As if his Pro Skater series wasn’t already printing its own cash, Tony Hawk keeps making more money than there are stickers on a 15-year-old’s skateboard. As Reuters reported, the skate legend recently sold the very board used to complete his iconic “900” trick for $1.15 million. Hey, I’ve got a barely-used Globe deck I could let go for, say, $22.
The 900 board (a Birdhouse “Falcon 2” deck) was used by Hawk at the 1999 X Games in San Francisco to complete the utterly bonkers two-and-a-half revolution aerial maneuver. Years later, Hawk called the trick “a personal achievement,” and said that even he was surprised by how much it meant to the sport of skateboarding.
“It was something that I have strived for for years and years and years, and in a lot of ways had given up on it,” Hawk said. “But I just didn’t think of the resonance that [it] would have.”
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The $1.15 million pricetag set a new record for skateboarding memorabilia and doubled pre-sale estimates. It was one of several history-making items auctioned off on Tuesday evening by Julien’s Auctions. That list included Hawk’s knee pads ($57,600), a helmet ($120,000), and one black-and-orange Adio sneaker ($64,000). Each item far exceeded the auction’s house estimates.
In a statement, Julien’s co-founder and executive director Martin Nolan said, “This historic result is not just a landing for Julien’s Auctions but for the culture of skateboarding and collecting.”
Don’t fret, though, as the money is going to a good place. Hawk, who wielded the mighty auctioneer’s hammer for the sale, is using proceeds to benefit his own The Skatepark Project. The nonprofit entity helps “under-served communities” by “[creating] safe and inclusive public skate parks for youth.” To date, the organization has helped build and maintain dozens of parks across the US, complete with a corresponding app to aid riders in finding nearby spots.
Relive the historical moment below. Seriously, the offer still stands for my Globe board…
