In one of the recent episodes of Jay Leno’s Garage, the legendary skateboarder, Tony Hawk, showed us his futuristic ride. Hawk owns the infamous 1964 Chevrolet Stingray Corvette, which has a new twist to it. Hawk replaced the gas-guzzling 327 V8 with Tesla’s 300-horsepower drive motor. This might upset some Chevy fans, but Hawk has his own views on this beauty. Jay Leno was very surprised when he hands-on reviewed this beautiful machine, which costs around $70,000.
Despite being a former professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk likes to do a lot of different kinds of work. He is the owner of ‘Birdhouse’, which is a skateboard company. Hawk also has his own games being published by the world famous video game publishing company Activision. This man even has his own documentaries.
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Tony Hawk and his beautiful machine
Tony Hawk is very much interested in modifying vintage vehicles with some futuristic tech. He is ready to do some swapping to make the gas-consuming old automobiles into eco-friendly beasts.
via Getty
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – MARCH 24: Laureus Academy Member Tony Hawk signs autographs as he visits an urban skateboard park ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards at Kiara Skate Park on March 24, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Laureus)
“Just to piss off all the purists,” Hawk laughed because he knows what he is doing. “They will hunt you down,” said Leny. The skater knows that the people who care about the originality of vehicles will be coming after him. After all the small talk, Leno asks Hawk to pop the hood of his car.
Leno pointed out that “It looks like a coffin” and Hawk replied, “It’s all smoke and mirrors,”. The Birdman did apologize to all the Corvette purists for converting his vehicle.
The most ‘80s thing you’ll see today: me ollieing from the back of a convertible Corvette onto a jump ramp for a Lapper ad. Totally radical!
Not my car, btw; I had a 1977 Civic at the time. pic.twitter.com/xpV2aOp4S2— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) July 17, 2022
During their drive, “I learned to drive a 1977 Civic CVCC hatchback” said Hawk when Leny asked him about his first automobile.
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Hawk bought his first car for $15,000 and he even mentioned how his dad went to Tijuana to paint it red for Hawk’s birthday. Hawk also mentioned that his parents were very supportive, rather than forcing him to do a proper job.
Tony Hawk’s real secret to success
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Tony Hawk’s father passed away in 1995, which was before his big success, but then his mother supported him a lot with his career.
Disclaimer: my father was actually very supportive of my career, but I couldn’t help myself when I saw this meme making the rounds.
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) November 28, 2019
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Hawk explained how his father, Frank Hawk, used to inspire him to work and also influenced him to follow his own path. Both his father and mother always supported Tony Hawk and were always by his side. Frank Hawk also formed the National Skateboard Association when there was no governing body for skate events.
