Tony Hawk has invented countless tricks, built skate parks around the world, and created a billion-dollar video-game franchise. but his legacy is greater than all that: Meet his son Riley.
Riley Hawk is hungry. In most articles about a relatively famous son and his very famous father, such a statement would be a metaphor for the son’s drive, his ambition, those good old heir-to-the-throne machinations. Here it’s just physiologically true. Riley stayed up late playing guitar and can’t remember when he last ate. Tony Hawk drops a bagel into the toaster and grabs some cream cheese from the fridge. Riley moved out of the house a few years ago, and Tony has clearly missed having him around. He works to play it cool, but he’s stoked his eldest son stopped by. He takes a plate from the cupboard, two coffee mugs. He steals glances at Riley scrolling through his Instagram feed. He smiles.
Father and son are mirror images of each other: tall and loose-limbed, thin and sandy haired. This morning, they’re both limping. Riley has been battling a handrail trick for days and has a gnarly heel bruise; Tony’s knees are creaky from almost 40 years of paradigm shifting skateboarding, and he’s been chasing a few new tricks, too. Both men are also stressed. Skateboarding is in a strange and strangely vulnerable place. It’s bigger than ever—a multibillion-dollar industry and officially heading to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo—but independently owned skate shops and core companies are shuttering in unnerving numbers. Tony and Riley are on tight deadlines to finish filming hugely anticipated video parts, which are the professional skater’s equivalent of an author’s books and which, at such a portentous time in skateboarding, are crucial.
This story is from the Fall 2017 edition of GQ Style.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Fall 2017 edition of GQ Style.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Diplo In Africa
What happens when a superstar DJ leaves a pile of Coachella cash on the table to go break even on a tour of Africa—where a red-hot music scene is on the verge of going global? We flew to Uganda and Ethiopia to find out.
Bird Man
Tony Hawk has invented countless tricks, built skate parks around the world, and created a billion-dollar video-game franchise. but his legacy is greater than all that: Meet his son Riley.
Finding Fashion Bliss in Japan's Retail Paradise
United Arrows has 256 stores— but somehow each of them feels like a lovingly crafted high-end boutique. And now the CEO has his eyes on westward expansion. So we traveled to the company’s Tokyo HQ to experience firsthand what’s coming to America. (And yes, to shop up a storm.)
Are You Not Entertained?
Last year, the swaggering former plumber Conor McGregor became the first UFC FIGHTER to hold two belts at once. The thrilling brutality of his knockouts— along with his notorious trash talk and lavish tastes— has made him into a phenomenon, THE RARE ATHLETE WHO IS BIGGER THAN HIS SPORT. We caught up with McGregor and met a man at war: with his league, with Floyd Mayweather, and, most of all, with himself.
How to Hack Any Wine List
Whether you’re out on a date, romancing clients, or just eating with friends, the mostintimidating part of any meal is ordering the wine. Luckily, our chief value correspondent has developed a foolproof method for nailing it every time. Take a long sip and let the compliments roll in.
Wet Dreams
When the futuristic, wedge-shaped cars we lusted after in the ’80s and ’90s went out of style, they went all the way out of style. But a new generation of auto freaks has revived these vintage beauties. Nobody laughs or calls them ugly anymore. And prices are skyrocketing. THIS IS THE STORY OF SPORTS CARS, THE MEN WHO LOVE THEM—AND THE SHIFTING TIDES OF VALUE AND TASTE.
Brutal Darlings
For 16 years, the German magazine 032c has been the fashion insider’s bible,but recently founder joerg koch expanded his vision, got down with Kanye, and started selling T-shirts. The changes are raising eyebrows in the industry, but no matter—‘032c’ has become a full-blown movement.
Master Class
After the smashing success of season two of his Netflix show, ‘ master of none,’ Aziz Ansari vowed to go analog. No social media. No e-mail. No laboring over season three. So we invited the stand-up turned auteur to be our plus-one at paris fashion week—and got him to teach us the art of unplugging.
Top 5 Dead or Alive
We always knew Kendrick Lamar could rap. But nobody expected his album to pimp a butterfly to be a staggering musical masterwork that galvanized Grammy voters and protest marchers alike. The big question now is: what will k.dot do next? We got Rick Rubin to ask him.
