Skateboarding is not very popular in India, the sport is being played for lesuire as youngsters try and enjoy the ride on the board. The sport is very much popular on worldwide and one man that rules the sport is none other than Tony Hawk. He may not be a popular figure in India, but he has a huge fan following in the rest of the world.
Today we look at an athlete who is a brand himself.
The beginning of an illustrious careerHawk began to use the board at a very young age of 9 years when his elder brother gave him a blue fiberglass skateboard. At the age of 12, Tony had become a prodigy who used to win amateur tournament throughout California. Things began to change drastically and, Tony began to take a huge stride in the sport. At the age of 14, he turned professional and by the time he had become a 16 year old kid he was already considered the best competitive skateboarder in the world.
How Tony revived his career
With the sport dying, there was a cloud of financial uncertainty. But Tony knew that the sport will once again find its feet very soon and so he along with his friend launched his own skateboard company, Birdhouse Projects. The sport began to revive and Tonys company grew into one of the biggest and best-known skate companies in the world. In 1998, he and his family started a children’s skate clothing company called Hawk Clothing.
In 1999, Tony teamed up with Activision to create the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise. The Tony Hawk video game series became one of the most popular game franchises in history (and has now surpassed $1.4 billion in sales).
The end of skateboard journey an start of a new careerSoon after the 1999 X Games, Tony retired from competition but continues to put on demos and exhibitions all over the world. His Foundation has given away over $5.2 million to 556 skatepark projects throughout the United States.
Achievements He quickly became a fan favourite and by the time he was 25, he’d competed in 103 pro contests, winning 73 of them and placing second in 19—a record that will almost certainly never be matched. He was crowned vertical skating’s world champion 12 years in a row.
Laurels
Tony has won numerous awards, including Make-A-Wish’s Favorite Male Athlete, Teen Choice Awards’ Choice Male Athlete and Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards’ Favorite Male Athlete, beating out such sports icons as Shaquille O’Neal, Tiger Woods, and Kobe Bryant.
