Tony Hawk

Biography

Hawk was born in 1968 in Carlsbad, California. As a kid he was very hyperactive. At school he was psychologically evaluated and it turned out that Hawk was exceptionally talented and also had an IQ of 144. Hawk started skateboarding when he was 9 and by the time he turned 16 he was a professional. No other skateboarder has won as many awards as Hawk; by the age of 17 he had won over seventy competitions. He is is best known for performing extreme stunts and tricks such as the ‘900’. Tony Hawk announced his retirement after winning the 1999 X Games. He launched his video game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater in 1999 which became a huge success spawning sixteen titles such as the main series titles, repackages and spin-offs. His charitable foundation, the Tony Hawk Foundation has donated over $3.4 million to assist in the building of more than 400 skate parks in the United States.