What Skateboard Does Tony Hawk Use?

Anthony Frank Hawk, generally known as Tony Hawk, also known as the Birdman- was born on the 12 of May 1968. Tony is an American skateboarder, as well as an entrepreneur. Due to his love for the game, Hawk has also established a skateboard company called the Birdhouse.

His passion for the game, as well as success, make sure that people should see him as their mentor. His ability has led him to complete and documented his first 900 skateboarding tricks. And also, Hawk is regarded as the pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding.

Tony Hawk is widely known as the greatest to have ever played the game of skateboard and was also recognized by Foxweekly as the most influential skateboarders of all time back in 2014.

Hawk simply does it all, as he has also appeared in films and other media. He has also appeared in his series of video games and does a lot of philanthropic activities. Hawk has a foundation known as the Tony Hawk Foundation, whose main aim is to help build skateboard parks in unprivileged and underdeveloped areas.

What Skateboard Does Tony Hawk Use?

Tony Hawk’s first-ever skateboard deck (Bahne skateboard) was given to him by his elder brother Steve Hawk. The Bahne skateboard has got red stoker urethane metal wheels raised with wooden blocks beneath the board and truck.

Steve Hawk gave the skateboard deck out to Tony Hawk in the year 1977. And it was the first board that Tony Hawk used in starting his skateboard journey.
Although the board was not in very good shape, Tony being focused on learning how to ride a skateboard.

He attached the wooden blocks under the board which gave him great height to enable him to see clearly in terms of making turns as well as performing skateboarding tricks better and more efficiently.

Starting his skateboarding journey at the very early age of 12 and becoming a pro at 14 is a dream yet to be actualized for most aspiring children. But for Tony Hawk, it was a reality. He started learning at 12 and became a pro at 14.

He has competed in 100s of the tournament before he turned 25, and as far as I know, he is the first-ever skateboarder to land a 900 in competition.
Even after retiring from skateboarding in the year 1999, Hawk continued to skate in exhibitions and demos due to his great love for the game.

In 1999, which he retired, Tony Hawk went on to create a “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Video game franchise.” And this video game is one of the most popular video games in history to date.

Also, His foundation known as the Tony Hawk Foundation. With over $5 million, it has funded over 550 skate parks around the world.

How Tony Hawk Changed Skateboarding

Skateboarding used to be for teens in high schools and traditionally ends after school for them. But now, it’s been over 20 years since the greatest to have ever played the game, Tony Hawk, also known as the birdman changed the game forever.

Before the arrival of Hawk to the game, there were very towns that have skateparks where skateboarders practices skateboarding, and perform all kinds of tricks to help them become a better skater. As of then the game of skateboard was all for fun and no penny attached.

But during the mid-80s, everything changed. Skateboarding became a good means for pro skaters to earn cool money. And this was possible because of the ever-great Tony Hawk, the Birdman.
As if becoming a pro skater at the age of 14 was not amazing enough, Hawk, even at his early age, dominated the National Skateboard Association (NSA) Tour, by winning multiple titles.

In the UK, skateboarding was formerly seen as what teens and youths do in their own space to help them get out of troubles or what the Americans do for fun at the beach. But ever since Tony Hawk hit the UK that perspective of skateboarding has changed for good.

Tony Hawk has successfully made an impact in such a way that skateboarding has influenced other entertaining industries like music, fashion, arts, and lots more.

Tony Hawk said, “Many people have told me that the game kick-started their career in music, sports, or film-making because they saw that we – as pro skaters – had a different, more refreshing approach to life.”

Why did Tony Hawk Stop Skating?

Well, even though he is retired, Hawk has never really left the game. Hawk has been battling with a “900” or “9”- two-and-a-half mid-air spins on the board that has never been heard of-since about 1986.
He has tried it when practicing, and also in lots of competitions but never had success. So, as he was getting of age in the game, Hawk became so much obsessed with the mindset of landing the first-ever 9.
He finally did it in the year 1999 X Game, and after then, Hawk announced his retirement from competitions.

As earlier said, although he was retired, Hawk still had more on his to-do list even more than he had while he was still skating. As a means of cementing his status as the greatest to ever indulge in the game of skateboard, He stared in one of the most popular video game series ever, known as the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Tony Hawk Sponsors

Tony Hawk has also appeared in countless numbers of Demos and also signed a contract with ESPN to commentate skate contest for them.
It didn’t end there, in addition to Birdhouse owned by Hawk; he also launched clothing lines and the very popular Hawk Shoes. At Club Tony Hawk, He quoted “I’m pretty happy with the way things turned out,” he went further to state that “I mean, I never thought I could make a career out of skateboarding.”

How to Choose the Right Skateboard

There are many different types of skateboards for skaters to choose from. Whether you prefer a street-skating style or spend your time at skateparks, it’s important to select the right board for your skating style.

4 Skateboard Shapes

Skateboard Great Tony Hawk’s Favorite Gear

Tony Hawk, 47, on his preferred footwear and how he listens to music while he rides (sorry, no boombox)

I grew up surfing, but I find myself snowboarding more these days. (I don’t have the patience or the time to wait for good waves.) We have a place up in Mammoth Lakes [Calif.] where we snowboard a few times each season. I have a Burton Canyon board because I wear a size 13 shoe. The Canyon’s pretty wide, and it’s not that easy to find wide boards.

One of the best sites for skate videos is theberrics.com. The Berrics is an exclusive, invite-only facility in downtown L.A. They’ll have top pros come in, and shoot them throughout the day and put highlights on their site. One of the most popular parts of their program is called Battle of the Berrics, where people challenge each other to different tricks.

