Tony Hawk Can Beat Up Your Dad

Why the birdman is the world’s coolest dad.


Your dad once bowled a 290? Great. But did he ever spin around 900-degrees while on a wooden board that was touching nothing but air…and land it? Tony Hawk is one of the coolest dads in the history of fatherhood. Not only is he the Wayne Gretzky/Michael Jordan/Bruce Lee/Cadillac of his sport, he’s also a successful CEO, author, philanthropist, he taught us how to make a skate video, and has a bestselling line of video games. The latest version, Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD, will be available this summer. And there’s no rest of this dad, as he’s about to embark on the Birdhouse Left Coast Tour starting July 14th, where you can see Tony and his crew do what they do best. But we’re sure your dad is pretty cool too…sort of.

Father’s Day at the Hawk House

Tony Hawk: It’s pretty mellow. Because it’s the summer, usually I’m on tour for Father’s Day, but hopefully I’ll have one or more of my kids with me. When I’m home, Father’s Day is a day of relaxing. I’m always trying to entertain my kids and we’re always doing stuff, but on Father’s Day I get to just hang out and not do anything.

Perks of Being a Hawk Child


I’m one of the most active dads in the neighborhood and the most participatory with the kids. We get some rare opportunities, like getting to go to movie premieres and TV shows.

Damn Kids With Their Music!


I don’t really complain about my kids’ music. They’ve gotten into rap quite a bit, and my one kid likes to blast it in our backyard skatepark, and once in awhile a song will come up and I’ll say, “I don’t think you should be playing the uncensored version of that song for all the world to hear.”

Damn Adults With Their Music!


They don’t like when I get into the ethereal stuff, like the mellow stuff that I listen to. Phantogram to them is just strange background noise.

Fatherly Advice: Buy A House


My dad gave me business advice early on, before the business side of things was even on my radar. He encouraged me to buy a house when I was 18. I had no idea what I was doing in terms of saving for the future. I thought I was invincible. That house saved me later on when things took a downturn.

Not Fair! You Made The Game!


My kids are not better than me at Tony Hawk Pro Skater. At one point my oldest son Riley was probably better, but now that I’ve been playing it incessantly for the last few months, no one’s going to beat me. I know my character and my special tricks inside and out. I can link combos for days and keep doing special moves. But my kids are still better at Halo. I just walk into a level and get blown away immediately.

What Should You Get Your Dad (Besides a copy of Hawk’s book)


I got one of those ollo clip lenses for my iPhone. They’re awesome. It’s a wide-angle lense for your iPhone that you just clip to the top. It’s for those times when you’re trying to get a photo and you need to get further back and you just can’t. It’s a perfect wide-angle. It’s really good for skate shots.

Just Another Day At The Office


The hardest part about touring is trying to stay consistent. When we do exhibitions, we’re giving it our all and if you get hurt, you’re still expected to skate the next day. That’s the biggest challenge of tours. That, and trying to do stuff that’s impressive every time. Coming home from a tour is like coming home from battle.

Check out the Birdhouse Left Coast Tour this summer! And give your dad a copy of his book, How Did I Get Here: The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO. Though be warned: After reading, your dad may expect great things from you. Great things.