Tony Hawk

Tony Hawk is an American professional skateboarder and businessman who helped bring vertical skateboarding to a mainstream audience. He is widely associated with the first documented 900, a two-and-a-half-revolution aerial spin he landed in 1999.

Anthony Frank Hawk was born on May 12, 1968, in San Diego, California, the youngest of four children of Frank Peter Rupert Hawk and Nancy Hawk. His father, a former Navy pilot, founded the National Skateboard Association to organize amateur and professional contests.

He started skating at age nine on a hand-me-down board and joined the Bones Brigade team for Powell Peralta as a teenager. By 16 he was considered the top vertical skater in the world and turned professional, competing in events organized by his father's association.

Hawk co-founded Birdhouse Skateboards in 1992, and his Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game series, launched by Activision in 1999, sold tens of millions of copies. He retired from competition in 2003 and continued to run Birdhouse and the Tony Hawk Foundation, later renamed The Skatepark Project, which funds public skateparks in underserved communities.

Their name Tony derives from the Roman family name Antonius, traditionally said to mean priceless or invaluable. Tony is widely used as a short form of Anthony in English-speaking countries.