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People not recognizing Tony Hawk as Tony Hawk is the most hilarious and wholesome thing ever

The skateboarding legend is regularly asked if he's related to Tony Hawk.

Tony Hawk/Twitter, @srileyvart/Twitter

My best friend lives in San Diego. One day a few years ago, her teenage son came home and told her he'd made a new friend at the skate park. He talked about how they had struck up a conversation, the guy had given him some pointers, and they'd chit-chatted about this and that. "He was really cool," her son said. Then he showed her a selfie they'd taken together.

Yeah, his "new friend" was the skateboarding icon Tony Hawk. True story.

Tales of Tony Hawk not being recognized as Tony Hawk—even for people who actually know who Tony Hawk is—have become the stuff of legends. The 56-year-old made a name for himself in the skateboarding world decades ago and is credited with bringing the sport into the mainstream. Even in 2020, he was listed among the Top 10 skateboarders of all time. He's had his own video game, cameos in film and television shows, his own clothing line—everything, apparently, but a recognizable face.

The "people not recognizing Tony Hawk as Tony Hawk" thing is so common it's become a meme of its own. Hawk himself jokes about it all the time, sharing hilarious interactions he has with people on his Twitter account.

This one from a couple of years ago has re-gone viral:

Which is just one of many similar stories. Hawk told Business Insider that it happens often, but he only shares the interactions that are the funniest.



Now the meme itself results in some funny interactions with people.


People's funny reactions to the meme are becoming their own meme: "I will know Tony Hawk when I see him."




Part of what makes the whole thing so delightful is that Tony Hawk himself is so delightful. He's down-to-earth, friendly, doesn't take himself too seriously, does a lot of connecting out in the community, and is just a genuinely likable guy.


And to top it all off, he's still a heck of a skater. Though he retired from the pro circuit in 1999, he still skateboards for fun and charity. In fact, he recently landed a 720—two full 360-degree turns in the air off a ramp—which isn't easy for even a young skater to pull off, and then auctioned the board to raise money to help build more public skateparks. (He did say it might be his last time pulling off that trick, but who knows. Good for him for pushing the age envelope.)

Tony Hawk—skating legend, father of five, nice guy to all, supporter of community parks, and man that everyone adores but nobody recognizes—thanks for being such a ray of sunshine in our world. May we know you when we see you, or at least be entertaining enough to make your Twitter account if we don't.


This article originally appeared on 3.12.21

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Two 12-year-old girls qualified to compete in the first-ever Olympic skateboarding event

Sky Brown/Instagram, Kokona Hiraki/Instagram

Very few 12-year-olds get the chance to make history, but a pair of skateboarding phenoms may be headed to Tokyo this summer to do just that as two of the youngest-ever summer Olympians.

Kokona Hiraki and Sky Brown aren't you're typical skateboarders, nor are they your typical preteens. You don't get to the Olympics at 12 by being ordinary. Both girls have qualified to compete in the first-ever Olympic skateboarding event, with Hiraki skating for Japan and Brown representing Great Britain. Both girls compete in the park skateboarding event, which involves doing tricks on skate park-style ramps and bowls. Street skateboarding, which involves tricks done on stairs, handrails, benches, walls and slopes, will also be making its debut as an Olympic sport.

Brown currently ranks as the third-best female park skateboarding competitor in the world at age 12 (though she'll be 13 by the time she reaches Tokyo). Hiraki ranks sixth in the world. At age 12.

Did I mention they are 12 years old? TWELVE. Unreal.

Hiraki will compete as the youngest Olympian ever from Japan. Five of the top ten ranking female park skaters, including the top two, are Japanese, so competition from the country is fierce. But Hiraki told The Japan Times she didn't let nerves get the better of her at the qualifier.

"I was enjoying it just as usual," she said. "I wasn't as nervous as usual."

Sky Brown would have been Britain's youngest ever Olympian if the Olympics hadn't been postponed by a year, but that year turned out to be a good thing for her chances to compete anyway. In June of 2020, Brown suffered horrifying injuries during a training fall in which she fractured her skull and broke her wrist and hand. The fact that she was able to recover, continue training, and then take home second place in the Olympic qualifier is truly something.


Brown doesn't seem too fazed by any of her skating success or the pressures many athletes feel trying to get to the Olympics. "I'm always wonderfully surprised to see where it takes me," she told ESPN. "So, I'm not too stressed about the Olympics. I just want to see what happens and enjoy the journey."

Gracious, these babies and their cool-as-a-cucumber confidence.

Last year, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk told ESPN that Brown is "a unicorn" in the world of skating.

"She has incredible potential," he said. "She could definitely be one of the best female skaters ever, if not one of the best, well-rounded skaters ever, regardless of gender. She has such confidence, such force, even at such a young age. The way she's able to learn new tricks and the way she absorbs direction, it's so rare."

Whether they end up medaling or not, to qualify for the Olympics at 12 is extraordinary and their futures in the sport are incredibly bright. Go, girls, go.

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Tony Hawk helped create a song for an autistic teen who is soothed by skateboarding rhythms

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Odin Frost has always loved the sound of skateboarding, especially the rhythmic sound of the wheels rolling over wood. As a nonverbal autistic young man, having tools for soothing distress and anxiety is important for Odin, and his parents say he connects with music and different kinds of rhythms.

