5 Greats: Tony Hawk

5 Greats Tony Hawk Header 2000
Tony’s been in the driver’s seat for some of the biggest moments in our humble history. And he's still hittin' today! Comin’ back strong from that devastating leg break, he's got a heavy new part out. So we hit up our first SOTY and skateboarding’s global ambassador to drop his official lists for the top skateparks, contest adversaries, hazing episodes and demo enders in this career-spanning piece from our January ‘24 mag.


Still churning out new combos at his compound, Tony once again gives us the product of progressive skating in his must-watch final part

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 1 Subheads Childhood Heroes 2000
  • Evel Knievel
  • The Fonz
  • James Bond
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  • Eddie Elguera
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 5 Subheads Fashion Experiments 2000
  • Day-glo
  • High socks
  • Two Swatches
  • Half shirts
  • Sun-In


Hawk Upland CleandUp UnknownPhotographer DZ 2000A fledgling Hawk, tucked and padded at Pipeline, 1981

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 9 Subheads Most Innovative 2000
  • Rodney Mullen
  • Eddie Elguera
  • Mark Gonzales
  • Ben Raybourn
  • Reese Nelson
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 2 Subheads Qualities In A Skater 2000
  • Smiles
  • Creativity
  • Flow
  • Not snaking
  • Encouraging others
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 6 Subheads Movies 2000
  • Starship Troopers
  • Wild at Heart
  • Aliens
  • Minority Report
  • The ’Burbs
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 10 Subheads Albums 2000
  • Clash, London Calling
  • Kraftwerk, Electric Café
  • Pixies, Doolittle
  • The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
  • Radiohead, OK Computer


Hawk Delmar CleanedUp Omer DZ 2000Steadying an invert to fakie at Del Mar’s final contest, 1986. Yep, he won    Photo: Omer

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 4 Subheads Most Stylish 2000
  • Christian Hosoi
  • Jimmy Wilkins
  • Kareem Campbell
  • Andrew Reynolds
  • Lizzie Armanto
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 8 Subheads Tricks Invented 2000
  • Frontside 540/rodeo
  • 360 varial
  • Stalefish
  • Frontside hurricane
  • Frontside blunt
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 12 Subheads Early Tricks 2000
  • Half-Cab to frontside rock
  • Backside varial
  • Finger-flip air
  • Frontside 540
  • Airwalk
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 13 Subheads Del Mar Memories 2000
  • The arcade: Track & Field, Q*bert, Defender, Moon Cresta, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Gauntlet, Battlezone and Dragon’s Lair
  • Shooting photos with Grant whenever possible
  • Figuring out which yellow-bus route got closest to the park so I could go straight there after school
  • Slamming in the halfpipe and waking up in an ambulance
  • Chaotic, violent games of tag in the reservoir


Hawk FallbrookFSO CleanedUp Ortiz DZ 2000Massive floater at the end of the 80s. Fallbrook, CA    Photo: Ortiz

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 15 Subheads Tricks No One Wanted To Learn 2000
  • 540 board varial—like a baton twirl
  • Frontside Cab disaster
  • Heelflip slob
  • Cab revert
  • Cannonball 540
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 14 Subheads Memories Of Fallbrook 2000
  • All-day sessions with fun crews
  • Countless hippers
  • Getting sued by a kid that got hurt—even though I wasn’t home and he didn’t have permission to skate
  • Filming my Ban This part over three consecutive days and nights—I had never felt so exhausted
  • Having to tear it down; it took weeks and I hated every minute of it


Hawk CoverShot CleanedUp Mofo DZ 2000No helmet? Natural gnar for Tony’s 1986 cover while filming for Animal Chin    Photo: MOFO

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 16 Subheads Episodes Of Hazing 2000
  • Getting beat up at recess
  • Getting spit on at the skatepark
  • Called “skater fag” by classmates
  • Called “Bony Cock” by other skaters
  • Compared to a mosquito and labeled a “circus skater” by Thrasher
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 20 Subheads Memories Of SOTY Party 2000
  • Leather jackets
  • Small, tightly-packed club
  • Homemade trophy
  • Chauffeured by Kevin Thatcher
  • Standoff vibe from a few diehard NorCal vs SoCal holdouts

PQ Tony Hawk 5 Greats Consider Your Legacy 2000
Hawk SOTYPartyPrint CleanedUp DZ 2000

