Tony Hawk

Tony Hawk (born May 12, 1968 in Carlsbad, California) is often regarded as the most skilled and best-known skateboarder today. He is sometimes compared to Michael Jordan and even Wayne Gretzky for his dominance of the sport. Among the areas he dominates in the sport is the vert ramp.

He owned his own halfpipe made by his dad when he lived in his first house with his first wife, Cindy, and his first son, Riley. His house was considered a complete playland.

In 2000, Hawk struck a deal with Activision to license his name and likeness for use in a video game called Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The game has since spawned four popular sequels, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, and Tony Hawk's Underground. These games continue to be ported to PC and Mac, as well. Failure to recognise the apostrophe in the titles of these games can lead to mistaking Tony Hawk with Tony Hawks, the British comedian.

Hawk has become a household name, and has starred in commercials for a variety of companies, including Apple computer and Domino's Pizza. He has also cameoed in television shows such as Rocket Power, The Simpsons and Max Steel, movies such as Jackass: The Movie and Dogtown and Z-Boys, and has appeared as an actor in movies such as Gleaming the Cube and Police Academy 4.

As of 2004, Tony has accomplished numerous historic tricks and has won 80 competitions. He landed the first 900 degree spin at the 1999 X Games after 11 failed attempts. He is sometimes referred to as "birdman".