Tony Hawk – athlete and a businessman
When it comes to sports, I like betting on them, but I also love learning more about my favorite athletes and their personal lives. For example, Tony Hawk, one of my favorite athletes, has a pretty incredible career and life. When you think of Tony Hawk, you probably think of him as a professional skateboarder. After all, he’s been skating professionally since the 1980s and it’s his face on all those video games that have made him one of the most famous athletes in America. But if you’re like me, you might also be surprised to learn that Hawk is actually also a businessman!
Who is Tony Hawk?

Born on May 12, 1968, in San Diego, California to James and Nancy Hawk, Tony grew up with his two older brothers Mike and Patrick. His father worked as a salesman for a pest extermination company while his mother was employed as a secretary at Aerojet General Corp., where she helped build rocket motors for satellites used on Skylab missions that launched in 1973 and 1974.
As a child, Tony began skating when he was 8 years old after watching professional skaters perform at Seaworld San Diego’s Thrill Show Spectacular show which included famous tricks like The Kickflip or “kick turn”.
He soon became obsessed with skateboarding so much that he would take apart his brother’s board to see how it worked before reassembling it himself!
Tony started competing in local competitions at age 11 but didn’t win any until he turned 13 when he won first place in a street contest despite being only 5’4″ tall! A year later Tony entered his first national competition where he placed second place behind Jason Lee who would later become known as “The King Of Vert”, meaning best at performing tricks on ramps.
Creating new tricks and starting the X video games franchise
Together with Hawk, the sport has grown from something underground to something popular with people from all walks of life. Today, you can even see skaters posting videos online or setting up their own teams to compete against each other in various competitions around the world. This growth is thanks in part to Hawk’s work as an athlete and businessman—he helped bring skateboarding into mainstream culture by making it more accessible for everyone through products like special ramps called “halfpipes” for indoor use or fun tricks you can do on your board out in nature like grinding rails made out of metal poles sticking out from cement walls!

The cover of Rolling Stone magazine
Tony Hawk’s image was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1999. This was important because it helped to launch his career into a new phase, with much more international visibility and mainstream success.
In October 1999, Tony Hawk was featured as an A-list guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Los Angeles for a discussion about his life, career, and new book “How Did I Get Here?” He also appeared on many other talk shows including Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee, Later With Bob Costas, and Good Morning America.
All of this allowed Tony to one day own his own company called Birdhouse which makes skateboards and clothing.
You can be an athlete and have other interests or talents!
You can be an athlete and have other interests or talents! You can be an athlete and be a businessman. You can be an athlete and be an actor. You can even become a reality star if you go on TV shows like “The Bachelor”, “Dancing with the Stars” or “Survivor”. There is no reason to put yourself or other people in boxes.