Hawk : occupation - skateboarder

The world's leading professional skateboarder and a hero to thousands of Generation Xers, Tony Hawk, relives a lifetime of incredible highs and lows in the sport.

Tony Hawk, aka The Birdman, has won more than 60 contests, invented close to 50 new manoeuvres and made skateboarding history at the 1999 International Championships by landing the first ever 900 degree turn.

A veteran of some 20 TV commercials for clients such as Gap and Disney, he is one of the leading heroes of modern-day youth culture.

Growing up in Serra Mesa, California, Tony was a hyperactive, tantrum-throwing child, whose only outlet was through boarding.

Initially mocked for being an unorthodox "circus skater", before long the doubters were learning the tricks he had pioneered.

Tony had invented a new style of skateboarding. His life has been a rollercoaster of incredible highs and spectacular crashes.

Tony's quest to land the fabled 900 resulted in broken bones and spells of unconsciousness too numerous to mention.A millionaire at the age of 18 in the 1980s on the back of the boom in skateboarding, Tony fell into near destitution almost overnight when the fad died away.

However he successfully reinvented himself as an extreme boarder in the 1990s and now owns two multi-million dollar companies, Birdhouse Projects and Hawk Clothing, has just produced the bestselling cult skateboarding movie "The End" and released his own PlayStation game.In "Hawk" Tony goes behind the scenes of competitions, demos and movies and shares the less glamorous demands of being a skateboarder.

With brutal honesty he recalls the stories of love, loss, embarrassing 80s clothes and determination that have shaped his life.Despite the many ups and downs of his career, Tony Hawk's dedication has made him a god to generations of skateboarders and countless other Generation Xers.

His story is a touching tale of perseverance and determination.