Tony Hawk is emotional after nailing the trick for the last time. Photo / via Twitter
Tony Hawk is emotional after nailing the trick for the last time. Photo / via Twitter
Tony Hawk inspired generations of skateboarders and this video may leave every one of them feeling sentimental.
The 52-year-old posted footage of his determined attempt to land one final Ollie 540 — one of the outlandish tricks he ticked off his wishlist in the 1990s that sees him complete one-and-a-half rotations without grabbing the board.
Landing the trick was a challenge at the best of times but, as the footage shows, it's pretty brutal work for the action sports pioneer now he's middle-aged.
Hawk crashes off the ramp. Photo / via Twitter
Hawk falls to his knees time and again and at one point slides completely off the ramp. "Sorry," Hawk says. "I broke everything."
Breathing heavily, Hawk continues to return to the top of the ramp and it pays off.
After smoothly landing the trick he yells out excitedly before putting his head in his hands and dropping to his knees.
You see him get emotional as he fights back tears, before saying: "I'm a little sad. I never have much finality to anything but that was definitely the last one I'll ever do. F*** it, happy I made it."
Hawk farewelled arguably his most famous trick - the 900 - several years ago.
But he's still capable of landing a 720 despite retiring from competition back in 2003.
The Californian shared footage of him completing two full rotations in January, the first time he'd landed the trick in three years.
Hawk continues to return to the top of the ramp. Photo / via Twitter
"I recently made a 720 and it was a battle. The last one I made before this was over three years ago, and it's much harder now all things considered," Hawk wrote alongside his video.
"Recently dislocated fingers hinder my grab, my spin is slower so I need to go higher for full rotation and … I'm really old.
"I can't say for certain that this is the last one I'll ever do, but I can't imagine doing many more."
Hawk has been married four times and has four children. Despite amassing a personal fortune of more than $100 million he said he spent too much time on the road away from his family when it mattered.
"When it reached a crazy celebrity level in the early 2000s, then I fell into it (the celebrity lifestyle) a little bit more and that was a challenge," Hawk told news.com.au. "I was getting invited to movie premieres and Hollywood parties so that became more challenging.
"I went on one too many trips or to frivolous premieres or appearances that took away from my time with my kids and I definitely regret it. I should have stayed home more for my kids, especially in their formative years, but instead I was off and running.
"Suddenly I felt like these opportunities were once in a lifetime, I had to take them, but in reality they weren't worth the time away from my kids."
