TONY HAWK

San Diego County Fair

San Diego, CA

June 16, 2002

Photo credit: Tony Hawk

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where skateboarding began, but San Diego was definitely one of the first towns. Knowing this, it was no surprise that the San Diego County Fair had set up a skate ramp, complete with eager kids riding up and down in front of a cheering crowd. I was watching the action under the summer sun but I was safely tucked away in a VIP area protected from free-flying runaway skateboards and sunburns.

Until this point, I didn’t know that fairs had VIP areas. The most I’d ever imagined was a backstage area behind a curtain where sword swallowers and bearded ladies could swap stories and smoke cigarettes. But nope, today VIP meant we were upstairs, eye level with the landing at the top of the skate ramp. From this vantage point, we could watch the fearless young skateboarding savants do their thing as they catapulted themselves into the air. Those are some brave kids.

After a few minutes of oohs and ahhs, a subtle roar made its way through the crowd. Hometown hero Tony Hawk was coming up to sign autographs.

Like a lot of kids in the 1970s, Tony Hawk was interested in riding a skateboard, but unlike most kids in the ‘70s, Tony was really good at it. By the time he was 12 he was winning amateur competitions all over the place and at the age of 16, he was considered the best competitive skateboarder in the world. It was Tony Hawk who, by the end of the 20th century, helped the sport of skateboarding become mainstream, and now Tony’s first skateboard is on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. (In 2021 skateboarding became an Olympic sport, but at this point in my story, nobody knew that.)

My friend said, “You should get him to take your picture.” Tony was sitting at a table autographing tour posters for the kids who had come with their VIParents. There was already a big crowd hoping to meet him but I wasn’t interested in fighting my way through a mob of hyperactive 12-year-olds, so I waited.

Eventually, the line died down and he started to pack it up for a lunch break. That's when I walked over. He looked surprised to see me. Possibly because I was an adult woman without a child, but he didn’t judge. He picked up a marker and instinctively started to sign a poster. I stopped him. “No,” I said. He looked embarrassed for being so presumptuous to think that I wanted his autograph. “Oh,” he gulped, stopped in his tracks. I explained, “Well, this is kind of my version of that.” He and his chaperone glanced at my camera and I continued, “I have this celebrity photo album. It’s just a bunch of pictures of me taken by celebrities. Will you take my picture?” “That’s funny!” the hostess said. Tony smiled and said, “Okay. What do you want me to do?”

The setup is supposed to be at the direction of the photographer but since he was on his way to lunch I helped him out. “How about if I come back there and we get the action on the half-pipe in the background.” It just rolled off my tongue like I knew what I was talking about.

He said, “Yeah! Okay. Come back here.” I love this prep part when a celebrity wants to play along. I walked past the barrier that was symbolically protecting him from the riffraff of teenage society and turned my back on the action. “How are you going to know I took the photo?” he asked. “Well, because you did,” I replied. “You can give me a thumbs up so you are in the photo, too” I suggested. I was joking around showing how he could be enthusiastic about it and when I got the film back I found that he'd taken a picture of me as I was goofing off. He held up his left thumb and said, “Here—I’ll wait ‘til someone gets air behind you.” I smiled as a skateboarder flung himself off the ramp, twisting mid-air to show off his acrobatic prowess. The camera flashed.

As Tony handed my camera back I saw that my signed poster was missing. What?!! I mean, I didn't really need it in the first place but since he’d started signing one for me I kind of wanted it. So in a very mature way, I hollered, “Hey! That kid took my poster!" Tony laughed and signed a second one for me, then he disappeared into the sea of his adoring VIPre-teens to enjoy a complimentary sandwich.

When I got my photos back from the developer, I noticed a mysterious person in the second photo between Tony’s thumb and my shoulder. They almost certainly caught our special moment on film. If anyone recognizes this VIPhotographer by my right arm, please let them know I’d love a copy of that picture.

Without question, our brief exchange at the fair made my day, Tony. Thanks for taking these great photos. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would say you’re a good sport.

Photo credit: Tony Hawk