Tony Hawk Sport Entrepreneur Extrodinaire

Tony Hawk Sport Entrepreneur Extrodinaire

Imagine studying about Tony Hawk. How did he become a success in his industry? What can one learn about him in regards to business? He has his own business, and people everywhere look up to him. One will discuss this individual in more depth.

Tony Hawk, who became the No. 1 skateboarder in the world at age 16 and is the author of How Did I Get Here: The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO (Wiley, 2010). Hawk, who started skating at 9, just released his 12th video game -- the newest piece of a billion-dollar franchise that consists of his video game series and clothing line (Schawbel, 2011).

One needs to discuss the history of Tony Hawk in detail. At the age of nine, he received his first skateboard. Since then, he keeps on going without stopping. By the time he was 14, Tony became professional (Cohn, 2011). At that time, he won much competition more "than any other pro-skater in history" (Hawk, 2011). Thorugh his endeavor, he became the first to land a full "900 degree turn at the X Games in San Francisco" (Entmoney, 2009, para 1).

When a sport is known for much partying in the heart of California, Hawk was uniqe in his approach. When "he was in high school, he used his winnings to buy a house in Carlsbad, and a few years later, he started his first company-Birdhouse-even though the skateboard industry was taking at the time" (Hawk, 2011, para 5). This was started in 1992. He knew that better days were coming as long as he persevered through all of it (Cohn, 2011).

For example, he realized in high school the skateboarding was more than a sport. Back then, skating was considered popular but nothing like it is now. Furthermore, people went on tours to win prize money and royalties through products that are offered to the market. He managed to buy his own house when he was in his last year of high school as a senior. Later on, skateboarding went on the wayside and skate parks were shutting down which did include liability issues. This was then considered an unacceptable sport for anyone intersting in joining it at the time (Cohn, 2011).

At that time, many thoughts he was insane. However, his goal was to become in control of his own destiny. What is interesting is that he took out a mortgage to pay for his own house. Furthermore, his partner was a skater too who went it on it with him (Entmoney, 2009). "I got $40,000 and Per put up $40,000, and off we went. It seemed like a big risk, but my heart was in skating" (Cohn, 2011).

He decided to go back into professional skateboarding, and he did well at it. "The X Games had just started, and I was winning most of the events. People recognized my name So I --and as a result, I started raising the profile of Birdhouse much more" (Entmoney, 2009).

This is how Tony defined success. "My definition of success is doing what you love. I feel many people do things because they feel they have to, and are hesitant to firsk following their passion" (Cohn, 2011). He was an optimistic man by noting that despite the difficulties for indiviudals that maybe it is an opportunity to restart in life to make the most out of every opportunity (Entmoney, 2009).

By the age of 41, he had his own empire. In fact, "he is the world's highest-paid action sports athlete, according to Forbes, with estimated earnings of $12 million last year" (Hawk, 2011).

For example, Tony Hawk sells all sorts of items. These include "skateboards, bicycles, shoes and his book" (Entmoney, 2009). Additionally, he also has video games as a part of his market. In fact, he sold "$1.6 billion since 1999" (Hawk, 2011). A couple of years ago, Hawk thought of using a controller for the skateboard. This later released as of November 17, and he was quite nervous about it back then. What is interesting is that it is based on motion sensors for this gadget, and the expected sales were possibly going to become that of $120 during the holiday season (McCurdy, 2010).

Since Tony had a strategy in mind, he named his business "Tony Hawk Inc. In Vista, California" (Entmoney, 2009). This is approximately 40 miles away from San Diego. The CEO and his truck rider wear jeans as well as a t-shirt. Furthermore, he did manage to have a skating ramp that is quite current with society today by means of doing product testing. Each employee has the thrill of enjoying it as well through Hawk's business (Hawk, 2011).

Some of his best decisions were made through following his intuition. In a video game "any time skating" was featured (Entmoney, 2009). He loved the idea from Activision, and did whatever he could to get involved with it. Hawk knew that he could make it something that people would enjoy as well when it is available on the market. This is because of his expertise as well as direction in the matter to make it all possible for the public to get the most out of the game. In essence, his goal was to make it to where video gamers and skateboarders could relish it. The goal was to make it wireless as well as have a skateboard a person could stand on when frolicking it (Entmoney, 2009).

