Creative Inspiration: Tony Hawk

Tony Hawk is a shape shifter. Not only is he the world’s most famous skateboarder and CEO of a multi-national product enterprise, he’s a virtual skin there to be grafted for your video game-playing pleasure. He revolutionised vert skateboarding, was featured on The Simpsons and even rolled through the corridors of the White House.

But he’s also a husband, a dad and a brother; he’s an overgrown kid in skate shoes and a hoody who started his skateboarding career in the now legendary Bones Brigade; and he’s a San Diegan, born and bred. So what lies beneath the web of narratives that surround the guy nicknamed ‘Birdman’? What happens to your sense of identity when you are constantly mistaken for a fictional character? We caught up with the 42-year-old recently, before the launch of his eleventh video game title Tony Hawk: SHRED, to see if this Peter Pan-esque superstar has managed to sew himself to his shadow. And we remembered to ask him about his inspirations too.

Tony Hawk. Photo: Quiksilver

TCOLondon: What inspires you creatively?

Tony Hawk: Anything new, especially in skating. A new technique or a new trick. That’s what’s always kept me coming back to skating. So I guess in a larger sense, anyone who’s trying something new for the sake of progression. Even if it seems risky or completely different. I appreciate that and I appreciate those efforts. And that’s really how I got to where I am, how I got so far.