skateboarding'' (''TWS'') was an international magazine on skateboarding that was based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The publication also ran an accompanying website and video production company. In February 2019, the pub ...
'' magazine as the second most influential skateboarder of all time after
Mark Gonzales
Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Ti ...
for the invention of the Backside Ollie to tail.
In January 2013, professional skateboarder
John Cardiel, identified by ''Transworld Skateboarding'' as the eleventh most influential skateboarder of all time, listed Hawk as one of his personal all-time skateboarding influences, alongside Gonzales,
Christian Hosoi
Christian Rosha Hosoi ( ; born October 5, 1967) is an American professional skateboarder. He is also known by the nicknames "Christ" and "Holmes".
Early life
Hosoi was born on October 5, 1967 to a father of Japanese descent from Hawaii, and a m ...
, and Sacramento's skateboarders. Cardiel explained, "... the insane 540s with no hands, and, just like, all his tricks; he had the ramps, all his ramps, all the ramps he had—I thought that was insane. Tony Hawk's the best."
In an interview for the online series ''Free Lunch'', produced by Hawk's RIDE Channel, professional skateboarder
Andrew Reynolds stated:
... and then Tony's just, like, Tony Hawk—he's like, basically, to me it says, "You can be a skater and take over everything and be, you know ... and use skateboarding to be ... a businessman, a ... role model to young people," um, he's just the best. And, he called my house when I was fifteen, and was, like, "Do you wanna do something with us?" not knowing anything about me. Yeah, Tony's the man, sure, he's the best.
In 2012, Reynolds recruited Hawk's son
Riley to his skateboard deck company,
Baker, explaining:
... I was just, kinda like, "it's kinda touchy, you know what I mean, like?" It's kinda weird, you know? Tony's kid, he rides for Birdhouse. But I look at it, like, I picture him on Baker, you know what I mean? So we just approached Tony, "Yeah, we wanna talk to Riley about maybe gettin' some Baker boards, or something like that." And Tony's like, "Man, he's rippin', he's nineteen years old, he can, you know, it's really up to him. You guys talk to him, you know?" So we just kinda said, "You wanna get some boards?" He's like, "I'm down, man!" And I look at it, like, there would be no Baker without Tony and Birdhouse. I know it's an ongoing process, you know? Tony quits to start Birdhouse; I quit to start Baker; my guys quit to start a new brand, you know? It's just an ongoing thing.
Hawk often posts on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
about encounters with people who do not recognize him or wonder if he is really Tony Hawk. Some of these tweets have gone viral, and misidentifying him became a
running joke
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
among fans.
Personal life
![Tony Hawk and Lhotse Merriam cropped by David Shankbone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Tony_Hawk_and_Lhotse_Merriam_cropped_by_David_Shankbone.jpg)
In April 1990, Hawk married Cindy Dunbar, whom he began dating in high school. Their son,
Riley Hawk
Hudson Riley Hawk (born December 6, 1992) is an American professional skateboarder and musician.
He is the son of Tony Hawk. Unlike his father, who is known for his vert style, Riley is better known as a street skater. He turned pro on his 21s ...
, was born on December 6, 1992, and was named after one of Hawk's ancestors. Riley is also a professional skateboarder. Hawk and Dunbar divorced in 1993.
Hawk was married to Erin Lee from 1996 to 2004.
They have two kids, born 1999 and 2001. The older of the two, Spencer, is an electronic music producer who releases music as
Gupi.
Hawk was married to Lhotse Merriam from 2006 to 2011. Their wedding was held in
Fiji and
Rancid played for them as the wedding's band. The couple's only child was born in 2008.
Hawk married his fourth wife, Cathy Goodman, on June 27, 2015, in a ceremony in
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, Ireland.
Philanthropy
![JasonTonyParkOpening](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/JasonTonyParkOpening.JPG)
Hawk created the Tony Hawk Foundation in 2002 in response to the lack of safe and legal skateparks in America. As of June 2018, his foundation has awarded US$5.8 million, aiding 596 skatepark projects. In 2015, the foundation received the Robert Wood Johnson Sports award, which honors recipients for their innovative and influential approaches to using sports to build a culture of health in their communities. In 2007, Hawk,
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...
,
Muhammad Ali,
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...
,
Warrick Dunn
Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 ...
,
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
,
Mia Hamm
Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra (; born March 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the ...
,
Andrea Jaeger
Andrea Jaeger ( ; born June 4, 1965) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 2, Jaeger's brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger started her professional tennis career ...
,
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...
,
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...
,
Alonzo Mourning, and
Cal Ripken Jr.
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...
founded the charity
Athletes for Hope Athletes for Hope is a nonprofit organization that works to educate professional athletes about philanthropy, connect them with charitable causes, recognize these efforts and inspire others to get involved in the community. AFH emphasizes that its f ...
, an organization that aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities through the actions of professional athletes. In 2020, the Tony Hawk Foundation changed its name to
The Skatepark Project
The Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation, is a skateboarding organization that helps communities build public skate parks
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX ...
to better describe the organization's mission.
In 2023, Hawk auctioned a signed photograph of himself and Rick Thorne, with 50% of the proceeds to be donated to the Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund. The fund was created following the death of
Tyre Nichols at the hands of law enforcement officers. One of the fund's plans involve building a skate park in Nichols' honor.
Filmography
Videos
Hawk in 2015
Bibliography
*
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawk, Tony
1968 births
Living people
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American philanthropists
American skateboarders
Businesspeople from San Diego
Male actors from California
Male actors from San Diego
People from San Diego
Sportspeople from Carlsbad, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
X Games athletes