In , Tony married Lhotse Merriam, yet then again got divorced in When Tony was 9 years old, his family encouraged and supported his career. Not only did his father build a small skate ramp in the backyard, but also developed skateboarding competitions throughout California. Hawk's parents encouraged him to skate because they believed that skateboarding was a good way for Tony to stay out of trouble.
In , Tony Hawk broke his pelvis after failing to land a routine In an interview, Hawk explained that his injury was the most painful and time-consuming period of his life. He discussed that he couldn't walk, move, or even cough without feeling pain.
After 6 weeks in bed, he was finally able to walk again. The company was created in to sell decks, wheels, clothing, and accessories. Birdhouse Skateboards came from Tony Hawk's nickname, Birdman. Welinder and Hawk went into business together because both of their careers were slowing down and they wanted to make a more significant contribution to the skateboarding industry.
The nickname, Birdman, comes from his surname and his ability to successfully land wild tricks. Tony Hawk's biggest accomplishment happened when he successfully landed the first A is a trick that happens when a skateboarder goes off of a jump, completes two and a half spins in the air, and then lands on the skateboarder.
In one of skateboarding's most defining moments ever, Tony Hawk landed a in competition during the X Games. This trick had never been done before and set the standard for what is possible in the sport of skateboarding. What is Skateboarding? Previous Next. Table of Contents. Tony Hawk Tony Hawk is regarded as one of the greatest skateboarders in the world, winning almost every competition he entered.
As Hawk won competition after competition, some veteran skaters cried favoritism, since his father was the NSA president. They also dismissed his wild, crazy skating as showboating. But that same creative skating gave birth to the Ollie, which became one of the most important moves in vertical skating. It also helped Hawk win three NSA championships and almost twenty additional pro events by the time he was eighteen.
Known as the Birdman because of his high-flying acrobatics, he was also a featured performer in Bones Brigade videos, which to this day are watched by would-be skaters. Hawk bought his first house just before graduation, and as he told the New York Times, "That was an inkling that [skateboarding] was already my career. By the end of the s skateboarding was a hot sport, and Hawk was its king. But, like all things, popularity goes in cycles, and in the s the public's interest in skateboarding had begun to wane.
Part of the problem was the high cost of insurance required to run competitions and maintain skateparks. As a result, competitions were cancelled and skateparks around the United States were closed. This signaled disaster for Hawk, who now had very little money coming in, and a wife and child to support.
In he had married his first wife, Cindy; two years later the couple had a son, Riley. His career sport was losing popularity, and a worried Hawk considered getting a regular nine-to-five job, possibly in computers, since he was a self-proclaimed techno geek. Instead, Hawk decided to throw himself into a new business venture.
In he and fellow skateboarder Per Welinder launched Birdhouse Projects, a company to manufacture skateboards and skate accessories. In Birdhouse was followed by Blitz, which distributed other skateboard brands.
Hawk mortgaged and eventually sold his home in order to finance his businesses. The rocky start-up proved to be too much of a strain on his family, however, and Tony and Cindy divorced. But just when it seemed that things could not get any worse, skateboarding once again came to the rescue. A more-than-interested Hawk flew to Rhode Island, where the contest was being held, and took first place in the vertical competition and second place in street skating.
The televised event was seen by millions of people, and almost overnight the interest in skateboarding was re-ignited, as well as interest in Hawk and his career. Soon he was again "hawking" products on television, appearing in countless commercials for companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Campbell's Soup. Of course, Hawk also pumped up his skateboarding. He traveled around the world to skate in exhibitions, and year after year he swept the X Games, taking home both singles and doubles titles.
By the king was back on his throne. During the X Games, Hawk made history during the Best Trick event, when he introduced a move called the , a move so spectacular and dangerous that no one has successfully landed it since. The is a two-and-a-half rotation midair flip above the lip of the vertical ramp. Hawk had been working on the move for more than a decade, and had been seriously injured along the way.
Landing the was a personal triumph. As Hawk explained to Rose, "I just felt this great sense of relief that I'd finally conquered this beast that had plagued me for so long. After the , it seemed that Hawk could do no wrong, especially in business, where he became a one-man marketing phenomenon. Birdhouse and Blitz took off, becoming two of the largest skate-boarding companies in the world. In , however, Hawk ventured into what would become his most lucrative enterprise—video games.
He had been trying to interest companies in a skateboarding game since the mids, but executives did not bite. Finally Activision, a California-based company, approached Hawk in September of about developing a video game.
Computer engineers mocked up a working version and Hawk tinkered with it for months, providing feedback and offering suggestions for improvement. When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was introduced in the fall of , it created an immediate buzz. By Christmas it had zoomed to the top of the video sales charts. In Activison released the fourth version of Pro Skater and added Tony Hawk's Underground to its catalog of games.
Each game sold better than the last, and the Hawk series became one of the bestselling video lines of all time, with worldwide yearly sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Eager to cash in on Hawk's obvious appeal, more businesses lined up to strike deals. In the skate-boarder became the spokesman for Hot Bites frozen snack foods. Hawk went on to lend his name to a slew of products, including toys, shoes, clothing, and DVDs.
According to Jake Phelps, editor of Thrasher magazine a skateboard magazine , who spoke with Layden, "Tony Hawk means ka-ching. Analysts have attributed Hawk's success to several factors. First, even in his thirties he continues to be one of the most talented skateboarders to ever hit the vertical ramp. Second, because of his many personal appearances, he is accessible to his fans.
His son Riley is also a skateboarder. Famous Entrepreneurs Biographies, Pictures and Facts. Home List Blog Contact. Tony Hawk. Mayer Madam C. Morgan J. Paul Getty J.
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