Tony Hawk’s iconic skateboard, the one he used to land the first-ever “900” trick at the 1999 X Games, has now sold for an impressive $1.15 million. The auction was held by the renowned Julien’s Auctions and set a new world record for skateboarding memorabilia, drawing out fans, collectors and even Hawk himself.
The board itself was the original Birdhouse Falcon 2 board that Hawk rode when he became to first person to successfully pull the two-and-a-half mid-air spin in front of an excited live audience. The historic performance finalized Hawk’s place in the realm of Action Sports, and the very board that made it possible now resides among our community’s most high-value cultural items.
As Julien’s Auctions posted about Hawk, “It’s an honor to see him make history again,” and gave thanks to Tony Hawk, the Loews Hollywood Hotel, all the attendees, and bidders.
Backstory
This wasn’t just an auction for the sake of memorabilia. Hawk told People Magazine that he was involved in curating all the items. “This is the first time I’ve been personally involved with every aspect of selling my items, and I selected items from my collection based on items that are meaningful to me, and a collector seeks ‘One of One’, like the ‘900’ deck,” said Hawk.
The auction winner was not disclosed at the event, which brought camaraderie and interest, not only in the price but also in the culture in the auction. Besides the million-dollar winning deck, there were dozens of items from Hawk’s personal collection; gear he wore in the 1999 X Games, sportswear from the 2002 Olympics, and a Simpsons coat presented upon voicing himself in the episode “Barting Over.”
Legacy and the Next Generation
While the auction commemorates Hawk’s legacy, proceeds were tasked to develop the next generation of skaters. A portion of total earnings will benefit, The Skatepark Project, the non-profit organization founded by Hawk in 2002 for the purpose of building inclusive public skateparks in underserved communities throughout the U.S. The organization is responsible for constructing nearly 700 public skateparks in every state in the union.
According to Kody Frederick, Head of Marketing for Julien’s Auctions, Hawk believes it’s time to part ways with these items. “Much of this is so important to him and has been for a long-time,” Frederick explained, “ but it’s hard to part with collections after decades, and just decided that it was time to part ways.”
Auction total has the potential of not just going over the one-million-dollar mark but with the “900” board exceeding expectations, it is exceptional that Hawk’s cultural influence expanded outside of ramps and rails — to high end collectibles.
