Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder

by Tony Hawk, Sean Mortimer

For Tony Hawk, it wasn't enough to skate for two decades, to invent more than eighty tricks, and to win more than twice as many professional contests as any other skater.It wasn't enough to knock himself unconscious more than ten times, fracture several ribs, break his elbow, knock out his teeth twice, compress the vertebrae in his back, pop his bursa sack, get more than fifty stitches laced into his shins, rip apart the cartilage in his knee, bruise his tailbone, sprain his ankles, and tear his ligaments too many times to count.No.He had to land the 900. And after thirteen years of failed attempts, he nailed it. It had never been done before. Growing up in Sierra Mesa, California, Tony was a hyperactive demon child with an I44 IQ. He threw tantrums, terrorized the nanny until she quit, exploded with rage whenever he lost a game; this was a kid who was expelled from preschool . When his brother, Steve, gave him a blue plastic hand-me-down skateboard and his father built a skate ramp in the driveway, Tony finally found his outlet--while skating, he could be as hard on himself as he was on everyone around him. But it wasn't an easy ride to the top of the skating game. Fellow skaters mocked his skating style and dubbed him a circus skater. He was so skinny he had to wear elbow pads on his knees, and so light he had to ollie just to catch air off a ramp. He was so desperate to be accepted by young skating legends like Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, and Christian Hosoi that he ate gum from between Steve's toes. But a few years of determination and hard work paid off in multiple professional wins, and the skaters who once had mocked him were now trying to learn his tricks. Tony had created a new style of skating. In Hawk Tony goes behind the scenes of competitions, demos, and movies and shares the less glamorous demands of being a skateboarder--from skating on Italian TV wearing see-through plastic shorts to doing a demo in Brazil after throwing up for five days straight from food poisoning. He's dealt with teammates who lit themselves and other subjects on fire, driving down a freeway as the dashboard of their van burned. He's gone through the unpredictable ride of the skateboard industry during which, in the span of a few years, his annual income shrank to what he had made in a single month and then rebounded into seven figures. But Tony's greatest difficulty was dealing with the loss of his number one fan and supporter--his dad, Frank Hawk. With brutal honesty, Tony recalls the stories of love, loss, bad hairdos, embarrassing '80s clothes, and his determination that had shaped his life. As he takes a look back at his experiences with the skateboarding legends of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, including Stacy Peralta, Eddie Elguera, Lance Mountain, Mark Gonzalez, Bob Burnquist, and Colin Mckay, he tells the real history of skateboarding--and also what the future has in store for the sport and for him.      

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Sports, Autobiography, Memoir

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed "The Birdman", is an American professional skateboarder, actor, and owner of skateboard company Birdhouse. Hawk is well known for completing the first documented 900 and for his licensed video game titles, published by Activision. He is widely considered to be one of the most successful and influential pioneers of modern vertical skateboarding.

In 2002, he created the "Boom Boom HuckJam", an extreme sports exhibition and tour that was launched in Las Vegas. Throughout his career, Hawk has made numerous appearances in films, other media, and his own series of video games. He has also been involved in various philanthropic activities, including his own Tony Hawk Foundation that helps to build skateparks in underprivileged areas. In 2014, Hawk was labelled as one of the "Most influential skateboarders of all-time" by FoxWeekly.

Reviews

[Aurora Dimitre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually like... really loved this. Like I just really loved reading this. I have a newfound appreciation for Tony Hawk? I'm confused about my life and the choices I've made to get to here.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you had asked me a week ago, if I would ever be interested in reading a memoir about a skateboarder, I probably would have said no, but an Olympic reading challenge came my way, and this book fit perfectly for one of the prompts.

I liked it, a lot more than I expected to.

