Anthony Frank (Tony) Hawk (born May 12, 1968 in Carlsbad, CA) is widely regarded as the most famous skateboarder of all time, and is considered the pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding. Hawk is sometimes referred to as the "Birdman". He graduated from Torrey Pines High School near Del Mar in San Diego.
Introduced to boarding by his brother, Hawk showed himself a prodigy, turning pro at the age of 16 as a member of Powell Peralta's Bones Brigade. He was also one of the first skateboarders to have a pro model shoe, produced by Airwalk. The first being Natas Kaupas with a shoe on Etnies, the second being Steve Caballero with a shoe on Vans, and then Tony's.
As of 2004, Tony has won 80 competitions and invented numerous historic tricks. In 1985, he landed the first "720" (a 720 degree, or 2 full revolution spin), and in 1999, he became the first skater in the world to successfully complete the "900" - a 900 degree, 2.5 revolution spin, which some considered to be the 'holy grail' of skateboarding. It occured at the 1999 X Games after 11 failed attempts, and easily won the Best Trick competition by a large margin in the process.
