Tony Hawk once lost everything, sold his house, and lived off a $5-a-day Taco Bell allowance.
- BRAVE Vision
- Oct 15, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Tony Hawk is the greatest action sports athlete of all time and has a net worth of over $140M.
But did you know that Tony Hawk once lost everything, sold his house, and lived off a $5-a-day Taco Bell allowance?
Tony Hawk, born and raised in California, started skateboarding at the age of 9.
After winning amateur tournaments all over the state, Hawk turned professional at 14.
By 25, he had competed in 103 events, winning 73 and cementing himself as the best skateboarder in the world.
Tony Hawk is the greatest action sports athlete of all time and has a net worth of over $140M.
With skateboarding success from a young age, Tony Hawk was making $100,000 annually by the time was 15. At 17, Hawk bought his first home and went on to get a second one shortly after.
His biggest mistake?
"I spent like it was never going to end, and it ended quickly"
the "oscar" of BRAVENESS
“My income was dropping in half every month”
As skateboarding developed a bad reputation in the early 1990s, Tony Hawk started to see an impact on his wallet. To stay afloat, Hawk sold one of his houses, refinanced the other, and lived off a $5-a-day Taco Bell allowance. As sponsorships dried up, the majority of skateboarders switched to other careers.
Not Tony Hawk.
Hawk doubled down, creating his own brand "Birdhouse", certain that skateboarding would become mainstream. After a few years of "no sales", everything changed with one event...
In 1995 ESPN launched The X Games, a nationally televised extreme sports competition. Tony Hawk, still in the prime of his career, would win gold in 95' and 97'. To this day, Hawk still credits those medals with bringing the needed exposure to the sport of skateboarding. After his two X games gold medals, Tony Hawk's skateboarding brand "Birdhouse" blew up.
Within 5 years the business was doing $25M in annual revenue.
The craziest part?
That's not even what he's most known for... In 1999, Tony Hawk teamed up with Activision to create the Tony Hawk video game franchise. Based on pre-launch feedback, Activision offered Hawk a $500k buyout in lieu of royalties.
“I had never heard anyone say the words ‘Half a million dollars’ to me.”
In addition to success in business, Tony Hawk has continued to give back to the skateboarding community. Through his foundation, Hawk has personally given away over $10M to finance 620 skateparks throughout the United States.
Not bad for a kid that used to live off $5/day.
Tony Hawk made millions of dollars, lost it all, doubled down on himself, and came back to make even more. He is the perfect example of continuing to chase your dreams, no matter how unpopular they may seem to others.
Always remember, you won't regret betting on yourself.
“I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large.”―Tony Hawk
BRAVE Blog is in a mission to highlight the BRAVEST of us. If you are aware of any people who should have a tribute and should be featured in a BRAVE Stories please don't hesitate to contact us at info@bebrave.vision
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