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 21 Subheads Haircuts 2000
  • Bowl cut
  • McSqueeb
  • Hurried, mangled cut to match David Spade’s hair for Police Academy 4
  • Buzzed—twice, briefly
  • Ponytail
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 17 Subheads Memories Of Filming For Powell Peralta 2000
  • Always rooming with Tommy
  • Laughing at Lance’s behind-the-scenes antics
  • Stacy disappearing after a stressful day in Bakersfield
  • Off-roading in the Caddy
  • Slamming at Wallows and getting my first staph infection—of many to follow
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 18 Subheads Tricks To Win Street Contests 2000
  • McTwist
  • Tail-drag manuals
  • One foots
  • Big-ass wallrides
  • Tail-grab noseslides
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 19 Subheads Advice From Stacy 2000
  • “Engage with your fans”
  • “Don’t get shitfaced” —He gave us this advice at the Future Primitive premiere
  • “Don’t break the 180” —In reference to angles of shooting/editing
  • “If you are going to start your own brand, trust your instincts because you have a good eye for new talent” —Paraphrased from when I left Powell to start Birdhouse in 1992
  • “Consider your legacy”


Hawk IrvineNSAFinals March30th1988 Mofo485 DZ 2000Choose your side: Hosoi vs Hawk. Vision Skate Escape, 1987    Photo: MOFO

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 24 Subheads Contest Adversaries 2000
  • Christian Hosoi
  • Danny Way
  • Jeff Phillips
  • Andy Mac
  • Tom Boyle
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 26 Subheads Tricks That Go Together 2000
  • Backside 360 ollie to frontside Cab
  • Invert to invert to fakie
  • Back lip to Madonna
  • 5-0 to fakie to Caballerial
  • McTwist to 360 varial—aka the crowd pleaser
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 25 Subheads Skateboards 2000

  • My first—Bahne, which is now in the Smithsonian
  • Sims Andrecht
  • Dogtown Triplane
  • First Cab model—propeller graphic
  • Sims Jeff Phillips painted by Kurt Cobain
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 27 Subheads Birdhouse Team Riders 2000
  • OGs: Jeremy Klein, Andrew Reynolds, Heath Kirchart, Willy Santos, Steve Berra, Bucky Lasek, Matt Beach, Ocean Howell, Jaws
  • Lizzie Armanto
  • Elliot Sloan
  • Shawn Hale
  • Reese Nelson


EIGHTIES4HAWK DZ 2000Spreading the stoke Down Under, 1988     Photo: Needham

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 22 Subheads Early Birdhouse Memories 2000
  • Laughing in the front of the van with Klein
  • Asking/begging for $300 from shop owners after we skated so we could eat, get gas and pay for one hotel room to share
  • Taking a reluctant crew on a field trip to Graceland in Memphis
  • Skating with two severely rolled ankles while still holding all the responsibilities of tour manager
  • Coming home with clinical cases of jock itch and athlete’s foot because we rarely had time for laundry
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 23 Subheads Absurd Things For Money 2000
  • Edit low-budget commercials
  • Fly to Japan to do skate demos INSIDE a small skate shop for a crowd of 20
  • Be a technical consultant on Hollywood shoots because I was “too old” to be the featured skater—at age 25
  • Talk about Toucan Sam as if he was my real-life extreme-sports buddy
  • Corporate speaking gigs—which I still do


img469 DZ 2000Backside melon over an SF “street spine.” Back to the City 2, 1991     Photo: MOFO

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 28 Subheads Reasons To Do A Board Company 2000
  • You love to gamble
  • You have a solid local crew and none of them have sponsors
  • You have a huge social-media following
  • You have found a niche audience for old-school shapes, freestyle boards or—slalom?
  • You have figured out how to recreate OG Bones Brigade decks that fool the most ardent experts
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 31 Subheads Wildly Small Ramps Youve Done 540s On 2000
  • Powell tour mini
  • A four-foot high, six-foot wide quarterpipe set up on grass loosely covered with plywood in Perth
  • Skank Skates (IYKYK)
  • Ocean Beach (Robb Field) over the hip
  • Bare Cover demo ramp—eight-foot wide, four feet off the ground, no flat bottom
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 29 Subheads Celebrity Encounters 2000
  • Tom Cruise “summoned” me to his house to meet about a 3-D film project that never happened
  • Meeting Tupac at an event in 1994
  • Christian Slater, Adam Corolla, Adrien Brody and Keanu Reeves all hopped in my car to get barbecue ribs before the Long Beach Grand Prix
  • Gave Kid Cudi, Miley Cyrus and Mark Wahlberg skate lessons at my ramp—all separately
  • Having coffee next to Chris Rock the morning after his Oscars debacle
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 32 Subheads Demo Enders When Ramp Is Garbage 2000
  • 540—on almost anything in my younger days
  • Flip dismount onto the deck
  • ’80s run: boneless, airwalk, Miller flip, Losi plant, rocket air, spaghetti western
  • A basic doubles over/under trick
  • Frontside disaster just high enough to break my board so I can’t skate anymore. Oops, that was supposed to be a secret


