Tony Hawk (born May 12, 1968) is an American professional skateboarder, considered the most influential skater in modern vertical skateboarding. He is credited with the invention of many aerial skateboard tricks including the Stalefish, Madonna, and McHawk, and over 80 others, but is most famous for being the first recorded skater to land the 900 (two and a half rotations—900°—in the air before landing back on the pipe) during the televised June 27, 1999 X Games, for which he received an enormous amount of attention. He was also the second skateboarder to land a McTwist, a trick named after a Mike McGill of the Bones Brigade, a skate team that Tony Hawk was originally a member of. It marked the next level of his rise to fame, solidifying his status as a household name. He retired from competitive skateboarding afterwards, but continues to skate and perform.

The father of three and husband of one, Tony Hawk is arguably the single most influential skateboarder of all time. Born and raised in the hazy daze of Southern California, Tony has forgotten more tricks than most people learn in a lifetime, and his contributions to the sport are endless -- most recently, unearthing skateboarding's holy grail by becoming the only person to successfully land a 900°.