Lance Armstrong, Who Battled Cancer, Once Praised Tony Hawk Over His Unique Social Mission of Eliminating “Number Two Cause of Cancer in the U.S.”

Published 09/30/2022, 7:45 AM EDT

Tony Hawk is not just a great skateboarder but also a great human. Born in 1968, this 54-year-old skateboarder was a prodigy, earning the pro title at merely 14. He has bagged 12 wins in the World Skateboarding competitions with 13 wins in XGames. Plus, he has over 80 invented tricks under his belt.

But, while many may be aware of his winning side, his social helper side often doesn’t get its due credit. In 2002, “birdman” wanted others to have a taste of how it felt skating and flipping through the ramps. So, he established his “Tony Hawk Foundation”, later renamed “The Skatepark Project”.

Under this establishment, Tony built over 600 skate parks for children to use and take part in the joy of skateboarding. He even grants money to state colleges all over the USA to help them build their own skating arenas. And this deeply touched a fellow athlete.

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Tony Hawk was cheered by a cyclist over his commitment to building skate parks

When Hawk went on to Joe Rogan’s podcast as a guest in 2020, viewers knew they were in for a treat. So, when the topic of his project/organization came up, Tony shared interesting info about his drive with everyone. He reminisced about how he was once accoladed by American cyclist Lance Armstrong for this skatepark project.

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Once a cancer survivor, Lance told Tony that obesity is one of the leading causes of that silent killer. Further, he thanked the skating legend for creating these parks that helped kids fight obesity.

Speaking about this interaction, Tony informed Rogan that Armstrong praised him for doing “so much for cancer and cancer victims”. When he communicated with Lance further, the latter told him, “number two cause of cancer in the U.S. is obesity” and that was shocking for Tony. Armstrong also said, “by building those skate parks you are preventing cancer, you’re preventing obesity”. Hawk remembered this whole exchange being really inspiring for him.

Hawk’s achievements in the sport of skateboarding

There are no two ways to go by it. Tony Hawk is the name who played a big part in the globalization of skateboarding. He was awarded the best vert skater every year from 1984 to 1996. Also, he invented and popularized some skating moves like front side 540-rodeo flip, saran wrap, and Ollie-to-Indy. A video game was named after him.

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I took questions from the audience after my talk in Antwerp tonight. Someone yelled “do a kickflip!” I said I’m currently unable due to my injury but you are welcome to come up here & do one. Four kids answered the challenge, all first try. Skateboarding is thriving in Belgium! pic.twitter.com/0hLizLrfan
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) August 2, 2022

His total win in skateboarding is around 70. Post his retirement in 2002, he now runs his own company called “Birdbox” which caters to other skaters.

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Watch This Story: Tony Hawk, Magic Johnson, and More – Here’s How These Athletes Turned Into Big Entrepreneurs

And it needs no saying that Tony still has years to go before he ever decides to let his board rest.

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Written by:

Shreyosi Banerjee is a US Sports author working with EssentiallySports. She is currently pursuing her graduation in English honors. Shreyosi holds prior work experience in content creation, having worked as a content writer, freelancing for companies like Webgross.

Edited by:

Simar Singh Wadhwa

Lance Armstrong, Who Battled Cancer, Once Praised Tony Hawk Over His Unique Social Mission of Eliminating “Number Two Cause of Cancer in the U.S.”

Tony Hawk was cheered by a cyclist over his commitment to building skate parks

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Hawk’s achievements in the sport of skateboarding