Tony Hawk was born to Frank and Nancy Hawk on May 12, 1968, in San Diego, California. Tony had two sisters named Lenore and Patricia, and a brother named Steve. Tony Hawk accredits his brother for aiding him in his love affair with skateboards, after Steve gave him a blue fiberglass banana board when he was just nine years of age.
Tony’s mother described his childhood years as “challenging”, as he was a very hyper young boy, who was always determined to accomplish what he set out to do. The only problem was that he often sought out to do things that he was not able to accomplish physically.
After Tony’s brother gave him his first skateboard, his life changed, and he began to focus the majority of his thoughts and energy on becoming the best skateboarded that he possibly could be. Tony Hawk continuous practice in the skateboarding sport, led him to win many competitions, even as a child, but Tony was not always as impressed with himself as spectators were. Tony realized every slight flaw and mistake he made in a competition, and it bothered him a great deal.
Tony’s father Frank was a major supporter of Tony’s skateboarding career, and fully supported his son’s passion of skateboarding. Frank often took Tony to skateboarding competitions all over the state of California, and built his son many different skateboarding ramps. Frank became eventually ended up founding the California Amateur Skateboard League and the National Skateboard Association. The National Skateboard Association played a major role in the extreme increase in skateboarding popularity, beginning in the 1980’s. Frank Hawk passed away in 1995, yet his legacy lives on in the California Amateur Skateboard League and the National Skateboard Association.
The Dogtown skateboard company sponsored Tony at the young age of twelve, and in the next two years of his life, at age fourteen, Tony was an acclaimed skateboarding pro. By the time he was sixteen years old, Tony was considered the best skateboarder in the entire world. Tony has won first place in 73 pro skating competitions, and placed second in 19 competitions, making Tony Hawk hold the best record for professional skateboarding competitions in it’s history.
Tony Hawk is still the most famous and probably still the best skateboarder in the history of skateboarding. Tony is the owner of the Birdhouse skateboard company, which is the largest skateboarding company in the world, and he also started Hawk Clothing which is a kid’s skateboarder clothing line.
Tony Hawk and Activision created a video game entitled Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for the Playstation gaming console, and it instantly became a bestseller. (I am a 31 year old mother of four, and I have played this game and absolutely loved it!) After the success of the first Tony Hawk video game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 was released and it too rose to the top of the video game best seller list. The series has continued over the years, and the world now awaits Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 6.
Tony Hawk has been married and divorced twice, and is the very proud father of three son’s named Riley, Spencer & Keegan. Tony continues to play an active role in the lives of his children.
