TONY HAWK Biography - Famous Sports men and women

 
 

Biography » famous sports men and women » tony hawk

TONY HAWK

Name: Tony Hawk                                                                         
Born: 12 May 1968 San Diego, California, U.S.                                           
Occupation Skateboarder                                                                 
                                                                                         
Tony Hawk (born May 12, 1968) is a professional skateboarder, considered the             
most influential skater in modern vertical skateboarding. He is                         
credited with the invention of many aerial skateboard tricks including the               
Stalefish, Madonna, and McHawk, and over 80 others, but is most famous for being         
the first recorded skater to land the 900 (two and a half rotations—900°—in the     
air before landing back on the pipe) during the televised June 27, 1999 X Games,         
for which he received an enormous amount of attention. He was also the second           
skateboarder to land a McTwist, a trick named after a Mike McGill of the Bones           
Brigade, a skate team that Tony Hawk was originally a member of. It marked the           
next level of his rise to fame, solidifying his status as a household name. He           
retired from competitive skateboarding afterwards, but continues to skate and           
perform.                                                                                 
                                                                                         
Tony Hawk is the son of Nancy (homemaker / college professor) and Frank Hawk (retired   
U.S. Navy officer/small appliance salesman). Tony Hawk is the youngest of 4             
children; he has one brother, Steve, and two sisters, Lenore and Patricia.               
                                                                                         
In his autobiography, Tony Hawk described himself as a "cool kid" -- frustrated,         
unfocused, and prone to flying off into rages. Tony Hawk was nine years old when         
his brother changed his life by giving him a blue fiberglass banana board.               
His father built a skating ramp in the backyard, in hopes that skateboarding             
would be an outlet for young Tony's energy.                                             
                                                                                         
Personal                                                                                 
                                                                                         
Tony married Cindy Dunbar on April 1990 and later divorced in 1993. They had             
a son, Hudson (Riley) Hawk (6 Dec 1992) who they named for one of Tony's                 
ancestors. For many years, Riley has skated for Hawk's own Birdhouse Skateboards.       
                                                                                         
Hawk was married to Erin Lee from 1996 - 2004. They had two sons, Spencer (26           
July 1999) and Keegan (18 March 2001).                                                   
                                                                                         
Just one year after they started dating, Hawk married Lhotse Merriam. Merriam is         
the former Vice President of the International Free Skiers Association; the             
former President of Method Media & Marketing Inc.; and the former owner of               
Clover Lingerie & Gifts LLC. Hawk married Lhotse Merriam on 12 Jan 05 on                 
the heart shaped island of Tavarua, Fiji. Merriam's favorite group Rancid               
played at their wedding. While there, Druke the Fijian Chief of Tavarua,                 
requested Hawk give a private skate demo where two onlookers held a piece of             
plywood as a makeshift wall to wall ride on a tennis court wall.Tony and                 
Lhotse are currently expecting their first child together.