American professional skateboarder. He is the first registered skateboarder to perform the Indy 900 trick. Winner of the 2002 Young Hollywood Award for Contemporary Culture Icon.
"Hawk" Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk was born on May 12, 1968 in the United States in the city of San Diego, California. Tony's father is a former Navy officer who later became a merchant. Mother is an ordinary housewife. Parents protected the future star from childhood, but at the age of six, psychologists diagnosed him with increased hyperactivity and aggressiveness. At the same time, in terms of intelligence, Hawke was significantly ahead of his peers, at the age of 8 his IQ was already 144. To direct the boy's energy in the right direction, his elder brother gave Tony the first skateboard in his life, and his father built a small ramp in the backyard. This was the beginning of the formation of the future world star, nicknamed "Hawk".
Way to success
After hard work and several years of training, the young athlete was noticed by sponsors from the Dogtown skateboards company. At the age of fourteen, Hawke is already performing at a professional level, and at sixteen he becomes the best skateboarder in the world.
Tony's father took an active part in his son's sports life, in 1980, Frank Hawke, with the aim of developing skateboarding as a serious sport and supporting athletes, founds the California Amateur Skateboard League (abbreviated CASL). Subsequently, the league was transformed into the NSA (National Skateboarding Association). It was NAS that made it possible to raise the prestige of this sport to a new level.
In the early 90s, Hawke founds Birdhouse, a company that sells equipment and supplies for skateboarders.
During the 1999 World Extreme Games "Hawk" once again proved to the whole world that he is the best skateboarder by being the first to perform the hardest trick Indy 900 (you need to complete 2.5 turns in the air). The trick was successful only after the eleventh attempt. Tony was able to repeat the success in 2001 at the X-Games, again performing "900", after which, not only in sports, but also in business, things took off to a new level.
Family and personal life
Hawke was officially married three times. The first was signed back in 1990 with Cindy Dunbar. From his first marriage, he left a child - the son of Riley, who also decided to follow in his father's footsteps and is engaged in skateboarding. Tony tied the knot for the second time with Erin Lee in 1996. The marriage lasted until 2005, during which the sons Spencer and Keegan appeared.
The final third marriage with Lotse Merriam took place in 2006, a daughter, Cadence Clover, appeared in the marriage. The family announced the divorce in 2011.
Film career
Back in 1987, Tony Hawk starred in the work of Jim Drake - the film Police Academy 4, playing in an episode of a skateboarder. In 2002, in the film Tough Guy, he played himself. In the same year he voiced himself in the popular animated series The Simpsons. On account of his cameo roles in the films Three X's (2002) and Kings of Dogtown (2005)
Participation in the computer games industry
1999 saw the release of Activision's PlayStation game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, co-created with Tony Hawk. The game literally blew up the world of the gaming industry. It quickly became a bestseller, becoming the best-selling series of games. After an overwhelming success in 2000, a sequel was released - Tony Hawk's ProSkater 2, which also received great success with players, spawning a whole series of games.
Currently, Tony Hawk has retired from professional sports, but continues to be active. His support fund has allocated $ 3,200,000 for the construction of skate parks throughout the United States.
