Tony Hawk: An immortal legend
It is not an overstatement to say that Tony Hawk is the best thing that ever happened to the sport of skateboarding. The former professional skateboarder not only remained the most formidable force to be reckoned with during the ‘80s and ‘90s, but is also
known and respected for his significant contribution towards the progress of the sport.
Undoubtedly he has played a huge role in bringing action sports into the lime-light and in front of the mainstream audience. The long list of skateboarding tricks invented along with the huge stack of gold medals and trophies has made Tony Hawk one of the
most recognisable names in the world. Even though it has been a while since he retired from professional skateboarding, his reputation still lives on.
Born to Frank and Nancy Hawk in San Diego in 1968, Hawk started showing signs of greatness and brilliance at a very early age. No matter what he did, he expected himself to be excellent at it. He expected himself to do better than he possibly could and if
he failed to accomplish that, then he used to feel frustrated and angry with himself. His parents got worried over this attitude of his and got him psychologically evaluated. They were told that their son was “gifted”.
Receiving his first skateboard from his older brother Steve at the age of nine, Hawk shifted his entire focus on getting good at it. The persistent effort and determination was such that just two years after stepping on his first skateboard, Hawk found himself
getting sponsored. By the time he turned 13, he turned professional. It was time for him to get himself acknowledged as one of the greatest action sports athlete in the world.
During his career, Hawk participated in around 103 skateboarding competitions. He took first place at 73 of these, while taking second place at the rest. He has won competitions all over the world, including the National Skateboard Association Series, X
Games, and the Vans Triple Crown Hard Rock World Championships. According to Gravity magazine, “From the time he was 16 and declared the National Skateboard Association's first world champion until the NSA folded 12 years later, he never lost his title as
the world's best vertical skateboarder.”
No skateboarder even comes close to the amount of pro contests that Hawk has won. In 1999, he made history by landing a “900”, a two-and-a-half mid-air flip, during the X Games 4 in 1999. He still remains the only person to have successfully landed it. Soon
after the X Games 4, he announced his retirement from the competitions.
Over the course of years, Hawk has won many awards. These include Make-A-Wish’s Favourite Male Athlete award, Teen Choice Award’s Choice Male Athlete and Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards’ Favourite Male Athlete, beating the likes of Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant
and Shaquille O’Neal.
Hawk teamed up with Activision in 1999 to create “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater”, the first of the 16 video games based on his skateboarding.
The video game series is not the only thing that has kept him busy since his retirement. The world’s most recognized action-sports athlete has his hands quite full with the Boom Boom Huck Jam event, Tony Hawk Foundation, Hawk clothing, and the Birdhouse
Projects.
Hawk quoted on his website that, “I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out. I mean, I never thought that I could make a career out of skateboarding.”
Indeed only a few have been able to accomplish what Hawk has accomplished. He remains a skateboarding icon even today, inspiring the young generation to get involved in the sport.
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