Existing comment:
Tony Hawk born 1968
Born Carlsbad, California
As a performer and entrepreneur, Tony Hawk is the single most important figure in the modern history of skateboarding and the X Games. The development of sticky, adhesive skateboard wheels allowed athletes to do many more tricks and maneuvers with the board than had been possible with the first, hard compound wheels in the 1960s. Skateboarding appealed particularly to boys who took an edgy stance against mainstream team sports. Hawk gravitated to it because he needed to burn off energy as a hyperactive child. He quickly became adept, turning professional at age fourteen; he won the national skateboarding world championship twelve years straight and was the first competitor to complete a number of tricks, including two-and-a-half revolutions in midair (a "900"). A lanky, amiable presence with floppy hair and an oversize helmet, Hawk is transformed as he launches himself and his board into the air. He retired in 1999 but continues to do exhibitions, appear on TV and in movies, and market his line of equipment and clothing for X Gamers.
Rick Chapman (born 1966)
Selenium-toned gelatin silver print, 2002 |