Working for ATBShop is never going to make me a millionaire, but there are some pretty good perks that come along with owning an extreme sports shop and skate park. One of the best ever has to be meeting the legend that is Tony Hawk. You know you’re famous when my mum even knows who you are. He’s been a house hold name ever since he turned pro in 1982 and has made his fortune from doing what he does best – skating. His unique style of vert skating sets him apart from all the other pro’s and if you think being 47 would slow him down then you’re very much mistaken as our trip to NASS proved.
So in a nutshell the background to this opportunity, Stuart who is co-owner and founder of ATBShop and ATBShop Skate Warehouse, met with myself 14 years ago and our first “date type thing” was at NASS. ATBShop was running a trade stand and helped the ATBA-UK (All Terrain Boarding Association UK) run a pro demo and a ‘have a go’ area for first timers. Who said romance is dead when you invite your then girlfriend away for the weekend to work. I should have known what I was signing myself up for all those years ago and ran for the hills! Needless to say I didn’t and I even ended up marrying Stuart and helped grow his company into what it is today.
Well this year we thought it was fitting to go back to NASS on our wedding anniversary. One of our suppliers – Shiner Distribution, kindly sorted us out with the BEST VIP tickets money could buy. This meant we pretty much had access everywhere but more importantly meant that we were on the VIP list to meet Tony Hawk. Meeting him was a life long dream for both Stuart and I. He’s one of our skateboarding hero’s as he’s not only extremely talented but an all round nice guy.
Tony set up a foundation which is designed to help local area’s set up free outdoor skate parks and apply for grants as just one of his many charity’s that he supports.http://tonyhawkfoundation.org/ It’s no secret that Stuart and I are extremely passionate about making sure kids have a safe place to skate. We set up ATBShop Skate Warehouse as there wasn’t a good enough skate spot in Swindon for the riders to use. Now the council are on about taking away the Oasis free outdoor skate park near the town centre to replace it with a grassy area, which is just a massive insult to the skating population of Swindon.
ATBShop and ATBShop Skate Warehouse have set up both an online petition which already has around 800 signatures –
https://www.change.org/p/swindon-swindon-borough-council-swindon-borough-council-save-our-free-outdoor-skatepark-at-the-oasis
We also have a paper petition going in store. We took this paper petition to NASS and asked Tony to sign it along with his world famous skate friend Kevin Staab. Both were kind enough to sign the petition and encouraged us to fight the council on this matter. They explained that there needs to be more free outdoor spaces not less to encourage children into fun health activity’s. Both Pro riders thought it was madness that Swindon Council are intending to take away a free open space for kids and replace it with a grassed area.
They explained how skate parks had helped to improve local areas in America by giving the riders something to do. Stuart and I were blown away but their enthusiasm and support and hope the council will now rethink their plans with this new support.
After signing the petition Stuart and I were able to grab a few photos off both pro skaters. Both Stuart and I couldn’t believe how friendly and welcoming Tony Hawk and the team were. After the meet and greet Tony raced over to the main area to start the demo with several other members of the Birdhouse Skate team. Tony traveled the short distance in his Mini sponsored car and was instantly mobbed by hundred of fans.
The show was amazing and the atmosphere incredible as everyone was hyped up waiting for them. The tricks which they laid down were massive and the 47 year old 12 time world skate champion did not disappoint with variations such as fakie to forward 720’s, 360 varials and a number of different inverts, a real crowd pleaser. At one point, Lizzie Armanto pulled an invert while Tony threw a massive backside air over the top of her! I heard people say they had seen nothing like this before. The day was extremely hot and the ramp was massive but the Birdhouse team just owned it. Free Hawk merchandise was thrown off the ramp every time the crowd went wild. I even managed to grab a free T-Shirt which I’m going to auction off later on in the week for the homeless charity Shelter. I grabbed the T-Shirt but someone raced over and tried to take it out of my hands – thats how much Tony mean to these kids – They all literally wanted a piece of him.
After the event Tony and his team thanked everyone, signed a million more autographs and headed off back to their team room on site. Again he was mobbed and security has to really protect his departure as fans were discorporate for a photo. We both thought Tony and his Birdhouse team did an amazing job not just putting on an incredible show but also saying hi to everyone as Tony and his team were on a tight schedule – his next tour stop was Copenhagen on Sunday after all.
For Stuart and I we had an amazing time at NASS and would do it all over again tomorrow. It’s safe to say we are not going to forget this anniversary for a while. We met up with our ATBShop team over the weekend who were all kindly volunteering their time helping support the event with Street Games Swindon.