[Zachary Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real inspiration for anybody who loves to skateboard because Tony Hawk tells the reader the ways he changed throughout this book. Tony started out as a boy who was destructive and abusive to his caretakers. He would whine and scream to get what he wanted. On the first day of his preschool year he was furious because his teachers expected him to follow specific rules throughout the day. He was the true definition as he says in this book as a master crybaby. As Tony got into the year of his eleventh birthday, he was starting to get obsessed with skateboarding. The first trick he learned was called the rock n' roll. He was then entered into many contests that would't allow him to spend time over at his friends house. He got so hard on himself for not landing tricks at competitions and would refuse to go home with his dad from the skate park until he landed the trick. At one point it took him an hour and a half. He then explains the amount of effort it took to land the 900, a trick that involves 2 and a half rotations. He finally landed the trick in the X Games in 1999. He won the best trick at the contest. Tony Hawk later explains life with a family and his two boys and his wife. He then has to go into retirement but not from skating, just competing in skate contest. The book mainly points out the changes he went through to get to where he is today.

[Izayah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawk Occupation: Skateboarder

A guy named Tony Hawk becoming a millionaire due to flipping on a wood board with wheels is one of the many reasons I picked up this book. Nearly everyone knows of Tony Hawk but how many people really know about him? I’ve always loved skateboarding and wanted to know more about Hawk. Thankfully, I picked up this book because it was definitely worth reading. One thing I really liked about this book is that it includes laminated pictures halfway through the book. If I were to rate this book I’d give it a nine out of ten. It hooked me strongly . A few parts I felt like got explained more than once.
Hawk begins his book by explaining his childhood before skateboarding and how he was very rude towards his parents. His brother gave him his first skateboard although he didn’t really get into it until he went to a local skate park called Oasis. The rest of the book explains his injuries, achievements, career, and kids of his own.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in the day skateboarding meant everything to me, From being on a board to playing the many incarnations of tony hawks' games for a while it was my life. But I never had the true commitment to the sport that many I knew did. Somewhere along the line skating slipped away and other things took its place. A few weeks ago whilst searching for something to watch I came across a film called Slam, now don't go thinking this was some old school skate film or even particularly about skate culture. This is an Italian teen romance film, but what it does have is Tony Hawk kind of. The lead character is observed with him and in turn, is reading this book. I would give a nod to the man himself as he lends his voice in part narration of this book throughout the film. But it was enough to re-peak my interest and I then spent countless hours re-watching old skate videos. Anyway, to cut a story short it wasn't too long before I was hunting out a copy of this book and jumping feet first in.



This was a guy I looked up to back in the day, I must have spent hours watching his moves than trying to recreate them in both real life and in his games. But it wasn't till I started into this book that it occurred to me that I knew little of the man himself. I think for a lot of people outside the world of skating it seems like something people do in there spare time, a slackers sport for dropouts. But with this book, you really get to appreciate the time and effort that he has put into honing what he does. Much like any other person at the top of their chosen field, it takes all you have to get to the top. For me, it is his genuine passion for the sport that shines through. Even after all this time, he is still pushing for innovation in the sport. But above all this, I love that he still finds happiness and joy in what he does. This is a guy who skates for his own happiness, and how many people can say that of their chosen profession. I think it would also be worth giving a shout out to his family who has supported him throughout. When he tells you about everything his dad did to support him and give legitimacy to the skate world, I don't think he could have asked for more.



I fully appreciate that this book has a very specific audience, for those outside the world of skateboarding this book will proverbially not even come up on their radar. But for me it reminds me of all those things I use to love about it, It brings back memories of the person I use to be. With all the scraps and bruises that it entails. This is a man who writes with such passion about what he does. What you get is not only his story but also the rise and fall and then rise again of the skate world. He says so himself that many within the world don't really know its history and in some small way, he manages to give some of that back to the reader. learning about those that came before him but also the other greats of his era. For me at least I was able to learn from this book and see the bigger world beyond the man himself. This is a book that will make you laugh a lot as well, at times it feels like an episode of Jackass. With some of the things they got up to it feels like a wonder that he is still alive and relatively in one peace. But through it, all this is also the story of an outsider Both in life and within his Corrine of the world. A guy who did things his own way for better or worse. I think by the end I had grown to have more respect for him. Seeing all the hard work and drive he put in is a wonder to behold. I was left feeling that he could have picked any field to pursue in life and he would have become the top of that field.