TonyHawkStaleFakieAtiba96 12 DZ 2000With leftover ramps from the 70s, Tony kept vert alive in the 90s. Stale fakie for a decent St Louis crowd      Photo: Atiba

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 30 Subheads Advice 2000
  • “Careful, the tide is going down and the wind is picking up.” —My brother, minutes before I bounced through a Fijian reef
  • “You should try stretching before you skate.” —Many people throughout the years
  • “You should invest in Uber with me.” —Chris Sacca, in 2010
  • “I should go see Joe Strummer perform.” —Me, in 2002
  • “Watch out—it’s pretty slow and bumpy.” —Bob Burnquist, regarding his loop just before I broke my pelvis, 2003
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 33 Subheads Terrifying Moments 2000
  • First loop attempt
  • Jumping between two seven-story buildings for MTV
  • Tow-in surfing in Maui
  • Jumping out of a hovering helicopter onto a perilous mountain ridge in Alaska on a snowboard trip
  • Realizing my leg was broken in two as I’m sliding across the flat bottom

Hawk XGames1995 CleanedUp KT DZ 2000Let the media blitz begin! Extreme Games, 1995     Photo: KT

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 44 Subheads Questioons They Always Ask 2000
  • Can I get a selfie?
  • When is the next game coming out?
  • What are you doing in town? Is there a skate event?
  • How’s your leg?
  • Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Tony Hawk?
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 45 Subheads Role Models 2000
  • Jack Black
  • Ted Lasso
  • Tony Conrad
  • Nick Cave
  • Robert Smith


Tony Hawk fakie edge grind Mt Baldy w Andrew Reynolds DSC 8003 BURNETT MAR 2020 DZ 2000Fakie scratch at Baldy while The Boss holds down the bridge, 2020     Photo: Burnett

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 46 Subheads Fast Food Items 2000
  • Bacon, egg and cheese biscuit at McDonald’s
  • Number 2 with no onions at In-N-Out
  • Rolled tacos with guacamole at Roberto’s
  • Turkey with provolone, avocado, mustard and peppers at Subway
  • Buffalo 66 at Plant Power
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 47 Subheads Friends For Life 2000
  • Catherine O
  • Kevin Staab
  • Greg Smith
  • Sean Mortimer
  • Jason Ellis
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 49 Subheads Tips To Do The Loop 2000
  • It’s a carve, not a trick
  • DO NOT PUMP
  • Get in a slight squat as you hit the transition and hold it all the way through
  • Only look a few feet ahead
  • Stay in the middle
  • Stand up only after you reach flat
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 50 Subheads Googles Searches 2000
  • Linea Micra espresso machine—wedding gift for Riley
  • Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival tickets—for my daughter
  • Crispin Glover rat movie
  • Reservations at Retro Vegas
  • The Clash “Stay Free” lyrics


Tony Hawk fs invert Vans HB park BURNETT 10 23 DZ alter Z 2000Frontside invert, last week at Vans, HB     Photo: Burnett

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 51 Subheads Greatest Vert Skaters 2000
  • Steve Caballero
  • Danny Way
  • Bucky Lasek
  • Bob Burnquist
  • Jimmy Wilkins/Tom Schaar
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 52 Subheads Street Skating Accomplishments 2000
  • Frontside 180 The Gonz Gap
  • Lipslide down Roosevelt rail
  • Backside 360 flip on Beryl Banks
  • Ollie over two stacked trash cans from the bank at
    School Q
  • Boardslide the Wilshire cathedral rail for Ban This in 1989
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 40 Subheads Thrasher Covers 2000
  • Rodney Mullen, October 1982, first flatground ollie
  • Jake Phelps memorial cover, June 2019
  • Felipe Nunes, November 2019, 14-stair 5-0
  • Jeremy Wray, November 1997, ollie between the water towers
  • Carabeth Burnside, August 1989, frontside air—first woman on the cover
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 48 Subheads Excuses To Get Out Of Something
  • I’ll be out of town that day (probably true)
  • Or, conversely: Sorry, but it’s the only day I’ll be home that week (less likely)
  • I gotta take my daughter to school/theater rehearsals/lacrosse/tumbling
  • That’s way past my bedtime
  • Tell them my appearance fee


PQ Tony Hawk 5 Greats Knowing They've Found Their Passions 2000

Tony Hawk bs ollie over Riley Hawk 2023 BURNETT DSC 2973 DZ 2000Family first—BSO over Riley Hawk’s lien tailslide     Photo: Burnett

