Joshua Angrist
2021 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences | Ford Professor of Economics, MIT | Econometrics & Causal Inference
Tony Hawk
Legendary Skateboarder & World Champion | Entrepreneur | Founder, The Skatepark Project | NYT Bestselling Author | 16x X Games Medalist
Tony Hawk is the most recognized action sports figure in the world and one of sport's greatest crossover entrepreneurs. The first skateboarder to land a 900, 12-time world champion, and the face of a billion-dollar video game franchise, he built a business empire from a subculture that most of the world had written off. His keynotes draw on a lifetime of reinvention, brand-building, and giving back.
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Tony Hawk biography
Tony Hawk is the most recognized action sports figure in the world. Born in San Diego in 1968, he received a skateboard from his older brother at age nine and turned professional at 14. By 16 he was widely regarded as the best skateboarder on earth. He went on to become world champion 12 consecutive years, collect 16 X Games medals, and in 1999 land the 900 — two and a half aerial rotations — a trick considered impossible for the prior decade and one of the most celebrated single moments in sports history. He landed it on his final attempt of the night, well past the competition’s allotted time, on national television, surrounded by his peers. It has never been attempted by most professional skateboarders since.
As an action sports speaker, Tony Hawk is as significant a figure in entrepreneurship as he is in sport. When skateboarding’s popularity collapsed in the late 1980s, he refinanced his home to co-found Birdhouse Skateboards, which grew into one of the most respected skateboard companies in the world. In 1999, he partnered with Activision to create Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, which became one of the bestselling video game franchises in history, generating nearly two billion dollars in sales and introducing skateboarding to an audience that had never set foot on a board. The latest installment, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, launched in July 2025. Beyond gaming, the Tony Hawk brand expanded to include Hawk Clothing, the Tony Hawk Signature Series of sporting goods and toys, and 900 Films, his production company, which partnered with Google in 2012 to launch the RIDE Channel, the largest skateboarding destination on YouTube.
In 2022, HBO premiered Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, directed by Sam Jones, a critically acclaimed documentary exploring his career and inner life with a candor that surprised even his longest-standing fans.
The Skatepark Project and a Legacy Built on Access
Hawk’s most enduring contribution may be off the board. In 2002, he founded what is now called The Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation), a nonprofit dedicated to building public skateparks in underserved communities across the United States. The organization has awarded more than $13 million in grants to over 660 skatepark projects in all 50 states, serving millions of young people annually. In 2021, he also founded Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert, an annual professional vert skateboarding competition that has become the premier event in a discipline he has spent years working to sustain and grow.
Hawk is the author of two books: his New York Times bestselling autobiography HAWK: Occupation: Skateboarder, and How Did I Get Here? The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO, which chronicles the business journey behind the brand. As a speaker, Tony Hawk brings an authenticity and a story arc that no career in conventional business can replicate: decades of navigating boom and bust cycles, building a global brand from a niche subculture, and finding meaning in the sport long after the money and the fame arrived. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to book Tony Hawk for your next event.
Tony Hawk Speaking Videos
Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk Breaks Down His Skateboarding Career
Tony Hawk Keynote Topics
When skateboarding collapsed as a commercial category in the late 1980s, Tony Hawk did not pivot. He refinanced his house, doubled down on the sport, and built a company. In this keynote, he traces the business arc of the Tony Hawk brand from those early years of financial uncertainty through Birdhouse, the video game franchise, the clothing line, the production company, and the philanthropy, using his own story as a lens for exploring the principles of brand authenticity, long-term thinking, and what it means to build a business around something you actually believe in rather than something the market told you was safe. One of the most compelling entrepreneurial origin stories available on the keynote circuit, delivered by someone who lived every chapter of it.
