Tony Hawk has suffered a serious leg injury, and although the skateboarding legend has admitted it's going to be a tough recovery, he is determined to make a comeback.
Taking to Instagram, Hawk revealed that he had broken his femur on Monday. It is unclear how the injury occurred but TMZ reported that it happened while he was skating.
"I broke my elbow 20 years ago and managed to make a full comeback; this recovery for a broken femur will be much harder because of its severity (and my age)," Hawk wrote in his Instagram post. "But I'm up for the challenge."
Hawk went on to point out the irony that the injury happened just before the trailer for a Sam Jones documentary about his life and career, "Until The Wheels Fall Off," was released. The documentary, Hawk said, has a strong focus on "the philosophy of how I/we do this at our age."
"The answer is complicated, but ultimately it's because I have found my sense of purpose and shaped my identity through skating, and it nourishes my mental health immensely," Hawk continued. "I've said many times that I won't stop skating until I am physically unable. A broken leg — with plenty of hardware — will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I’ll be back … maybe not at full capacity but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached 'mid-life.' "
The world of skateboarding has changed since Hawk first broke onto the scene decades ago. Now there is far less discrimination at the skatepark, where you will find people of all genders, sexual orientation and ethnic background. Skaters are also pushing boundaries like never before. Speaking about this to The Guardian in a 2021 interview, Hawk said he was happy that he was still able to "be in the mix" and to participate.
"It's such a fun window to be in, where I'm way older, but I'm still doing it," he said. "And then I get to skate with these guys who are truly pushing limits of what I thought was possible."
Knowing that he would inevitably have to retire from doing some of the tricks he once created has not stopped Hawk from having fun.
“It's been kind of a fun process to do them for the last time," he said. "I don't think many athletes get to go through that process very much because at some point they're just not doing it anymore, and they never had any sort of closure," he said. "And I'm at a place, and more of an awareness, that I can have closure on these things."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.