How Tony Hawk immortalized his final trick in crypto form
Skateboarding represents the backbone of American subculture. Most importantly, the sport of skateboarding symbolizes the freedom that is associated with youth. When you think of anything to do with boarding, the most recognizable characters are either Shaun White (snowboarding) or Tony Hawk (skateboarding), but no one ever thinks of crypto.
These two gentlemen are the most daring and skilled individuals when it comes to performing tricks with high degrees of difficulty.
Tony Hawk’s 540 will live on for the rest of eternity. Hawk ensured the possibility of this occurrence by releasing his final 540 in NFT form in collaboration with Ethernity Chain.
Tony Hawk’s foray into the NFT world
The NFT exists as a pack – with an online graffiti wall full of tags, messages, encryptions, and drawings. Tony Hawk set out to project authentic textures while giving a lucky winner the chance to hold on to his final gravity-defying trick for as long as they wish in crypto form.
Skateboarding challenges norms, breaks down barriers, and builds toughness necessary to thrive throughout life.
Additionally, it allows those who participate to discover new roads, geographic boundaries, and enter into uncharted territories. Most importantly, it teaches kids to take risks in the fact that the only way to learn is through trial and error.
The famous 540 trick
When Tony Hawk began to perform his “540” tricks, turning a time and a half in mid-air seemed preposterous. But, through increased reps and determination, Tony Hawk learned a way to make the impossible completely tangible.
“In 1989 I started trying ollie 540’s as a joke, since it seemed there was no way to keep a skateboard on your feet throughout 1 1/2 spins in the air. But at some point I started scooping the tail with my back toe, which kept my feet in place for most of the spin. You can see the progression of my feet staying on with this [unseen] raw footage of my attempts, before finally landing one… in a full squat, with hand dragging behind.
It was the first of many that I’ve made over the last 32 years, and my technique improved as time went on. But they’ve gotten scarier in recent years, as the landing commitment can be risky if your feet aren’t in the right places. And my willingness to slam unexpectedly into the flat bottom has waned greatly over the last decade. So today I decided to do it one more time… and never again.”
Tony Hawk via his IG
Tony Hawk has lowkey been tapped into crypto since 2013
The skateboarding GOAT has been proficient in the cryptocurrency sphere as he has quietly been holding Bitcoin since 2013. When he decided to release an NFT – he wanted to tap deep into the atmosphere and give the people something that will last immortally.
“I’m a digital artist but not many people know I’m also a BMX rider. I remember the exact moment I first came across the first Tony Hawk pro skater game. That’s why I got really excited about the opportunity to work on a project with Tony. What really blew my mind is that Tony really understands the 3D art process. He told me he used to work in Lightwave 3D.
At first, I was like what am I going to make?! How do I do justice to Tony and the culture he helped to create. I spend a lot of time around skateparks and there’s always a lot of graffiti everywhere so I made this public “Graffiti wall” inviting friends, family and the public to add a note to Tony. I’ve created a texture from all of these messages and projected them onto the ramps so whoever participated is now part of these two NFTs.”
Ondrej Zunka (NFT artist commissioned for Hawk NFTs)
Tony Hawk will live forever in skateboarding lore
It is safe to say that Tony Hawk is one of the sickest and most headstrong athletes on this planet. We all grew up playing his Skatepark games and watched the shock and awe that he bestowed upon so many viewers at every X Games event. Now, as connoisseurs, we will be able to own a piece of history in the form of crypto.
The first 1/1 collectible sold for 14 ETH. Stay tuned, as there will be other drops and continued availability for unlockables from the likes of Tony Hawk.