Skating Downhills

For whatever reason that you’re tackling downhill skating (you want to cross-train for skiing, you like the speed, there’s no other way around, etc.), you should never take it for granted that you can just “pick it up”. Otherwise, the paramedics might be the ones doing the picking up (of the pieces of your shredded body).

Note that skating downhill can easily exceed 30-35mph. Skaters have been clocked at over 75mph, so downhill skating should NEVER be treated lightly. Even if you’re a seasoned skater you have to keep your mind and body on the hill. It only takes a small pebble or crack to toss you into a tree or car.

Time for an anecdote, to make my point:

Back in 1992, while I was still at Princeton, some of my skating buddies and I rented skates for a whole group of our other friends who didn’t have skates. We went over to a short campus road that was nice and flat so that everyone could practice their skating. After maybe 15 minutes of zooming back and forth on that stretch of asphalt, we decided to take the whole group down to the wide-open backlot behind the gym.One thing we forgot about: the only way to the gym was downhill on the main campus road. As the group turned onto the main road (some on the sidewalk grass, others hanging on to the better skaters) one skater started rolling down, ever so slowly. By the time she was pointed fully downhill, she was already going fast enough to be beyond her control level.

She continued accelerating for 20 or 30 yards, calling out for help. The road went by a dorm, so there was no grassy areas nearby. Nothing was nearby for grabbing. I saw what was happening and sprinted to the main road and then down the hill after her. I had to get her to grab my arm, and then I stomped on the brake. After a few seconds of brake screeching, we finally stopped.

Okay, happy ending, no one hurt, and all that. The point is, it doesn’t take much to get out of control when you’re going downhill. My friend was probably only going 10 mph, but when you feel out of control it SEEMS like 50mph.

Downhill skating should be attempted only after you’ve learned some of the basic skating skills: turns, braking, and balance. Braking means not only the heel brake, but alternative speed control methods like the T-stop, slaloming, toe-drag, and others. If you don’t know how to control your speed, the ground hitting your face at 30mph will do it for you, so take your pick 😎

There are 6 main components for downhill skating:

1. Safety and your gear
2. Safety and the road
3. Safety in your mind
4. Braking ability and power
5. Speed control
6. Relax!

1. Safety and your gear

Although you should be wearing your helmet even for non-hill skating, it goes double and triple for downhills. Wiping out at even 15-20mph can cause major road rash and brain damage, so wear those pads!

2. Safety and the road

All the skating equipment in the world may not help if the hill you’re skating on is pothole-ridden, debris-covered, or just downright bumpy. Make sure you scout a hill on foot so that you know what to expect. If you’re in a car, get out and walk. Your car will make the road seem deceptively smooth. Your skate wheels will feel every bump and crack, so take the time to know what you’re getting into.

3. Safety and your mind

Even if you’ve got great equipment and scouted the hill, it won’t make a difference if you go out and skate like a reckless maniac. If you know that there is occasional car traffic, you have to keep your eyes and ears open. If a car is about to pass you, get narrow, near the curb, and let them know you see them. Know where there are stop lights, intersections, and pedestrian crossings so that you’ll be prepared.It helps if you’ve got other skaters watching out for traffic, both downstream and upstream. Not that I’m advocating that you have hordes of skaters on a hill, but if you’re going to be skating downhill with others, watch out for each other.

4. Braking ability and braking power:

First, I would suggest a lot of practice learning to stop quickly using only your brake skate. But before you try any of this, you must be comfortable using the heel brake! If you’re not, practice using the heel brake first, even if it takes a few days or a week or even a month. Trust me — braking won’t be any easier to learn while you’re zooming down a hill dodging cars. It has got to be so ingrained that you can brake automatically.Part I: flats

• Find a good open area like a parking lot (no traffic, etc.)
• Start at one side, skate as fast as you can towards the other side
• When you’re halfway across, try to brake as fast as possible
• Repeat until you can stop with all your weight on the brake. You’ll have to lift your back skate and press into your braking heel.

Part II: hills

• Find a reasonable hill that has little or no traffic
• Start at the bottom and skate up to the point where you feel comfortable skating all the way down.
• Coast down, braking as needed.
• Repeat until you’re comfortable with that height. Then do it again, but from a bit higher up the hill.

The main thing to keep in mind is the leverage, with the pivot at your braking heel. You want to apply all the pressure into the brake. Also, make sure to lean back slightly, to counter your forward motion.

5. Speed control

You won’t always want to stop completely as you coast downhill. Most of the time you only want to keep your speed at a certain level. To do this, you want to apply your brakes every 5-10 yards, or even more frequently if you need to. You can also apply the brake continuously, but at only half-pressure. If you’ve practiced your braking in step 1, then this should be no problem. The idea is that if your speed stays within your comfort zone, you’ll be in much better control.

6. Relax

When you attain braking proficiency and speed control, then being relaxed while you skate downhill should come fairly easy. Being relaxed isn’t just some Zen thing or a way to look cool. Keeping relaxed is critical for unanticipated bumps or debris on the road that could make you trip and wipe out. When you’re relaxed your body reflexes can respond better than when you’re all tense from fear of wiping out.

Hopefully, when all is said and done, you’ll be a much more adept skater when you’ve mastered downhill skating. Not only will you be a better skater overall, since many of the skills will transfer to other skating methods, but you’ll be a much more confident skater.

Good luck, and skate smart!