Not every venture works out. For example, "we decided to invest in a high-end denim company and just kept throwing money at it because it had created a buzz, which was deceptive" (Entmoney, 2009). During that time, they believed that it would work out until realizing that people are paying $120 for jeans. As a result, Tony took away the fact that they had to get out of this opportunity because they were using their own money to keep that particlar business alive in the process (Cohn, 2011).

His family life is worth considering on how he became the entrepenuer he is today. "The biggest lesson I learned from my dad is to support children even if they're doing something that is unorthodox" (Entmoney, 2009). This is important because kids need to know that they are loved no matter what age they are in life. Ultimately, each of them become what they want to as they achieve their dreams in life, which makes all the hard work from parenting all worth it (Entmoney, 2009).

Tony Hawk had someone influence him in his career early in life. This is what he said

My first inspiration in skating in terms of guidance was Stacy Peralta. He recognized my talent and got me on the Bones Brigade, an elite group of skaters, and sent me to Florida

when I was 13 for this competition. I had never even traveled at that point, and it wasn't the type of terrain I was used to. I didn't do so well, but it taught me about being versatile and accepting the situation, and I was glad he did that. Then I went back the next year and did better, and the next year ended up winning or finishing in the top three. It taught me a lot about how to handle myself in adverse situations. So I think he was the one that took me and said, "You can do a lot more with this than you ever imagined" (Cohn,

2011).

Tony does provide advice for anyone wanting to start up their own business. He encourages individuals to follow their heart, and go this route because one loves it. The goal is to do something you would do regardless of pay (Cohn, 2011). "Even if it's not a huge financial success, you will still be happy. These things I am doing, I would do for free" (Cohn, 2011).

A process is needed when wanting to achieve one's goals. He encourages individuals to set goals for oneself. Someone is not supposed to think about the big picture in all circumstances because someone can easily get disappointed the entire time. In fact, a person can get so fixated on it, that he or she will not take a few steps back to realize that he or she is a success. For example, when Tony was focused on skateboarding so much, he realized that when he stepped back, that it was a dream he had no idea that actually came true (Cohn, 2011).

Through this, he said, "If you love what you're doing, all the other stuff falls into place" (Cohn, 2011). Furthermore, he does not consider himself an expert in business. Hawk did have his success and failure along the way. His humility is amazing because he mentions that he has much to learn in order to improve his organization. Sometimes he does not understand the concepts mentioned to him on a daily basis because all that makes sense to him is signing the paperwork for a house. Regardless, he has no idea what others are talking about but is willing to admit it (Cohn, 2011).

Hawk views everything as amazing in regards to how his life turned out. He wonders how he got there with moments like this at times. Tony learned of self-confidence along the way, which helped him to use skateboarding as his life. Furthermore, he is able to incorporate diversity and tolerance into his business. Deep down, he knew that people were wanting more than what they were seeing. Hawk loves his job, and considers this his job description.

After the 1999 X games, Tony decided to retire from competing with others. Despite him no longer having a part in getting this games going when he was in high school, he does manage to put on demonstrations as well as exhibitions around the world (Hawk, 2011). For example, Hawk does a "Boom HuckJam Tour which featured some of the top skateboarders, BMXers and freestyle motocross riders in a giant tour that played in large arenas and theme parks across the country" (Hawk, 2011). This happens on a worldwide basis because of how renowned his is with skateboarding and organization (Hawk, 2011).

One needs to note that Tony has won a plethora of awards. This includes that of the "Make-A-Wish's Favorite Male Athlete" (Hawk, 2011). Furthermore, he has many others, such as with Teen Choice or with Nickelodeon. What is interesting is that he has beat out many icons, such as Shaquille O'Neal or other individuals, such as Kobe Bryant. Because of how influential he is, Tony has dominated the sports industry through online media and many other avenues. Of all the people in the world, he is the most recognized for his sports endeavors, especially within the United States (Hawk, 2011).