Tony Hawk: "They Offered Me $500K For Everything, I Said No!" | Ep. 449 with Tony Hawk

Founder's Story

In this episode, legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk reflects on his journey from a hyperactive child to a global icon and entrepreneur. He dis

Key takeaways

• Tony Hawk took a second mortgage on his house to fund his skate brand, Birdhouse, during an industry downturn.
• He famously turned down a $500,000 buyout from Activision to protect his long-term royalties and brand integrity.

Main topics

• Skateboarding history
• Entrepreneurial risk and failure

Notable quotes

A skateboard and a steel mindset can change your life.

Conclusion

The episode serves as an inspiring masterclass on resilience, highligh

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) For many of us, going further isn't a choice. It's a feeling we can't ignore because ambition has a way of outgrowing where it began. Speaker 1 (0:11) Turning dreams into direction. Speaker 1 (0:17) Every journey brings us closer to the life we imagine. Speaker 1 (0:23) So, where will your journey take you? Etihad. Beyond Borders. Speaker 3 (0:29) A skateboard. Speaker 3 (0:32) and a steel mindset can change your life. Speaker 3 (0:37) You don't give up. I had put my body on the line so many times with that move for over 10 years. Threw out my back, broke my rib, came away limping every session without coming through. When I finally did it, it was like, oh, yes, I can put that behind me. Speaker 4 (0:55) Tony Hawk, the first man to land a 900, the name behind a video game franchise that did nearly $2 billion in sales. Then he put everything into building a business for skateboarders. Speaker 2 (1:08) You risked your house to start Birdhouse when skateboarding was dying. Conviction or insanity? Speaker 3 (1:15) A little bit of both. We were so full of our previous success that we felt invincible. And that was the hard lesson. What was the darkest moment? When you're so hyper-focused or something like that, you lose sight of... Speaker 4 (1:34) So Tony, I mean, this room is incredible. What is one thing in this room that we're in right now that if you could only hold on to that one thing, what would it be? Speaker 3 (1:44) Oh, wow. Speaker 3 (1:47) I didn't think this was gonna be so heavy out of the gate. Good question. I would say probably this board right here because it was one of the first signature Speaker 4 (2:00) models I had and one Speaker 3 (2:02) of the first ones I rode in 1982. So this is one of the first skateboards with my name on it and I actually rode this in two different competitions then. Wow. And then I gave it to an amateur skater at the time as a hand-me-down. and he gave it back to me about 10 years ago. So this one has like come full circle. Wow, Speaker 4 (2:21) that's amazing. So I know we went deep. We went deep right away. Speaker 3 (2:26) That's okay. I mean, I guess if I'm looking around, that's the one. What Speaker 4 (2:30) is that thing? Speaker 3 (2:32) This is a prop that they used in the movie hook for Robin Williams. Oh, Speaker 4 (2:38) yes. I remember that. Robin Williams' character rode this board and Speaker 3 (2:42) then fell off of it and it shot up and went through a basketball hoop and landed back on him. Speaker 4 (2:48) Wow. That's Speaker 3 (2:49) amazing. It's Speaker 4 (2:50) not Speaker 3 (2:50) rideable, but I just love how it looks. It's bamboo. It's such a great prop that they put time and care into making. Speaker 4 (2:59) I mean, it stands out. It stands out for sure. Yeah. Let's go back to your history. Because I grew up, I wanted to be a skater, but I was horrible at it. Rollerblades were my thing. I was doing on the curb, getting injured every other day. And I realized this isn't going to be my profession. Speaker 3 (3:17) When Speaker 4 (3:18) you told people around you, your family, friends, that this is the thing you're going to do, did they think you were crazy? Speaker 3 (3:23) I was so young, it wasn't even really a concern. that I'm choosing a career because, and I guess if I had to put it in the context of inline skating, like inline skating in the 90s was a viable career option. People were making money at it. People were professional at it. When I started skating, yeah, people were professional, but that didn't mean they made any money. It just meant that they had their name on a skateboard and that they might be able to win $100 first place in a skate competition. Like that was peak skateboarding in 1980, 81. So when I chose to do it, I was only 11, 12 when I got serious. And, you know, it just didn't feel like I was choosing a career. So they didn't, I didn't really get, I mean, people made fun of my skating, my skate style, but my friends and family just thought, thank God he's got somewhere to go. to focus his energy because I was like just a ball of hyperactivity, as they used to say. That was the term in the 80s. Speaker 4 (4:31) No ADHD then. It didn't exist. They Speaker 3 (4:34) called you hyperactive. And most of us wore that as a badge of honor. Speaker 2 (4:38) Was that always been a passion or do you have any other passions? Skateboarding? Yeah. Speaker 3 (4:43) Yeah, in board sports in general. So I was surfing as long as I've been skating. Not nearly as accomplished at it, of course, but... And Snowboarding, when Snowboarding was created, basically. And the only other... A hobby or passion that I had before that was playing violin. Speaker 4 (5:07) And Speaker 3 (5:08) I played violin until I was about 12, and that is when my violin teacher got upset with me because I would go off to skate competitions on the weekends and not play in