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 34 Subheads Joys Of Fatherhood 2000
  • Hearing their laughter
  • Seeing them commit selfless acts
  • Knowing they’ve found their passions
  • Getting to skate with them all over the world
  • Being influenced by their tastes in music, media and fashion
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 38 Subheads Skateparks 2000
  • DMSR
  • Big O
  • Kona
  • SPoT
  • Warehouse: THPS
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 41 Subheads Fears 2000
  • The safety and well-being of our children
  • Hanging up
  • Getting caught inside on a big set
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Slippery ramps
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 35 Subheads Inappropriate Fan Requests 2000
  • Can you FaceTime with my friend/kid/mom real quick?
  • Do a 900 (on any given terrain)
  • Send me money
  • Please come to my wedding (I get these a lot lately)
  • Sign my ____ (fill in the blank with the most private of parts)
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 39 Subheads Dream Guests For Hawk vs Wolf 2000
  • John Oliver
  • Steve Buscemi
  • Larry David
  • Sigourney Weaver
  • Jeff Grosso
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 37 Subheads Shit That Doesnt Bother You 2000
  • Driving/traffic
  • Bubbles in my griptape
  • New trucks and bushings
  • Changing diapers—but it’s been a while
  • Bruises, cuts or lacerations
  • Haters talking shit online


Tony Hawk fs blunt linda Vista CA BURNETT DSC 7467 1 DZ 2000Frontside blunt in the Linda Vista taco, 2023      Photo: Burnett

Tony Hawk 5 Greats 42 Subheads Skaters Under 20 2000
  • Reese Nelson
  • Tate Carew
  • Ginwoo Onodera
  • Asahi Kaihara
  • Chloe Covell
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 43 Subheads Skaters Over 50 2000
  • Salba
  • Lance Mountain
  • Bucky Lasek
  • Andy Macdonald
  • My wife
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 53 Subheads Sketchy Styles 2000
  • You or me, depending on the day
Tony Hawk 5 Greats 54 Subheads Goals For The Future 2000
  • Help guide our kids into healthy adulthoods
  • Find a solution for my neck pain that allows me to keep skating
  • Help get more skateparks built
  • Get vert in the Olympics
  • Grow old with the love of my life

PQ Tony Hawk 5 Greats Get Vert In The Olympics 2000
Tony Hawk madonna to switch crooks vista ca BURNETT DSC 7164 DZ 2000Madonna to switch crooks fakie and the tricks keep coming. Thank you, Tony, for a lifetime of inspiration     Photo: Burnett
  • January 1989

    January 1989
    Cover: Jay Adams – Grind Photo: Hudson Inside This Mag: Thrash-A-Thon in San Luis Obispo and what skateboarding is all about in 1989Also In This Issue: An overview of contests, demos and other skate-intrusions in '88, pool skating in Cambridge and some snowboarding actionMusic Articles: The Sugar Cubes, Igor's record collection, Suicidal Tendencies and Eek-A-Mouse  
  • Winter 1988

    Winter 1988
    Cover: Tony AlvaPhoto: Kevin ThatcherInside: Best Of Thrasher: Our first 13th issue. Interviews with Mullen, Hosoi, Blender, and Smith.
  • December 1988

    December 1988
    Cover: Lance Mountain – Sad PlantPhoto: Ogden Inside This Mag Capitol Burnout in Sacramento with Lance Mountain, Micke Alba, Eric Dressen, Jason Jesse, Mark Gonzales, Steve Caballero and Ben Schroeder and skating in Germany Also In This Issue: Spotlight on skating in Boise, IDMusic Articles: Social Distortion and Guns 'n' Roses
  • November 1988

    November 1988
    Cover: Bod Boyle – Back Lip Photo: Kanights Inside This Mag: Jaks team in Santa Barbara and the World Cup '88 in MunsterAlso In This Issue: Metro D.C. skate report, the "Gotcha Grind" in Seattle and the O'Boy/Thrasherland/TNT Skate Shop series finaleMusic Articles: The Hard-Ons and Social Distortion
  • October 1988

    October 1988
     Cover: Dave Hackett – Frontside Grind Photo: Katz Inside This Mag: The Tracker Bluegrass Aggression Session at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY, skating in Albuquerque and a photospread of skating at a New Zealand canalAlso In This Issue: Pool sharks and gnarly skate injuriesMusic Articles: The Accused and happening bands from the East Coast featuring Living Colour, Soul Asylum, H.R. from Bad Brains, White Zombie, Gwar, Danzig and more