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Watching him like a Hawk
Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk leads way in demonstration
| Saturday, May 26 2007 9:15 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, May 26 2007 9:18 PM
It could have been a rock concert, with the screaming fans and lines of anxious autograph-seekers.
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But instead of a stage, the main attraction was a halfpipe. In place of the microphone, the talent was adorned with helmets and knee pads.
Hundreds piled into a sunny parking lot Saturday to see professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and a crew of other talented skaters demonstrate their tricks.
"These guys are legendary," said 12-year-old Marques McVay, after a security guard shooed him away from a fenced-off area where Hawk was taking a breather. "They're skaters you'll never forget. Like Abraham Lincoln and all them, they're history."
The event was hosted by Sport Chalet, an athletic equipment and rental store that opened last weekend at the corner of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue.
Crowds of parents and kids pooled on either side of the halfpipe to watch as Hawk and fellow skaters Bob Burnquist, Rob Lorifice and Bucky Lasek took turns showing off their moves.
Hawk, now 39, began skateboarding at age 12 and turned pro at 14. He retired from competitive skateboarding in 1999 but remains an icon of the sport. He is best-known for doing "the 900," a 21/2-turn spin done in midair after launching off the halfpipe.
He is also credited by many for transforming skateboarding's image from a hobby for street riff-raff to a credible sport.
The size of the crowd and the number of families attending Saturday's event was evidence of the change.
"Skateboarding brings all the kids together instead of them just hanging out on the streets and getting into trouble," said Paula Gray, whose 16-year-old son Ricky Holt has been a Tony Hawk fan since he was a child.
Cory Viss, who grew up skateboarding in abandoned pools and bank parking lots in Oildale, said the sport has also evolved technically.
"Skateboarding's gotten a lot more radical. They're doing tricks now I used to dream of doing," Viss said. "It's gone far."
He now shares his passion for skating with his son, Zephyr, who was named for a well-known competitive skate team that Hawk used to compete with.
For Hawk, the popularity skating has gained and the crowds it attracts are the reason he continues to skate.
"It shows that families have embraced it, parents support their kids in skating, and even cities are providing facilities," he said. "I think now it's just another form of recreation for families."
"To see it come this far and to have this many people appreciate skating, I mean, I've done it so long with very little appreciation that how can I stop when (the crowds) look like this and I can still go out there and skate?"