They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
But Tony Hawk is not a dog. And the 900 is not a new trick. In fact, he invented it. Seventeen years ago. And then yesterday, at the ripe old age of 48 — probably something like 130, in skater years — he stuck the trick one final time.
Take notes, kids.
For those of you too young to remember, Hawk pulled off the first-ever in-competition 900 at the 1999 X Games in San Francisco. That day is seen as one of the most important before/after moments in the history of extreme sports — skateboarding’s answer to the addition of the three-point line, if you will.
As he did the first time around, Hawk took a couple of nasty falls before successfully spinning himself around 2.5 times and sticking the landing. Afterwards, he took to Twitter to share the good news, saying: “I made my first 900 exactly 17 yrs ago. Today I celebrated by making it again at age 48. Thanks for the years of support.”
Keep on keepin’ on, Birdman.
Meanwhile, skateboarders of today have done changed the game yet again, continually innovating and pushing the sport beyond even what the legends could’ve dreamt up. Watch 12 year old Tom Schaar, who in 2012 stuck the first-ever 1080 in Tehachapi, CA:
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