Tony Hawk performs with team in Columbia
The pro skateboarder's tour is called 'Tweets from the Road.'
Published Oct. 20, 2009
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Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk does a handstand during the street course part of his demo Saturday at Columbia Skate Park. Hawk's visit to Columbia was announced as a part of a secret scavenger hunt via Twitter with the hashtag THTH (Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt).
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Columbia resident Tristan Floid, 6, yells to get Tony Hawk's attention Saturday at Columbia Skate Park during the Birdhouse Skateboards demo. Children and aspiring skateboarders were in attendance at the event, attempting to show off or get autographs.
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Birdhouse amateur skateboarder Aaron (Jaws) Homoki hangs on the top of the course Saturday at Columbia Skate Park. Tony Hawk brought a team of skateboarders to perform a demo on the street course and vertical ramp.
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Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk soars over the crowd Saturday at Columbia Skate Park. Tony Hawk brought a team of skateboarders to perform a demo on the street course and vertical ramp.
Cosmopolitan Recreational Area showcased a performance Oct. 17 from professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, and the Birdhouse skate team as they stopped in Columbia on their "Birdhouse Tweets from the Road" tour.
The idea behind the tour is to send out tweets on Hawk's Twitter account with clues to where his next appearance would be. Hawk tweeted in advance for days with clues about the location of his appearance. On Hawk's Twitter page the word "CoMo" appeared Oct. 16 and Columbia was officially announced at 7:37 a.m. on his Twitter.
The demo consisted of a street section and a vert section, for which Hawk brought his own 14-foot-tall half-pipe to entertain the crowd. The street demo also featured nine other skaters, most from the Birdhouse AMS team, including his son Riley Hawk and local riders such as Jeff Pulliam.
More than 1,500 people attended the event, according to Hawk's Twitter and children in the crowd cheered throughout the show. Columbia resident Dan Carpenter, who has been skating for 10 years, said he liked the street demo section of the performance.
"It was absolutely awesome and an amazing street demo and really just a big surprise that they came to Missouri," Carpenter said. "I enjoyed it some really technical stuff they were doing."
Skaters might have appreciated the street section, but the vert demo was the highlight of the day for others in attendance. Hawk headlined along with pro skaters Jesse Fritsch, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins and Kevin Staab. Hawk pulled off a lot of his signature tricks including the 720 and several McTwists. After Hawk left the ramp he signed autographs, as the other skaters stayed on. Hawkins tried to land the first McTwist by a female ever. She came inches from landing it.
"I just couldn't believe how easy he made it look. He got so high and everything," senior Chris Mathis said. "As somebody who can't do this stuff, it's 50 times more awesome when they do it."
The vert show also featured some street skaters, to fill the downtime between runs because the bikes of the three BMX riders who were supposed to be at the demo were lost in transit to the event.
Hawk skated both parts of the demo much to the enjoyment of the Columbia residents in attendance. The crowd was made up of a range of people, from teens to older couples.
Columbia resident Mary Aldrich said she saw the event as a great opportunity to spend time with her child.
"My son's been skating for four years, and today's his 13th birthday so it kind of worked out pretty well," Aldrich said. "He really had a great time, best birthday ever and I didn't even have to buy a present." For those not watching the skating, the Quiksilver bus, a skateboarding and surfing company, which was one of the sponsors of the event, was handing out free posters and displaying the new Tony Hawk Ride game for attendees to try.
The city of Columbia hosted the entire event, and Shakespeare's donated 100 pizzas for the cause.
"I thought it was awesome," Columbia resident Bob Hill said. "I am not a skateboarder, never done it in my life, but its kinda cool to watch. I was dreading it when I came here but I'm glad I came. I think it was unbelievable as far as all of it for nothing. Good for the community and a great demo."