Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk is an American professional skateboarder. He was born to Nancy, a homemaker and college professor, and Frank Hawk, a retired U.S. Navy officer and small appliance salesman. Tony is the youngest of 4 children.

In his autobiography, Hawk described himself as a "cool kid" – frustrated, unfocused, and prone to flying off into rages. He was nine years old when his brother changed his life by giving him a blue fiberglass banana board. His father built him a skating ramp in the backyard.

He graduated from Torrey Pines High School in the North County Coastal area of San Diego, California. As a senior at the age of 17 he was able to purchase his first house due to his success as a skateboarder.

Tony married Cindy Dunbar in April 1990 and later divorced in 1993. They had a son, Hudson (Riley) Hawk (born 6 December 1992) who they named for one of Tony's ancestors. For many years, Riley has skated for Hawk's own Birdhouse Skateboards.

Hawk was then married to Erin Lee from 1996 - 2004. They had two sons, Spencer (born 26 July 1999) and Keegan (born 18 March 2001).

Just one year after they started dating, Hawk married Lhotse Merriam. They got married on 12 January 2005 on the heart shaped island of Tavarua, Fiji. Hawk and his wife welcomed their first child together, daughter Kadence Clover Hawk.

In 1994, after the skateboarding industry took a downturn and vertical skateboarding's popularity waned in the rise of street skating, Hawk started Birdhouse Projects along with ex-Powell Peralta pro Per Welinder, which is now known as Birdhouse Skateboards. Hawk also owns his own film and TV production company, 900 Films , and along with his family he started Hawk Clothing, including an apparel and footwear line sold exclusively at Kohl's.

In 2000, he wrote an autobiography with Sean Mortimer that was entitled HAWK: Occupation: Skateboarder, which made it to number 18 on to the New York Times bestseller list. He later wrote a second book, a road journal called Between Boardslides and Burnout.

In 2002, Tony created the Tony Hawk Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist low-income communities in the creation of well-designed skateboard parks. In four years, the Foundation gave away over a million dollars in grants and assistance.