Hilton Metropole, 21 July 2010

As part of a European tour Tony Hawk made his only UK stop on Brighton beach, with a few world champion friends in tow. Arranged by Quiksilver, Tony seemed happy to have landed in Brighton. “They [Quiksilver] chose the cities but now we’re here I can see why. Obviously it’s on the coast and it’s a great town in terms of culture, and really accepting of skating; I think I walked past three skate shops in the space of two blocks. It’s perfect, and Kevin [Staab] finally fits in somewhere.”

When asked about the redevelopment of The Level skate park, Tony advised local skaters to take an active interest. “I don’t know how the process works here but go to council meetings and fundraise if you have to; just be involved, because as soon as you’re not, someone will do a design and if they don’t skate then we’ll all know it.” While on the subject, Tony was asked if his foundation would ever be brought to the UK to help develop parks here. “I would love to, but to be honest with our funding we’re pushing it as far as we can in the US, our donations only cover part of the cost of the skate park. It’s more that we give them an endorsement that means the project will probably get pushed through. If we were able to get more donors then by all means, I would love to take it internationally and here for sure. I’ve felt the UK has always had a really strong skate scene.”
While in the area the lads also checked out Shoreham’s new bowl. Having complimented the park’s design, Jesse Frisch explained the locals reaction to an unannounced visit by a skating legend. “It was okay at first, we skated for a little bit but then one kid in particular had no shame and just started screaming Tony’s name at him. Everyone was on their cellphones and within twenty minutes of being there it was like a sea of people all round the bowl.”


Sandro Dias

Kevin Staab

Check out the Quiksilver promo vid –
Check out Tony Hawk skating the Shoreham Bowl –
Words by Maison
Photography by Gus Manzano

quiksilverlive.com/tonyhawktour10