Tony Hawk spent ten years attempting the 900 before he landed it. In that time, he fell more times than he can count, watched younger athletes rise past him, and was told by more than one coach that it could not be done. In this keynote, he uses that pursuit as a framework for exploring how resilience actually works in practice: not as a motivational abstraction but as a specific set of decisions made over years about what to hold onto, what to let go of, and when to act. He draws on his own biography across sport, business, and philanthropy to challenge audiences to think differently about the relationship between patience, preparation, and the moments that define a career.
Tony Hawk was building an audience before social media existed and has been a pioneer on every platform it has produced. With millions of followers across Instagram, YouTube, and X, he has navigated the transition from niche icon to mainstream celebrity to self-aware cultural institution with a consistency of voice and values that few personal brands in any industry can match. In this keynote, he examines what authentic brand-building actually looks like over decades: how to stay relevant without losing what made you distinctive, how to engage a community rather than just broadcast to it, and what the principles of the skateboarding subculture — its ethos of progression, inclusion, and creative freedom — can teach any organization trying to build a brand that people genuinely care about.
The Skatepark Project has awarded more than $13 million to build skateparks in low-income communities across all 50 US states, serving millions of young people every year. In this keynote, Hawk talks about the motivation behind the foundation, what he has learned from two decades of philanthropy about what actually changes lives, and why building a safe public space for young people to fail, learn, and grow in community turns out to be one of the most powerful investments an organization or individual can make. A keynote for audiences with an interest in corporate social responsibility, community investment, and what it looks like when a business legacy is measured in more than revenue.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Tony Hawk
Why Tony Hawk?
Tony Hawk is the rare keynote speaker who has built a global business from a passion most people considered a hobby. He landed the 900 when it was deemed impossible, turned a video-game franchise into a household name, and channeled the proceeds back into 650+ public skateparks. On stage, he is funny, direct, and refreshingly free of executive jargon, which makes his stories about reinvention, philanthropy, and brand authenticity land with audiences from Fortune 100 leadership teams to youth conferences. Book Tony Hawk through Aurum Speakers Bureau to bring four decades of action-sports innovation and entrepreneurial discipline to your next event.
What is The Skatepark Project?
The Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation) is a nonprofit organization founded by Tony Hawk in 2002. Its mission is to help underserved communities throughout the United States create safe, free, and high-quality public skateparks. The organization provides grants, resources, and advocacy support to communities pursuing skatepark projects, with a specific focus on low-income areas where public recreational infrastructure is chronically underfunded. To date, The Skatepark Project has awarded more than $13 million in grants to over 660 skatepark projects across all 50 states, with the skateparks built through its support serving millions of young people every year.
What is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4?
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is the latest installment in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game franchise, developed by Iron Galaxy and published by Activision. It launched on July 11, 2025, as a remastered collection of the third and fourth games in the original series, following the successful 2020 remaster of Pro Skater 1+2. The franchise, which began in 1999 with the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, has generated nearly two billion dollars in sales across its history and is widely credited with bringing skateboarding into mainstream popular culture, introducing the sport and its music, language, and aesthetic to an audience far larger than any competition broadcast could have reached.
What topics does Tony Hawk cover as a keynote speaker?
Tony Hawk speaks on entrepreneurship and brand-building from a niche subculture, persistence and resilience through failure, authentic personal branding and community-building in the social media era, corporate social responsibility and the impact of The Skatepark Project, and the lessons of a 40-year career navigating boom and bust cycles in both sport and business. He is a natural fit for corporate events, sales conferences, leadership summits, and any audience that responds to a story of genuine passion translated into lasting commercial and social impact. Aurum Speakers Bureau can advise on the right topic for your event and provide full details on Tony Hawk's speaking fees and availability.
How to book Tony Hawk as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Tony Hawk as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Tony Hawk's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Tony Hawk or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Tony Hawk speaking fee?
Tony Hawk speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Tony Hawk to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Tony Hawk.
How can I contact Tony Hawk?
We only work with Tony Hawk on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Tony Hawk and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Tony Hawk speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Tony Hawk for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Tony Hawk for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Tony Hawk is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Tony Hawk for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
