Hawk: Occupation Skateboarder - Softcover

Hawk, Tony

3.96

904 ratings by Goodreads

9780007336982: Hawk: Occupation Skateboarder

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007336985 ISBN 13: 9780007336982

Publisher: Willow, 2015

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The world's leading professional skateboarder and a hero to thousands of Generation Xers, Tony Hawk relives a lifetime of incredible highs and lows in the sport. Tony Hawk, aka The Birdman, has won more than 60 contests, invented close to 50 new manoeuvres and made skateboarding history at the 1999 international championships by landing the first ever 900 degree turn. A veteran of some 20 TV commercials for clients such as Gap and Disney, he is one of the leading heroes of modern-day youth culture. Growing up in Serra Mesa, California, Tony was a hyperactive, tantrum-throwing child, whose only outlet was through boarding. Initially mocked for being an unorthodox 'circus skater', before long the doubters were learning the tricks he had pioneered. Tony had invented a new style of skateboarding. His life has been a rollercoaster of incredible highs and spectacular crashes. Tony's quest to land the fabled 900 resulted in broken bones and spells of unconsciousness too numerous to mention. A millionaire at the age of 18 in the 1980s on the back of the boom in skateboarding, Tony fell into near destitution almost overnight when the fad died away. However he successfully reinvented himself as an extreme boarder in the 1990s and now owns two multi-million dollar companies, Birdhouse Projects and Hawk Clothing, has just produced the bestselling cult skateboarding movie 'The End' and released his own PlayStation game. In Hawk Tony goes behind the scenes of competitions, demos and movies and shares the less glamorous demands of being a skateboarder. With brutal honesty he recalls the stories of love, loss, embarrassing 80s clothes and determination that have shaped his life. Depsite the many ups and downs of his career, Tony Hawk's dedication has made him a god to generations of skateboarders and countless other Generation Xers. His story is a touching tale of perseverance and determination.

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Review:

As skateboarders go, only Bart Simpson is more renowned, which makes Tony Hawk the most famous human on four small wheels ever, and in Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder the icon takes us on a full-on thrash through his life to date--from his first rock'n'rolls to "that" trail-blazing 900--and talks candidly about what life as a pro has been like.

A hyper-active California brat, who found an outlet for his manic will to win--and an escape from High School bullying--down at the skatepark, little Tony became Hawk, and a pile of competition wins and signature moves later, finds himself knee-deep in endorsement dollars, hurtling round the world on a non-stop lipslide to superstardom. Sounds like fun? Of course it does, but remember, children, Hawk's How to know if you're a skateboarder, rule 5--you wake up in an ambulance with your front teeth missing.

Ligaments are usually torn, or at least a few inches longer than nature intended. I knew one skater who asked his doctor if his ankle should be able to move around "Like this". He then proceeded to bend his ankle to the side, and his ankle bone (that little ball on the side) split in two--his ligament had been torn in half years ago. The doctor started laughing.

There's no doubt that a gradually disintegrating body played some part in his decision to retire from competition--that and the moronic demands of the money men and the legions of fans for whom extreme skateboarding is just the latest MTV thrill, rather than a way of life--but the bottom line according to Hawk is that all the business of being number one was just background noise anyway.

The chronological "Hawk's tricks" directory is a nice touch, and reads like a history of the sport itself, but despite the meaty portion of the book given over to pictures, newcomers will be none the wiser about how he does it. This isn't an instruction book by any means: more of a "why to" than a "how to"--with Hawk strong on the joys of being in the international brotherhood of the board--and seasoned skateboarders will revel in this affirmation. --Alex Hankin

From the Publisher:

The world s leading professional skateboarder and a hero to thousands of Generation Xers, Tony Hawk relives a lifetime of incredible highs and lows in the sport.

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