Tony Hawk's 50th Birthday Party Photos

On May 12th, we celebrated the 50th birthday of one of the most important figures in skateboarding (if not THE most), the great Tony Hawk. Cathy Hawk (Tony’s wife) and I spent three months planning the surprise, and compiling the invite list alone was harder than landing a 900. The surprise went over great, though, or maybe Tony is just a great actor. The night was filled with an awesome video by Matt Harrington, great speeches by Rodney Mullen, Eric Koston and Lizzie Armanto, then we had an all-star lineup of bands for Tonypalooza: Mark Mothersbaugh from DEVO played an amazing remix of “Jocko Homo,” changing the words to wish Tony a happy B-Day. John Doe and Exene from X did an amazing five-song set. Lastly, the Poptones, which features members of Tones on Tail, Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, played a set of their classics. The crowd was a mix of old and new friends, and the entire Chin-era Bones Brigade was in attendance, so there were plenty of fan-out moments. It was great to see the biggest star in skateboarding still party like a rock star at age 50. —Atiba Jefferson

TonyAndCathyHawk 750pxTony and the host, Cathy Hawk. She knows how to throw a party!

TonyHawkSuprised 750pxC’mon, who doesn’t love a good surprise party?!

TonyHawkTommyGuerrero 750pxJump-ramp heroes, T-Hawk and Tommy G

PoliceAcademyVibesDavidSpadeTonyHawkMikeMcgill 750pxRemember David Spade’s first role? McGill and Tony reminisce about being on set

RayBarbeeTonyHawkSteveOLanceMountain 750pxSteve-O with probably the nicest dudes in skateboarding, Ray Barbee, Tony and Lance Mountain

RodneyMullenTonyTalk 750pxTed Talk? Nah, Mullen gave a Tony Talk

TheBestTonyHawkEricKoston 750pxThe Michael Jordans of vert and street skating, Hawk and Koston

TonesonTailBauhausLoveAndRocketsisPoptones 750pxMass gothic vibes with Poptones. Tonypalooza ruled!

JerryHsuTomGreenTonyHawkJeremyKlien 750pxTom Green photobombing Jerry Hsu and Jeremy Klein’s special moment

JohnDoeFromX 750pxGreat guitarist and singer—and he looks cool! John Doe of X

JohnDoeMarksMothersbaugh 750pxJohn Doe + Mark Mothersbaugh = DEVOX?

MarkMothersbaughfromDevo 750pxMark made a one-of-a-kind record for a gift. Better not see that on eBay, Tony

MikeBurnettTonyHawkDaveCarnieWritersCorner 750pxThe writer’s circle, Mike Burnett and Dave Carnie

AmazingCake 750pxYou know they had to have the OG Powell Peralta graphic, duh

CabAndKlein 750pxKlein having a tender moment with Cab

ExeneandJohnDoefromX 750pxThe amazing Exene and John Doe—two voices that sound perfect together

GreatWordsLizzieArmanto 750pxLizzie Armanto with nothing but good things to say about Tony and the whole Birdhouse team

JasonEllisBestGift 750pxJason Ellis gave Tony the best present. A lot of people have this tattoo (including me) but I doubt there’s many floating around like this. Happy 50th, Tony! Here’s to 50 more!
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