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Tony Hawk

by Arth from San Diego

 (www.telegraph.co.uk ())
(www.telegraph.co.uk ())

Tony Hawk is the world's greatest professional skateboarder. This is how he earned money to start his foundation, and has taken skateboarding to a whole new level.  He is also generous and inspirational. Frank Hawk, who is Tony's dad, was a U.S Navy Officer, and a small appliance salesman. Tony's mother, Nancy Hawk, was a homemaker, and a part-time business teacher. Tony Hawk was a really stubborn child back then. Tony Hawk suffered lots of depression when he was around 8-12 years old. Tony Hawk couldn't reach to his full potential and expectations. He found the Amateur Skateboard League when he was only 12 years old. When Tony Hawk was only 16 years old, he spread skateboarding across the world in 1980. The organization that helps builds skate parks is called the Tony Hawk Foundation. "Since its launch in 2002, the foundation has given away $860,000 to 222 skate park projects throughout the United States" (tonyhawkfoundation.org). I would consider Tony Hawk generous to kids, because he spent that much money for 222 skate parks just for kids. "In a citywide survey, kids identified a skate park as one of their top two choices, and the adults and kids went to work" (tonyhawkfoundation.org). This is why I feel Tony Hawk possess the qualities of a hero because he is generous and inspirational. Tony Hawk also inspired many kids to take up skateboarding as an activity or sport. He is also generous how he started his own foundation. These are reasons why it makes me think that Tony Hawk is a hero.

Tony Hawk is generous because he teaches kids to learn how to ride skateboards, he volunteers his time, and started a foundation to build skate parks for children. "Today, an estimated 12 million Americans own and ride skateboards with more than a million picking up the sport every year"(Tony Hawk). This shows how he made skate boarding a popular sport towards kids and teens. This proves that it leads kids to be more active. His goal was to support kids by building skate parks for at-risk children in low-income areas. "Tony Hawk's mission was to seek to foster lasting improvements in society, with an emphasis on helping children" (tonyhawkfoundation.org). "The foundation was established by an endowment from Tony, who continues to donate some of his public appearance fees. Significant contributions have also been made by our premium and corporate sponsors: Activision, Hot Bites, Quicksilver, Frito-Lay, Skate wave, and other private donors. The charitable, nonprofit Tony Hawk Foundation was established to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateboard parks in low-income areas. Since its launch in 2002, the foundation has given away $860,000 to 222 skate park projects throughout the United States" (tonyhawkfoundation.org). Tony Hawk's foundation has built many skate parks to support young kids that are interested in skateboarding as a hobby or a sport. Through his time and effort, Tony has brought skateboarding to the next level. The Tony Hawk Foundation was built to support cities for skate parks which will give the society for years to come. They built skate parks, by thinking outside the box (no blueprint).

 (en.wikipedia.org ())
(en.wikipedia.org ())

 Tony Hawk is inspirational, because he made skateboarding a true sport for everyone by doing a series of tricks that had never been done. Although many new skate parks are in the works, most serious skateboarders grew up feeling as if they're in constant conflict with the society. "Lacking parks where they can skate legally, they are repeatedly yelled at, cited, arrested, and labeled outcasts simply for doing the thing they love most-pursuing the sport that, in many cases, gives them their best sense of self-esteem"(tonyhawkfoundation.org). This shows how Tony was generous to kids, because he had developed many skate parks through most cities in the U.S. This also proves how Tony Hawk was really innovative. Tony Hawk has not only built skate parks in the U.S, he also built some in other parts of the world like India, Cambodia, and South Africa. "This Spring the Tony Hawk Foundation officially launched its International Program with a $100,000 grant to Skateistan, the education and skateboarding organization that serves at-risk youth in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa (tonyhawkfoundation.org).

Tony Hawk has inspired many kids to take up skateboarding as an activity or sport. He is also generous about his own foundation. His generosity supported kids around the world by establishing skate parks in many low-income areas with his money that he won in many skateboarding contests. These are a few of the many reasons why Tony Hawk is a hero.

Works Cited

"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. .

"Tony Hawk Foundation." Tony Hawk Foundation. Tony Hawk Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"Tony Hawk." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2000. Biography in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

"Tony Hawk." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2015. 


The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"Tony Hawk." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

Page created on 2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

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