Tony Hawk was born on May 12, 1968, in San Diego, California to Nancy and Frank Peter Rupert Hawk, and was raised in San Diego. He has two older sisters, Pat and Lenore, and an older brother, Steve.
As a child, Hawk was described as "hyperactive", and his mother stated that he was "so hard on himself and expected himself to do so many things." One time, Hawk struck out in baseball and was so distraught that he hid in a ravine and had to be "physically coaxed out" by his father.
His frustration with himself was so harsh that his parents had him psychologically evaluated at school. The results were that Tony was "gifted", as he was tested with an IQ of 144, so school advisers recommended placing him in advanced classes.
Hawk attended Jean Farb Middle School from 1980 to 1981, and eventually returned for the show Homecoming with Rick Reilly, where he set up a ramp and performed a skateboarding demonstration.
His parents supported his skateboarding because it served as an outlet for his excessive energy. Hawk's skills developed, and he became a professional skateboarder at age 14. He was officially the National Skateboard Association world champion for 12 consecutive years.
Hawk attended three high schools and graduated from Torrey Pines High School in 1986. He listed Steve Caballero and Christian Hosoi as his influences at the time.
In 1986, Hawk was a featured skateboarder and skater-double for Josh Brolin in the movie Thrashin'.
In 1987, he made a brief appearance in the movie Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol with David Spade.
In 1989, he appeared as a skateboarder in Gleaming the Cube.
In April 1990, Hawk married Cindy Dunbar, whom he began dating in high school.
Hawk's first child Riley Hawk, was born on December 6, 1992, and was named after one of Hawk's ancestors. Riley is also a professional skateboarder.
Hawk and Dunbar divorced in 1993.
Hawk was married to Erin Lee from 1996 to 2004. They have two sons, Spencer (b. 1999) and Keegan (b. 2001). Spencer is an electronic music producer who releases music such as Gupi.
A video game series based on Hawk's skateboarding, titled Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, debuted in 1999.
On June 27, 1999, Hawk became the first skateboarder to land a "900", a trick involving the completion of two-and-a-half mid-air revolutions on a skateboard, in which he was successful on his twelfth attempt. After completing the trick, Hawk said "This is the best day of my life."
Following the "900", Hawk decided to retire from professional competition that year.
In 2002, Hawk started a show tour featuring freestyle motocross, skateboarding, and BMX. It started in Las Vegas and went on to 31 cities around the U.S. and eventually to Six Flags amusement parks.
In 2002, he appeared in Neal H. Moritz's and Christopher Gilcrest's film xXx playing the role of one of Xander Cage's stuntman friends, and later in the movie, a skateboarder at a party.
In 2004, he played himself in the Australian skateboarding movie Deck Dogz.
Hawk was married to Lhotse Merriam from 2006 to 2011. Their wedding was held in Fiji and Rancid played for them as the wedding band.
In 2006, he made a cameo on the film Drake & Josh Go Hollywood as himself. Hawk also had a cameo in the movie The New Guy, and appeared in Jackass: The Movie with Mat Hoffman and Bam Margera, skateboarding in a fat suit and Jackass Number Two while skateboarding through an obstacle course. He was also in Jackass 3D.
Hawk appeared in the film following the 2006 Gumball Rally, 3000 Miles, again with Bam Margera. He also played the police officer who arrests Ryan Dunn in the movie Haggard: The Movie. Hawk also made a brief cameo appearance in Lords of Dogtown as an astronaut, where he is shown comically falling off the skateboard as he is a "rookie".
He voiced himself in the 2006 animated movie Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage, where he is kidnapped by circus freaks. He also starred in an episode of The Masked Singer.
A series of amusement park rides known as Tony Hawk's Big Spin was built in three Six Flags parks in 2007 and 2008. The ride was originally billed as the "Tony Hawk experience" and was designed to have the look and feel of a giant red-and-black skatepark.
It offered a full "extreme sports" experience, with monitors in the queue lines displaying highlights of the history of action sports and a large spinning Tony Hawk figure crowning the ride.
Hawk was invited to US President Barack Obama's June 2009 Father's Day celebration and skated in the hallways of the nearby Old Executive Office Building on the White House grounds. This marked the first time ever someone skateboarded on the White House grounds with permission from officials.
In 2009, Hawk was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony.
In 2010 Six Flags canceled its license and the rides were renamed Pandemonium.
In 2011, Hawk was still able to land the trick and posted a video on his Twitter account stating, "I'm 43 and I did a 900 today."
On June 27, 2016, at age 48, Hawk performed what he claimed would be his final 900. In a video posted on the YouTube channel RIDE Channel, Hawk said, "Spencer was there on my first one, and now he was there on my last", after successfully landing a 900.
In December 2011, Hawk was identified by Transworld Skateboarding magazine as the second most influential skateboarder of all time after Mark Gonzales.
Following an invitation from his former sponsor, Quiksilver, Hawk assembled a group of vert skateboarders to perform, in 2012, the first-ever vert demonstration to have occurred in India.
While in India, the group visited Mahatma Gandhi's house, the skateboarders were greeted by a very excited young audience and the 540-degree maneuver was executed during the skateboarding demonstration—the Indian trip was published on Hawk's RIDE YouTube channel on February 4, 2013.
In January 2012, Hawk launched the YouTube channel "RIDE Channel".
In January 2013, professional skateboarder John Cardiel, identified by Transworld Skateboarding as the eleventh most influential skateboarder of all time, listed Hawk as one of his personal all-time skateboarding influences, alongside Gonzales, Christian Hosoi, and Sacramento's skateboarders. Cardiel explained, "... the insane 540s with no hands, and, just like, all his tricks; he had the ramps, all his ramps, all the ramps he had—I thought that was insane. Tony Hawk's the best."
Hawk married his fourth wife, Cathy Goodman, on June 27, 2015, in a ceremony in Limerick, Ireland.
As of April 2020, Hawk is sponsored by Birdhouse, Vans, Independent, Bones, and Nixon. His current Pro model shoe is the Proto. Hawk was formerly sponsored by Theeve.