Tony Hawk Rob Latour/Shutterstock
Put those hawk-like reflexes into good use! Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk is “an expert in creating lists of things people don’t know about me,” the sports icon joked to Us WeeklyWhile compiling only that.
Ever since Hawk, 54, burst onto the scene in the ‘90s, he’s become a cultural mainstay. While millennials know him best as a star athleteAnd video game connoisseur — the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series has been enormously popular for decades — the California native has also won over Gen Z due to his frequent social media posts about being awkwardly recognized (or not) in public.
“I recently got mistaken for Lance Armstrong and Tom Brady,” the athlete exclusively told UseThis is the latest mixup. The public’s mistakes, however, are not Hawk’s most embarrassing moment — that incident occurred in front of his fans.
Keep scrolling to find out the X Games winner’s single most embarrassing moment, as well as his first job, special talent and much more:
1. My favorite place I’ve traveled to is Iceland.
2. I have a collection movie props.
3. It was the first skateboard that I received. It was a hand-me down from my older brother. It was donated to Smithsonian 10 year ago.
4. On a typical Sunday, you’ll find me at home with my kids [Riley, 29, Spencer, 23, Keegan, 21, and Kadence, 14] — whichever ones are in town that weekend — and/or skating at my leisure.
5. Recently, I was mistaken for Lance Armstrong or Tom Brady.
6. My advice for aspiring skateboarders is [to] keep challenging yourself and try to learn different terrains/disciplines.
7. I can blow bubbles by using the saliva in my mouth.
8. The award or accomplishment that has meant the most to me was Thrasher’s Skater of the Year [in 1990].
9. My first job at age 11 was a paper route.
10. An egg and cheese bagel is my favorite dish in the kitchen.
11. The best advice I’ve ever received is, “Do what you love.”
12. Skate shoes that are semi-formal are my favorite item in my closet.
13. My first car was a 1977 Honda Civic Hatchback.
14. If I weren’t a skateboarder, I’d be in video editing.
15. The Cars was the first concert I attended.
16. The TV show I’m loving right now is The Old Man.
17. My most embarrassing moment was losing my own videogame in front of a live audience.
18. My favorite movie is Ridgemont High – Fast Times.
19. My worst injury from skating was a fractured femur in March 2022.
20. My favorite book is The Clash.
21. The most common misconception about me is that I’m retired.
22. I’m an expert in creating lists of things people don’t know about me.
23. Hot Wheels and I have teamed up to create a line for accessories and fingerboards for all skill levels. It’s available at Walmart.
24. The best present I’ve ever received was my first signature skateboard, which I gave to a friend when we were young. He recently gave it to me.
25. My most starstruck moment was meeting Muhammad Ali — and he knew my name.