school concerts. and Speaker 4 (5:22) he told Speaker 3 (5:23) me I had Speaker 4 (5:23) to choose. What do you think would have happened if you... I Speaker 3 (5:25) mean, I Speaker 4 (5:26) don't think Speaker 3 (5:27) I would have been, you know, some maestro violinist, but... Could Speaker 4 (5:32) you imagine if you stopped skating for violin? Speaker 3 (5:34) There's part of me that regrets listening to him because I miss being able to do it. Like, I tried to pick it up, and it wasn't like riding a bike. It's hard. There's so much nuance, and, you know, there's obviously playing an instrument is something, but the fact that he made me choose... uh was seemed mean to me You know, but maybe he was right because Speaker 2 (5:59) do you still remember that teacher? Speaker 3 (6:01) No, no, Speaker 2 (6:02) I'm wondering I'm curious what he would think of it like making you the decision Maybe he Speaker 4 (6:07) thinks he helped you choose the right path. Maybe Speaker 3 (6:09) yeah, maybe Yeah, he did also. I mean he sometimes I literally couldn't play some shows because I was injured So for him it was like that's just a that's non-negotiable Speaker 4 (6:22) At some point I read that you were making more than your teachers. However, though, you then went to living on $5 a day Taco Bell because of the changes in the industry. Were you close to quitting? Speaker 3 (6:34) I was never going to quit skateboarding, no. Because... I mean, look, I started doing it when it was the furthest thing from cool you could do. I started doing it when my classmates would make fun of me for skateboarding. It to the point where they say, haven't you all grown that yet? When I was 13. Right. So I was already used to the ridicule and I just loved doing it. Like I didn't do it for accolades, obviously. I never I didn't get into it because I thought I was going to be rich or famous because nobody was rich or famous. So when it took a downturn in terms of. an industry, a business, and in popularity. I just knew I had to find a way to make a living, but I was never going to quit skating. Speaker 2 (7:16) You risked your house to start Birdhouse when skateboarding was dying. Conviction or insanity? Speaker 3 (7:24) A little bit of both, I think. I knew I wanted to be still in the skate world, industry, business, whatever you want to call it. And I think I had enough. experience and belief that I saw skateboarding come and go already two times by the time we're talking about 1992 is when I started Birdhouse and I thought well then that means it's cyclical and maybe it will come back around again and Speaker 3 (7:58) Obviously, my time as a pro must be coming to an end because I'm old now. I was 24. And so I was considered old for a pro skater. I was considered outdated as a vert skater, as a halfpipe skater. And so I thought, okay, I'm going to start a business and be behind the scenes and then curate a team and aesthetic. Speaker 3 (8:24) just do our own thing and that's what we did but um it was it was hard like the the first four years of birdhouse were not profitable uh and i did i had i took a second mortgage out on my house and selling that house for what i owed on it moved into a much smaller place and uh scrimped and saved and you know ate Speaker 3 (8:49) instant noodles and Taco Bell peanut butter and chili sandwiches for years. But I never, you know, when looking back, it wasn't like I was, felt like I was struggling or felt like I was trying to figure out where my next meal, it wasn't like that dire. It was just, I had to cut back. If I wanted to keep skating, I had to cut back. And I, at that point, was provided for a family. So I was doing everything I could to make up for that by doing, I learned how to edit video back when video was just coming into digital form. So I was kind of ahead of the game. And so I did freelance video editing for about a year. Speaker 4 (9:36) To make ends meet. If somebody was to ask you to become a legend pioneer icon that you are, is it possible to do without such sacrifice? What would you say? Speaker 3 (9:48) I don't, that's tough. I feel like in my time, no. I mean, I was completely obsessed with skating and really with my own skating and focused on it and wanted to just keep getting better at it, probably to a fault because I had success, but I was never resting on my accolades. And it wasn't about the trophies anyway. It was about getting better, getting better, getting better at it. And when you're so... hyper-focused and stuff like that, you lose sight of everything else. Relationships, um, and how to prioritize your time and, you know, you get, uh, you get obsessed. Possessed. Speaker 4 (10:40) Possessed, I like that. Speaker 3 (10:41) Um, but... I think with what I know now and how I can allocate my time and prioritize it, it was something I had to learn the hard way. But I feel like if you're asking me, is it necessary? There are probably resources available now that I definitely didn't have that could help you to balance that out. Speaker 2 (11:06) Activision offered you half a million dollars to give up future royalties. Why did you say no? Speaker 3 (11:15) Only because I... Speaker 3 (11:19) luckily found myself in a position that I was not trying to, that I wasn't living paycheck to paycheck anymore. And that had just, I had just turned that corner. And I had a new house with a mortgage I could afford. And when they offered me that money, yes, that sounds fantastical. I mean, I never heard anyone even speak numbers like that in front of me. Because when you say half a million dollars, it sounds like half a gazillion dollars. But I realized that I'm doing all right. And