From buying his first home while still in high school to living on $5 per day, Tony Hawk has seen it all. Memories look at how the 52-year-old inspired a new generation of skaters while building a multi-million dollar empire.
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Join MemoriesMemories Team Skateboarding was born in the 1950s, when surfers in California wanted to replicate the feeling of riding waves on the streets when there was no swell. The sport was called “sidewalk surfing” or “asphalt surfing”. Boards were shorter surfboards, with wheels made out of metal.
Skateboarding was at peak popularity in 1963, with “downhill slam” and “freestyle” styles dominating the sport. By 1965, skateboarding's popularity suddenly crashed and companies were forced to close. By the end of the 60s, skateboarding had become considered a fad that had died out - anyone who wanted to skate was forced to make their own boar...
Memories Team Tony Hawk was born on May 12, 1968, in San Diego, California. He was described as an intelligent and hyperactive child - traits perfect for a nine-year-old Tony Hawk to start learning how to use the skateboard he was gifted from his older brother.
World-famous skateboarding collective the 'Z-Boys' changed skateboarding forever at a Californian contest in the spring of 1975 when the team rode on a freshly designed board. In 1978, lan Gelfand (nicknamed "Ollie") used the new board to perform a revolutionary jump by slamming his back foot down on the tail and sliding his other forward. The...
Memories Team Skateboarding faced another crash in popularity in the late ‘70s after a number of skateparks were forced to close as a result of skyrocketing insurance rates.
During the '80s, the culture went underground and was kept alive by skateboard companies run by skaters. The focus was initially on vert ramp skateboarding - skaters perform aerial tricks on vertical ramps. Those without access to a vertical ramp had to make their own skateboard parks or turn to the streets for inspiration. Street skating pio...
Memories Team Just three years after he had been given his first skateboard, a 12-year-old Tony Hawk got his first sponsorship from Dogtown Skateboards. The clip shows Hawk at Marina Del Rey Gold Cup in 1980.
Memories Team Tony Hawk became a professional at age 14 and two years later he was considered one of the top skateboarders in the world. He was earning $100,000 each year from prize money and sponsorships during his teens. He purchased his first home when he was a senior in high school after his dad noticed Hawk had been blowing all his cash on “frivolous things”. “My dad was the one who encouraged me to put [my money] away, in terms of investing in a house,” Hawk told CNBC. ″[My dad] cosigned a house with me, because I had the money but I wasn’t old enough to actually sign a deed.” Read more: https://cnb.cx/2BN7FOK
Memories Team Through the late ‘80s, Hawk traveled the world, skating demos and contests. By the time he was 25, Hawk had competed in 103 pro contests. He had won 73 and placed second in 19 - an unbroken record. He was crowned vertical skating’s world champion 12 years in a row and was one of the biggest names in the sport’s history. Hawk’s dream life came to a standstill in 1991 when skateboarding died a sudden death. Interest in the sport was lost and the man who was earning $100K in his teens was now forced to “survive on a $5-a-day Taco Bell allowance”.
Memories Team Confident skating would rebound, Hawk launched his own skateboard company with pro skater Per Welinder in 1992. Hawk had refinanced his first house to pay for 'Birdhouse' and for the first few years, his company wasn't making money. Almost as abruptly as it died, skating’s popularity surged with the introduction of the X-Games in 1995. With Hawk at the forefront of the public eye, Birdhouse grew into one of the biggest and best-known skate companies in the world. In 1998, he started a children’s skate clothing company called 'Hawk Clothing'.
Memories Team The 90s also saw Tony Hawk become a husband and father. He was married to Cindy Dunbar from 1990 to 1993. In 1992, they had a son, Riley, who has followed in his father's footsteps to become a professional skateboarder. Hawk would be married again in 1996 to Erin Lee and the couple would have two children before divorcing in 2004. In 2006, he married Lhotse Merriam and welcomed a daughter in 2008. The couple would stay together until 2011. Hawk married Catherine Goodman in 2015 and the couple remain together. The skater said the most challenging factor in his relationships was travel and prioritising his time. Read more: https://bit.ly/3g54Jfh
Memories Team During the ‘90s, the sport became dominated by street skateboarding, which brought a more raw, edgy and dangerous perception of skaters. This all changed in 1995 when ESPN held its first Extreme Games in Rhode Island. The multi-day event had nine separate competitions including bungee jumping, street luge, sky surfing and skateboarding. More than 198,000 spectators attended the first Extreme Games, which had also attracted sponsorship from Nike, Mountain Dew and Taco Bell. After enthusiastic response from all involved, ESPN decided to hold the event annually instead of every two years as originally announced. Skateboarding was now in the mainstream.
Memories Team Tony Hawk became the first man to ride a vertical loop in 1998 - a trick he would showcase at exhibitions all around the world after he retired from competition in 1999.
Memories Team Hawk teamed up with Activision to create the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise in 1999. The game saw players take control of a variety of famous skateboarders to complete missions by performing skateboarding tricks. The series became one of the most popular game franchises in history, surpassing $1.4 billion in sales.
Tony Hawk changed skateboarding when he landed the “900” at the 1999 X-Games after ten failed attempts. Considered one of skateboarding's most technically demanding tricks, the 900 is an aerial trick where the skateboarder performs two-and-a-half 360 degree turns in the air before landing backwards on the ramp. Hawk landed the trick outside of re...
Memories Team The skater launched the ‘Tony Hawk Foundation’ in 2002, which helps finance public skateparks in low-income areas. Since being formed, it has since given away over $10 million to 620 skatepark projects throughout the US. The same year, he also started an extreme sports tour called ‘Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam’ - it would last until the end of the decade.
Memories Team He wrote his New York Times bestseller 'HAWK—Occupation: Skateboarder' in 2000. Hawk regularly appeared on television and in films, with credits including 'XXX', 'Lords of Dogtown' and 'CSI: Miami'. He began hosting his long-running Demolition Radio show on SiriusXM in 2004 and launched a YouTube channel in 2011.
Memories Team Skateboarding had gained so much popularity by 2001, more teens in the US rode skateboards (10.6 million) than played baseball (8.2 million). In 2003, Go Skateboarding Day was founded in southern California to promote the sport throughout the world and continues to be an annual celebration every year. The new millennium also brought more skateparks, which were designed with professional skateboarders. Parks were also being designed specifically for street skaters to keep them off public property - a concept first initiated by professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. The sport was supposed to make its olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, with both men's and women's events.
Tony Hawk continues to skate at 52 years old. His business skills have helped create personal brand that includes a billion-dollar video game franchise, skateboard and clothing company, and a signature range of sporting goods. In September, Tony Hawk will release a fully-remastered version of his original video game.