GettyAhhhhhh, the Ten Year Challenge. You thought you were done with this, didn’t you?
But it seems the Internet’s most vain and self-aggrandising challenge is sticking to its name and sticking around on your feed for what feels like decades… And this little resurgence is thanks to none other than Tony Hawk.
Now, who can be mad at Tony Hawk, right? He bought us the first 900, Birdhouse and a way to while away many an hour on the ramps – virtual and real – through his skating, accompanied by banging late 90s/early 00s soundtracks.
In case you didn’t know, the Tony Hawk Foundation also helps to build skateparks in underprivileged areas across the globe, so he’s a great athlete and all-round good egg.
Heck, I owe this guy pretty much my entire teenage aesthetic and attitude, including some very, very comfy pairs of skate shoes.
So, I’ll not goad him for playing into one of the Internet’s most annoying tropes of, well, the last ten years… Especially as his take on the viral challenge was posted in order to promote a new game.
Tony, who famously doesn’t have a very recognisable face, posted a half selfie, half sleevie for his Ten Year Challenge.
Taking to Twitter, Tony wrote:
#10yearchallenge (give or take a few consoles). While we’re on the subject: @SkateJam for Android drops TOMORROW
Here it is, in all its glory:
#10yearchallenge (give or take a few consoles). While we’re on the subject: @SkateJam for Android drops TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/AaERIiwmK1
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) January 31, 2019
Hawk’s face – or half of it at least – appeared on the front cover of the game Tony Hawk’s Project 8.
His Ten Year Challenge saw Hawk complete the picture with his face in the present day, a brave comparison, considering the cover image was also no doubt PhotoShopped. Perhaps that’s why he’s opted for a subtle blur of the background.
Still, unless you’re superbly vain, anti-ageing and ignorant of the inevitable passage of time, I think we can all agree Tony is better than ever – just with exactly the same haircut.
Considering he’s exactly half a century young, you’d think Hawk would be retiring his decks and displaying them on a wall like a someone currently in a mid-life crisis trying to recapture their lost youth.
But, no, Hawk is still rolling on his four-wheel money maker. Yet, he’s still not given the mainstream credit and acclaim which befits more famous faces.
In fact, Hawk enjoys recounting how many people don’t recognise him – or sort of recognise him but aren’t sure where from – on his social media feeds.
Security guard at Pier 54: "Can I help you?" Me: I'm here to skate; I'm TH. Him: "you're too young to be TH." Me: you are hired forever.
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) September 2, 2011
He recalled an encounter on a plane with a fellow passenger at New York LaGuardia Airport who was bemused the legendary skateboarder still enjoyed the shred and grind.
Hawk posted his version of the awkward conversation on Twitter, writing:
Woman on plane retrieving her luggage in the overhead:
Who’s skateboard is this? It’s blocking my bag
me: that’s mine, you can pass it here
her: It’s yours? You ride it?
me: yes
her: Are you any good at it?
me: sometimes
her: cackles maniacally, exits plane
Woman on plane retrieving her luggage in the overhead:
"Who's skateboard is this? It's blocking my bag"
me: that's mine, you can pass it here
her: "It's yours? You ride it?
me: yes
her: "Are you any good at it?"
me: sometimes
her: cackles maniacally, exits plane— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) April 16, 2018
Stay humble, Tony.
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