[imagesource: HBO]

53-year-old Tony Hawk is living proof that growing old doesn’t have to mean growing up.

He’s still tearing it up on a board (a 900 at the age of 48, anybody?) and his longevity has helped him become skateboarding’s most recognisable name.

Those video games certainly helped, too. Maybe I’m showing my age but anybody who played the Tony Hawk’s video game series in the early 2000s will recall the thrill of banging the keyboard and pulling off gnarly tricks.

Oh, to be young again.

Charting the Birdman’s rise from gawky San Diego teen to globally recognised athlete, Sam Jones’ Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off will debut on HBO and HBO Max on April 5.

Let’s get the deets via Collider:

The documentary will cover the 53-year-old skateboarder’s life through interviews and shed light on his start in the industry as well as his work throughout his career.

It promises to give an intimate look into Hawk’s relationship with the sport that made him the legend he is today. It also catches up with his current work and continuous important contributions to the skateboarding industry.

The Tony Hawk Foundation, started in 2002 and since renamed The Skatepark Project, has built skateparks in underprivileged areas right across the US.

As with any skate movie worth its salt, the soundtrack will be a belter. It features the likes of The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Joy Division, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, and more.

Trailer time:

To help tell Tony’s story, the doccie will also feature skateboarding icons like Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, and more.

Perhaps after this airs people will stop telling Tony Hawk he looks just like that skateboarder, and realise he’s the real deal.

Consider all of these in the past few months:

I’ve refrained from sharing “mistaken identity” stories lately because people think I’m fabricating them (not true, but I get it), but this just happened:
TSA (checking my ticket & ID): “pull down your mask”
Me: (pulls down mask)
TSA: (checks ID again): “haha, good one!”
Me: 🤷🏼‍♂️

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) December 6, 2021

At coffee shop this morning:
Girl behind counter: (not joking) “has anyone told you that you look like Tony Hawk?”
Me: yes, so much that I sometimes write about it.
Her: haha, here’s your coffee
Other girl by exit: (leans toward me as I walk out): “you really do look like him”

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) December 10, 2021

At @MammothMountain, waiting at a jump for my daughter (because I’m the filmer).
Guy nearby: sorry I keep staring but you look just like Tony Hawk
Me: I’ve heard that
His friend: we should take a selfie and tell people it’s really him. I did that with another celebrity lookalike

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) January 16, 2022

At least it makes for a good story.

[source:collider]