Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk is putting the board he used to land the first 900 in competition up for auction, saying the famed deck represents a defining era for the sport and could help fund new public skate parks.
The board, along with the helmet, knee pads, and shoes from the 1999 X Games "Best Trick" event—plus about 100 other items spanning his career—will be sold through Julien's Auctions next month.
Proceeds will support The Skatepark Project (TSP), Hawk's nonprofit that builds public skate parks in underserved communities.
Hawk, 57, told Reuters the milestone sale feels surreal in a sport that was once marginalized.
“I grew up in a time when skateboarding was not popular and not encouraged,” he said.“To think that there is a skateboard that has any kind of reverence or value is still kind of strange to me, but I’m hugely honored that people are interested. I hope it sets some kind of standard and inspires people to support more skateboarding in public skate parks.”
Hawk explained that he hadn’t planned to attempt the 900—a two-and-a-half-revolution aerial spin—on the night he made history. Earlier that day, he had broken the tail of another board during a magazine shoot and hastily set up the deck that would go on to make history.
After landing a varial 720 early in the contest, he used the remaining minutes to pursue the elusive trick he had chased for 14 years, enduring numerous injuries along the way.
“It ended up going beyond time and I won the event, even though I was out of the context of the rules,” Hawk recalled, adding that he later gave the trophy to fellow skater Colin McKay, whom he considered the rightful winner.
The board itself still carries the story of that night: grip tape applied incorrectly and hastily patched, Fury trucks, and Audio Footwear shoes—brands that no longer exist. Of the sponsors featured on the setup, only Hot Wheels remains with him 26 years later.
Despite Hawk’s self-described lack of sentimentality, the deck survived.
“I basically threw away all my trophies through the years, so to have this remain was actually a surprise,” he said. “It represents that era of skating to me… I’m hugely proud of it, but I feel like it was time to let it go.”
Originally worth about $150, the Birdhouse “Falcon 2” board is expected by Julien’s to fetch between $500,000 and $700,000 when it goes up for auction in Los Angeles on September 23—a potential record price for a skateboard.
Hawk hopes the eventual buyer is someone who shares his passion for skateboarding.
“I hope it means something to them… and that they’re able to display it somewhere,” he said. “I just hope that they enjoy it.”