Tim Frost, Odin's dad, sent legendary skater Tony Hawk an email inviting him to collaborate with him and Odin on a musical piece based on the sounds of skateboarding. The idea was that they could use skateboard sounds as percussion and build a song around it. Not only did Tony agree to help out, but he did a special recording of a run on the half pipe specifically for Odin and Tim to use for that purpose.

If Odin looks familiar, there's a good reason for that. We shared his life story last summer, when photos of him and his best friend Jordan went viral after their high school graduation. Both boys had both been given slim chances of survival and had overcome tremendous obstacles to graduate from high school, and their story of friendship, perseverance, and family support touched millions.

Upworthy was thrilled to learn about Odin had gotten a chance to meet his hero, Tony Hawk, and we recently caught up with both Tony and the Frost family to chat about their musical endeavor and what it was like for them to meet one another.

Despite living very different lives, Tony told us that he identifies with Odin in a couple of ways. One, he understands what it was like to be different from other kids growing up, and celebrates what's good in that experience. And two, he knows how having parents who support you makes all the difference in the world.

"You can see that Odin thrives from it," Tony told us. "I met him. I can tell that he's right there with them. You know, on the surface, from the outsider's perspective, you don't understand how in tune he really is with everyone."

Tim shared how he came up with the idea of making a song based off of Tony's skateboarding with and for Odin, and Tony explained how it helped him see skating in a whole new way.

"I think I didn't understand the potential of it until I heard the song they created," said Tony. "I think that one thing that Odin has taught me is that there is a zen of skating in just the motion and the sound of it that maybe I never had tuned into."

Imagine teaching the world's most recognizable skater (at least by name) something new about skateboarding. But as Tony said, "We learn from each other." Indeed we do. What a delightful match-up of creativity and humanity this collaboration turned out to be.

You can see more of the Frosts' story about connecting with Tony Hawk and listen to the whole song they created here. (The song begins at the 2:00 mark.)

Dropped In -Featuring Tony Hawkyoutu.be

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How one man is helping at-risk youth by providing a place to do what they love.

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Nowadays, it feels like skate culture has become synonymous with Long Beach. But it wasn't always that way.

In fact, before the year 2000, Long Beach, California, didn't have a single skate park to its name. But Mike Donelon, a former city councilman, helped change that.

In 1996, Donelon noticed more and more kids around the neighborhood picking up skateboards. But they didn't have a safe — or even legal — place to skate. Kids ended up skating on private property or the streets most of the time, which led to them being ticketed by police or getting into serious accidents.

Donelon knew that if he could provide a proper venue for the kids to skate, they'd take full advantage of it.

All images via ASK, used with permission.

But many members of the community were against the idea. They latched on to negative stereotypes such as kids destroying property and thought more skating would lead to more crime.

"Most of the opposition was the unfounded negative impression of skateboarders," Donelon writes in an email.

But Donelon, who calls himself a "a rebel with a positive mission," had a plan to enlighten the naysayers: have the kids talk to the community themselves to highlight just how important this was to them.

The plan was a success. Says Donelon: "I was blown away by the kids' involvement. We would invite 25 kids to a meeting and 50 would show up."

The city listened. In time, the kids had a skate park they could call their own.

In 2000, Donelon helped open the El Dorado Skate Park to finally give kids a safe and legal place to do their thing. But soon after, Donelon saw that skate parks could have an even bigger effect in the community.

When he noticed kids from all over Long Beach traveling long distances to enjoy El Dorado Skate Park, Donelon realized that expanding the program and building more skate parks across the city — including in under-resourced areas — would engage at-risk youth unlike ever before.

In 2003, the Michael K. Green Skate Park was established.

The best part? After just three years, the city of Long Beach let Donelon know just how effective the skate park was. According to Donelon, drug-related incidents and violent crime have dropped in that neighborhood since the skate park was built.

To keep this incredible momentum rolling, Donelon then founded the Action Sports Kids Foundation (ASK), where he now serves as executive director.

Their main mission is to provide at-risk youth with an alternative to gang life through action sports, education, and community activities. And since day one, they've been flourishing.

Mike Donelon (left) and ASK team co-founder Alberth Mimila.

"Our team started with 8 kids in 2011," writes Donelon. "We now have 180 members with 60 that show up to our monthly meetings."

ASK also regularly invites guest speakers to share their wisdom — from the mayor to the police chief to professional skaters and their official teams. ASK even hosts fun events like best trick contests and field trips to other skate parks in the city.

Since its inception, ASK has undoubtedly played a major role in changing countless lives and establishing eight skate parks across Long Beach.

In fact, legendary pro skater Tony Hawk uses ASK as a model in his own foundation to show cities across the country just how effective a skate park program can really be.

"Skateboarding and skate parks give at risk youth a sense of belonging to something positive," Donelon writes. "It works and we are proof."

Donelon and Tony Hawk with the kids of ASK.

ASK welcomes anyone to come in and join their mission. All you need to do is reach out to them to let them know you're interested, and they'll find the perfect spot in their organization where you can help out. You can also attend any of their upcoming events to see how they're creating change firsthand.

If you're unable to work with them directly, though, there are so many other ways you can make a similar impact in your community. Whether it's becoming a mentor, throwing events to shine a light on important issues, or even reaching out to your local government about starting your own skate park, there are countless ways to follow ASK's incredible example.

At the end of the day, if there's anything that their story shows us, it's how creating lasting change in the community simply starts by listening to the people who make it so special.

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