Even though he officially retired from competition more than two decades ago, skateboarding legend and entrepreneur Tony Hawk seems to be everywhere these days. If you’re an avid video game player, you can watch him (or maybe even help him) defy gravity in a long-running series. If you watch TV, you might catch him pitching Qunol turmeric gummies.
If you’re a fan of podcasts, perhaps you’ve heard his weekly “ Hawk v. Wolf” (with Jason Ellis). If you live in an underserved community, you might see the Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation) working to fund your neighborhood skate park.
And, if you tuned into the 2024 Paris Olympics over the summer, you might have spotted the 56-year-old Snoop-adjacent during the skateboarding finals. (His skateboard company, Birdhouse, is a sponsor of Team USA’s Tom Schaar, who took home a silver medal.) And, even though he lives in San Diego (where he was born and raised), you also might well spot the Birdman in Los Angeles, where he finds himself on a not-infrequent basis.
When I caught up with him recently, Hawk not only had a jam-packed perfect SoCal Sunday to share but he also had suggestions of special places that boarders from beyond our borders might consider seeking out when they eventually make their way here to compete in the 2028 Games: the “iconic” handrail at Hollywood High School (“There are actually two, but one’s bigger — and that’s a proving ground”) and Sunset Car Wash , which is now u.