Hawk is improving communities, one skate park at a time

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T

ony Hawk is the face of professional skateboarding.

The California native has built an empire out of the sport, which, until his arrival on the scene, had existed largely on the periphery of society, struggling for legitimacy and often dogged by a negative image. But Hawk has used his emergence as a household name and worldwide superstar to give skateboarding the attention and respect that he and many other enthusiasts have always felt it deserved.

In 2002, Hawk established the Tony Hawk Foundation, a not-for-profit group dedicated to supporting and empowering youth with a focus on creating public skate parks in low-income communities. To say that there was a need for his foundation would be an understatement—with more than 13 million skateboarders in the country and fewer than 3,000 skate parks nationwide, most children are forced to resort to other means to participate in their favorite sport. But since the foundation’s inception, Hawk and his cohorts have helped build and fund more than 250 parks in the U.S.

On August 10, Hawk and fellow skateboard pros will be at the Ross School’s lower school in Bridgehampton for the first Activision Presents Stand Up for Skate Parks Benefit Event. It will be the first east coast installment of the annual fund-raiser which ordinarily takes place each year in Los Angeles.

Before his visit to Long Island, Hawk spoke with The Southampton Press about the upcoming benefit, the work his foundation has been doing and his motivation for helping kids across the country find a safe and fun place to skateboard.

Question:

What was your main motivation for starting the foundation and making it such a huge undertaking?

Tony Hawk:

Growing up, I was living near one of the last remaining skate parks in the U.S., and it was pure luck that it happened to be where I grew up. It was my sanctuary. I spent as much time there as I could and I found the bus route from school that was closest to the skate park. I felt like I had a community there and it was

safe. I really thrived there and because of that, I saw all these kids that didn’t have a place to go and getting berated for skating on public property, and I saw that there was a need there. I have a genuine concern for kids, so I wanted to do what I can. People will tell kids that they can’t skate on public property or in the mall parking lot, but they don’t provide a place for them, so what are you really showing them?

Q:

When did you decide to do an east coast benefit and how and why did you choose the Hamptons as the location? How will it differ, if at all, from the benefit you do in California?

TH:

We were discussing trying to do something in New York or possibly Miami, and there seemed to be more support for the foundation in the New York area. Some of the people who had come to previous events in Beverly Hills had plenty of connections or lived near the Hamptons or own houses in the Hamptons. And to be honest, the amount of room it takes to put on an event like this would be really tricky somewhere like Manhattan.

The biggest difference is that at the benefit in California, we usually do an exhibition with skateboards and BMX and we bring the ramp, but it’s more freestyle. We just invited a bunch of pros and let them go wild. This time, we’ll be on the road with our tour, so in a sense we’re bringing our tour to the event and we’re going to do part of our show in the event. It’s much more choreographed and tight, which I’m excited about. We’ve never brought that element to our event, and we’ve also never had motocross. It’s much more of a combined effort as opposed to just showing up and doing whatever we want to do. It’s more spectator friendly.

Q:

What is it about skateboarding that children, particularly young boys, find so appealing?

TH:

I think it’s the adrenaline and the individual aspect of it. You don’t have to rely on a team and you don’t have a team relying on you. You don’t have to stick to a regimen or a practice schedule. The biggest pull of skating is that it has constant action. You step on a board and it’s happening, it’s not like you are waiting for someone to pitch the ball. It appeals to the MTV generation, that instant gratification.

Q:

So why are there so few skate parks in this country? Does it have to do with a stigma that is attached to skateboarding?

TH:

I think initially the number was so low for several reasons. One is the liability and secondly, the city councils and community can be slow to change. They see people skating, but they’re more apt to pass it off as a fad or trend, or something people won’t be into anymore. But more kids are skating than playing Little League. The reason it’s come on so strong lately is because people who are adults that used to skate are now in positions to influence those decisions. They’re active members of the community, not just fogey board members.