This is a book that for me at least when beyond what I had first thought of picking it up. For most autobiography's people tend to try and show themselves in the best possible light. But with Hawk: Occupation Skateboarder he shows us the good and the bad, that at times he is not the easiest of people to be around. But I think this is true of anyone who is driven. They have a laser focus and a need to achieve their goals no matter what. When push comes to shove though this is a guy I would happily sit down and have a beer with. The stories he has a funny and painful and from his earliest day to the present he is a guy who loves what he does.

[Kaleo GH · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I picked was Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder. The book is a biography that tells the story of Tony Hawk. It tells of how Tony Hawk went to school and became interested in skateboarding, and how he was a scrawny nerdy boy who rose to fame. It tells of his adventures during his childhood, the many different people he met, all of the places he went and contests he was in, and all his struggles to get to where he is. It is funny, sad, inspiring, and happy throughout the book. It is really interesting and taught me a lot about skating that I didn’t know about. One thing I didn’t like was it got boring at times but then something interesting happened so it was fine. I would reccomend this to anyone interested in skateboarding and Tony Hawk.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Great, crazy stories about demo tours across the US. It's also interesting to see how the sport progressed through the 80s into the 90s and then into the early 00s. Also liked hearing about the creation of the "extreme games" (or the x games as they're known as now. Side note: the day when Tony Hawk doesn't announce skateboarding during summer x is going to be a really fucking sad day). Also loved reading about what Tony thinks of some of the other big skaters -- Buck, Danny, Andy, ect. Don't feel like you have to be a skater to read this, you don't, it's an awesome read no matter what. Just be interested.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply written, and in small discreet chapters, this is a very easy book to read.

It's highly enjoyable for someone who has an interest in the scene, or the person, and I think Tony has provided a good role-model for kids getting into skating - he doesn't gloss over the mischief in his life, but he is careful to communicate his opinions of his actions and those of others in a frank and honest way and as a parent.

I also loved reading about his respect for his Dad, and Franks influence over the skaters, and the skate world in general (regarding the National Skate Association).

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sort of geared toward a target audience of 14 year old boys, I think. But I really liked it anyway, even if I'm a 32 year old mom (holy crap, I'm a mom!). I have a ton of respect for Tony Hawk, and I've always been a fan, even if I was never a skater and I can't tell the difference between a 540 and a 720 and have no idea what a McTwist looks like. I liked reading the story of how he came up.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, as you might expect, is written at about an 8th grade reading level. That's not a bad thing, just the truth. That being said, it is interesting to hear Tony Hawk's history from the source. some good stories in here.

[Sander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was 11

[Connor Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really simple writing. I learned a lot about a subject I never knew much about.

[Simon Bostock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating autobiography, it weaves Tony's early life and becoming interested in skateboarding, with a history of skate boarding the the US, and manages to weave the two things together without being contrived. He talks about how he was a horrible child, but really smart. That he would act out in class to get his own way, and after being moved up a year, immediately moving down again after a teacher launches papers at a classmate's head.

He talks about how he was a very skinny child who had to find other ways to skate vert, that later became adopted by the community, he talks about how his dad created a competition league that his dad ran for years, until he couldn't due to his health and the league folded.

He talks about becoming a professional skater at a young age, and making serious money and how skating all but died out, and that he would get stiffed on payments for demos from skate shops, before having a resurgence, and his company Birdhouse went from losing money to making money.

And how he finally quit competition, and how the non skating world doesn't get the skating world, regardless of how mainstream it now is.

I knew of Tony Hawk before reading this autobiography, through the Tony Hawk games and having known a little of skate boarding, I just didn't know how many competitions that he had won, or how old he was when he turned professional.

Overall this is a great biography about a man who seems really humble and patient, but very determined, and its also an incredible history of skating, well worth a read.

[Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good. I enjoyed learning Tony Hawks childhood and his way to becoming one of the best Skateboarders. I learned that he invented many tricks and he was a preschool dropout. It was interesting reading how Tony hawk changed his life around and now today he is such a well known skater. Tony hawk was made fun of for skating weird but now people try to copy his style of skating learning the 80+ tricks that he had invented. Apparently Tony Hawk had a really high IQ of 144 but he would get angry easily that he would get expelled only at the age of 4. This was a really good book and I suggest reading it.

[Liz Borunda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Tony Hawk so this book was very exciting to read. Tony leaves out no details and it felt like i was able to read his diary in many ways. Seeing the ups and downs of his career and how he kept going no matter is inspiring and it gave me a great reality check. It’s fun to read about someone else’s world (especially the skateboarding world!) to give you a different perspective on life. I just wish i was able to party with them the way he did at 17-18 lol. Highly recommend this book to anyone! It’s an easy read and it’s refreshing to hear Tony talk about every part of his career and not just his highlights.

[Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very amazing cause Spoiler alert:one thing that i did not know about Tony Hawk is that he got expelled from school just for crying. But all throughout the book talks about all the things that when he started skateboarding and other thing that he started to do when he was getting old.But mostly this book was very good.

[Eduarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Hawk era um capeta quando criança. Infernizava a vida dos pais (sorte que eles eram as pessoas mais pacientes do mundo), foi expulso da escolinha, não parava quieto. O skate foi uma forma dele gastar toda essa energia destrutiva que tinha. Aqui ele conta sua carreira, desde criancinha até depois de parar de competir.

[Paul Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, growing up idolizing and trying to emulate what these guys were doing it’s great to hear their side of how things were back then. I rate this up with the Christian Hosoi book as I loved both of these guys and it’s awesome to here how to guys in the same industry went in completely different directions with life

[Trae Mitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and easy read. I have always admired the insane tricks Tony Hawk could do on a skateboard and the way he has always conducted himself when interacting with fans. This autobiography pulls back the curtain a bit to reveal that Tony is truly a good man with normal flaws, who just happens to be among the most elite wizards on the rolling plank.

[Lydia Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for fans. More interesting than I thought it would be and split up into short sections. Some funny stories and insider info. Probably need to have a slight understanding of skateboarding to get the most out of it. Glad there was at least one mention of Bam even if it was only a photo and credit 😂

[Robin Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I picked this memoir for a light read while I waited in public for someone. It was interesting enough. I learned some about skateboarding and mostly that Tony Hawk likes to talk about farting. His farting..

[Olivio Sarikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, very entertaining, great pacing so you never get bored. Also very eye opening for the life and career of Tony Hawk. Gives you a totally new appreciation for the man and the sport. Very much enjoyed it.

[Adam Cormier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I grew up reading about Tony in Transworld skate magazine. I was a teen in the 90s when Powell & Peralta skateboards started showing up everywhere. Tony Hawk is the quintessential skateboarder and a very interesting individual. Highly recommend.

[Shaun Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. I don't want to know how much money you have our haven't got, I want to know more about how you deal with pressure in competitions, how you go about figuring out how to do a trick, what it's like in flow.

[Denys Teptiuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps, it's a book meant for skaters and for TH die-hard fans, because otherwise I found it to be quite boring. (For a comparison, the pages from his more recent touring diary on the last pages of the book were way more interesting than this whole autobiography.)

[Jaime Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Tony Hawk was able to cram this many accomplishments into a 256 page book is beyond me! Tony lived an amazing life and influenced countless people! It was really cool to read who influenced him and to see the path that created this phenomenal individual.

[Doc Ali Chapney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Sometimes the writing was a bit disjointed, and the chronology was all over the place. However, it was great learning about him, revisiting my skating days, and seeing what all he has accomplished.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean, simple read, sans best efforts to describe skate tricks in the appendix.

[Clara Lefton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and easy read.

[Danielo Bogart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Tony Hawk!